PROPER CROP ROTATION

We follow a broad leaf crop by planting a grass crop the next year

• This is better for soil by breaking the insect and disease cycle
• This reduces the requirement for pesticides

Cover Crops

We plant cereal, rye, oats and red clover to protect the soil

• Reduces our carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions
• Draws the excess fertilizer from the previous crop to reduce run-off

Continue to plant permanent wind breaks

• Constant evaluation of farms to develop new ways to reduce wind erosion
• Trees also provide animal habitat and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions

Equipment Maintenance

All tractors go for yearly inspections to ensure they're in top condition

• Maintenance can improve machine performance and maximize efficiencies
• Ensures diesel emissions are kept to a minimum

Drip Irrigation

• Compared to overhead watering, drip irrigation uses roughly one third of the water
• Also saving the fuel and energy needed to pump the other two thirds

Conservation Authority Relationships

• We use their expertise to maintain and enhance the pollinative habitat
• We seek their advice to modify our practices to make them more ecologically sustainable and Earth friendly
• Thinking of milk weed, not as a weed in our head rows, but as food for the pollinating Monarch Butterfly

Research & Waste Management

• We intensively soil sample, to only use nutrients where and when they are needed
• Vegetable waste goes into a methane digester that is then spread back onto the ground to build organic soil matter, vital to soil stability
• Multi-year program including the spread of 100 acres of natural fertilizer per year

IPM Program

We hire and train dedicated Crop Scouts to institute an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program

• This reduces our overall use of pesticides
• Crop Scouts make use of satellite imagery to better do investigate issues
• Drone flights are used when warranted to obtain the best resolution