By: Karen Y. Hogg
Correspondent - Voice of the Farmer
BRADFORD - Cathy Nesbitt owner of Cathy's Crawly Composters in Bradford,
is hoping her research project will help change the way Ontario farmers
manage their manure. Cathy and partner, Kathy Wood of Kingston are looking
for at least ten cattle producers, preferably in the York, Simcoe area
and ten in the Kingston area to take part in a manure management research
project that uses worms. Cathy operates a worm farm and Kathy Wood has
an Environmental Degree with a focus on soil biology.
Each individual farm taking part in the study will require two pits,
each 25 feet long, by 6 feet wide and 1 foot in depth. Manure will be
added to the pits weekly and says Cathy, "my partner and I will be at
the farms weekly to monitor the project." The second pit on each site
is the control pit and will be set up under identical (as near as possible)
conditions to one another. The farmers will prepare the pits and the
women will monitor the projects and supply the worms, approximately
50 pounds of Red Wigglers in each region.
Worms in the manure reduce the volume, reduce or eliminate pathogens
and increase the nutrient value of the manure. The manure in the study
pits will be tested beforehand and again when the 2-3 month project
is complete.
The two women hope to start the project by mid-April and are also looking
for funding to at least cover the cost of the testing. "We're hoping
it won't cost farmers anything and that Agriculture Canada or the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture will be interested," says Cathy.
Anyone interested in taking part in this research project can contact:
Cathy Nesbitt at 905-775-9495
email: cathy@cathyscomposters.com
Kathy Wood at 1-866-805-3335
Natural Capital Resources website: www.ncronline.ca
email: ncr@sympatico.ca
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