Across North America, ecologically sound agricultural practices are commonly called Best Management Practices, or BMPs. Some best management practices might include: using crop rotation, minimizing tillage, using cover crops or sod to keep the soil covered, intercropping, using manure and compost and avoiding commercial fertilizers, caring for animals humanely, feeding animals a natural diet appropriate for their species, minimizing pesticide use, using buffer strips and hedgerows to support beneficial insects, and integrating crop and livestock production.

In summary, BMPs are environmentally friendly techniques which support sustainable agriculture. They protect and conserve our water and soil so that the land will continue to be productive over the long term. To learn about some BMPs, check out the links below.

If you’re interested in reading more about the philosophy behind BMPs, please follow the link to our webpage about Sustainable Agriculture.

Buffer Strips (Best Management Practices Series) is an OMAFRA publication which is available at no cost through Service Ontario at 1-800-668-9938. It explains how buffer strips prevent sediment runoff and improve the health of streams, wetlands, ponds and lakes.

Buffers Protect the Environment is an Extension Note which describes several kinds of buffers and identifies sources to help you develop buffers on your property.

Best Management Practices: No Till – Making it Work is an OMAFRA publication which is available at no cost through Service Ontario at 1-800-668-9938. No-till is one of this century’s biggest breakthroughs in agricultural technology. It gives meaning to the term “sustainable agriculture”, because it is practical, profitable, maintains production targets, and protects soil and water quality on and off the farm.