Lambton County farmer wins innovation award | Sarnia This Week
An Oil Springs-area farmer who has pioneered no-till farming practices and placed a priority on maintaining soil health while championing environmental stewardship has received provincial recognition from his agricultural peers.
Mike Belan has been named Innovative Farmer of the Year for 2020 by the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario.
He received the award on behalf of his family and Belan Farms at the IFAO conference in London on Feb. 19.
The association encourages cropping practices that conserve and regenerate soil and engages farmers to help them improve the health of their soil. It annually selects a farmer from across Ontario who has made a significant commitment to the principles of regenerative farming.
No-till farming is an agricultural system whereby the crop stubble following harvest is left untouched over the winter months, rather than being plowed under, and the new crop is seeded between the stubble the following spring.
In a media release, the IFAO said it chose Belan – a third-generation farmer whose family switched to no-till farming in the early 1990s – because of his commitment to implementing practices such as the introduction of cover crops, which have reduced soil erosion, increased water filtration and reduced compaction.
Belan said he was both honoured and humbled by winning the award, and gave credit to his family.
“It’s very, very cool,” he said. “Farmers are in general pretty bashful people and I can’t take all the credit – I’ve got family and I have years of innovation behind me with the family farm growing and my dad starting it. So I’ve got to give credit where credit is due but I’m pleasantly surprised.
“It’s always good to be recognized for what you’re doing, especially when it comes to something that you feel passionate about … but it’s not like any farmer goes out to seek recognition for what we do. It’s just something that we do.”
After publicly speaking about his family’s journey from conventional to no-till farming to groups such as Green Drinks Sarnia, and following interactions with other farmers as well as delegates attending the IFAO London conference, Belan said he believes more farmers will start taking soil health more seriously.
“It’s always a hope. It’s something that I think will be the next wave of farming, regenerative farming, focusing more on soil health as a base and then building off that to produce your commodity crop,” he said.
“There’s definitely interest – I’m here at the conference today and there’s actually a lot of interest,” Belan added. “It’s one of those things that’s tough, though – it’s a totally new management style for farming and it takes a lot more work. If you look at the retiring generation of farmers who don’t have anybody coming up to farm with them, it can be a tough sell. But for the younger, newer generation of farmers, this is what they’re looking towards.”