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Denys Farms wins conservation award

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Adrian Cornelissen and Nathan Schoelier present the Conservationist of the Year Award to Dan, Mike, and Jim Denys.

 

Denys Farms wins Conservationist of the Year Award
Denys Farms Inc. – Jim, Dan and Mike Denys, of Parkhill area, honoured with Conservationist of the Year Award for more than 25 years of conservation farming

Ausable Bayfield Conservation has announced that the Conservationist of the Year in 2022 is Denys Farms Inc. – Jim, Dan and Mike Denys, of the Parkhill area. The Middlesex County family has been an early adopter of practices that sustain and improve soils in their farming operation while also limiting erosion and managing runoff. 

“Ausable Bayfield Conservation is pleased and honoured to announce that Denys Farms Inc. – Jim, Dan and Mike Denys – are this year’s deserving winners of the Conservationist of the Year award,” said Dave Jewitt, Chair of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) Board of Directors. “The Denys family has practised best practices and land stewardship for decades, helping to build soil health and to manage and reduce runoff to the benefit of their farming operation and their community.”

Jim Denys is President of Denys Farms Inc. He says the family is honoured to receive the award. “Our goal is to build the soil and build the business and we believe it’s possible to do both,” he said. “We use a number of best practices to reduce erosion of topsoil and to reduce nutrient loss while also achieving high yields.”

Denys Farms Inc. is a pork and cash crop producer.  They have run a three-crop rotation including corn, soybeans and wheat. The Denys family has practised no-till farming for more than 25 years. The Denys family planted no-till wheat in the 1990s as a way to conserve soil and stop erosion. Jim Denys was a recipient of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s 2019 Soil Champions Award.

Denys Farms Inc. is committed to building soil structure and organic matter. They accomplish this with strip-tilling and by planting cover crops including multi-species cover crops. Spreading of manure onto a cover crop in August encourages biomass production and limits runoff. They practise 4Rs stewardship using variable-rate fertilizer application and applying when it is needed by the crops.

The recipients received their award at a ceremony at their farm on June 9, 2022. They received a locally handcrafted, engraved dual-purpose board, made of Maple wood, that is a piece of art on one side and a serving tray on the other. In addition to the prize, Ausable Bayfield Conservation is donating towards a tree and plaque at a Commemorative Woods.

Ausable Bayfield Conservation has presented the Conservationist of the Year Award for more than 35 years – since 1984.

Photo information:

DENYS FARMS INC. WINS CONSERVATIONIST OF THE YEAR AWARD – The winner of the Conservationist of the Year Award for 2022, presented by Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), is Denys Farms Inc. – Jim, Dan and Mike Denys, of the Parkhill area. Presenting the award on June 9, from left to right, on behalf of Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) are Adrian Cornelissen, Municipality of North Middlesex representative on the ABCA Board of Directors; and Nathan Schoelier, ABCA Stewardship Manager. Accepting the award, at the farm north of Parkhill, are: Dan, Mike, and Jim Denys.

To learn more visit the conservation award web page:

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