Judith van de Mortel: "Combine approaches for sustainable soil management"

Dr. Judith van de Mortel, lecturer Healthy plant on a vital and sustainable soil at HAS University of Applied Sciences, argues that by 2030 all agricultural soils in the Netherlands can be managed sustainably if different approaches are combined.

With a newspaper from the future, she paints a picture of what the agricultural enterprise would look like in 2030 and what the lectureship wants to contribute to.

Hopeful picture of the future in 2030

• The agricultural entrepreneur works with drones, sensors and robots to monitor crops and soil.
• He uses mixed crops, crop residues, compost, ground cover and green manure (catch crops) to keep the organic matter content in the soil optimal.
• Animal manure is converted into usable organic fertilizer and applied with precision techniques.
• In the limited crop rotation that is still needed as intercropping has become commonplace, the farmer incorporates crops that do well in times of drought or high precipitation, for a more stable source of income.
• Agroforestry has become common.
• Tillage of the soil has become crop-dependent. Mixing crops eliminates compaction, weed growth, and undercutting of crop residues.
• Production programs have produced improved, flexible varieties that can grow under less predictable climatic conditions.
• Biostimulants and soil conditioners are replacing fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
• A young generation is educated with the right knowledge of sustainable soil management. Has College has even set up a Soil Innovator specialization for this purpose.
• The leasing and manure policy has been adjusted, so we have achieved the target of storing 0.2 Mton CO2-eq. per year of carbon in the soil. Emissions of other greenhouse gases have also been reduced.
• Nature-inclusive closed-loop and precision agriculture is a fact of life on agricultural farms, making farms more robust for the future, improving biodiversity, reducing environmental impact and enhancing the experience of the agricultural landscape.

You can view the complete GCL paper and the underlying information here >

Lectorate important stimulus

Judith van de Mortel started last year at HAS University of Applied Sciences in Venlo as lecturer 'Healthy plant in a vital and sustainable soil'. This new lectureship focuses on the interaction between plant and soil, with a particular focus on the interaction between soil biology and the plant and using this interaction to make the soil more vital and sustainable. HAS University of Applied Sciences, Province of North Brabant, Limburg Agricultural and Horticultural Union (LLTB) and Limburg Water Board contribute financially to this professorship. The 'Soil' lectureship is the first to be based at the HAS University in Venlo and will run until 2022.

Source: HAS University of Applied Sciences