Events

On this page:

• Soil field days, workshops, and training
• Soil 101: Foundation of Soil Management
• Nutrient management plan training

Soil field days, workshops, and training

The Province is delivering a series of extension events on soil management to help farmers increase productivity, economic returns, and safeguard the environment. These extension events aim to share scientific knowledge that support producers to make informed management decisions for their farms and make their farms more resilient to climate change.

The Soil Specialists in the ministry are hosting field days, in-person workshops, and online webinars/workshops/training throughout the year on a wide range of soil-related topics to broaden producers’ soil knowledge. Topics to watch out for include:

• Soil sampling and understanding soil test reports
• Nutrient management tools
• Soil moisture management
• Soil health assessment and improvement
• Cover cropping
• Grazing management

Soil 101: Foundation of Soil Management

Understanding soils and their management is crucial to any agricultural activities, particularly in crop production systems. Basic soil knowledge allows producers to know their soil's uniqueness and make informed management decisions appropriate to their fields. With this project, the ministry plans to train producers and demonstrate soil management practices that improve production resilience. This will be done through the delivery of a series of interactive soil management extension events with the associated hands-on field demonstrations to producers during in- and off-growing seasons.

Nutrient management plan training

In B.C., requirements for Nutrient management plans (NMPs) are being phased in for farms based on their location, type of operation, and soil test values. Nutrient management plans are used to help farmers efficiently meet their production objectives and protect the environment. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food provides training for individuals to become a certified NMP planner. Course content focuses on how to build a NMP plan that meets the objectives laid out in the  Code of Practice for Agricultural Environmental Management.

For information on training requirements, please visit our Nutrient management plan webpage.