At the recent NZ Soil Science Society Conference ‘Soil Science for Future Generations’ held at the University of Waikato 180 participants had their first chance in six years to share research findings, and swap news about successes and other results.

Soil, and what we are doing to it, crops up in several Crown Research Institutes, and at least three of our universities.

But because of the way they are organised and funded, for some years there wasn’t a lot of continuous sharing, and the different areas seemed to work in silos; something they are trying hard to overcome.

Soil science appears to be attracting students in the universities, because a number of them attended the conference, and 11 out of 80 papers presented were by students, who by and large coped with it very well. Or do we have a few wildly enthusiastic lecturers who gather acolytes?

Scientific findings are all very well, but unless results of all these trials can be communicated, in practical and not-too-technical terms, to the folk who growing things in the soils, the latter aren’t getting to make use of what’s been found.

This was reiterated by a number of speakers, each urging the science experts to realise there are social, economic, technical and urban/rural aspects to changes in soil forms and uses.

Dr Liz Wedderburn of AgResearch put it very plainly. The problems are growth within limits, climate change adaptation, resource efficiency, value add, and ecosystem services.

The needs are to fill science gaps, build capability, set clear targets, build trust, influence and communicate policy, and implement plans.  

To achieve this requires undertaking excellent science, collaboration between science and society, sharing science with economics, translating ‘technical’ to ‘useful’, communicating uncertainty, and respecting other knowledge systems.

Simple as that
So what was talked about during the four days? Soil fertility and nutrient management. Soil carbon and greenhouse gases. International issues/ecosystem services. Catchment scale water management. Soil quality and function. Soils in the landscape and knowing what is where. Sustainable management of soils. Fertility and nutrient management. Soil water management, and managing soil contaminants. Fairly comprehensive coverage.

And there was even a session for students, and those getting started, on career pathways and opportunities, getting funding and applying for grants, getting papers published, and what employers are looking for; which seemed very far-sighted on the part of the organisers.

Increased production
To put all that in perspective, the opening keynote address was given by Dr Oene Oenema, professor in Nutrient Management and Soil Fertility at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.  

He spoke on the different approaches applied in the European Union since the Common Agricultural Policy was set up in 1962.

First came the push for greatly increased production, and the disastrous results for wildlife and the environment which resulted.

Despite all the subsidies paid for increasing production, and then different ones to rescue some of the environment, Oene pointed out economic pressure still made food very cheap, and farmers’ incomes were half of others doing different careers.

We don’t have subsidies, but there are many similarities to New Zealand in the 21st Century.  Let’s hope that more ‘togetherness’ will stave off the worst outcomes.