Morgan Creek Farm

7 acres2377 East Wellington Rd, Nanaimo, British Columbia, V9R 6V7Nicola Sutcliffe and Aaron Grant

If I wasn't regenerative, I wouldn't be farming.

Products

  • Chicken
  • Lamb
  • Turkey
  • Eggs
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Compost
  • Honey

Regenerative Practices

  • Minimize soil disturbance
    • Minimum-till 
      Minimum tillage is a soil cultivation practice that reduces the number, depth (0-10 cm), and intensity of tillage operations (no inversion of the soil) to minimize soil disturbance.
    • Strip till 
      Tillage is performed in narrow strips into which new crops are seeded. the space between these seeded strips (interrows) is left undisturbed, crop residue is left in place, and a cover crop may be direct-seeded into the interrows.
    • Permanent grassland 
      A parcel of land composed primarily of herbaceous grasses, including perennials and native plant species, which can be used for grazing, forage, or biomass production.
  • Keep the soil covered and maintain living roots year-round
    • Cover crops 
      Plants grown alongside, preceding, or following cash crops with the purpose of increasing soil fertility, reducing soil erosion, and suppressing weeds.
    • Plastic mulch 
      Non-living, non-organic sheets of polyethylene terephthalate (pet) plastic applied alongside, or following, cash crops to protect the soil.
    • Intercropping 
      Simultaneously growing two or more crops adjacent to one another, on the same piece of land and within the same growing season. crops are paired based on their differing, yet complementary, space and resource requirements.
  • Protect and enhance biodiversity
    • Companion cropping 
      Simultaneously growing two or more crops together in the same field so they complement one another by improving nutrient cycling, suppressing pests and weeds, and enhancing biodiversity.
    • Pollinator buffers 
      Patches or rows of diverse flowering vegetation that provide pollinators with permanent habitats and food sources. they can be planted as intercrops or at the edge of fields.
    • Habitat conservation/creation/restoration 
      The conservation, creation, and restoration of ecosystems to improve habitat value for wildlife. forests, prairies, riparian areas, or wetlands can be restored along farmland.
  • Preserve and restore natural ecosystems
    • Maintain living roots year-round (agroforestry and perennials)
      • Tree crops 
        Tree crops
      • Perennial crops (grasslands) 
        Crops that regrow each year in a specific climate without needing to be reseeded.
      • Native perennial vegetation conservation 
        The conservation of existing—or reintroduction of—native perennial vegetation, those that occur naturally in a region in which it evolved. it includes grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, and coastal habitats.
    • Optimize input use
      • Compost 
        Organic matter that has been recycled through a composting process into a form that can be used as a soil amendment.\r\ncompost is the stable, nutrient-rich product of decomposed organic matter—such as plant residues, manure, or food scraps—that has been biologically processed under controlled aerobic conditions.
      • Compost tea 
        A water-based compost that undergoes a fermentation process (with or without oxygen).
      • Manure 
        Manure (also known as livestock manure) is a type of soil amendment rich in nitrogen that integrates soil organic matter back into the soil and feeds the soil food web.
      • Minimal to no use of synthetic pesticides 
        Any product, device, organism, substance or thing that is manufactured, represented, sold or used as a means for directly or indirectly controlling, preventing, destroying, mitigating, attracting or repelling any pest (health canada, 2024).\r\nin canada, the most used pesticide active ingredient types are glyphosate, 2,4-d, glufosinate ammonium, and mcpa (all herbicides). then, there are also insecticides and fungicides such as chlorpyrifos, clothianidin, or chlorothalonil.
      • Minimal to no use of synthetic fertilizers 
        Fertilizers that are derived from synthetic sources. \r\nas plants extract nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur are the four most important nutrients) from the soil during every growing season, they must be replenished through fertilizers, manure, legume cover crops (through nitrogen fixing), and compost added to fields annually.
    • Integrate animals on the lands and ensure their welfare
      • Adaptive multi-paddock grazing 
        Adaptive multi-paddock (amp) grazing is a regenerative grazing system in which livestock are grazed in small paddocks and are moved frequently, resulting in short but intense grazing intervals. the system of multiple small paddocks means that cattle do not circle back to a pasture for a long period of time, allowing for long pasture recovery periods. the word “adaptive” in amp means adapting the duration of livestock on a pasture according to forage availability and the weather, all in the goal of avoiding overgrazing and overstocking.
      • Integrated crop and livestock 
        A farm system that combines or alternates between crops and livestock use. crops and livestock may be used in different areas at the same time, or during different times in the same area (i.e., integrated spatially or temporally)
      • Pastured pigs or poultry 
        The managed integration of pigs or poultry on pasture.
      • Multi-species grazing 
        A grazing system in which multiple species of livestock (cattle, sheep, chickens, etc.) are grazed on the same area of land, either at the same time or following one another in the rotation.
    • Improve water cycles
      • Rainwater harvesting 
        The practice of collecting and storing rainwater from roofs, surfaces, or landscapes for later use in irrigation, livestock watering, or other on-farm needs.
      • Water conservation 
        The optimized use of water for crops and trees, or strict water use during critical periods of crop stages.
      • Wetland restoration 
        Reestablishing the natural hydrology, vegetation, and ecological function of a wetland area that has been drained, degraded, or altered.

    Observations

    • Before we had a monoculture of poor quality forage for our sheep. Now with fencing and plantings we have an ever increasing diversity of crops and pasture areas on our farm
    • The soil quality is improving every year and with cover cropping the organic matter is increasing
    • The soil tests are showing a low nitrogen and low pH and organic matter levels in older hay pasture that we are converting to vegetable growing area.

    How to buy

    • CSA Farmers market (in person and online) and farm gate sales
    Contact
    fb.com/Morgan-Creek-Farm-277538379293864/aaron-grant@shaw.ca250-616-9787
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