A network of 23 soil quality benchmark sites have been established across Canada. These sites will be monitored for at least ten years. Sites were selected to represent various agroecosystems. It is anticipated that monitoring selected soil variables of the landscape under typical farm production systems for ten years may be adequate to demonstrate changes in soil quality. The objectives were: i) to provide a baseline data set for assessing change in soil quality and biological productivity (yields, etc.) of representative farming systems, ii) to provide a means of testing and validating predictive models of soil degradation and productivity, iii) to evaluate agricultural sustainability of current major fanning systems in Canada, and iv) to provide a network of benchmark sites at which integrated multidisciplinary research programs could be developed.