Paula Simons: All the dirt on why soil is so important – and why it’s in danger

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Published on December 5, 2024 • 3 minutes reading

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Paula Simons: All the dirt on why soil is so important – and why it’s in dangerA farmer spreads his barley crop near Didsbury, Alberta. File photo Photo by Lea Hennel /Postmedia

Dig up good dirt.

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Back in my days as an investigative journalist at the Edmonton JournaI, I thought I knew what that meant. But the really good dirt in Alberta isn’t found at City Hall or the Alberta Legislature. It is located in the rich topsoil that is our province’s greatest resource.

If you look at a map of Canada, you would think that our country must be full of fantastic agricultural lands. Yet only 6.7 percent of Canada’s landmass is actually suitable for agriculture. About a third of that is found in Alberta.

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