Senator Rob Black- Critical Ground, the Senate Soil Health Report.
Senator Rob Black has worked in rural, agricultural, and leadership arenas for much of his working career. Senator Black has worked with OMAFA, 4-H Ontario, and The Centre for Rural Leadership, now known as the Rural Ontario Institute. Senator Black was summoned to the Senate in February 2018, to represent the province of Ontario.
Senator Black is the Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and a member of Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament and the Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament.
Steve Sickle- Panel Speaker
Steve Sickle farms on the rolling hills at the north end of Brant county. The Sickle family grows corn, soybeans, black beans, winter wheat and hay in a no-till system to keep soil in place and to avoid picking countless stones in the field. Recently planting green has been implemented on the farm to further increase soil health. Having 25 beef cows on the farm also helps utilize covers for feed. The cows are grazed for upwards of 10 months, which allows for cost savings on hay and machinery usage.
Steve has been involved in Brant Federation of Agriculture, Brant Beef Farmers and the Ag advisory council for the county.
Steve has also been involved at the county level of soil and crop for many years and with the Golden Horseshoe Soil and Crop for more than a decade. Steve has been mentored by many soil and crop members over the years to help improve his operation both financially but also environmentally. Steve truly believes the soil is in better shape now than when his father Bill purchased the farm and will be in good shape when and if their children Kara and Ethan take over.
Max Kaiser- Panel Speaker
Max Kaiser farms with his wife, Jessica, and his two older children, Rob and Molly-Beth in Napanee, and, of course, Max’s father, Eric is still present providing his experience and wisdom. The farm includes 1360a, 31650 layers and 100,000 started pullets. No-till is the key method of cropping 1150a of heavy clay soils between Hay Bay and the Bay of Quinte. Surrounded by cottage and waterfront property, managing manure is a continuous effort; trying to be good neighbours while seeking the maximum benefit of cycling nutrients between plants and chickens, and also striving to minimize the impacts on the no-till system.
Wes Honey- Panel Speaker
Wesley Honey is a cash crop farmer from Warkworth, ON. He and his Dad Bill grow Corn, Soybeans and Wheat on their small 230 acre family farm. Wes also works full time as a Mechanical Supervisor in the power generation industry. Wes and Bill are both very strong advocates for No-till and have been No-till on their farm for 30+ years.
Wayne Black- A Systems Approach to Soil Testing & Crop Productivity
Wayne Black can spend hours conversing with farmers and advisors, yet it’s the opportunity to learn from those discussions that he finds most enticing.
Raised on the family farm near Goderich, Ontario, Wayne graduated from University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1996. Since then, he’s worked with a variety of seed companies and service providers, improving sales while enhancing the management and structure within his own duties.
Late in 2022, Wayne joined A&L Canada Laboratories in London, Ontario, as the National Sales Manager, to learn more about soil fertility interactions and crop production, which has evolved to a broader understanding of fertilizer efficiency, pesticide performance, and improved profitability in the field.
Wayne is also a graduate of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program’s (AALP) Class 14 and was a frequent speaker on the role of social media and mobile technology in the mid-2010s.
Dr. Luke Gatiboni- Macronutrients in a Micronutrient World
Luke Gatiboni is a professor and extension specialist in soil fertility and nutrient management. Luke teaches Soil Fertility in the Graduate Program in Soil Science and leads an applied research and extension program in Soil Fertility focused on North Carolina cropping systems. His program aims to develop and refine soil test-based nutrient and lime recommendations to maximize yields and profitability while minimizing nutrient losses. Among the ongoing projects, Dr. Gatiboni is conducting studies on P and K soil test correlation and calibration using long-term trials and on-farm trials; Impact of saltwater intrusion on cropping yields and mitigation of salt-affected soils; Response of crops to lime and gypsum application. The extension activities encompass producing Extension publications, as well as providing technical support and training to NC Extension Agents, crop consultants, and North Carolina farmers. He has published approximately 140 peer-reviewed articles in refereed journals and served as investigator on grant-funded projects in Brazil and United States. Luke is engaged in national projects such as FRST (Fertilizer Recommendation Support Tool), STEPS (Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability), SERA 17 (Phosphorus and Environment), and SERA 6 (Soil and Plant Analysis). Luke is co-chair of the Soil Fertility Commission of the International Union of Soil Sciences.
Luke Gatiboni has a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy, M.S. in Agronomy and Ph.D. in Soil Sciences from Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. Before joining NC State University in 2019, Luke Gatiboni was a professor of Soil Fertility at Santa Catarina State University, Brazil (2004-2019).