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Tag Archives Land management

Senator Rob Black speaks to the Senate Oct. 6. He has launched an inquiry into land use in hopes of sparking a collaborative discussion across various government levels.
News

Rob Black raises land use concerns in Senate inquiry

The goal is to have a discussion on how Canada can address its housing crisis without sacrificing agriculture

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Senator Rob Black is optimistic that his land use inquiry will spark discussion across Canada’s three levels of government. “Preserving our prime agricultural areas from growing urban development is essential,” Black said in the Senate on Oct. 6. Why it matters: Canadian provinces face the dilemma of how to preserve farmland as the country’s population […] Read more
Rick Kootstra (blue shirt) and Mari Veliz (white shirt, orange hat) explaining the field-edge water monitoring station in a pattern-tile drainage field at a Soil Health Water Quality Field Day on June 21.
News

Demonstration farm experiments with controlled tile drainage on slopes

Multiple efforts to control water flow have shown effects in easier harvesting and less erosion

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The Huronview drainage demonstration farm near Clinton continues to aggregate data from its numerous tillage drainage systems. “People are, like, ‘tell us whether it’s working,’” said project co-ordinator Mel Luymes. “Again, please wait. It’s going to take years for us to get a good answer from this. I’m glad we put it in when we […] Read more
The ideal time to install drainage tile is after wheat (or other cereal) is harvested.
Crops, News

How to get the most from farm drainage investment

It comes from exploring the benefits of proper drainage

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The search for every last advantage in a field often requires growers to step out of their comfort zone, whether that means considering precision agriculture applications, reduced tillage, lengthening rotations or adding cover crops. Improving field drainage can have significant benefits for soil health, the overall on-farm environment and increased crop yields. Effective drainage removes […] Read more
Two American studies show that tile drainage can offer a significant return on investment.
Crops

American drainage studies show broad scale of returns on investments

Long-term data collection shows yield benefits and more effective soil conservation

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Glacier FarmMedia – Two long-term research studies show a significant return on investment of tile drainage in American cropping conditions in the Midwest.  Eileen Kladivko of Purdue University published an update on a 35-year study on a 15-acre plot of poorly drained silt loam soil in Indiana where tile drainage was installed. When the study […] Read more
Rick Koostra shows where a significant cut once went through this field but was remediated by tile drainage and rip rap placed at the field edges where water enters.
Crops, News

Lessons learned from a drainage demo farm

Early lessons are emerging at the Huronview tile project

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The Huronview Demonstration Farm will take years to tell all its drainage stories, but two years in, some anticipated lessons are starting to take shape. The site near Clinton is a collaboration among the Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Huron County, land drainage companies and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. In 2019, the […] Read more
Drainage tile has been in high demand in Ontario.
Crops, News

Demand strong for drainage tile

High land values, commodity prices and assistance programs drive investments in tile drainage

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From the far north to the deep south, landowners across Ontario continue to invest in tile drainage despite ever-increasing acreage costs. They’re doing so partially because of high land values. Why it matters: Farmers and other land investors install drainage tile to increase land values beyond existing per-acre purchase prices. Jesse Tait, board member for […] Read more
A tiling machine laying tile from Bluewater Pipe.
News

Huron County plastics recycling loop ends up in drainage tile

Blue-box collected bottles from rural homes are processed locally and used in tile

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If a farm from Huron, Perth or Middlesex planned a drainage project this year, some of the plastic used in the tile likely had a former life as shampoo bottles and laundry detergent jugs on those same farms. For about 14 months now, an agreement has been in place between Bluewater Pipe and Listowel-based EFS […] Read more
Soleno president Alain Poirier, left, holds a picture of his family members with drainage equipment in the 1940s. The rest of his family, including wife Nicole Cantin and children Mathieu, Michaël and Marie-Noëlle, hold pieces of drainage pipe used historically and today.
News

Bluewater Pipe-Soleno deal brings together family businesses

Bluewater Pipe to continue to operate as it has previously

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Two of the original families of farm tile in Canada have come together in a deal that keeps the companies in independent ownership. Soleno, owned by the Poirier family and based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., has purchased majority ownership in Bluewater Pipe, based in Huron Park, Ont. Bluewater Pipe was founded by Tony Kime, and he […] Read more
A field near Lucan is the site of one of 10 projects examining the potential value of narrower tile.
Crops

How close is too close when it comes to tile drainage?

Projects look at 12.5-foot tile spacing and potential yield benefits

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A tile company is working with growers across southwestern Ontario to complete narrow spacing tile plots. Why it matters: Few projects have looked at the value of narrow tile spacing in Ontario. Opportunities like this help growers understand how different tile spacing can improve their crop. During a Middlesex Soil and Crop meeting, Tony Kime, […] Read more
Wes Hart eventually developed a system of strip till and the ability to apply both liquid and solid fertilizer.
Crops

Adventures in strip-tilling

How two farmers adopted and augmented their strip-till approach

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There’s more than one way to strip-till a field. During this year’s Canada’s Digital Farm Show, Woodstock-area grain growers Ken Martin and Wes Hart shared their lessons learned, and triumphs experienced, in making the hybrid tillage system work for their businesses. Why it matters: Strip-tillage continues to attract interest as a workable midway approach to […] Read more

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