Enhancing the Saskatchewan soil health assessment protocol (Phase 2)

Project Summary

This project builds of the Developing a soil health assessment protocol for Saskatchewan producers (Phase 1) project in which a Saskatchewan soil health assessment protocol (SSHAP) and scoring functions were successfully developed.

The current project aims to provide producers with an improved decision management tool to help them assess the soil health of their lands and subsequently improve health of their soils. Such improvements could provide economic benefits such as higher crop yields, improved yield stability, increased resiliency against droughts and excess water, and perhaps reduce water demand due to improvements in water holding capacity.

Objectives

1. Build on the Saskatchewan Soil Health Testing Protocol so that it outputs soil zone-specific scores.
2. Incorporate novel microbial measurements of soil health into the testing protocol.
3. Explore early-indicators of soil health change for when producers incorporate regenerative agricultural practices on farm.
4. Deliver a user-friendly online tool that shows growers the soil health curves and where their sample falls.