Conservation Learning Centre: Small Scale Farming with Big Results
By Sierra Unick, BaSc, ATechAg, Agri-Environmental Specialist, Prince Albert
Agri-ARM (Agriculture Applied Research Management) sites across Saskatchewan are producer-driven organizations that conduct plot and field-scale demonstration trials that promote locally relevant, profitable and sustainable agriculture practices. These sites receive funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year joint funding agreement between the provinces and the federal government.
The Saskatchewan Conservation Learning Centre Inc. (CLC) is an Agri-ARM site located on 457 acres of rolling prairie parkland, 18 km south of Prince Albert along Highway 2. While most research farms are situated on flat uniform land, the CLC is uniquely located amidst a rolling topography. This allows for shelterbelt, salinity and wetland management trials, as well as demos investigating landscape variability providing realistic local agronomic results.
Involved with the organization since 2000, local producer and board member Sheldon Dowling finds great value in having the CLC in his neighbourhood. Dowling remembers an early opportunity to network with his peers and exhibit the work he did building an air disc drill when no-till was a new initiative in the area. Recently, he has grown interested in the CLCs work with novel crops and intercropping trials, noting, “it is great to be able to tap into research and see (projects) firsthand.” Dowling shares that to him, the CLC is both a place where new concepts can be tested, as well as local practices expanded, as he “can’t try everything on (his) own farm.”
Agriculture is the heart of the CLC. Local farmers and industry professionals serve as producer-cooperators, board members and volunteers with a voice to share their thoughts, questions and ideas. Robin Lokken has managed the CLC for the last five years with a keen listening ear. Together, Lokken and her staff work to ensure that the demonstration site supports locals and the industry as a whole; showcasing the area’s diversity with the opportunity to share findings and help others.
Beneficial management practices that support agricultural soil and water conservation have largely benefitted the CLC to date. Leaving crop residue as a soil cover insulates the ground and retains moisture. Mature shelterbelts not only help stabilize sandy soils, but they protect horticultural trials, trap snow ensuring moisture availability and create a haven for beneficial insects. Routine crop scouting and following an integrated pest management plan ensures that the cost of pesticide applications is weighed against the risk and benefits of spraying.
The CLC is a local source for agricultural research with relevant and impartial results. A few notable projects underway at the CLC include cover cropping, intercropping, novel pulses and horticultural trials that look at diversifying cropping systems, forage trials, as well as a wetland drainage project that is beginning this fall. The CLC is well-known for their school program and have recently become a Cleanfarms drop-off site for select agricultural waste.
Whether it is hosting a field day, receiving a grain bag for recycling or preparing for a new demonstration project: there’s always something new happening at the Conservation Learning Centre and Agri-ARM research sites across the province. These organizations conduct great work and positively impact the agriculture industry. Connect with a regional Ministry of Agriculture specialist or a local research site to learn more.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
