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By Madeline Rodrigue, Programs Analyst, OSCIA
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) hosted the third annual ONFARM Research Forum on February 9. Attendees heard from researchers and farmers involved in the On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) program, which encompasses extensive soil health and water quality analysis on 33 farm sites across southern Ontario over three field seasons.
The program aims to broaden our understanding of soil health indicators, test the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) in improving soil health and reduce nutrient loading in Ontario’s watersheds.
Soil health results were shared by Don King and Margaret Ribey of the Soil Resource Group (SRG), which collects soil health data each year at field sites that represent a wide range of farming operations, biophysical characteristics, and climatic variability across the province.
Analysis of benchmark pedology shows many ONFARM sites have soil quality degradation due to historic tillage erosion and to a lesser extent, near-surface soil compaction. The degree of degradation varies between sites and within each site’s sampling locations, relating closely to slope position and how long BMPs (e.g., reduced tillage) have been implemented. Knowing the baseline conditions of the soil, including soil organic matter, texture, and topsoil depth, at both degraded and well- maintained areas of a field, is an important consideration in understanding the capacity to improve soil health, and for setting realistic expectations for soil health improvements.
While early results suggest some indicators (e.g., active carbon, Solvita Labile Amino-N) reflect soil organic matter, it’s apparent that indicator levels are site-specific and influenced by several other factors, including soil type, slope position, management history, and year-to-year differences (e.g., crop effect), and these ranges don’t always align with the conventional rating systems coming from US datasets. The data suggests some indicators may be measuring the effect of a BMP treatment on soil health.
For example, active carbon and SLAN appear promising as options for seeing soil health changes in a shorter time frame. In contrast, Solvita Burst CO2 appears more stable and may not respond within the same period. However, these indicators were evaluated over one crop cycle and two treatment years, and it hasn’t been long enough to make definitive conclusions about the efficacy or reliability of these indicators.
SRG researchers encouraged viewers, including farmers looking for answers on their own farms, to be patient, explaining that soil health indicators won’t necessarily show a linear response over the short term and that longer-term investigations may reveal clear trends.
ONFARM has collected three field seasons of data, a valuable foundation to build on. Still, longer-term research is needed to narrow down a key set of soil health indicators for an Ontario soil-landscape context. It’s also important to evaluate the practicality of these measurements in terms of sampling timing, frequency, availability, and cost.
ONFARM adds value to GLASI dataset
At ONFARM’s Edge of Field (EOF) sites, researchers from five Conservation Authorities built on three years of data previously collected through the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative’s (GLASI) Priority Sub-watershed Project. The result is water quality monitoring data from two complete crop rotations under a range of weather conditions and management approaches.
Chris Van Esbroeck of Maitland Valley Conservation Authority echoed the usefulness of long-term data in comparing results year to year, and at the field scale versus the watershed scale. For example, annual losses from the Garvey-Glenn EOF site in 2017-2018 were noticeably higher than in other years. Although it was a wet year, with considerable runoff events through the fall and winter months, losses at the watershed level over the same period did not stand out compared to what was observed at the EOF scale.
Access to six years of monitoring data allows researchers to understand better what ‘normal’ levels for water movement and nutrient loss are and how those results compare to years with similar weather patterns or at the same point in the crop rotation. Considering the interaction of land management, such as nutrient application timing, tillage and residue management, and the timing and amount of rainfall/snowmelt, can better inform our understanding of BMPs and positively impact water quality.
Want to take a closer look at ONFARM data? Visit the ONFARM Data Dashboard.
The Data Dashboard serves as a public space to access ONFARM data and results. Users can explore well-known soil health measurements such as organic matter alongside more novel indicators, like Solvita CO2-Burst and active carbon, to see how relationships between indicators may change over time or by BMP treatment. A public data set allows users to compare soil samples from their own farm to see how their soil health might compare to other farms in the region or across Ontario.
The dashboard houses baseline site data collected in 2020, as well as recently added 2020-2022 soil health and cover cropping trial data. Filters allow for comparison between ONFARM sites by operation type, tillage practices, planting method, cover crop composition and more.
losses from the Garvey-Glenn EOF site in 2017-2018 were noticeably higher than in other years. Although it was a wet year, with considerable runoff events through the fall and winter months, losses at the watershed level over the same period did not stand out compared to what was observed at the EOF scale.
Access to six years of monitoring data allows researchers to understand better what ‘normal’ levels for water movement and nutrient loss are and how those results compare to years with similar weather patterns or at the same point in the crop rotation. Considering the interaction of land management, such as nutrient application timing, tillage and residue management, and the timing and amount of rainfall/snowmelt, can better inform our understanding of BMPs and positively impact water quality.
Want to take a closer look at ONFARM data? Visit the ONFARM Data Dashboard.
The Data Dashboard serves as a public space to access ONFARM data and results. Users can explore well-known soil health measurements such as organic matter alongside more novel indicators, like Solvita CO2-Burst and active carbon, to see how relationships between indicators may change over time or by BMP treatment. A public data set allows users to compare soil samples from their own farm to see how their soil health might compare to other farms in the region or across Ontario.
The dashboard houses baseline site data collected in 2020, as well as recently added 2020-2022 soil health and cover cropping trial data. Filters allow for comparison between ONFARM sites by operation type, tillage practices, planting method, cover crop composition and more.
Watch a recording of the 2023 ONFARM Research Forum or explore the Data Dashboard at: https://www. osciaresearch.org/onfarm-applied-research/. The final ONFARM Technical Report will also be available on the OSCIA website at the end of March.
This program is funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
For more information about ONFARM, please contact ONFARM@ontariosoilcrop.org.
Watch a recording of the 2023 ONFARM Research Forum or explore the Data Dashboard at: https://www. osciaresearch.org/onfarm-applied-research/. The final ONFARM Technical Report will also be available on the OSCIA website at the end of March.
This program is funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
For more information about ONFARM, please contact ONFARM@ontariosoilcrop.org.