Research and Knowledge Transfer Report

OSCIA is currently in its fifth year of delivering the On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) program on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) and in partnership with Soil Resource Group, Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. The program is currently funded by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative, and will run until March 2028. ONFARM focuses on improving soil health and testing the impact of best management practices (BMPs) on soil health indicators; enhancing the quality of water leaving agricultural field edges; and engaging with the agricultural industry to share results, provide demonstration opportunities, and create tools and resources ready to use by farmers. ONFARM is not possible without the generosity of the field-trial host farmers, 27 of whom participate in strip-trials of BMP impacts on soil health, and 7 of whom support the partnering Conservation Authorities in monitoring edge-of-field water quality.

The Living Lab – Ontario initiative applies farmer-driven, real-world research to develop and refine BMPs, emphasizing collaboration between farmers, researchers, and industry partners, in a five-year study that runs until March 2028. This approach supports knowledge-sharing and practical innovation in the agricultural sector. Funding for the project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs program, and core partners. The core partners are Beef Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Sheep Farmers, Ontario Pork, Grain Farmers of Ontario, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Living Lab – Ontario is one of 14 living labs across Canada that are part of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agricultural Climate Solutions (ACS) – Living Labs program. The project builds on the success of the previous living lab project in Ontario (2019-2023) but with a focus on identifying, developing, evaluating and adopting BMPs that address climate challenges and solutions in livestock and crop production systems, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration on farms. There are currently 38 Living Lab Cooperators who generously collaborate with researchers to run on-farm trials and practice co-development of the research questions and practice implementation.

The Grassroots Research Grants Program is supported by OMAFA, administered by OSCIA, and driven by Regional SCIAs, which define, lead and implement research projects tailored to specific agricultural challenges among their membership. Funding for the program is provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (2023-2028), with grants of up to $15,000 per year for a maximum of three years per project. Since 2023, six projects have been approved across various regions:

1. Golden Horseshoe – Optimizing the utilization of biosolids-sourced nutrients in Ontario’s agriculture.
2. Heartland – Integration of cover crops after grain corn and soybeans.
3. Heartland – Critical micronutrient tissue test levels and filling the nitrogen gap in soybeans with biologicals.
4. Northwest – Effects of rotational grazing on soil and forage health at Thunder Bay Community Pasture.
5. Ottawa Rideau – Crop fertility through aerial foliar application.
6. Thames Valley – Investigating optimum corn nitrogen rates with delta yield.

In December 2024, the third and final call for Grassroots Research Grant project ideas opened, and closed on January 31, 2025. Three new projects will be selected to start research trials in April 2024. Each of the 9 funded projects has unique Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) goals as well, which are necessary to share the research outcomes with the broader membership base of OSCIA.

The Lake Erie Enhanced Agricultural Analysis Program (LEEAAP; 2024-2028) aims to analyze and enhance phosphorus-reducing BMPs in priority subwatersheds of the Canadian Lake Erie watershed. The program includes extensive data collection, advanced analysis, and direct farmer engagement to promote long-term water quality sustainability. This research initiative is funded by the Canada Water Agency, with a $1 million investment from 2024 to 2028. LEEAAP will leverage considerable investment by OMAFA and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership through ONFARM Program to advance interpretation of years of water quality data. OSCIA’s collaborative approach to running LEEAAP involves multiple key partners, including ONFARM collaborators Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, OMAFA, and the University of Waterloo’s Department of Geography and Environmental Management.

The Griffith Foods’ Regenerative Winter Wheat Program, encourages the adoption of regenerative agricultural practices to enhance wheat productivity. The program is expanding from its initial launch in 2024 with Griffith Foods and Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H). In 2024, 3,500 acres of wheat were grown by farmers selling wheat to Parrish & Heimbecker, a supplier of Griffith Foods. This wheat was cultivated using either split applications of nitrogen, or nitrogen inhibitors and stabilizers, or followed by post-harvest cover crop seeding. 2025 will target achieving 10,000 acres of regenerative winter wheat delivered to P&H. OSCIA is supporting knowledge transfer for effective implementation of each of the eligible practices, and demonstration days to engage growers and enhance connectivity among Griffith Foods, P&H, wheat growers and regional advisors.

The Department of Research and Knowledge Transfer Department continues to support the delivery of knowledge-sharing events (KSEs) under the umbrella of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) program. OFCAF, as it was recently announced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will continue for three more years with expanded access to resources for partnering organizations to deliver knowledge-sharing events. OSCIA research programs are a great source of content for these events, and this partnership has been highly successful over the past year. New to OSCIA’s expanded phase of OFCAF, and supported by the Department of Research and Knowledge Transfer, is support for the training and capacity building of agricultural advisors across Ontario. This initiative will be supported by a new Agricultural Advisor Liaison staff position at OSCIA. The development and delivery of training materials in OFCAF-supported practices will be conducted in consultation with the Certified Crop Advisors (CCAs) of Ontario. Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. The Fund is part of the Government of Canada’s Agricultural Climate Solutions initiative under the Natural Climate Solutions Fund (NCSF). The NCSF is implemented by Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The Operation Pollinator initiative, a project OSCIA delivers for Syngenta Canada, focuses on the creation and conservation of pollinator habitats. OSCIA recently offered exclusive enrollment in this program to ONFARM cooperators. Between 2018 and 2024, approximately 124 acres at 56 sites across Ontario (10 sites across 8 program participants from the ONFARM program) were converted to pollinator habitat. The initiative will extend for another year, providing participants in the ONFARM and the Griffith Programs with the opportunity to establish pollinator habitats in marginal areas of their farm properties.

The Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) provides funding to advance key agri-food research and innovation projects for Ontario. As of 2023, financial support for OAFRI is provided under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. “Optimization of on-farm biochar production from agricultural source materials” is a three-year Pilot and Demonstration project administered by OSCIA to install a biochar production unit at Woodleigh Farms and characterize the output materials with researchers at the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo.