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Written by: Tracy Myers, Eastern Valley Regional Communication Coordinator
May 10th of 2021 saw the official launch of the Living Lab–Ontario project by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). This project was initiated in 2019 when the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) was chosen to lead a collaborative effort located in the Lake Erie watershed supporting agricultural innovation with a focus on climate change, soil and water conservation and biodiversity. The project includes participation from six farmers, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO), Essex Region Conservation Authority, Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario (IFAO), Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Ontario Soil Network (OSN), and Upper Thames River Conservation Authority as well as numerous scientists from AAFC and Environment & Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
These partners are working together to co-develop solutions and innovations related to achieving continuous cover and minimum tillage that are tested on real farms under various management practices. Research is being done on soil health, water quality, watershed management, biodiversity and socio- economic factors that impact adoption of new practices.
The AAFC Living Lab co-development process requires that users’ needs, in this case farmers’ needs, are central throughout the process. This includes farmers working in partnership with experts from various disciplines and testing the innovation on actual farms.
Living Lab has been endorsed by the G20 Chief Agricultural Scientists and is continuing as part of the Government’s Agricultural Climate Solutions program.
Mike Groot, January 2021
Cooperators involved in this initiative are sharing results and making changes to their innovations as part of the co-development process. The on-farm trials include Ken Laing’s (EFAO) project on no-till/minimum tillage vegetables, Henry Denotter’s (OSCIA) trial on cropping systems to reduce water quality impacts, relay/double cropping small grains and soybeans initiative conducted by Brett Israel (EFAO) and Greg Vermeersch (IFAO), as well as perennial covers in field crops by Woody van Arkel (IFAO).
Mike Groot’s (IFAO) project on rotational grazing in an annual crop rotation is creating a lot of interest. His project was showcased at the 2022 OSCIA Annual Meeting. As always, validation, testing and improvement are at the forefront of this initiative. Mike, who operates Wholesome Pastures near Crediton, Ontario, was very interested in the concept of rotational grazing and cover crops. His Living Lab–Ontario project, dubbed “Mike’s crazy strips”, involves planting 80-foot strips of corn, soybeans, and wheat. He then rotationally pastures his cattle on these strips in order to better understand the economic and soil health benefits. He is also maintaining check strips to compare his system to two typical cash crop rotations in the area.
Changes in organic matter levels, as well as microbiology, will be measured through research sampling by AAFC Research Scientists Dr. Xueming Yang and Dr. Lori Phillips and their respective teams. As a result of this, comparisons will be made between the two research teams and results shared.
At the 2021 OSCIA Annual Meeting, Dr. Phillips shared some of the current research conducted on the Groot farm. Initial baseline soil assessments were completed in 2020. In 2021, samples were once again assessed (phosphorus, carbon, nitrogen and soil structure) to provide comparisons. One noticeable trend was that available phosphorous to plants showed a 25-ppm difference from the west side to the east side of the trial. It is not known if this will prove to be a significant factor impacting results until multiple seasons of samples are taken.
This project has been very beneficial to Mike Groot. “It is about getting the animals back out onto grass rather than bringing them into the barn.” You can watch Mike and Dr. Phillips discuss this project as part of the Grazing Cover Crop panel presented at the OSCIA 2022 Annual Meeting: (https://membership.ontariosoilcrop.org/association/annual-conference/).
The Living Lab–Ontario project is constantly evolving. As each year of the project progresses, more information is gathered and shared to ensure the effectiveness of the innovations and their further adoption by Ontario farmers.
More information on the Living Laboratories Initiative may be found at www.agriculture.canada.ca. For information on the Living Lab-Ontario visit www.osciaresearch.org.