CAMBRIDGE – Cover crops grown over winter are just the right thing to do, according to local producers who participated in the Grand River Conservation Authority’s (GRCA) Rural Water Quality Program (RWQP).
The program offers a per-acre incentive to farmers in Wellington County and surrounding areas. The benefits of cover crops are numerous, including the reduction of erosion, retention of nutrients, and improvements to overall soil health.
“Cover crops work well for our operation,” Brant County dairy producer Dean Sayles said.
“We started gradually with a few fields and now use them across our farm.“We were interested in improving our soils and getting the most out of our manure applications. We apply manure to our fields after wheat harvest [and] cover crops do a good job of tying up those nutrients so they are available for crops next spring.”
Across the last five years, over 400 producers in the Grand River watershed received the one-time cover crop incentive through municipal programs delivered by the GRCA.
With the goal of keeping soil and nutrients in the field, priority is given to erosion-prone fields adjacent to watercourses or wetlands and areas that are susceptible to wind erosion. Fields that are tile drained or in wellhead protection areas are also considered.
Applications for the cover crop program can be submitted now for payment in spring 2022. Incentive rates vary by municipality with funding decisions made by a farmer review committee.
The GRCA currently delivers the Rural Water Quality Program initiative on behalf of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Counties of Wellington, Brant, Dufferin, and Haldimand.
Support for projects in the upper Nith River watershed is provided by the federal government through the Department of Environment and Climate Change Great Lakes Protection Initiative.
More information is available by contacting ruralwater@grandriver.ca or by calling 519-621-2761.
To learn more visit www.grandriver.ca/ruralwater.
