By Alice McFarlane

Ottawa provides funding for environmental farm research in Manitoba

Dec 16, 2020 | 4:07 PM

MELFORT, Sask. – The federal government is funding on-farm research in Manitoba to help farmers develop strategies to combat climate change.

The $5.9 million will be used for farmers and scientists to collaborate and address water quality, soil conservation and improve biodiversity on agricultural landscapes.

The Living Lab-Eastern Prairies project has been launched throughout the last year on farms within the Upper Oak Lake, Swan Lake, North Shannon Creek, and Main Drain watersheds.

It includes several partners, including Environmental and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). It builds on the work organizations like the Manitoba Association of Watersheds (MAW) are doing to monitor and mitigate the agro-environmental issues taking place within Eastern Prairie watersheds, such as the over-use of artificial fertilizers.

Currently, farmers within these watersheds are taking part in AAFC research projects that include the construction of perennial grassed runways and buffer strips, cover cropping, inter-cropping, and poly cropping, construction of small wetland retention ponds, and the development of better tile draining practices.

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Les Flesch farms near Emerson, Man. on the United States border. The tile drainage project Flesch is involved covers roughly 60 square miles. The land is heavy clay and tile drainage is not a common practice in his area.

Flesch said he installed the tile drainage in the fall of 2015 to try to eliminate some soil salinity issues.

“We installed a tile system that was recommended at that time. Researchers are now checking to see how much value there is in the system that we put in,” Flesch said. “In the future we would have the tiles closer together to help with salinity and water infiltration.”

Flesch said researchers are drilling several wells, measuring water levels and nutrients levels between and above the tiles. They are also checking the surface water flows off the field and the nutrient levels exiting the field.

MAW Executive Director Lynda Nicol said the group is dedicated to efforts to protect Manitoba’s soil, water, habitat, and climate.

“The research being done as part of the Living Labs-Eastern Prairies initiative will help ensure sustainable farming practices are implemented in Western Canada for years to come,” Nicol said.

Prince Edward Island and Quebec also have sites for Living Lab initiatives.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF