ITHACA, N.Y. — New York Soil Health, a Cornell-led initiative charged with fostering networking, outreach and research related to soil health, presents the 2022 New York Soil Health Summit to be held virtually on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.
In 2021 New York passed the Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Act and now joins 21 other states in recognizing the importance of soil. Still, more work is needed to meet the state’s climate mitigation and water quality goals.
“We must use this opportunity to scale solutions for farmers so that they can mitigate and adapt to climate change,” said Harold van Es, professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) in Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
The 2022 summit is a follow-up to the 2018 summit, which brought together more than 140 people – from nearly 40 stakeholder groups, including farmers, researchers, agriculture service providers, government agencies, non-profits and policymakers interested in advancing soil health efforts across the state.
The 2018 summit resulted in the development of a soil health roadmap, and many of its priorities are incorporated into the legislation passed in 2021.
Julie Suarez, associate dean for land grant affairs in CALS, will discuss Cornell’s leadership in soil health and translating research into practical climate solutions.
Growers in New York often collaborate with Cornell researchers in investigating soil health practices and gain helpful information from Cornell Cooperative Extension programs.
Summit topics include:
- Policy & legislation updates
- Updates from state and federal agencies on programs for technical and financial assistance
- Current research and outreach on soil organic carbon, soil health standards, sustainable cropping systems, urban and orchard soils
- Farmer Panel Discussion: “On-farm strategies to improve soil health”
- Updates from partner organizations
- Follow-up on the NY Soil Health Roadmap released in 2019
Participants can continue the discussion in a post-summit workshop with topics including carbon credits, soil health funding programs, and mandatory/voluntary standards.
Summit speakers include:
- Government leaders (invited): Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, NY State Senators Michelle Hinchey and George Borrello, NY Assemblymembers Donna Lupardo and Chris Tague
- Farmers from New York: Zaid Kurdieh, Dale Stein, Suzanne Hunt and moderated by Michael Glos
- Researchers and leaders from Cornell University, New York State Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Non-profit leaders from Scenic Hudson, Northeast Organic Farming Association, New York Farm Bureau, and the American Farmland Trust
The summit will run from 9 a.m. to noon EDT, break for an hour, then resume with a post-summit workshop from 1-2 p.m. EDT.
For more information, a detailed agenda, and to register for the summit, please visit https://www.newyorksoilhealth.org/summit/.
New York Soil Health is funded by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund and coordinated by Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).
–Kitty Gifford
New York Soil Health