Conservation clubs have a proven success record in other provinces, and the Prince Edward Island Soil and Crop Association is hoping to write another chapter in that legacy over the next several months.
With funding assistance from the Prince Edward Island ADAPT Council, the association is now in the process of establishing two such clubs as a pilot project. Just where the clubs will be located is still a matter to be nailed down.
Association President Allan Rennie said the hope is to build the club around a watershed area in the hope that a concentrated effort in a relatively small geographical area can bring measurable results rather quickly. From there, the hope would be to establish several other clubs across the province – likely at least one in every region.
Rennie and 16 other people visited a conservation club in New Brunswick and were impressed with the work that was being done in such areas as controlling run-off, manure management and spray calibration.
We were certainly impressed with what we saw," Rennie said. "There were 70 clubs in Quebec last year and, from what I understand, the number has grown quite substantially just in the past 12 months."
In addition to sharing their problems and concerns, he said there will be an agronomist attached to each club to work with producers on a one-on-one basis. While the services of the agronomist will be prioritized to look after club members first, any field days, demonstrations or guest speakers brought in by the two clubs will be open to all producers. He also said the concept will not be limited to any one commodity group.
"Our aim is to improve the soil conservation practices and encourage best management practices right across Prince Edward Island," he said. "We do not want to exclude anybody." Rennie is confident the clubs will catch on, providing the pilot projects can show beneficial results. He added, "the concept has worked well in other places – while it is new to Prince Edward Island, it is not new to Canada."
Allan said planning for the two clubs will kick into high gear once the harvest is complete. He added, "we plan to make it a major priority over the next several months – we will be holding some organizational meetings over the winter and hopefully everything will be ready to go next spring."