News Soil
Governments invest in soil health projects for Ontario

The governments of Canada and Ontario are supporting research that will help improve Ontario soil health while reducing phosphorous entering waterways.

Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food, and Ernie Hardeman, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, announced almost $240,000 in cost-share funding to enhance soil protection and support precision agriculture technology research under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership).

One project will see the Grain Farmers of Ontario receive over $60,000 to evaluate soil type, elevation, treatment and frost damage on cover cropping. This project will help grain growers increase their knowledge of innovative technologies and improve the adoption of cover crop management to help reduce phosphorous entering the Lake Erie watershed, and prove a concept of using precision agriculture technologies to facilitate field research.

In addition to the Grain Farmers of Ontario, The Ecological Farmers of Ontario will receive up to $26,724 to support and evaluate 11 farmer-led soil health best management practices. The Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association will receive up to $148,040 to evaluate the impact of current cultivation practices, as well as test new and existing organic amendments to improve soil health.

“By working together with the government and other interested groups, farmers are protecting our natural resources for future generations. This funding is another important way to support actions from farmers,” said Keith Currie, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and co-chair of Environmental Collaboration Ontario. “Our livelihoods depend on healthy soil and clean water; protecting the environment in which we live and work is a critical priority for our sector.”

To date, both the federal and provincial governments have committed cost-share support to more than 2,000 projects through the Partnership to help eligible Ontario farmers, processors, businesses and sector organizations innovate and grow.