Kirkview Farms Rotational Grazing Field Day

July 20, 2024, 10 am to 1 pm, Dalkeith, ON

At Kirkview Farms, Cora, Mike and their team practice regenerative agriculture – raising grass-finished beef, pastured poultry, goats and pork in a way that prioritizes animal welfare and environmental sustainability while producing high-quality meats.
For more information and to register

Explore Cover Crops with Owen Lake

Aug. 8, 2024, 1-3 pm, Stirling, ON

We are talking all things cover crops! Come out and join Owen Lake for a field tour to look at his cover crops an discuss planting into cover crops.
To register

Advanced Grazing Mentorship Pasture Walks: Oro-Medonte, Simcoe

Aug. 10, 2024, 9 am -12 pm

Join the Ontario Forage Council for the Pasture Walk series, this one in Oro-Medonte, Simcoe, ON. Theme: Rotational Grazing for Soil Health & Carbon Cycling. Location details will be provided after registration. Lunch is provided and there’s a networking hour following the event for those who wish to participate. The event is free of charge but registration is required and space is limited.
To register

Pasture Walks

May 11, June 15, Aug 10, Aug 17

Join Ontario Forage Network and FaRM Mentors to learn about the Advanced Grazing Systems program. The program offers training for producers to gain expertise in rotational grazing. The curriculum is designed to teach farmers key concepts and develop a rotational grazing plan for their operation. In addition to the course content, the program will create a support network of other grazing producers and provide instructional support resources.
Register for each walk here

Advanced Grazing Mentorship Pasture Walks: MELANCTHON, DUFFERIN

Aug. 17, 2024, 9 am to 12 pm

Join the Ontario Forage Council for the Pasture Walk series, this one in MELANCTHON, DUFFERIN, ON. Theme: Winter Feeding & Water Systems, Predicting Cattle Performance from Grazed Pasture. Location details will be provided after registration. Lunch is provided and there’s a networking hour following the event for those who wish to participate. The event is free of charge but registration is required and space is limited.
To register

Cover Crops and Direct to Consumer with Greg Traynor

Aug. 28, 2024, 1-3 pm, Peterborough, ON

Join Greg for a field tour to explore cover crops, talk all things soil health and learn about the direct to consumer side of his operation!
More information

Hog Manure and Mineralizing Nitrogen for Corn with Ron Martin

Aug. 29, 2024, 3-5 pm, Drayton, ON

Take a field tour with Ron Martin to look at his corn after winter wheat with cover crops (oat peas crimson clover and tillage radish) which was planted after wheat and worked down before winter. Ron also has plots with varying levels of applied hog manure (5000gpa hog manure and 3000gpa hog manure) and side dress 24-0-0 nitrogen applied at 6 leaves which is compared against a zero-fertility plot to measure difference between cover crop fertility as opposed to applied fertility.
More information

Text a Mentor now available!

FaRM Mentor Katrina McQuail has made herself available via text message for any and all your livestock questions. Katrina has implemented many Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) on her livestock operation in Ontario where she raises pigs, cattle and poultry using regenerative agriculture techniques. There are no dumb questions. Send her a text when you need a quick response! You can also meet her in person at upcoming FaRM events.

Text-a-Mentor with Ken Laing!

Are you interested in learning more about cover crops and working with Ken? Ken Laing of Orchard Hill Farm is a longtime EFAO member and farmer-mentor in the Cover Cropping Category. He is now available to consult with you for FREE in this role until August 31, 2024. You can reach out to him via text at 519 775 2670 or email him at [email protected].

Meet your Mentors

Jennifer Doelman

Cover Crop and Nitrogen Mentor - ON

Jennifer farms with her husband and children on their first-generation farm in Douglas, ON. They are beekeepers as well as grain and oilseed producers, growing a diverse crop rotation which includes corn, wheat, and soybeans as well as barley, canola, flax, oats, triticale, peas, forages and sunflowers. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Guelph, an independent Ontario Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) with a 4R Nutrient Management Specialty and an alumna of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP). Jennifer is heavily involved in local and provincial organizations that emphasize environmental stewardship, community, and agricultural development. Currently, she is a professor at the Algonquin College Agricultural Business Diploma Program and; serves in a supportive capacity to the Ontario Canola Growers, Grain Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Soil Network, Renfrew County 4-H Association, Renfrew County Soil and Crop Improvement Association, the Renfrew County Agricultural Economic Development Committee, the Renfrew County Bonnechere River Watershed Project, the Upper Ottawa Valley Beekeepers Association.

Charlene Whattam

Nitrogen Mentor - ON

Charlene Whattam is a grains, oilseeds & goat farmer from Douglas, ON working alongside her family to leave the land better than they found it. Charlene uses technology and precision techniques to put nutrients where they need to be. They use crop rotation to maximize yields and keep their soils healthy and productive. Charlene has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph and is a Certified Crop Advisor.

Patrick Verkley

Cover Crop Mentor - ON

Patrick Verkley raises broiler chickens and grows grain and oilseed crops in Middlesex County. In 2018 he bought a farm from his parents, built a broiler barn, and started raising chickens and field crops under a new operation, Kleijdale Farms. Patrick graduated with Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo. Since returning home, Patrick has been focused on how to reimagine agriculture in a fiscally prudent yet compelling way. Patrick started an agricultural design firm, Verkley Design and Modelling, which works with farmers to help create farm buildings which elevate the importance of process, workflow, labour efficiency, as well as creating a design aesthetic which conveys the pride and dedication that farmers have to their work. Patrick also became a director on the board of the Middlesex Federation of Agriculture and sits on the Policy Advisory Committee of the OFA. On his own farm, Patrick designed his broiler barn to include natural light for the chickens. Patrick has also been experimenting with multi-species cropping methods such as relay wheat and soybeans, as well as 60” corn within season cover crops.

David Cousens

Cover Crop and Nitrogen Mentor - ON

David Cousens farms alongside his wife in Kinburn, ON. They produce corn, soybeans and wheat using reduced tillage and crop rotation. David utilizes soil tests and precision technology on their equipment as he believes that you can’t fix what you can’t measure.

Norm Lamothe

Cover Crop, Nitrogen, Rotational Grazing Mentor - ON

Norm Lamothe has been involved in the operation of Woodleigh Farms Ltd. which is a multi-generational family run business with a diverse set of offerings. These include maple syrup, a large vegetable market garden, greenhouse operation (plants, seedlings, perennials) as well as a diverse crop production including the harvest of firewood, corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, straw and hay. Woodleigh Farms Ltd. is committed to ensuring that all environmental impacts are considered when making decisions in their operation, following organic and sustainable practices in their market garden, greenhouse, and maple syrup operations. In recent years the operation has shifted away from traditional methods of agriculture to what they feel are more sustainable practices including more diverse crop rotations, less commercial fertilizers, cover crops, managing inputs, no-till, and use of clean energies. At Woodleigh Farms Ltd. they are dedicated to soil health and ensuring both their owned and rented lands are in better shape than they received it for future generations.

Katrina McQuail

Advanced Grazing Systems - ON

Katrina McQuail, with assistance from her husband Ben and support from other family members, owns and operates Meeting Place Organic Farm. They raise certified organic pastured pigs, grass-fed cattle, meat chickens and laying hens. They farm with Suffolk-Punch draft horses, have a few quail, some ducks and an old apple orchard from which they make their apple butter. They also have a pet pig named Pickle. They are committed to experiential and practical education for prospective farmers. Katrina is excited to be raising animals and growing food, contributing to regenerative agriculture, providing more nutritious and local food for her community and creating less unnecessary plastic waste

Ken Laing

Cover Crop Mentor - ON

Ken Laing has farmed with his wife Martha near St.Thomas, Ontario since 1979 when he graduated from the University of Guelph with a BSc in Agriculture. He has grown a wide variety of organic crops including strawberries, raspberries, vegetables and field crops. Cover crops have been used extensively for all their different purposes such as erosion control, weed control, preventing the loss of nutrients, fixing N etc. Our farm enterprises have included PYO, CSA, cash crops and custom grazing.

Need help connecting with a Mentor?

Let us know what province you are in and the topic you are interested in discussing and we will get you connected with a Mentor in your region who can help you implement your BMPs.

Find a Mentor

Ontario Calendar of Events

Are you interested in listing your upcoming event on the FaRM calendar?

If your event supports the same Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) as the FaRM program, we will happily promote it. Use the linked form to provide details.

Go to Event Listing Form