Site Summary

Farm Type: Cash crop

Crop: Corn, soybeans, soybeans, winter wheat

Landscape: Flat

Soil Type: Brookston Clay

BMP treatment: No-till, Continuous Cover Crop System.

Monitoring: Surface and subsurface runoff

Site Manager: Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA)

Site Monitoring & Research Objectives

1. Collect water quality and quantity data from the field during flow events to calculate phosphorus and nitrogen loads.

2. Conduct periodic soil sampling to assess the field’s soil health.

3. Collect detailed crop management and agronomic data from the Farm Business Partner.

4. Compare the collected data from the Farm Business Partner research site to data collected from other ONFARM farm operations across Ontario, to assess the effectiveness of the cropping system at reducing agriculturally sourced phosphorus and nitrogen loads.

5. Contribute the data collected from the research site to the development of subwatershed models, that will simulate how agricultural practices effect phosphorus and nitrogen loads in Ontario.

Financial support for the research occurring at this site is provided through the following sources:

·        Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) – Great Lakes Protection Initiative

·        The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)

·        Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) - On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) Program. Administered by OSCIA on behalf of OMAFRA, and funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.