Soil is the key backbone to Ontario’s farming and agricultural industry. Without productive, healthy soil, there is no viable farmland to grow crops. As soils take ages to form, soil is a limited, yet extremely valuable resource.
To honour the significant role and historical importance of soil in the advancement of Ontario’s agri-food industry, the province will be appointing the Guelph Soil Series as ‘the official soil of Ontario’. Much like provincial flowers, soils should be recognized for their significant contribution. As a historic and present-day resource, Ontario soil has sustained generations of people through its role in supporting the growth of food and fibre, in fuel production, and as a “ life-support system that connects the atmosphere, vegetation and water in all ecosystems” [1].
Found in Brant; Dufferin; Oxford; Perth; Lambton and Wellington Counties; Waterloo and Halton Regions and the City of Hamilton, the Guelph Soil Series consists of loams, sandy loams and silt loams.
Recognized as being one of the best soil series in this province, the Guelph Soil series is derived from glacial-till and is extremely productive. In an effort to recognize soil and its contribution, the Food and Agriculture Organization [2] of the United Nations has declared tomorrow, December 5th as “World Soil Day” [3] and 2015, as “International Year of Soils” [4].
For more information please see the following sources and links:
Ontario Newsroom
Ontario Government
http://www.ontario.ca/page/government [7]
Links:
[1] http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/canada/conservation-protection/13205
[2] http://www.fao.org/home/en/
[3] http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/world-soil-day/en/