Are you interested in learning more about your small farm’s soil health? Ontario farmers interested in participating can get involved in the the Soils at Guelph SHAP Ground-Truthing Project.
It will give Ontario farmers access to a powerful new resource to help manage and improve soil health. The Soil Health Assessment and Plan (SHAP) tool, developed by OMAFA, is now available as a mobile and web application. This easy-to-use tool helps assess current field practices and is supported by lab analysis of key soil health indicators.
To enhance the accuracy of SHAP, the Soils at Guelph SHAP Ground-Truthing Project is collecting data from across Ontario. This project will help populate the SHAP database, which is essential for building accurate scoring functions. These scores help farmers compare their soil samples with others in similar soil textures and regions.
Even though this project uses a reduced number of SHAP questions, it still covers all soil Best Management Practices. This means that farmers get useful results without spending too much time on the process.
The SHAP Ground-Truthing Project is part of a larger effort to strengthen Ontario’s soil health knowledge. Several projects are working together to grow a reliable, Ontario-based soil health database. Each project is unique but shares the same goal of improving soil care through better data.
Funding for this initiative comes from the Weston Family Foundation through the Weston Family Soil Health Initiative. Their support ensures that farmers can participate without bearing the full cost.
Ontario farmers interested in participating can email soils@uoguelph.ca with their name, county, and the number of fields, orchards, or vineyards they’d like to include. The program will cover one soil analysis per location, free of cost.
This offer is available on a first-come, first-served basis and runs until November 2025. Farmers are encouraged to register early to take advantage of this valuable opportunity.