Researchers have been collecting soil health data across the prairie for nearly a century. During that time, we learned a lot about agricultural best management practices (BMPs), the environment, and the ground beneath our feet. In all of these studies, we have accumulated, and continue to accumulate, a wealth of data, much of which is currently inaccessible to the broader research community, agronomists, and producers.
Dr. Derek McKenzie, associate professor of soil and plant affairs at the University of Alberta, has been working on the first phase of a project aimed at collecting and integrating this data for the past three years.
In this interview, McKenzie said one of the goals of DASH, the Alberta Soil Health Database, is to create a database that allows back-end researchers to aggregate soil health, carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions data across the province. It states that it is something to do. For reporting purposes and strengthening agricultural BMPs. (Details below)
Agronomists and producers can access the database front end and upload soil testing data for their farms. The program can then output soil health and management prescriptions for your farm.
McKenzie said the database will eventually use artificial intelligence to output carbon sequestration values for individual farms, allowing producers to access this carbon information and pay them for the management practices they implement through a carbon credit system. He said he would like to be able to receive it.
Other industries are already harnessing the power of data science and machine learning to improve management, MacKenzie said. “Without soil science, humanity would be naked, hungry, thirsty and homeless. We need to use big data to bring soil science into his 21st century.”
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