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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

Collaborative action on climate-friendly management practices for crop and livestock production systems: Living Lab – Ontario

Project Lead: Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA)

Research Partners: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, University of Guelph, University of British Columbia, Canada Wildlife Federation, Greenbelt Foundation, Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, Corporation of the County of Wellington, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, and Livestock Research Innovation Corporation

Timeline: June 2023 – March 2028   

Objectives:

  • To use the living labs approach to co-develop and collaboratively design, test and optimize agricultural practices related to carbon (C) sequestration and greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions to enhance resilience, sustainability, and profitability of farmers.
  • To assess and evaluate the feasibility, desirability, and viability of the co-created innovations through living lab activities on the farm.
  • To create communities of practice through co-development activities which will create beneficial management practices (BMPs) that sequester C and/or reduce GHG emissions while identifying challenges to their adoption.
  • To conduct farm-level economic analyses of BMPs to develop systems-based approaches for producers to quantify the costs and benefits of adopting the innovative practices developed in the living lab project
  • To improve climate change mitigation modelling for Ontario farms.
  • To engage a diversity of producers, through collaboration with a broad range of farm organizations, and include a diversity of types and scales of farm operations.
  • To assemble, demonstrate and exchange knowledge of project outcomes through knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) initiatives targeted to farmers, industry, and academia.
  • To implement a made-in-Ontario living lab as envisioned by the Agricultural Climate Solutions – Living Labs (ACS-LL) initiative, a $185-million program that supports Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) efforts to build and strengthen a nationwide network of living labs over 10 years.

Impacts:

  • Through the co-development process, the project will develop innovations that address user-driven questions, leading to greater adoption of BMPs that will reduce methane (CH4) from livestock production, nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from cropping systems, and sequester C in agricultural soils and landscapes in Ontario.

Scientific Summary:

Living Lab – Ontario will accelerate the sector’s response to climate change by bringing together farmers, scientists, and other experts to co-develop, test, evaluate, and share on-farm beneficial management practices (BMPs) that will help store carbon (C) and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on Ontario farms.

A living lab is an innovation project supported by research. It is where research meets the real world. The living lab – Ontario project will directly engage 40 producers and numerous researchers to co-develop and test BMPs that address climate change challenges and solutions for livestock and crop producers. The activities include studying in-field nitrogen (N) use, manure storage management, landscape features , and grazing management.

The experience, observations and solutions from farmers are valued alongside the data collected by researchers. The trials are not static: they will change and improve as information and experiences are shared. Co-created innovations have a higher adoption potential because they are associated with farmer-identified challenges and approaches. The process validates and legitimizes the BMPs through data and user experience.

Engaging a network of farmers alongside  scientists increases overall confidence in the research findings produced on working farms and builds support and trust in the science and the practice. The living lab approach creates effective relationships with the producers, scientists, experts and organisations involved in the process.

With the co-development of BMPs with Ontario farmers, and by addressing the information and knowledge gaps farmers identify as barriers, greater BMP adoption rates can be achieved. Through development, evaluation, validation, and Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT), the project will provide proof of value to producers across environmental, economic, and societal contexts.

External Funding Partners:

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Beef Farmers of Ontario

Dairy Farmers of Ontario

Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Ontario Pork

Ontario Sheep Farmers