Taiga Valley Farm (TVF) is owned and operated by Mr. Brian Davis. It is an Indigenous-owned primary agricultural producer operating in the Labrador region of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Labrador operation is a regenerative, diverse, mixed farm focused on developing a commercially viable and sustainable business. Located in a boreal (taiga) ecosystem, TVF intends to work in harmony with the natural ecosystem while proving that agriculture can be carried out in a way that enhances core ecosystem processes and supports the establishment and ongoing regeneration of soil and the living environment. TVF intends to achieve carbon-negative status as soon as possible, is pursuing an Ecological Outcomes Verified (EOV) certification, and is considering other certifications.

Project: BioSoil North

The experimental site was converted from boreal forest for agricultural use in 2022. The soil is a Ferro-Humic Podzol, with low organic matter and low CEC. There is minor evidence in the soil profile of forest fires that occurred a couple of decades in the past. The experimental work focuses on evaluating the most effective management protocol to bring the soil into production. Even after a single experimental season it became obvious that there are locally relevant fertilization and soil-amending choices that can be immediately implemented for effective cropping. The combination of biochar and fish meal has been shown to allow cropping in the first year after conversion.

Factors:

• Crop: oat, pea or oat-pea mix
• Fertilizer: none, mineral fertilizer, fish meal, biomass incorporation
• Amendment: none, lime, lime and peat, biochar
• A no-crop, no-fertilizer, no-amendment treatment is included in each block
• Reference sampling from adjacent natural areas, as relevant to the tested hypothesis