Thérèse from Ontario asks

What do you do to improve the soil in your fields?

By Casey M, Dairy farmer from Nova Scotia

Casey, a dairy farmer from Nova Scotia, answered : "We do a crop rotation so we grow alfalfa or grass for three five years and we then grow corn on that same field for three years. And it will go back to grasses again. We cover crop our new seeded ground with wheat just so in the spring, if we get a heavy rain, we will not lose soil to erosion. And we are starting to work with fall cover crop so we don’t get wind and winter erosion as well. We also have 100 acres of pasture that has been native grass for years. We just mow and fertilize it. It’s just native grass, we don’t do any cultivation with it, and it works very well. "

By Emily D, Dairy farmer from Ontario

Emily, a dairy farmer from Ontario, answered: "As dairy farmers we are very fortunate to have liquid manure we can put on our fields in the springtime. It’s a natural fertilizer. It’s like the dairy farm going 360⁰.
We grow this feed, we feed it to our cows, the cows produce the manure that we put on our fields and that manure feeds the crops for next year. So being able to use that natural fertilizer such as manure onto the fields every year, helps keep soil healthy and alive, sustainably.
We also use cover crops and crop rotation to ensure we are doing our part in keeping lots of space and lots of oxygen in our soils. "

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