b'SITE REHABILITATIONSo why the increasing rhetoric purporting that it cannot be done? Well, while these studies tell us that complete recovery of prime agricultural production after aggregate extraction is possible, they also show that these success stories are not well documented, and more research may be needed to determine successful rehabilitation and management strategies. This is why in the summer of 2023, guided by a steering committee comprised of members of OSSGAs Rehabilitation Committee, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), OSSGA undertook a study to fill in some of the gaps. It sought to document agriculture success stories and determine management strategies that increase the success rate of agricultural rehabilitation.The study is being led by Dave Hodgson with D.B.H. Soil Services. AggregatepropertiesofvarioustypesandsizesacrossSouthern Ontariowereincludedinthestudy,whichfeaturedaninterviewSoybeans being process and background research review with the landowner/farmerharvested from a to determine the type of operation, management, equipment, yields,licensed aggregate site fertilizer use, etc. The agricultural study also included soil samplingrehabilitated to agriculture completed to the parameters set out by OMAFRAlooking at thingsin Paris, Ontariolike bulk density, particle size and soil fertility. At the time of writing, field work was wrapping up and the resultsACKNOWLEDGE THE SUCCESSES;were not yet available, but there were already some takeaways fromADDRESS THE CHALLENGES the initial findings: MNRFs review in the 1980s found that most of the sites studied had a high level of success. TOARCs 2013 study also found that rehabilitated WE NEED TO BETTER SHARE OUR SUCCESSES agricultural sites can have a high similarity to undisturbed sites in soil Inthe2023AuditorGeneralsReportontheManagementofcharacteristics, crop quality and yield. The study did identify room for Aggregate Resources, it was noted that a lack of publicly available dataimprovement, however, with stoniness and slope being the two main on the supply and demand of aggregates from MNRF may be helpingchallenges that make farming more difficult.to fuel claims from groups like the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition that there does not exist a shortage of high-quality aggregate reserves. Data shows that there are an estimated 3,337 million tonnes of aggregate to meet demand for the next two decades (estimated to be 2,220 million tonnes). At first glance these numbers look promising; however,lessthanhalfofthisaggregateishigh-quality,whichis critical for products like concrete and asphalt. Unfortunately, data related to material quality was not published, leading the Coalition to refute claims of a shortage of aggregate. In some ways, the same can be said about rehabilitation back to agriculture. As an industry, we know that sites are being successfullyWeigh Itrehabilitated to agriculture, but this message is not getting across. Part of the reason may be the availability and accessibility of data aroundPile Itagricultural rehabilitation. The more we can document this work, the easier it will be to combat the messaging claiming that it cannotMonitor Itbedone. This study will help, but its just one tool in the toolbox. Across the province, 15 per cent of aggregate sites are rehabilitated to agriculture use post-surrender, making it the most common post-rehabilitation land use of all sites. This amounts to more than 2,500 hectares of landProduction Managementin Southern Ontario alone and does not include active sites that are progressively rehabilitating to agricultural use and may already beDowntime Reportingactively farmed.Efficiency AnalysisMost members of the public may not realize that the soybean or cornInventory Controlfield in their community may have been an aggregate pit that supplied the material to help build their community. Ongoing communication strategies by OSSGA and our members will be a critical part of telling1-877-428-3573our story. equipfix@equipfix.ca | www.scalelink.comWINTER 2024AVENUES 17'