The Rural Voice, 2019-05, Page 52The public is welcome to stop
by one of Ontario’s most
innovative field drainage sites
as it is being installed on June 15 at
the Huronview Demonstration Farm,
near Clinton. The event will include
live installation, wagon rides,
workshops, food trucks and a trade
show. The field is located behind the
Huronview complex (77722 London
Road, Clinton) and all are welcome
to drop in between 10 a.m. and 3
p.m. on Saturday, June 15, 2019.
Admission is $5 per person.
The event is being run by Huron
Soil and Crop Improvement
Association (HSCIA), which is a
volunteer board of farmers that are
passionate about improving soil and
water quality. HSCIA has a 15-year
agreement with the County of Huron
to farm on the 47-acre Huronview
Demo Farm field with cover crops,
no-till, and best practices.
“We knew we needed to invest in
field drainage there in order to
control erosion and we took this
opportunity to try the most
innovative system out there,” said
Doug Walker, President of HSCIA.
“And by partnering with Ausable
Bayfield Conservation Authority
(ABCA), we’re able to use it for
research.”
“It is an unprecedented
partnership,” said Melisa Luymes,
Project Coordinator. “We’re bringing
agricultural, drainage, and
environmental stakeholders together
to innovate and research for water
quality,” she said. “The project is
made possible with Canadian
Agricultural Partnership (CAP)
funding from the federal and
provincial governments, along with
Huron County’s support.”
Drainage is essential for farming,
but it needs to be designed well to
reduce the potential for impacts
downstream, according to Luymes.
“Essentially, we’re trying to ‘shut
off’ drainage systems with
underground control gates at certain
times of the year,” she said. “It works
on flat fields in Ontario, but the key
to making it work on a slope is that
lateral tiles need to be installed on
contour at a very precise grade.
Conventional tile lines usually run
straight, but these will curve around
the field. It should be really
interesting to see.”
This is the first time in Ontario that
controlled drainage will be tried on a
slope, according to Luymes. An
Illinois-based drainage design
company, AGREM, made the plans
for the site and the designers, Jeremy
and Bob Meiners, will be presenting
their work on June 15 as well.
The site will feature a side-by-side-
by-side plot of contoured/controlled
drainage, conventional drainage, and
an area that will remain undrained.
Water quality and quantity will be
measured, along with yield and soil
data. The site also features a research
plot comparing 15-foot vs 30-foot
tile spacing and a demonstration of
surface drainage with terraces and a
grassed waterway.
Farmers, drainage contractors, and
the public are invited to attend the
field day on June 15. There will be
wagon rides to take visitors through
the field sites to learn about
contoured and controlled drainage,
wetlands, water quality, terraces and
soil health.
The project is being funded and
supported by over a dozen partners
so far, including the Huron County
Clean Water Project, the Land
Improvement Contractors of Ontario
(LICO), Ducks Unlimited Canada,
and Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Authority (ABCA) along with four
local drainage contractors and three
tile manufacturers. This project is
also funded in part through the
Canadian Agricultural Partnership
(CAP), a federal-provincial-territorial
initiative. The Agricultural
Adaptation Council assists in the
delivery of the Partnership in
Ontario. To find out more visit
www.huronview.net. ◊
48 The Rural Voice
Innovative drainage project opened to public
Members of the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association meet at the
Huronview Demonstration Farm to prepare for an open house of the field
drainage site on June 15.
Submitted by Mel Luymes
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