2024 Experimental Acres Open for Applications
Dufferin County invites farmers to apply to the 2024 Experimental Acres Program by Friday, February 23, 2024.
Experimental Acres provides Dufferin farmers with educational and financial support to de-risk new practices that improve yield, soil health, carbon sequestration and overall sustainability. The program is intended to champion farmer-led discovery, with small-scale experimentation that can link to larger funding opportunities. Farmer-created projects will be supported through three Experimental Acres funding streams:
Living Roots and Green Cover
Maintaining soil cover helps reduce soil erosion from wind and precipitation. Example practices include cover cropping, intercropping and introducing new crops into the rotation.
Innovation
The innovation stream is for projects that can benefit soil health and do not fit into other categories. Example practices include tarping to reduce tillage intensity, winter crop rotation, and planting tall grass prairie.
Integrating Animals on the Farm
Integrating animals on the farm can have many benefits to soil health and promote carbon storage in cropland soil. Example practices include rotational grazing, silvopasture and bale grazing.
This year, Experimental Acres will be delivered by Grey County Agricultural Services. Successful applicants can expect to receive prompt reimbursement of costs to de-risk their trial, and for soil testing and result analysis, research support from staff and information about related events and programs.
Dufferin farmers are encouraged to submit an application for funding by Friday, February 23, 2024 here.
Quick links
Quotes
“At the heart of Experimental Acres is the principle that ‘farmers know their land best’. We know that prescriptive practices don’t work for everyone. Through this program, we centre farmer-created projects and cultivate individual pathways towards best practice adoption.”
– Darren White, Warden, Dufferin County
“Dufferin County cares deeply about being a home for thriving agri-food businesses. The Experimental Acres Program is an opportunity for our municipality to offer a first step for farmers towards accessing larger funding opportunities and scaling up regenerative practices,”
– Todd Taylor, Councillor and Chair, Infrastructure and Environmental Services Committee, Dufferin County
“Through the Experimental Acres Program, we are learning together with the goal of advancing best-management practices that produce both food and the services of a climate-resilient ecosystem: greater biodiversity, more carbon-hungry soil, healthy watersheds, increased pollinator habitat and bioregion stability.”
– Sara MacRae, Manager, Climate and Energy, Dufferin County
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Megan Ball, Manager of Communications
mball@dufferincounty.ca
