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- [Daihuru] Soil erosion
affects our community

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and our families.

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It washes away our crops.

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(solemn pensive music)

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Our soil has a lot of problems

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because we are using it
since our grandfathers.

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For over 100 years it's been tilled.

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The nutrient's decreasing.

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- As the global population increases,

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we need to produce more.

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If we don't look after our soils

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going out another generation or two,

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that we will really start to feel

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that our soils have become depleted.

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- [Daihuru] That means low-yield harvest

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or even zero harvest.

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(Tek speaks in foreign language)

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- [Daihuru] So there is
very, very important need

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to improve the soil for the
full survival of human beings.

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(pensive string music)

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- University of Guelph
has a long tradition

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in soil science research.

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We're diverse.

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We're linked to the industry.

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We're connected to governments.

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And we have the infrastructure to explore

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and innovate in soil science.

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Soil sustainability is
protecting the soil,

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preventing erosion,
minimizing degradation.

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- [Claudia] We want to leave
soil for future generations.

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- [Thomas] Anytime you
lose some of your soil,

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you're essentially losing the medium

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in which you grow your crop.

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- The University of Guelph
is ideally positioned

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to do this research

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because we have such an
excellent intersection

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of different disciplines
all dedicated to improvement

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of agro ecosystems.

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It's not a matter of just one
researcher dedicating time

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to try to solve them.

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We need multidisciplinary
teams that include the breadth

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of the social sciences, to biology,

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to animal science, plant science,
economics, soil sciences.

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We need these teams working together

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to come up with solutions

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that will lead to
sustainable food production

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that minimizes the impact
on the environment.

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- I think for every farm,

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there's different soil management
practices that can work.

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We need to kind of take a toolbox approach

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where different management
practices can be integrated,

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minimizing tillage as much as possible,

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increasing the number
of crops that you grow,

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adding things like cover crops

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so that you don't have any
bare soil on the ground.

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- Resilient cropping systems

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which can de-risk the growers.

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And when we talk about resilience,

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it all comes back from that
regenerative agriculture.

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So we are trying to identify
the management practices

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which will be able

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to withstand those extreme weather events,

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which will be more resilient,

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which will be more sustainable.

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- It's important that
researchers are doing this kind

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of work because they're taking
the risk for the farmers

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and providing the information to us.

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- My research informs practices

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that farmers can use to decrease
the environmental impact.

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It also informs policy.

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- The innovation that we
have right here in Ontario

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at the University of
Guelph is leading globally.

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- [Kari] I'm looking at things like

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how we can use better
soil management practices

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to protect soil health.

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- Our next steps are really

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about conducting high-level research

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but also working together
with the practitioners

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and listening to what is
going on at the farm level.

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- I think the future of soil
science is in problem-solving,

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looking at climate change,
protecting our water resources.

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- [Kari] Find ways that
we can increase yields

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and increase production and
also increase profitability.

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- [Claudia] By concentrating
on making soils healthy,

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there's great potential to
revert some of the trends

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in terms of soil
degradation, climate change,

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and decreased food security.

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- [Daihuru] I am proud to be a farmer.

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It's a very good business.

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I went to my children and
my community to improve

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and adopt farming.

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- [Thomas] I have three young children,

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which I would like to
leave a farm for them

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in better shape than when I started.

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(Tek speaks in foreign language)

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(solemn pensive music)