2012 Conservation Farm Award

John Fittler

The Winner of the 2012 Conservation Farm Award was announced at the Essex Soil & Crop Improvement Association (ESCIA) Annual Meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2012. The award is presented each year to the farming operation which best display’s conservation minded farming practices from those nominated. The farms are graded on tillage practices, crop rotation, chemical use and storage, knowledge of fertility programs, Best Management Practices and overall farm maintenance. The winner is determined by a committee of Directors from the Essex Soil & Crop Improvement Association. This year the winner of the Conservation Farm Award is John Fittler of Leamington.

Features of John Fittler’s farm include: no-till cropping; crop rotation including corn, soybeans and wheat; cover crops, ditch banks protected by vegetative buffer zones, windbreaks, rock chutes and catch basins. Other features include rock spillways to prevent soil erosion, and mature woodlots. John has participated in the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan program and has utilized ERCA’s Clean Water ~ Green Spaces grant program to implement many Best Management Practices on his farm. In addition to his farm work, John has taught science at UMEI Christian High school for the past 23 years and has incorporated many agricultural stewardship and environmental issues into the curriculum of his courses.

Congratulations to John Fittler and keep up the fine work!

Soil Erosion Control

Windbreaks

Ditch Bank Erosion Control

Buffered Drains

Windbreak

Rock Spillway

Windbreak Planting

Buffered Drain

The Essex Conservation Farm Award is sponsored annually by the Essex Soil and Crop Improvement Association, the Essex Conservation Club and the Essex Region Conservation Authority.

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