Improving Water Quality In Grand River Watershed.

Aug 26, 2012

New rural-urban partnership to protect water quality and support agriculture in the Grand River Watershed

News Release

CAMBRIDGE, Ont.- Conservation leaders, scientists, farm leaders, fertilizer industry representatives, and provincial officials today launched a unique rural-urban partnership that will protect water quality in the Grand River Watershed and support the sustainable intensification of agriculture in the region. Funded by the Canadian Fertilizer Instituteand the Ontario Centres of Excellence Social Innovation Program, the project will create a unique network or "cluster" to facilitate sharing of Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) guidelines associated with the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program.

ClimateCHECK will lead this partnership by deploying its Agri-INNOVATIONS solution that combines ClimateCHECK's expertise in agriculture and sustainability with its online Collaborase tools to enable stakeholder collaboration and knowledge transfer.

"Agri-INNOVATIONS will provide farmers and other stakeholders online access to pertinent information and expert networks. Farmers will benefit from greater participation in innovative strategies for implementing BMPs, such as 4R Nutrient Stewardship, which are designed to support farmers and other stakeholders to increase market access and sustainable growth in the agriculture sector," said Mr. Tom Baumann, CEO of ClimateCHECK. "It is essential to enable farmers to effectively engage in knowledge transfer and to rapidly scale results and share them with all stakeholders."

Water quality is a vital issue for the 39 municipalities and 1 million residents living in the Grand River Watershed. This region of Ontario also represents some of the province's most viable and productive farmland. Land use and water quality concerns are a shared priority across the Province of Ontario and the global community.

The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program will support the adoption of BMPs on farms. The 4R concept guides farmers in using the Right fertilizer source; at the Right rate; at the Right time; and in the Right place.

"There are many advantages for farmers to adopt the 4Rs into their cropping systems," said Mr. Norman Beug, Chair of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute, the lead Industry Partner for this project. "The 4Rs offer a framework to farmers as they implement BMPs to optimize fertilizer efficiency, which minimizes nutrient loss and leakage into the air and water. The 4R approach maximizes farmer returns for every tonne of fertilizer used and allows farmers to quantify their practices to receive credits for ecological goods and services."

"I'm excited about the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program we are launching today and look forward to building an even closer relationship with all of the partners as we work toward our common goal of protecting our precious resources for generations to come," said Ms. Jane Mitchell, Chair of the Grand River Conservation Authority.

Recent research conducted at institutions such as the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo have provided new insights into land use and water quality. "Long-standing agricultural practices are difficult to change. Improved collaboration techniques should encourage greater uptake of BMPs that, over time, enhance crop production, save farmers money and minimize water quality impacts," said Dr. David Rudolph at the Water Institute.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture Vice President, Mr. Keith Currie added, "the OFA is pleased to participate in this program as it complements the work farmers have initiated through the Environmental Farm Plan. The 4R fertilization recommendations integrated with other BMPs will build on the successes of prior work."

"The Region of Waterloo has a long history of working with farmers in Waterloo Region to improve water quality," stated Mr. Ken Seiling, Regional Chair of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.

"This project will not only benefit the agricultural community by offering a collaborative framework to establish best sustainability practices, but also benefits the residents in the surrounding municipalities serviced by the watershed through decreased ground and surface water contamination and improved drinking water quality," said Dr. Tania Massa, Director of Programs, Ontario Centres of Excellence. "The 4R Nutrient Stewardship in the Grand River Watershed will serve as a pilot project that will inform future programs of this nature across the province."

In addition to the Canadian Fertilizer Institute and the Ontario Centres of Excellence, this project is supported by several partner organizations including, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Grand River Conservation Authority, the University of Waterloo Water Institute, and the Region of Waterloo.

For more information and to become engaged about the project, please visit:www.collaborase.com/Farming4RWatershed