Details of Activity: This winter farmers have a chance to explore fields across the province – all while keeping their feet toasty warm next to the wood stove thanks to a new app- Soil Road Trip.
This free app is now available at both Apple and Google’s app stores (link also at ontariosoil.net/soilroadtrip) and features videos and photos of about 100 fields across the province. These videos and photos were taken by the farmers themselves to showcase what they are doing with cover crops, min-till, amendments, and innovation for soil health. An added bonus: many stops include driving directions right to the field for those who want to see for themselves.
“I learn most from other farmers,” says Reuben Stone, “With another summer of no field meetings, this self-guided tour has helped us learn from each other, at a safe distance.” Stone is a seed producer in the Ottawa Valley and a member of the Ontario Soil Network (OSN)’s 2021 cohort, which dreamed up the app. He hopes it will also create new connections to farmers from other parts of the province.
With pandemic restrictions limiting the ability for the Ottawa Rideau Region Soil & Crop to host their Summer Car Tour, this innovative app created an opportunity for local farms and their progressive practices to be shared. “When we do a field day, you get to see the field or the crop at that one moment in time,” says Reuben, “With the app, I can show photos and videos from my field from the beginning of the season to the end. It’s like a field tour you can visit anytime.”
The Ottawa Rideau Region Soil & Crop was a big supporter of the app, ensuring that Eastern Ontario had many stops to showcase:
1. Eleanor Renaud’s site in Jaspar demonstrates delayed haying, rotational grazing & crop rotation on a managed hay field with wildlife habitat improvement goals. “My soil health goals are to improve the soil whenever and wherever possible, ” says Eleanor.
2. John Nanne, a Field Crops and Dairy farmer from Pakenham hosted a massive com trial, evaluating 22 different hybrids on their performance in a field that historically has had good crop rotation & manure usage. John and his team are collaborating with several agronomists for this project.
3. Sean & Gerry Richards, grains and oilseed farmers near Renfrew, focus on reduced tillage to improve profitability and soil health. Their cropping system has variable soil types on a rolling landscape “We do not do any fall tillage. We try to leave as much material on the surface as possible to protect the soil and allow the worms to do the work of residue management and nutrient cycling.”
4. Harry & Matthew Stuart are also grains and oilseed farmer near Renfrew. Their fields have been managed strictly no-till for over 25 years and have recently introduced some minimum tillage management. ‘We are always striving to try new and innovative ways of improving our soil and crop health,” says Matthew.
5. Charlene Whattam-Dick, grains, oilseeds & goat farmer from Douglas is looking to add diversity to her crop rotation and to incorporate cover crops into her farming system. Charlene & her dairy farming neighbour are experimenting in a collaboration project: establishing timothy after wheat harvest, which will be harvested & sold as green feed for the dairy cattle, followed by planting green with soybeans in the field next spring.
Like Reuben, Dave Cousins is an Eastern Ontario farmer and member of the OSN’s 2021 cohort. Dave’s Kinbum site hosts an extensive com trial through Ingredion’s non-GM com program to test a diversity of corn varieties for their adaptability to Eastern Ontario. Dave also works extensively with City of Ottawa as a recipient farm for city generated biosolids and doing habitat development projects with his local Conservation Authority.
Other Eastern Ontario OSN cohort members including Chris Moore and Lyndsey Smith from Carp. The couple rotationally graze sheep in between solar panels around the Ottawa area, which is a technique known as solar grazing. Solar grazing allows farmers to utilize and regenerate grazing land that otherwise might be lost to food production.
The Ontario Soil Network offers farmer-to-farmer learning and support for cover crops, min-till and amendments, with the goal to improve Ontario’s soils. Founded in 2017, the group now hosts regular #LetsTalkSoil discussions online and all are welcome to join. Find them on Twitter: @SoilNetwork or sign up for updates at www.ontariosoil.net.
See you on the road!
Important to Note: Kelsey Banks is the contact if you have any additional questions.
