Experimental Acres 2024
Experimental Acres supports farmers in Grey County with the implementation of sustainable agricultural best practices. Check out this year's projects below!
Farmers know their land best, so Grey County is backing their ideas for how to improve yield, soil health and overall sustainability on the farm using new cropping practices, livestock or other innovations.
Experimental Acres projects fall into three categories, all with an aim to improve soil health:
1) Living Roots and Green Cover - projects which extend the time soil is covered and/or has living roots in it
2) Innovation - projects which implement new technology or systems on the farm
3) Integrating Animals on the Farm - projects which incorporate livestock into farm systems
The program is designed to de-risk the learning season of a new practice by providing financial and educational support, and hopefully help producers prepare for larger scale implementation in the future. Six farms were selected for 2024 and will run their trials in the coming season, their details are below.
Interested in learning about the projects that were completed in 2024? Check out the report below!
You can also find details on projects which ran in 2023 in Dufferin, Grey and Wellington Counties here.
Projects at a glance.
Peter Kotzeff - Interseeding clover into corn silage at the V2-V3 stage.
Black Sheep Farm - Continued monitoring of a 2023 Experimental Acres bale grazing project.
Devan Penney, Fairfields Farm - Interseeding various cover crops into sweet corn plots.
Don Swindell, Vinegar Hill Farm - Cross Seeding Forages
Amanda Deschambeau, Braided Dalea Farm - Multi-species rotational grazing.
All Sorts Acres - Trialing wool pellets as a soil amendment on pasture.
Wade Deaken, Appinbrook Farms Ltd. - Liquid manure application using a dragline.
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Q: What is Experimental Acres?A: The Experimental Acres pilot was developed as a part of Guelph-Wellington Our Food Future, a project funded by Infrastructure Canada. The County of Wellington facilitated the programme in Wellington and Dufferin Counties in 2022, and Grey County joined in 2023. It is a program that provides funding to small scale agricultural projects, with the goal of de-risking the learning process and increasing the adoption of practices that are good for soil health. Experimental Acres is a great way for producers to receive a small amount of funding to trial an idea on farm. Whether the practice is new-to-you or has never been done before, we’d like to hear your ideas. Grey County Experimental Acres projects are funded by Grey County as part of their Climate Action Plan. The program aligns with Action 3: Capacity Building in Sustainable Agricultural Best Practices and aims to support farmers in implementing new practices which can build soil health and potentially aid in carbon recapture. Examples of past projects have included things like cover cropping, silvopasture, rotational grazing systems, tarping to avoid tillage, intercropping, livestock bedding trials, vertical farming, no-till establishment of crops, companion planting and more!
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Q: Who can apply?A: Any farmer with a project in mind is welcome to apply. You must agree to the basic program requirements laid out at the beginning of the application form. Farms do not need an FBRN number or an Environmental Farm Plan. The goal is to remove barriers by including few requirements for the program.
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Q: What can the funding be used for?A: Experimental Acres projects fall into one of three categories: 1) Living Roots and Green Cover - projects which extend the time soil is covered and/or has living roots in it (up to $1000.00 available per farm) 2) Innovation - projects which implement new ways of doing things on the farm (up to $2000.00 available per farm) 3) Integrating Animals on the Farm - projects which incorporate livestock into farm systems (up to $3000.00 available per farm) The program is designed to be very open ended and accessible, to allow support for many different types of projects. If you have an idea, please let us know!
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Q: Does my farm need to be located in Grey County to apply?A: Yes, although Dufferin and Wellington Counties also each have an Experimental Acres program which you can apply to if you are located in one of those areas.
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Q: How many farms are eligible to receive funding in 2025?A: Grey County’s 2025 program allows for roughly six Experimental Acres projects to be selected, but the exact number will fluctuate depending on funding allocated.
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Q: Where can I find more information?A: You can reach out to Emily McKague at info@greyagservices.ca with any questions. You can also check out Wellington County’s Experimental Acres page: https://www.wellington.ca/en/business/ed-experimental-acres.aspx for additional background information.