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Maintaining soil health is important for all farmers, yet many farmers don't monitor their soil health or invest in the nutrients needed to improve it.

Greg Moline (left), northern Alberta sales representative for Sustainable Soil Solutions, mans the company's booth at Agri-Trade. The company assesses soil quality and recommends additional nutrients. -- Alexis Kienlen photo

Sustainable Soil Solutions, a five-year-old company based at Vulcan, Alta., specializes in soil health remediation and plant nutrients.

"We want to identify why things are happening and the remediation that is needed to get things back in balance so the system starts working," said Greg Moline, the company's northern sales representative.

The company offers free consultations and then sells products designed to improve soils' nutrient levels.

"There's a lot of education needed with what we do. The soil and the plants will tell you the story," he said.

"You need to walk in the field, look at the soil and look at the plants. They'll tell you what's going on and why they're in the shape they are."

Sustainable Soil Solutions then looks at "the root cause of the problem, rather than reacting to the symptom," he said.

Calcium and phosphorus are the two main products the company uses.

Calcium, Moline said, is the mediator and moderator, while phosphorus is the workhorse. "Everything is carried on a phosphorus molecule, except for nitrogen," he said.

Farmers' fields are also very short in available calcium in the soil, said Moline.

The company's calcium product, created from dried limestone, is water-soluble and can be applied using a sprayer.

The company offers two types of soil tests. In the traditional soil test, the sample is baked, ground up and washed with harsh acids. The mineral content in the soil is then measured.

In a water-soluble test, on the other hand, the soil is run through a filter similar to a coffee filtration system. Once the test is done, the minerals that have come out of the fluids are tested.

The company also sells a soft phosphorus product.

-- Alexis Kienlen is a reporter for Alberta Farmer Express in Edmonton.