continued from page 7 ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER COVER STORY 8 substantial reduction in erosion risk, especially water erosion in the spring. Winter wheat can also improve soil structure and reduce erosion by boosting soil organic matter, thus enhancing structure and leading to aggregation and making infiltration more efficient. That leads to improved soil health via soil stability and adding biomass that adds essential nutrients to the soil. Since carbon emissions are a concern within agriculture and plants sequester carbon via photosynthesis, any increase in the number of plant cover days enhances carbon uptake and can potentially offset carbon emissions. “Winter wheat can act as a carbon source and sink for the soil,” says Kolodziej. “The ability to sequester carbon can help reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Winter wheat is also grown at a time of year in Ontario that has a reduction of carbon-sequestering vegetation. It can help reduce carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere at a time when an increased concentration normally occurs.” The difference in conventional rotations is viewing winter wheat only as a grain crop. Kolodziej and her colleagues wanted to show it could provide the same benefits to a cropping system as a cover crop with an added benefit as a grain crop. “We think that if there are resources and incentives available to farmers for new implementation of crop alternatives, they would be open to implementation,” she says. “Adding a new crop into the rotation or changing a rotation isn’t a simple process. There are many factors to be taken into account that vary from farm to farm due to different environmental and economic factors that can affect the addition of a new crop and the feasibility of changing a rotation.” FROM THE GROWER’S PERSPECTIVE The prospect for growing winter wheat—whether as a grain crop or a cover crop that can also be harvested and sold—is largely linked to revenue generation and profitability, at least it is for Jeff Barlow. Although he grows a three-crop rotation of corn, soybeans and winter wheat on his farm near Binbrook, south of Hamilton, he echoes Kolodziej’s comment about the economics that go into most decision-making processes on the farm. “If winter wheat prices were higher, everyone would be growing more,” adds Barlow, who’s also director for Grain Farmers of Ontario District 6 (Haldimand, Brant, Hamilton, Niagara). “Lately, we’ve had very open falls and plenty of opportunity to plant winter wheat in decent conditions. In my area on heavier clay, it’s tougher to make wheat work in a lot of years. It’s not hard to establish in the fall, it’s getting it through the winter and have it still be alive in the spring.” Barlow agrees that winter wheat makes for an excellent cover crop, given its seed price, its ability to grow in 7.5-inch rows, and its root structure. For those reasons—and the impact on subsequent corn or soybean crops—it’s an excellent cover crop. At the same time, he acknowledges that on tougher clay in his immediate area, establishing winter wheat crops in anything but the best of fall planting conditions can be a big ask. From a logistics perspective, winter wheat allows him the opportunity to fix-up the field after harvest; he can do more tiling, repair ditches, trim trees along fields, do soil tests, and apply fertilizer. That he can do that with a cover crop that’s also marketable is a huge bonus— along with the other agronomic, soil health, and environmental benefits. L-R Ibrahim Mohammed, sustainability and environment specialist, Dana Dickerson, director of market development and sustainability, students Chelsea Uusitalo, Julia Perucelli, Rachel Zimic, market development coordinator, and students Andrea Kolodziej, Ria Hamilton, and Madeline Killen.
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