Maurice Chauvin Recognized With 2018 Conservation Farm Award

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Michael Dick of ERCA (left), and Brian Hyland of the Essex Soil and Crop Improvement Association (right) congratulate Maurice Chauvin, Conservation Farm Award winner (centre).

This year the winner of the Conservation Farm Award is Maurice Chauvin of Pointe-aux-Roches.

The award is presented each year to the farming operation which best displays conservation minded farming practices of those nominated. The farms are graded on tillage practices, crop rotation, chemical use and storage, knowledge of fertility programs, Best Management Practices and overall farm maintenance. The winner is determined by a committee of Directors from the Essex Soil & Crop Improvement Association. This year the winner of the Conservation Farm Award is Maurice Chauvin of Pointe-aux-Roches.

Features of Maurice Chauvin’s Farm include use of cover crops such as oats; minimum till and no-till cropping; precision soil sampling; variable rate fertilizer application; rock chutes to reduce soil erosion and buffer strips along water courses. Their farm incorporates header tiles and controlled drainage systems to control the water table and limit the amount of fertilizer run-off. An early adapter of precision farming, Moe uses advanced software and GPS land formation technology to improve surface drainage while preserving top soil. A sixth generation farmer, Moe farms with the help of his son Shawn and his father Robert. They have participated in the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan program since its beginning and have a Farmland Health Checkup. They have used the programs to implement many of the Best Management Practices on their farms.