Gary and Debbie Mountain have been running their farm in Caledon for over 20 years, and their connection to the farmland goes back almost 200 years. This is how long the family has been farming it and making big changes to the land along the way.
Inheriting the Past
When Gary’s great-great-grandfather came to Caledon in the early 1830s, the property was tree-covered. He worked hard to build a cabin and began clearing the 160-acre farmstead to grow what would sustain his family.
In the late 1800s, the next generation finished clearing the land and used fences to divide the farm into small fields to grow row crops and graze livestock. During this time, horses did the work of pulling plows.
By the time Gary’s father took over in the early 1950s, they had purchased their first tractor and enlarged the fields by removing the fences. Instead of 13 small fields, the land was now two large open fields.
Today, Gary understands that many of the environmental challenges affecting his farm’s productivity and soil and water quality are a result of these past farming practices. For example, years of extensive mechanical tilling has damaged the soil leading to compaction and erosion, and the tree-lined fences that once served as windbreaks are gone resulting in an ongoing loss of soil and nutrients, reducing productivity and degrading nearby aquatic habitat.
Farming for the Future
Gary and Debbie believe that each generation of farmer does what they think is best based on current knowledge. “We’ve learned a lot from the mistakes and successes of the past,” says Gary. “A big lesson is that natural infrastructure like trees and wetlands is key to long-term farm success.”
Gary and Debbie work hard to heal and protect the land by adopting good farm stewardship practices. To date, they have retired sensitive farmland in several areas including steep hills and wet spots. They’ve restored these areas by planting thousands of trees and shrubs. They have also significantly reduced tillage, started using cover crops, planted windbreaks, and installed in-field erosion control structures. These actions have improved and protected the soil, created habitat, and protected water quality.
Many of the stewardship practices adopted by Gary and Debbie are eligible for support from ALUS Peel which is in the second year of a three-year pilot. The Mountains are one of the first participants in the program. They receive annual payments from ALUS Peel for the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of their projects. To learn more about ALUS Peel, and how you can farm for the future contact your ALUS Peel Coordinator.