The IYS 2015 aims to increase awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and some of its specific objectives are as follows:

• Raise awareness among society and decision makers about the profound importance of soil for human life;
• Educate the public about the crucial role soil plays in food security, climate change adaptation and mitigation, essential ecosystem services, poverty alleviation and sustainable development;
• Support effective policies and actions for the sustainable management and protection of soil resources;
• Promote investment in sustainable soil management activities to develop and maintain healthy soils for different land users and population groups;
• Advocate for rapid capacity enhancement for soil information collection and monitoring at all levels (global, regional and national).

Retailer Resources

The IYS 2015 website offers numerous publications and fact sheets to help promote and create awareness of the importance of healthy soils. The following offer not only great resources for farmer customers but retailer staff as well. Check it out!

A Healthy Soil is a Living Soil. This pamphlet offers a look at diversity within species, between species and within ecosystems. This takes a deeper look at soil, which is one of nature’s most complex ecosystems and one of the most diverse habitats on earth.

Healthy Soils are the Basis for Healthy Food Production. The most widely recognized function of soil is its support for food production. It is estimated that 95 per cent of our food is directly or indirectly produced on our soils. This fact sheet provides information on how soils help to preserve plants from drastic fluctuations in temperature to feed a growing world population.

World Fertilizer Trends and Outlook to 2018. World demand for total fertilizer nutrients is estimated to grow at 1.8 per cent per annum from 2014 to 2018. This booklet estimates the growth of demand for nitrogen, phosphate, and potash in the coming years which is forecast to grow annually by 1.4, 2.2, and 2.6 per cent, respectively, during the period.

To download further publications to promote healthy soil, please go to Informational Material.

Upcoming Events/Conferences

ISMOM 2015 – Soil Interfaces for Sustainable Development. ISMOM 2015 is a joint meeting between the Commission 2.5 of the International Union of Soil Science, Canadian Society of Soil Science and the Association Quebecoise des specialists en sciences du sol. ISMOM 2015 will be held July 5-10, 2015 in Montreal, Quebec. With more than 20 scientific sessions on the agenda topics will include: organo-mineral interactions in soil; analytical and methodological advances in soil science; soil microbiology and agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

International Union of Soil Sciences Global Workshop on Digital Soil Morphometrics June 1 -4, 2015 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison the workshop format will also include several keynote speakers along with various discussions. Conference topics include soil profile attributes and all physical, chemical or biological properties including soil profile imaging and soil depth functions.

70th Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference. July 26-29, 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina will provide a forum on conservation accomplishments as well as to share and promote science-based knowledge on critical, current issues facing soil and environmental sustainability.