When Jennifer Osborn and her partner add two sheep to their farm almost 20 years ago , their aim was to get wool that could be used to make clothing and other goods .
As their sheep procreate , so did the wool pile up after each shearing . Osborn searched for buyers but wondered if she needed to find a novel marketplace for her mathematical product .
Through a partnership with Brock University researchers , she ’s now exploring a root that not only addresses her own dilemma but also offers farmers a sustainable option to support crop increase .
After coming across paper that wool enhance soil , Osborn launch a business , EcoWool Canada , that markets fibre as a potential natural fertilizer .
" The one thing I ’m consistently asked about is the research necessitate to explain what fleece does to the dirt , " enjoin Osborn . " I can differentiate you anything I want , but there needs to be scientific data point to show that our wool pellet enrich the soil . "
To get information , Osborn turned to Brock , which is a member of the Ontario - free-base Greenhouse Technology web ( GTN ) . The University , through a series of research project , has been working to heighten the sustainable factory farm sphere and is launching a enquiry farm to proceed these elbow grease .
Professor of Biology Liette Vasseur and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Vaughn Mangal are working with Osbourn to set the effectivity of EcoWool ’s pellets as a soil amendment to ameliorate soil health , fertility , and crop performance .
A soil amendment is any substance — excluding fertilizers , pesticides , agricultural lime , and untreated manure — that aim to alter the chemical substance or forcible characteristics of the soil .
Research shows woollen contains C , hydrogen , N , atomic number 8 , and sulfur , which are among the elements that promote filth lineament . Wool provides further welfare by oxygenise the grime , retaining moisture , improving water system infiltration , and trim back corroding .
To screen EcoWool ’s wool pellets , Vasseur and Mangal are growing spinach , sweet pepper , marigolds , Basil the Great , and yellow bean in pot containing either pellet , conventional fertiliser , or nothing tot to the soil at all .
Every activity is being recorded during the experimentation , such as how much water is added , and plants are monitored and weighed at the end .
After harvesting the crop , the researcher will use sophisticated tool at the Brock - Niagara Validation , Prototyping , and Manufacturing Institute ( VPMI ) to measure the organic carbon and atomic number 7 amount and quality of soil and weewee samples .
" What we ’re doing is saturating the grunge in the pot so that water come out of the soil , " say Mangal . " We then collect the leaching water for nourishing and carbon copy analysis to see how much carbon and nutrients are hold back and mislay in stain containing the EcoWool pellets .
" This enquiry would n’t be possible without the cutting - edge analytical equipment at the VPMI , " says Mangal . " admission to this equipment has allow us to bridge filth chemistry , carbon cycling , and plant physiology towards developing more sustainable greenhouse exercise . "
Mangal and Vasseur have complete one round of growing and harvest the plant and will undergo another 55 - day experiment of growing , monitoring , harvesting , and land examination before they grow their final reputation for EcoWool .
In addition to supporting Osborn ’s company , Vasseur says the research may promote the greenhouse industry in Niagara and beyond to use wool pellets as an environmentally sustainable room to advance their crops ' grunge .
Vasseur note that peat moss — reap from natural peatlands that take thousands of years to regenerate — is currently being used in the industry to increase land balance .
" If more carbon is stash away in the soil , EcoWool pellets may also partially replace peat moss , " she suppose , adding that peatlands are one of the most important habitat that absorb C dioxide and , therefore , need to be protected to mitigate clime modification shock .
Osborn is also passionate about protecting the surroundings . It ’s " common exercise " for sheep farmers to cut their surplus wool , she says , noting that woollen is 50 percent biogenic carbon , which is similar to wood .
" sting the woollen interpolate the path of the carbon , releasing it from the natural cycle and having it contribute to the atmospheric carbon , " she say . " Pelletizing woollen keep that biogenic atomic number 6 in the natural organisation , which is considered carbon copy impersonal . "
The Greenhouse Technology connection ( GTN ) is a consortium of research - focused substance that increases origination capability to uprise the Ontario glasshouse industry . Members collaborate with greenhouse and related technology businesses in southerly Ontario and solve challenges through applied enquiry undertaking .
Source : brocku.ca
