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U of S sustainable farming study sees 'win-wins' for nature, producers

"What we’re seeing is — at least from our initial data — there’s no loss of profits on these areas."

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Christy Morrissey wants to keep both nature and farmers happy.

Morrissey leads a University of Saskatchewan study working toward improving sustainable farming practices and crop production while also benefiting wildlife and the environment.

The study, which began recruiting crop producers four years ago, continues to seek more farmers interested in seeding perennial forages such as hay in unproductive, low-yielding saline areas or land near wetlands. The theory is that this will provide wildlife habitat, improve soil/water quality, and increase profitability.

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“We’re monitoring the impact of those forages on not only (farmers’) profits and their yields, but also soil health, water quality and biodiversity of birds that are in those areas,” said Morrissey, who hopes to make room for farming and nature without upsetting nature’s precarious apple cart.

Farmers are seen as part of the solution in this balancing act.

“Producers are really enthusiastic,” said Morrissey, a professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability and also a biology professor in the College of Arts and Science.

“They are seeing that the forages are benefiting their soil. They are seeing that they are not losing money in those areas and many of the producers are actually expanding — by their own choice — into other fields that they have on their land. They’re starting to see that this could be actually really beneficial to them.”

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The project has support from the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, College of Arts and Science, School of  Environment and Sustainability, Ducks Unlimited, Birds Canada, Environment Canada, Agriculture-Agrifood Canada, Government of Saskatchewan and Water Security Agency.

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This study hopes to find ways to better manage the wetlands and marginal areas in Saskatchewan fields — something a vast number of producers in the province are facing — in order to design effective incentive programs for improving sustainable farm production.

Economic and scientific data are both being used to support its findings.

“In my opinion, this is the low-hanging fruit,” said Morrissey. She explains that farmers are converting land that typically can’t support cash crops. The initial data suggests that when the wet or saline land is taken out of production, farmers don’t lose any profit. And the wetlands remain in good health.

To date, about 30 fields are involved in the study.

“I’m really encouraged,” said Morrissey. “The feedback has been really good from the producers that are doing it. We have very large producers — one has 23,000 acres on his farm — and we have smaller producers sort of in between. I’m optimistic that this is something that could work for all of Saskatchewan producers and I think they would value the fact that we are collecting the economic and science data to support that kind of transition.

“The potential is very, very large. There’s a lot of acreage across the province that is marginal or shouldn’t really be for a crop and this could really enhance the overall condition of the land.”

dzary@postmedia.com

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