The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) together with the Field Crop team and staff from the Agriculture Development Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), conduct a number of agricultural research projects each year. Projects include field trials for a number of different crops.
ESCIA Projects
Essex Soil & Crop Improvement Association conducts its own variety trials and participates in regional projects.
Essex County Demonstration Farm
The Essex County Demonstration Farm (ECDF) was established in 1996. The 40 acre site, adjacent to Holiday Beach Conservation Area on County Road 50 in Amherstburg, is operated by ERCA in partnership with more than 25 private and public organizations and individuals. Holiday Beach was chosen as the project site because of its location next to Big Creek Marsh, one of the most significant wetlands in southwestern Ontario. The farm was designed to illustrate an important message: agriculture and the environment can work together in harmony to produce a diverse and sustainable landscape.
The ECDF exists to:
- Demonstrate conservation practices and innovative products, techniques and technologies
- Educate the community about conservation farming and its relationship to the protection of our natural resources
- Promote the use of sustainable agricultural practices
Since the initiation of the farm, various improvements and accomplishments have occurred. Best management practices (BMPs) have been implemented, such as vegetative management through tree planting (to prevent top soil loss and reduce wind stress on plants). Further improvements include establishing wetland buffers adjacent to Big Creek Marsh and implementing tile drainage and no-till cropping techniques.
Essex County Demonstration Farm Annual Report 2018
Essex County Demonstration Farm Annual Report 2017
Test Plots
Through this program, Essex County farmers evaluate varieties of corn and soybean trials through planting test plots. Results can be found below.
ESCIA ICAT Corn Summary 2018
ESCIA ISAT Soybean Summary 2018
OSCIA Projects
The Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association, together with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), conduct a number of research projects each year. Below is a list of links to the year’s previous reports.
2013
2012
View list of all reports.
Other Local Projects
Additional agricultural projects being conducted in Essex County.
- Essex County Demonstration Farm
- Lake Erie P Reduction