and back again, and back to London, without having to worry about recharging,” he says. In addition to their electric car, the Martins have an electric lawn mower and several small electric tools, including weed trimmers and chainsaws. Martin believes there is a lot of opportunity to grow solar-powered production in Ontario, and farmers should consider investigating the opportunity. Not only is there a potential return on investment, but also a chance to make an environmental impact and contribute to reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Many farmers, he says, have infrastructure in place to install solar panels, like barn and shop roofs, without taking valuable farmland out of production. BUR OAK TRAIL Solar farming was not the only new enterprise that the Martins took on after selling their cows; with more time, Martin says he took a renewed interest in his woodlot. “I hadn’t been back there in 40 years,” he says. “I was amazed at the diversity I found.” Martin has been working on an ash replacement strategy in the woodlot, replacing the downed trees with Black Maples. The Martins established the Bur Oak Trail, with a two-and-a-half-kilometre loop and 25 numbered and identified trees. The gem in the woodlot is Goliath, an estimated 280year-old Bur Oak with a fifteen-foot circumference trunk. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 27 NOVEMBER 2023 While solar panels function best on a clear, sunny summer day, they still perform even on grey, overcast, or snowy days. On a cloudy day in the fall, they can still produce 30-40 kilowatts of energy.
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