Northern Ontario farmers using research to enhance operations

Aug 29, 2016

Data collected at the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Station

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

Some farmers in northern Ontario are using available data to make better use of their lands.

Mark Bolt turned part of his dairy farm into a commercial cash crop by planting 166 acres of winter rye, which will be transported to Canada Malt Company and Richardson Elevator.

Part of his reasoning for doing so is the research results from Tarlok Singh Sahota, the director of research, at the Thunder Bay Agricultural Research Station.

His research included experimenting with different crops that perform well in Thunder Bay’s short and unique growing season.

Tarlok Singh Sahota
Photo: Chronicle Journal

According to The Chronicle Journal, Sahota found that winter wheat, canola, alfalfa, winter rye and flax can handle Ontario’s north.

One dairy farmer planted corn and saw great results.

The Chronicle Journal reports that after feeding the cows corn for 10 days, the farmer noticed a three litre milk increase per cow, per day, as well as improved butter fat content from 3.9 per cent to 4.4 per cent.

Sahota said there are three distinct elements that affect crops: genetics, management and weather.

“You need a high quality of seed that is planted at the optimum time with the proper balance of fertilizers,” he told The Chronicle Journal. “Optimum plant population, or the right amount of seed will produce a healthy stand.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.