There is a Webinar/Teleconference on the Draft Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy December 11th, 1:00 to 3:00 pm. 

 To register for the webinar / teleconference please call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre (AICC at 1-877-424-1300) or email ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca.

The Halton Soil and Crop Improvement Association would like to congratulate Halton's own Kailey Donaldson for being crowned the 2017-2018 Queen of the Furrow at the International Plowing Match! Kailey will spend the next year promoting the 2018 International Plowing Match and Rural Expo and the Ontario Plowmen's Association. 

As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday, the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance along with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture would like to celebrate the key role that agriculture and family farms have played in the building and growth of the province.  We are looking for families that have been actively farming for 150 years or more.   The following criteria has been established to help identify the 150 Farm Families:

• At the time of application, your family have been actively farming for a minimum of 150 years within Canada
• You can provide evidence clearly demonstrating the ties between you and the original farm family
• You can provide the date of establishment of the original farm and a brief history of the evolution of the farm
• You can provide proof that you are currently considered a farmer in the Golden Horseshoe

If your farm meets the criteria, please email 

Anna.DeMarchi-Meyers@halton.ca

The Ontario Forage Masters Competition is back for 2017! This program promotes excellence in growing, harvesting and storage of forages by acknowledging outstanding producers that employ award winning management practices. 

The newly refined program takes a page from the very successful Environmental Farm Plan, with the emphasis on producer eduction.

Click the link below for a PDF submission form. The deadline is July 15, 2017! 

GUELPH, ONTARIO, February 28, 2017 — Quinta Quinoa has proudly accepted the 2017 Food Innovation Award from the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association (OFFMA). The award was accepted at the 2017 Awards of Excellence Banquet, which took place at Marriott On the Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Tuesday February 21st, 2017. 

This is a 10 month Soil Health Leadership Training course held in London Ontario, kicking off in March and focused on farmers in SW Ontario.

The course will cost $50 and is limited to 25 people.

Applications are due February 28, 2017.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is conducting a survey to gather information from Ontario farmers regarding the use of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) or fam stewardship practices to improve soil health and reduce nutrient loss. The survey is open to all Ontario farmers.

They are looking for input and feedback on technical and financial support mechanisms that could be used to help improve and update support programs.

Your responses will be kept anonymous and only be reported in aggregate form. The survey should only take 10-15 minutes to complete. 

The deadline to complete the survey is Monday February 27, 2017. 

The HSCIA Annual General Meeting, held on January 11, 2017, was another great success! The brand new HSCIA tradeshow display was unveiled to the association members, along with a demonstration on how to use the website. Members were introduced to their new Provincial Director, Steve Sickle, who did a presentation on all the exciting things planned at OSCIA for 2017. The group was also given an update on different workshops and funding available through OSCIA, all of which can be found at the link below:

Paul Smith from OMAFRA gave us a presentation on Ontario's Agricultural Soil and Health Conservation Strategy. His presentation can be downloaded by clicking the link below. His presentation provided a background on the development on the strategy, the next steps in the development, and opened discussion with the members. Overall, it was a very informative presentation!

Conservation Halton did a presentation on funding that is available through the Halton Stewardship Programs. If you're interested in finding out more, please visit their website:

 James Dyck from OMAFRA talked about how the new Cap and Trade system could potentially impact farmers. More information on climate change and cap-and-trade can be found at OMAFRA's website:

Part 2 of the HSCIA's tier one grant project, "Assessing Innovative Soil Sampling Technology in Relation to Biosolids Application within Halton Region" was presented by Greg Kitching. Look for the report for the second half of this project coming soon! 

This year, HSCIA awarded an Award of Merit, which is given to a member who has contributed to the association and the advancement of crop production. This year's recipient was long time HSCIA member Lance Pocock. Lance has been an important advocate for farm education in Halton Region and a has contributed a lot to the HSCIA. Congratulations to Lance on all his achievements! 

Join us on Wednesday January 11, 2017 at the Hillcrest United Church for our 2017 Annual General Meeting! There will be many great speakers, including speakers from OMAFRA, Conservation Halton and OSCIA. 

There will also be updates on Agricultural programs and commodities, an open discussion on agricultural issues, great door prizes and a chance to meet with our corporate sponsors. 

And most importantly, there will be a great hot lunch and even better company!

New members are always welcome. New memberships and membership renewals are available at the door for $40. 

Healthy agricultural soil is a living and dynamic ecosystem, and one of the foundations of life. Wise management can ensure the soil is fertile and full of the living organisms that are essential to grow food and other agricultural products, now and for future generations. It takes many years for natural processes to make healthy soil, and very little time to destroy it, so thoughtful stewardship is a must. 

OMAFRA developed the proposal below in collaboration with the agricultural industry. They are currently reviewing public feedback on the document. These ideas will help them shape a provincial Soil Health and Conservation Strategy. A new strategy will be built on the extensive soils work by both stakeholder organizations and OMAFRA, and ensure that both the government and industry are doing the right things to address soil issues. 

For more information on the provincial Soil Health and Conservation Strategy, join us at our annual meeting (see the events page) as we will have a representative from OMAFRA speaking on the strategy as well as answering farmer questions. 

OMAFRA is working with livestock organizations to reduce the amount of phosphorus runoff from farmland, in turn reducing the amount of phosphorus entering our waterways. Phosphorus loading contributes to harmful algae blooms, impaired water quality and other environmental problems.

One of OMAFRA's strategies is to promote that timing matters when it comes to nutrient application. Applying nutrients on frozen or snow covered ground, saturated soil or before major rain events can lead to phosphorus runoff. Instead, think 4Rs: apply nutrients from the right source, at the right rate, at the right time and in the right place. It's the right thing to do.

OMAFRA has developed material in co-operation with Chicken Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Pork, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Beef Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency that help to educate and inform farmers on right timing.

For more information, please follow the link below! 

The HSCIA held their summer twilight tour at the farm of John Nurse. John showed us some of his cover crops, talked about blends he uses (the "John Nurse Special"!), and about the benefits he's seen using cover crops on his farm. General Seed also did a talk about the different species of cover crops and held a question and answer period with the farmers. 

Representatives from Credit Valley Conservation and Conservation Halton did a quick presentation on some of the incentives and programs they have for farmers. They also discussed the idea of having a cover crop cost share program in Halton Region, and seemed to have a positive response from our farmers. Hopefully we'll see this program roll out in the next few months! 

Our new logo was also revealed at this meeting. We are hoping that this new logo, along with a new website and display board will help create a new identity for the HSCIA. 

Finally, our president Adrian Mohammed brought his famous potato salad and had a BBQ for our members. Overall, it was a great night, with great food and great people! Thanks to all of those who attended! 

For more information on the programs offered by the conservation authorities, follow the links below.

Nominate a Halton farmer for the Soil Champion! 

The deadline for nominations for Soil Champion has been extended to November 1, 2016. To be eligible for the Soil Champion Award, an individual must be a resident of Ontario or have contributed to soil management in a way that directly influences improved soil health and crop production sustainability in Ontario.

Sustainable management practices may be defined as those that: 

• Make the most efficient use of nutrients
• Support systems with no net loss of organic matter and soil aggregate ability 
• Build the population and diversity of organisms
• Effectively manage surface water to support reduced tillage systems 

If you think a farmer in Halton meets all of the above criteria, click the link below to nominate them before November 1! 

HSCIA undertook a Tier 1 project in January of 2015. The project looked to investigate new soil sampling technologies that support the sustainable application of nutrients. For a full outline of the project, click the link below.