J. Brush Farms Ltd.
The Winner of the 2016 Conservation Farm Award was announced at the Essex Soil & Crop Improvement Association (ESCIA) Annual Meeting on Thursday, December 1, 2016. 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 J. Brush Farms of Harrow.
Features of J. Brush Farms include: use of cover crops including cereal rye, oats and clover; a combination of mulch till, strip till and no-till cropping; precision soil sampling; variable rate fertilizer application using strip tillage; mature, deciduous tree windbreaks as well as cedar/spruce windbreaks to protect top soil from wind erosion; rock chutes to reduce soil erosion and buffer strips along water courses. Their farm also includes a 10 acre mature woodlot which they have preserved for their enjoyment and that of future generations. Jim Brush farms with his father John, and sons Jim and Chris. They have participated in the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan program, the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative and the Essex Region Conservation Authority’s Clean Water ~ Green Spaces program to implement many of the Best Management Practices on their farms. Congratulations to J. Brush Farms and keep up the fine work!
Cover Crops
Strip Tillage
Natural Windbreaks
The Essex Conservation Farm Award is sponsored annually by the Essex Soil and Crop Improvement Association, and the Essex Region Conservation Authority.
Media Contacts:
Michael Dick
Secretary
Essex Soil and Crop Improvement Association
(519) 776-5209 ext. 369
mdick@erca.org