Reducing agricultural runoff in the Missisquoi Bay Basin

Organisme de bassin versant de la baie Missisquoi (OBVBM) has concluded a multi-year project aimed at reducing agricultural runoff into Missisquoi Bay, a lake segment with high phosphorus levels and frequent cyanobacteria blooms. Participating farmers received funding and technical assistance to adopt best management practices on their land.

Agriculturally-related environmental issues identified in the Missisquoi Bay watershed included soil degradation due to monoculture growing practices, pollution of waterways owing to runoff and soil loss on farmland, and biodiversity loss on agricultural land. Frequent cyanobacteria blooms fueled by phosphorus entering the Bay are one of the most visible consequences of longstanding agricultural practices in the watershed, and management efforts seek to provide the funding and technical assistance needed to improve farming practices.

The project sought to reduce the impact of runoff from agricultural land through targeted outreach to farm businesses, who could elect to receive funding and technical assistance to adopt a variety of sustainable practices, including hydro-agricultural management to control erosion, cover cropping and crop rotation, intercropping, riparian buffer strips, and increasing perennial cultivation in flood-prone areas.

The project team met with approximately 100 farm businesses, 90 of whom had already implemented some sustainable practices. 40 discrete projects were carried out, and 50 diagnostic meetings took place. To date, 25,600 shrubs and 875 trees have been planted along waterways maintained by the Brome Missisquoi MRC.

Farm businesses, along with organizations and municipal partners, are playing a key role in restoring the health of the Missisquoi Bay and its surrounding watershed.