Wednesday, March 14, 2018

GRCA gives farmers a boost

The Grand River Conservation Authority has a website called Stories From the Field featuring 29 farmers who are doing the right things by the environment.

"We've heard some really good things about that website," Sue Brocklebank, a conservation specialist with the GRCA, told CBC News.

She works with farmers on conservation projects and helped compile stories for the website.

"I know it makes the landowners who are on it really proud to see their work showcased that way. It's almost a thank you. A way of us saying thank you to the work that they've done.

"This is a business for them, but they want it to be a sustainable business. They want to be able to pass it down to the next generation," she said.

"They do often want to do things that are obviously good for their operation, but also benefit the environment there as well. I think that can be surprising to some people."

She hopes people outside the farming community will visit the website and learn something new about where their food comes from. She also hopes farmers will use the site as a source of new ideas. 
The conservation authority has been helping farmers find ways to make their farms more ecologically sound by introducing things such as winter ground cover, natural wind barriers, stream fencing, tree planting and manure storage. 
But Brocklebank says advice from another farmer is always easier to swallow than advice from outside the farming community, which is the whole idea behind the website.