GUELPH, ONTARIO – People often ask, “what makes Living Lab research different?” The answer is collaboration and co-development. Living Lab – Ontario (LL-ON) is part of a national network under the Living Laboratories Initiative being established across the country by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Each Living Lab involves a number of collaborators bringing their expertise to the table, and a continuum of learning to help accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and technologies
Led by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), Living Lab – Ontario collaborators include farmers, agricultural organizations, conservation authorities, and scientists from AAFC and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The organizations collaborating on this initiative include the Ontario Soil Network, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario, Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Essex Region Conservation Authority, and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. This research will evaluate the impact of management practices on nutrient cycling, soil carbon, soil biodiversity and function, and water quality – at field and watershed scales. In this initiative, farmers and researchers benefit mutually from working together.
AAFC and ECCC researchers work collaboratively with the organizations and six farm cooperators to achieve the goals of the project. In the Living Lab approach, it is everyone’s responsibility to innovate, not just the farmer. The farmers’ needs of the innovation are always at the centre of this co-development process. Co-development is a creative step where diverse perspectives come together to share information, data, experiences, and innovative ideas to improve farming practices or technologies. With the active involvement of farmers, the innovations and accompanying scientific research activities are co-developed and prepared for testing. It is the farmers’ real life experience with the innovation that drives the innovation process. The innovations are tested where they will be used: by farmers on real farms. Along with real-life tests, scientific research helps assess how well the practices or technologies are performing, including their environmental and socio-economic impact.
This winter, farmers across Ontario will have the opportunity to learn about the innovations being researched through the Living Lab-Ontario project. The six farm cooperators in the LL-ON project will be sharing their experience and results in five panel discussions. Farm collaborators will be joined by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research scientists and other farm innovators and experts who will share results and takeaways from the 2021 on-farm research season in this speaker series. The events will occur as part of each Living Lab partner’s respective annual conference or AGM. Registration for the Living Lab-ON sessions are free . The free series will give participants a chance to experience various farm conferences and learn about the innovations researched through the Living Lab.
“This collaborative online speakers’ series reflects the Living Lab approach of bringing together different perspectives to improve soil health and water quality. The interconference speaker series provides farmers across Ontario with a chance to learn about the organizations and the interesting work being done by the Living Lab cooperators and partners.” says Tracey Ryan, Applied Research Coordinator, OSCIA.
Living Lab – Ontario Inter-Conference Speaker Series:
- Grazing Cover Crops: Feb 8, 1pm, OSCIA’s Annual General Meeting
Mike Groot and Steve Sickle and others discuss how to integrate grazing livestock into your crop rotation, and what it does for your soil and your bottom line. - Full time cover crops: Feb 17, 1pm, IFAO Conference
Woody Van Arkel, Ken Laing, Dr. Xueming Yang and Anne Verhallen at the IFAO conference to discuss perennial cover crop strips, planted green field crops and vegetables; taking cover crops to a whole new level. - Healthy Soil, Clean Water: Mar. 8, 10am, Essex Region Conservation Authority
Henry Denotter, Dr. Katie Stammler and others discuss farming to reduce nutrient loss. This will include results of watershed and edge-of-field water quality monitoring from Living Lab-ON and ONFARM with ERCA, LTVCA and UTRCA.
Contact:
Tracey Ryan,
Applied Research Coordinator
519-766-5495