8 Cover story “We started looking at ways to get more cereals into the system going back to 2022, and we’re actually now starting to drill through a rye cover after some of our grain corn gets harvested in October,” says Brett. “We have two years where we’ve seen that work quite nicely in terms of overwintering, even though it’s established later in the fall.” A common thread among innovators is in bridging the gap between farm and consumer, and that’s certainly part of the approach the Israel operation has taken, particularly in listening to the needs and wants of the average non-farmer. Brett believes he’s tapped into a preferred production system for the farm’s hog operation, including loose housing for the animals. Together with organic feed, it’s translated into improved animal health, both in terms of average daily gain and feed conversion and lower mortality rates. “We’ve had the opportunity to network and share with others, and that’s always fortunate,” says Brett. “It’s encouraging more producers who are building new to be thinking about housing and maybe building something that could be standards that are evolving, going forward. It’s certainly led us to the position that even if we weren’t going to be supplying a certified organic marketplace, I wouldn’t want to raise pigs the way we used to raise them.” When asked if he considers himself an innovator, Brett replies that he’s just a humble observer of a process and that he’s trying to carry forward a legacy of asking questions in search of greater understanding. If that can help others find their way to a better system, all the better. COVER CROPS AND SO MUCH MORE Looking at a map of Ontario, it’s easy to lose sight of the scope of agriculture across such a huge expanse with different production practices. In the Ottawa Valley, it’s possible to depart from corn or winter wheat while attending to malt barley or hemp. That’s what Keanan and Reuben Stone have found, along with developing Valley Bio, between Ottawa and Pembroke. The farm has evolved in the past 15 years, building a registered seed establishment on 800 to 1,000 acres of owned and rented land, a variety of 30 cover crop species and UniSeeds, a hemp genetics business they started in 2012. The Stones are also SeCan growers and dealers, with soybean and cereal seed from genetics suited to their specific region. The two, along with Reuben’s father Dalton, run a three- to five-year rotation with the main crops being industrial hemp, soybeans and cereals, including rye, barley, and oats. They also add peas and buckwheat and try to follow most crops with a cover, depending on the goal, be it soil health, forage for livestock or returning nutrients to a field. “We want to make a difference in the agriculture industry,” says Keanan. “We want to ensure the sustainability of our farm for our family or future generations that will farm this land, so focusing on soil health and sustainability is a big driver. Working with traditional commodities offers some stability but the market’s so saturated it’s difficult to add much value or generate much profit, so we diversify.” Reuben adds they can ship a container of hemp almost anywhere in the world for the same percentage margin as a truckload of corn to the Port of Johnstown, roughly 200 kilometres away. They do that by adding value to the hemp and most of the other crops they grow, producing them with the goal of being seed, which is then conditioned and packaged in their registered seed establishment. The variety of cover crops includes traditional options like rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, and clovers, but Reuben’s been experimenting with common vetch and yellow sweet clover for the past couple of years. He’s also spent time working with growers on cover crop strategies, attempting to add diversity in some fields or introducing cattle forage. Among the other cover crop species they sell are flax, continued from page 7 JAMIE, CARL, AND BRETT ISRAEL. PHOTO SUPPLIED.
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