Community pastures: Farmland innovation with economic and environmental effects

A “living lab” for agricultural sustainability

Ms. Bibeau and her colleagues visited the co-op because it is a Living Lab, part of a federal program to explore “agricultural climate solutions” that reduce greenhouse gases and increase carbon capture. The Tantramar Grasslands Co-operative takes a generational approach to the 1800-acre (730-hectare) site, connecting cattle farmers, industry support and research partnerships to proactively oversee their land.

The farmland was Arcadian-built in the 17th century by constructing dike systems on the Chignecto Isthmus, a low-lying land bridge to Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy. The panoramic view takes in miles of grassland bounded by the vast Tantramar saltmarshes maintained by the great, daily tides in the Bay of Fundy.

Local farmer Matt Beal is the co-op’s volunteer manager, a family connection that began with his great-grandfather, a founding board member. The lifestyle never gets old. Along with grazing cattle, Beal shares the acreage with diverse wildlife that include deer, coyotes, bobcats and a stunning range of birds.

Soil-building techniques

Beal works with the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association (NBSCIA) to trial soil-building techniques, such as rotational grazing, that allow grassland plants to develop deep roots underground. The co-op also works with DUC, creating naturalized watering ponds that are a trusted source of fresh water for both cattle and wildlife in the grassland.

That’s important because the pasture is near the Tintamarre National Wildlife Area, part of the Tantramar marshes, which attracts many thousands of shorebirds, marsh birds and waterfowl. DUC has co-managed more than 2,000 acres (800 hectares) of restored wetlands in the publicly owned preserve for nearly 60 years.

Small wonder that neighbouring Sackville is an accredited “Wetland City,” named for its loving care of urban wetlands that include a large waterfowl park established in the 1980s by DUC and the Town of Sackville. A decade later, DUC realized its first Wetland Centre of Excellence with the Tantramar Regional High School, where local students spend time in nature’s classroom every year.

A Bird’s Eye View of the Tantramar Marshes is a video overview of the history of the landscape around Sackville, N.B., presented by the Municipality of Tantramar.

Learn about the striking design of the constructed habitat in the Tintamarre National Wildlife Reserve which includes “sprawling circles, wandering waves, and crisscrossing chevrons, all carved into the wetlands”.

Soil allies on Canada’s working landscapes

Three decades of partnership for sustainability

For three decades, DUC has partnered with the 2,200-acre (890-hectare) Victoria County Community Pasture, which provides summer gazing for about 1,200 yearling cattle. One of 11 established in Ontario, the pasture is managed by a volunteer board and a pasture manager who work with DUC to protect habitats and provide naturalized watering ponds that benefit cattle and wildlife.

Across Canada, community pastures are longstanding allies of rural sustainability. Their availability for grazing helps reduce cost pressures because farmers can expand their operations without the need to buy or convert more land. In addition, consolidated grazing is good for soil when large grazers are brought together in a rotational grazing pattern that churns and fertilizes the surface but also gives a variety of grassland plants the opportunity to form root systems that hold both soil and carbon in place.

As the economic and environmental costs of land conversion rise across the country, farmland innovation is increasingly needed to support sustainable development. What may seem like a few cows dawdling across a grassy landscape is, in fact, part of an increasingly high-profile conservation agenda.