Living Lab - Atlantic Project Overview

Living Lab - AtlanticProject Overview

Scott AndersonSite Coordinator

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What is a Living Laboratory?

Co-design

Exploration/Experimentation

Adoption

Validate and refine the cycle of innovation (priorities, outcomes, etc)

Identify the needs/outcomes –anticipate possible impediments

Acquire new data, conduct experiments, develop new knowledge

Take stock of the experiments and the cycle of innovation

Evaluation

Evaluate new practice or technology, and adjust based on producer input

(Adapted from L’Acadie Lab)

A Living Laboratory is an integrated approach to agricultural innovation that bring farmers, scientists and other partners together to co-develop, test and monitor BMPs and new technologies in a real life context.

The result will be more practical technologies and sustainable farming practices adopted more quickly by Canadian farmers.

Planning/Targeting

Traditional Innovation Approach

Research DevelopmentKnowledge

Transfer

Evolution of KTT

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RDT

Relationships &

Collaboration

Knowledge Transfer / Extension

Adoption / Practice Change

Relationships &

Collaboration

Something was still missing…..

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A New Approach for KTT

• Living Labs

– co-develop the project

– co-collect the measurements

– co-create the science information and conclusions

– End-goal: earlier adoption of BMPs and demonstrated success by producers to their peers

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Steen and van Bueren, 2017

User Centred Approach

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Co-Development: Key Points

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❑ It is a regular and required process in an ongoing cycle of innovation.

❑ It includes organized events where all participants are focused specifically on evaluating practices or technologies and contributing ideas toward their improvement.

❑ It is user-centred, but is also collaborative: users and partners from various disciplines and backgrounds all contribute their unique perspectives toward a common goal.

Co-Development

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❑ It complements informal or unplanned moments of reflection and conversation about potential solutions.

❑ It must be captured in a way that will enable decisions to be made.

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PEI Living Lab

• The Team

– 70 participants

– AAFC, DFO, ECCC, CFIA, PMC, PEI Depts of Agriculture and Environment, academia (Dal, UNB, St. FX, 9 Ph.D. or M.Sc.), NGOs (including watershed groups), producer groups

– STB Living Labs management team

• 2 Living Labs sites in 2019 (PEI, MB)

• Additional sites in 2020 and 2021

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1a Identification of

significant carbon

sinks

1b Spatial targeting

of conservation at

the field scale

1c Enhancing

habitat capacity /

minimizing risks

1d Hydrology and

water quality of

non-grain

plantings

2a On farm soil

health and fertility

indicators and

downstream

implications

2b Slow

release

fertilizers

3a When and how

to construct surface

water storage

3b Tile drainage

management

practices

3c Informed

drainage and

wetland

restoration

4a Farm level

economic

analysis of

BMPS

4b Understanding

BMP adoption4c Estimate of

GHG reduction

with BMPS

C1 Living

Lab Clubs

C2

Regenerative

Agriculture*

C3 Perennial

Crops &

Plants*

C4 Water

Quality &

Quantity*

C5

Pollinator

Habitat

C6 Spatial

Targeting

for max

benefit

C7 Understanding

BMP uptake

C8 BMP policy

evaluation and

opportunities

C9 Integration

and Project

management

PEI Living Lab

• Primary Objectives

– test and demonstrate BMPs to enhance soil health and crop productivity

• Cover crops, tillage, supplemental irrigation, soil mapping

– test and demonstrate BMPs to reduce nutrients, and pesticides loadings

• Modelling, precision agriculture, GHG, N decision support tool

– perform socio-economic assessment of BMPs

• Farm level economics and barriers/incentives to adoption

– transfer knowledge and technology of BMP

• On farm demonstrations

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BMP1: Use of Fall Seeded Cover Cropsfollowing Primary Tillage

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP 1: Cover Crops Before Potatoes

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Selection of fields (up to 8) and treatments

Soil sampling for soil chemical, soil N supply, Verticillium/nematodes, soil health characteristics, compaction

Record percentage ground cover

Measure erosion potential (pins, splash pans)

Measure impact on yield/quality of potatoes

• Show the benefits of fall cover crop following tillage for erosion control, soil health, soil organic matter, and yield in potatoes the following year

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BMP2: Use of Fall Seeded Cover Cropsfollowing Potato Production

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP 2: Cover Crops after Potatoes

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Selection of fields (up to 8) and treatments

Soil sampling for soil chemical, soil N supply, soil health characteristics, soil nitrate at 3 depths

Record percentage ground cover

Measure erosion potential (pins, splash pans)

• Show the benefits of fall cover crop following potato harvest to reduce soil erosion, intercept soil nitrates, improve soil health.

• Supporting Activity #2

BMP3: Use of Full-Season Soil-BuildingRotation Crops for Building Soil OM

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP 3: Soil-Building Crops

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Selection of fields (up to 10) and treatments

Soil sampling for soil chemical, soil N supply, soil health characteristics, Verticillium/nematodes, compaction

Recording above ground biomass

Yield/quality of potatoes the following year

• Show the benefits of full-season, non-harvested rotation crops at improving soil organic matter, soil structure, and disease/pest pressure

• Supporting Activity #2

BMP 4- Nurse Cropping Demonstration Trials within Potato and Corn Production

Systems

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP-5 Demonstrating Potato Productivity and Nitrogen use efficiency as affected by Supplemental Irrigation

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP#6 - Effect of irrigation on yield, quality and economic value of existing and

emerging processing potato varieties

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

BMP#7 - Reducing nitrogen loss through use of slow release fertilizer products

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

Using constructed wetland and vegetated drain ditches* to improve water quality (External BMP 8)

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting November 19, 2019

Assessment of the impact of land use and management practices on nitrate loading

in intensive agricultural watershed

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2019-20 Update

Atlantic Living Laboratories Semi-Annual Meeting January 27, 2020

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Questions???