THUNDER BAY - Farmers in the region are hoping to see greater crop yields coming from the fields with the help of better drainage below.
The Ontario government is investing $994,080 in a tile drainage project that will benefit 23 area farms operating more than 1,300 acres of land.
The announcement was made on Monday by MPP, Bill Mauro, along with local farmers and members of the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Association, who is leading the project.
“It is significant,” Mauro said. “I think people are becoming more and more aware of the significance of our local agricultural community as more of us become aware of local food and food security. This is a piece that is going to continue to enhance the agricultural community in our region.”
The funding comes through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and Mauro said the tile drainage project can create crop yields two to four times greater than what they are now.
“For (farmers) it is a very big deal in terms of the economic yield they can get from their work,” Mauro said.
Kevin Belluz, president of the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Association, said farms will be invited to submit applications to be part of the project. This is the second time a project like this has been done in the region, and Belluz said there could be a third in the future as well.
Tile drainage involves installing a drainage system under the fields at prescribed depths and spacing. It is a big job that requires specialized equipment and the right weather conditions, but Belluz said the work has significant benefits.
“Essentially it is going to allow the farmer to get into the field sooner in the spring and also maintain a more suitable moisture level for crops growing all summer long,” Belluz said. “When we are in a short season like we are in the north and barely have enough growing degree days to produce a crop, this ability to get in and plant in a timely fashion in the spring is critical to sometimes even getting a crop off.”
Belluz added tile drainage also provides farmers with more options in how crops are managed, including leaving different cover crops in place for longer periods of time, having to deal with less soil erosion, and creating healthier soils in the fields.
The project could also see existing farms expand, with proper drainage allowing farmers to work land that was otherwise inaccessible, creating even greater crop yields.
“This is sort of what we’ve been seeing is farmers taking advantage of this programming is expanding existing areas they already have that were not in production because they were finding it too difficult it for them to work that land or it just wasn’t profitable enough,” Belluz said. “So this is making significant difference there in terms of opening up new land.”
