“Don’t treat soil like dirt.”
It is a living breathing organism and we must treat it well to sustain our future.
That was the closing message at last week’s Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference delivered by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) land management specialist Marla Riekman.
This is the 29th year of a conference for women farmers. It was held for the first time in Winkler this year, attracting 118 women from across the province.
Riekman was one of several guest speakers at the three-day event, that also featured Co-operator editor Laura Rance, speaking on conservation agriculture from her travels in Africa earlier this year, plus other MAFRD staff including nutrient management specialist Mitchell Timmerman on protecting water quality and farm production adviser (crops) Ingrid Kristjanson on the link between healthy soil and healthy crops.
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It was a natural fit to theme their 2015 conference ‘From the Ground Up,’ says conference chair and Plum Coulee farmer Cindy Klassen, given this year’s United Nations declaration as International Year of Soils. Conference organizers wanted to link that theme together with presentations that help participants better understand how important soil is, not only for good farm production, but for our entire well-being, Klassen said.
Speakers at the event were each presented with specially designed jewelry encased with Newdale Clay Loam, Manitoba’s provincial soil, made by Riekman, who took orders from many interested buyers following her presentation on soil health and quality. All proceeds from sales of this jewelry go toward the work of the Manitoba Soil Science Society.
“We’ve had very positive feedback about the event,” Klassen said.
