Soils are a key resource to the agricultural production system, yet 33% of arable top soil has been lost globally in the last 40 years. In England and Wales at current rates of usage it is estimated that we have just 100 harvests left.
It is essential that we understand our soils so that we can use and manage them in a productive and sustainable way. To catalyze debate and identify potential solutions CHAP is holding a ‘Soils Forum’ to bring together a range of interested stakeholders - academia, practitioners and innovators - to showcase current cutting-edge technologies and practical field solutions; stimulate new thinking; facilitate collaboration; turn theory into action.
If you are passionate about soils, come and join the debate on the 4th June and help us to develop solutions that will keep our fields fertile for the future.
Agenda:
Time Description
9:00 Welcome from Tom Heap, BBC Rural Affairs Correspondent
9:15 Passionate Practitioners – Practical experience of soil management - what works and what doesn’t Speakers to include Andrew Ward,, Forage Aid and James Dobbs, Envireau
10:15 Show your Cards – Measurement and Metrics of Soil Health
Speakers to include Elizabeth Stockdale, NIAB; Roy Neilson, James Hutton Institute; Ed Brown, Hutchinsons
11:15 Coffee break
11:45 Novel and Emerging Techniques – Exploring cutting edge technology
Speakers to include Jason Hayward-Jones, Regen Farm; Jim Bailey, PES Technologies; Angela de Manzanos, Fungi Alert; Will Francis, RHIZA
13:05 Lunch
14:00 Inspiration Generation – A broader look at the role of soil
Speakers to include Nicolas Choksi, Schmidt-McArthur Fellow; Matthew Ryan, Phytobiome Alliance; Dave Cullen, Cranfield University; John Quinton, Lancaster University
15:30 Coffee break
16:00 Looking to the Future – Challenges and Opportunities – Panel Discussion
17:00 On-Farm Field Trials; no till, cover cropping, companion cropping and waterway management
18:30 Food and Refreshments
