Perennial hay crops were on display above and below the ground at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2025, as researchers presented their benefits.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAFA) displayed roots and soil structure of switchgrass and miscanthus (silvergrass) in a pit at the Woodstock show, demonstrating the mass of the crops.
“We call it a pit most of the time, but scientifically, sometimes we call it a soil profile,” said Tegbaru Gobezie, a land resource specialist with OMAFA.
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“In a soil profile … you have different horizons. So, the horizon tells you the different layers of the soil which is formed over time due to different processes.”
The levels on the profile run from AP, meaning a cultivated area, through to C, representing the parent material lower in the soil.
The two perennial crops on display at the pit, switchgrass and miscanthus, can provide economic and environmental benefits for farmers who choose to plant them.
“It’s a perennial,” he said, “the establishment of the crop itself is not that expensive.” The crops can last 10 to 20 years after being planted.
It’s also a lot of biomass. According to OMAFA bioproducts specialist Mahendra Thimmanagari, the crops can have nearly as much biomass below the soil as above it.
They also present environmental benefits.
“They are important for feed and also the accumulation of carbon,” said Gobezie. “We are all talking about the carbon accumulation and the sequestration of carbon, which is very important for global climate change. So, we can accumulate a lot of carbon using these kind of crops.”
According to Thimmanagari, this can be as much as five tonnes of C02 per acre.
There is also per-acre funding available from the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) for farmers growing perennial crops like switchgrass and miscanthus, at $500 per acre, or up to $1,000 on marginal and high-risk lands.
For more coverage of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2025, visit our landing page.
