Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture

The 23^rd annual Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture was on Feb. 19, 2025.

The Honourable Rob Black, Senator for Ontario and former Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry joined us to explore the recently released report, "Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health." The publication is a much-anticipated follow-up to the previous report released forty years ago, and it highlights the crucial role soil plays in the sustainability of our agricultural practices, economy and the well-being of Canadian society.

This free event invited ALES alumni, supporters and the greater community to engage in an important conversation about the future of agriculture and the environment in Canada. Following the lecture, the audience enjoyed a reception to view student poster presentations, share ideas and further discuss the challenges and solutions presented.

This edition of the lectureship was organized in partnership with the Alberta Soil Science Workshop (ASSW). 

About the speaker

The Honourable Rob Black is a member of the Senate of Canada and the former Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. Through this work, he has been at the forefront of discussions on the environmental challenges related to soil degradation, and has worked tirelessly to ensure that soil conservation and sustainable land management practices are integral to Canadian policy. His efforts are reflected in the committee’s Critical Ground report, which emphasizes why soil is essential to Canada’s economic, environmental, human and social health.

Senator Black’s deep commitment to Canada’s agricultural sector began long before his appointment to the Senate in 2018. He is a long-time leader in agricultural networks as an advocate for rural communities and champion of sustainable agriculture. His work has been recognized within the agricultural and environmental sectors, and his dedication to policy-making continues to have a lasting impact on Canada’s agricultural landscape. In February 2021, Senator Black was recognized as one of the Top 50 Most Influential People in Agriculture by Canadian Western Agribition, and in 2024 he was made an honorary member of the Canadian Society of Soil Science.

2024 Lecture 

On February 13, 2024, Melissa Arcand presented: Perspectives on safeguarding soil health in Indigenous agroecosystems

Agriculture is the dominant land use in First Nations in the Canadian Prairies. In this lecture, soil biochemist Melissa Arcand will provide an overview of the contemporary context of First Nations agriculture in the prairies and highlight strategies that First Nations are employing to safeguard soil health in their agricultural lands. She'll share recent activities and learnings from Canada’s first Indigenous-led Living Lab, Bridge to Land Water Sky as well as outreach and training activities to increase agricultural land management capacity for Indigenous people.  

Undergraduate and graduate students participated in the event with a poster presentation, where they showcased their research from a variety of relevant areas.

About the speaker

Melissa Arcand, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan and is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6. Arcand researches soil health, carbon storage, and nutrient cycling in agroecosystems. Her recent interdisciplinary research focused on Indigenous agriculture in the Prairies, including hosting a SSHRC Connections Grant-funded Forum on Indigenous Agriculture in Saskatchewan. Arcand also collaborated with First Nations’ lands departments to assess soils on agricultural lands with support from the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Explorations Grant and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agricultural Climate Solutions Living Labs. Arcand's team is developing and delivering outreach activities in soil health and agricultural beneficial management practices to First Nations through a Weston Family Foundation Soil Health Initiative project. In addition to her research and service work, she teaches and is the academic advisor for students in the Kanawayihetaytan Askiy (“Let us take care of the land” in Plains Cree) Indigenous Land and Resource Management Certificate program and is the academic lead for the kihci-okâwîmâw askiy Knowledge Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. 

2023 Lecture

On February 15, 2023, David Lobb presented: Soil Health — Beyond the Bandwagon.

Soil health has rapidly become the focus of soil science and soil management in Canada and around the world. It has also become an industry branding tool that has caught the attention of public officials and governments, and even the general public. But what really is soil health, and what is it not? Do we want to be on the soil health bandwagon?

Our guest speaker, David Lobb, wrestles with these questions daily. He led an important conversation about the future of soil management at the 21st Annual Bentley Lecture, including how we in soil science, agriculture and industry can address the idea of soil health.

Undergraduate and graduate students participated in the event with a poster presentation, where they showcased their research from a variety of relevant areas.

About the speaker

David Lobb is a Professor of Landscape Ecology in the Department of Soil Science at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. David grew up on a farm in southern Ontario, and he earned his BSc from the University of Toronto and his MSc and PhD from the University of Guelph. He is internationally recognized for his research in tillage translocation and tillage erosion, particularly for his advances in experimental methods and modeling. His expertise in soil erosion and conservation has been sought by the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency and Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in addition to provincial and federal government agencies across Canada. David currently co-chairs the FAO’s Intergovernmental Technical Panel on Soil. David is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Soil Science, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, the Soil Science Society of America, and he was inducted into the Canadian Conservation Hall of Fame.

Watch this lecture and others on YouTube

History