Morgan gained an appreciation for soil health early in life, when she grew her own vegetables in a home garden through her local 4-H program.
Now she helps producers to build organic matter levels in Island soils.
Morgan runs the Soil Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) advisory service, which is designed to review crop rotation, tillage and other management practices to assess soil health, and to make suggestions on how to improve it long term. She examines soil loss rates and a suite of soil health indicator lab results to determine if erosion control structures or other beneficial management practices are recommended
She says the choice of tillage equipment that producers use, as well as the timing of use, and frequency, all influence soil health. Morgan says there is value in finding ways to reduce tillage. This includes seeding new crops into previous crop residue
“I think the primary takeaway message is that we all have the same goal to build healthier soils long-term, no matter what position we are contributing from; whether it be government staff, industry researchers or the producers themselves.”
