Soil health lecture explores links to crop yield and resiliency
The University of Manitoba’s Department of Soil Science and Manitoba Habitat Conservancy (MHC) are pleased to present the second Ted Poyser Lecture in Soil Health, featuring Dr. Laura Van Eerd from the University of Guelph. This year’s lecture, titled “Linking soil health to crop yield and resiliency based on BMPs: Can it be done? Can it be scaled?”, will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 in Room 219 Animal Science Building, 12 Dafoe Road, University of Manitoba. A pre-event reception occurs at 11:30 am outside the auditorium. The event will also be accessible via livestreaming.
Dr. Van Eerd is a Professor of Sustainable Soil Management at the University of Guelph Ridgetown Campus. The goal of her internationally-recognized research program is to advance understanding of how agricultural practices influence soil health and biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen. Soil health awareness has grown significantly in recent years, but standard measures of soil function remain undefined, as do the best indicators to quantify it. Crop yield, a key measure for farm economics, is linked to soil health, yet this relationship is poorly characterized, especially regarding better management practices (BMPs). In her talk, she will speak to how long-term experiments on practices like tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops on yield and soil properties can help identify BMPs that enhance both productivity and resiliency. Advancing this knowledge is vital for developing scalable tools that promote BMP adoption and measurable impacts across agricultural landscapes.
The Ted Poyser Lecture in Soil Health is made possible through the Ted Poyser Plant Ideas Fund, established in 2021 to honour the legacy of Edward A. (Ted) Poyser’s contributions to soil science and landscape conservation programming in the Province. Administered by The Manitoba Habitat Conservancy, the fund supports initiatives that promote soil health and sustainable agriculture in Manitoba.
A graduate of the University of Manitoba in the 1950s, Ted Poyser went on to become a major contributor to Manitoba’s soil survey. Later, he developed and managed important agricultural and landscape conservation initiatives, including Manitoba’s watershed conservation district program, the Funds for Rural Economic Development (FRED) program, the Canada Land Inventory and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in Manitoba. Ted also made fundamental contributions to the development of Manitoba’s Crop Insurance program. A common theme was ensuring that all conservation programming included soil conservation and agricultural producer interests as bedrock considerations.
The lecture is open to the public, and attendees can choose to join in-person or virtually. Interested individuals can register for the livestream link or participate as part of the free Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture virtual conference. See more details at https://umanitoba.ca/agricultural-food-sciences/poyser-lecture.