New Regional Soil Health Report Highlights Pathways to Healthier Soils Across the Greater Golden Horseshoe

Toronto, Nov. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Greenbelt Foundation, in partnership with the Soil Health Institute, has released a groundbreaking Regional Soil Health Report, offering farmers across the Greater Golden Horseshoe an entirely new way to understand and improve their soil health. 

This first-of-its-kind study in Canada provides farmers with clear, regionally relevant benchmarks that show how their management practices are affecting soil health and where there is room for improvement. With this information, farmers can identify which practices have the greatest impact on building healthier, more resilient soils—allowing for more precise, evidence-based management decisions. 

Based on two years of on-farm data, the report establishes the province’s first management-based approach to evaluate soil health and highlights practices that are already delivering measurable improvements. By comparing results across different soil types and management systems, the study gives farmers the tools to evaluate performance within conditions that mirror their own operations. 

"This approach provides a new opportunity for the soil health and regenerative agriculture movements,” said Dr. Wayne Honeycutt, President and CEO of the Soil Health Institute. “It shows farmers how much healthier their soils can become and which practices are working in their region, with benefits that extend far beyond the farm gate." 

This project responds directly to a significant recommendation from the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, led by Senator Rob Black, which called for a standardized, scalable approach to measuring soil health in Canada. By demonstrating how consistent indicators can be applied across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Regional Soil Health Report provides a science-based model for standardized measurement, reporting, and verification of soil health. 

The study compared data from three different management systems: 

• Baseline sites – cash crop systems using conventional tillage. 

• Soil Health sites – cash crop systems using reduced tillage and cover crops. 
• Reference sites – minimally disturbed fields such as hay or pasture.
  

By comparing these systems across multiple soil texture categories (e.g., sandy loams and clay loams), the project accounted for the inherent differences in how soils retain water, store carbon, and respond to management. This regionally specific, texture-based approach ensures that farmers can compare their soils to meaningful benchmarks within similar conditions—a major advancement in how soil health is assessed, benchmarked, and communicated in Ontario. 

Key Findings 

The results demonstrate that adopting beneficial management practices (BMPs) significantly improves soil health across physical, biological, and chemical indicators: 

• BMPs improve soil health: On average, fields using soil health practices had higher scores across all measured indicators than baseline fields. 
• Compared to baseline sites, farms using soil health practices showed, on average: 
• • 6% increase in soil organic carbon and organic matter, resulting in increased nutrient availability. 
  • 12% increase in available water-holding capacity, resulting in increased resilience to flooding and droughts. 
  • 16% increase in aggregate stability, resulting in reduced soil erosion.  
  • 28% increase in soil respiration, resulting in improved nutrient cycling.  
  • 39% increase in mineralizable nitrogen, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers.
    

These results show that fields using BMPs have higher scores across all soil health indicators. “Healthy soils are the fundamental basis of a resilient and productive agricultural system,” said Edward McDonnell, CEO, Greenbelt Foundation. “This report demonstrates that farmers in the Greater Golden Horseshoe are already making measurable progress through practices that enhance soil structure, boost biological activity, and build long-term resilience.”  

The Regional Soil Health Report provides a model for evidence-based soil management, thereby bridging the gap between research and practice, and empowering farmers to make informed management decisions. Additionally, by testing 264 carefully selected sites, the project generated enough data to benchmark approximately 1.8 million acres of farmland across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, demonstrating the scalability and regional relevance of this model. By doing so, the project not only equips farmers with actionable insights but also offers a cost-effective framework for the broader agricultural sector and government to track, measure, and direct investment in soil health.  

For more information and to access the full report, visit: 
www.greenbelt.ca/regional_soil_health_report 

About the Greenbelt and the Greenbelt Foundation   

The Greenbelt Foundation is the only organization solely dedicated to ensuring the Greenbelt remains permanent, protected, and prosperous. Operating as an independent, charitable organization, the Foundation receives core funding from the Government of Ontario as well as public and private support to make strategic investments that enhance and improve the Greenbelt’s natural and economic systems.   

Since 2005, with the support of the Province of Ontario and many partners, the Foundation has funded investments in the Greenbelt’s interconnected natural, agricultural, and economic systems to ensure a working, thriving Greenbelt for all.   

Now a world-class model for land use policy, Ontario’s Greenbelt spans over two million acres of protected natural landscapes, farmlands, and urban river valleys. For more information, visit: www.greenbelt.ca.   
 
 

About the Soil Health Institute   

The Soil Health Institute is a global non-profit with a mission to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soils through scientific research and advancement. The Institute brings together leaders in soil health science and the industry to conduct research and empower farmers and other landowners with the knowledge to successfully adopt regenerative soil health systems that contribute economic and environmental benefits to agriculture and society. 

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Serena Luk
Greenbelt Foundation
media@greenbelt.ca

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