The health of the soil is of prime importance according to a presenter at Ecological Day at Grey Bruce Farmers' Week.
Ellen Polishuk is a biological farm consultant from Maryland.
She says taking proper care of the soil is a farmer's first responsibility in order to grow viable crops and maximize profits.
She says farmers, and people in general, must realize the soil came before us and will be around long after we're gone.
"We are any one of us just a temporary caretaker of something that came before us and that will last after us and so it's like our time to be the ones to steward the health of the land," said Polishuk.
She outlines five main ways farmers can take care of the soil, including constantly adding organic matter and tilling carefully.
She notes healthy soil is a carbon sink and mitigates climate change.
"This is a long game we're playing whether it's a long game we're playing just for any one of our own particular careers or life spans but it's even longer than that when you start thinking about the generations yet to come."
