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Pollinator Patch: Habitat Case Study

Helga and Gunther Csoff live in Walsingham, Ontario, where they grow cash- and specialty-crops. Their 150-acre farm has been in the family since the 1930s, and like many others in Norfolk County, it used to produce tobacco. However, high tobacco taxes and negative health issues have affected tobacco farming, and the Csoffs (pronounced ‘Chafes’) started growing alternative crops in 2010. At the Csoff farm, these include cucumbers, zucchini, melons, green beans, Asian asparagus beans, okra, sweet corn and callaloo, in addition to cash crops like grain corn and soybeans.

In 2010, the Csoffs signed on with Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS), a program that provides financial incentives to recognize the contributions that landowners make by providing ecological goods and services. Having reaped marginal yields of corn in a particular field, he then planted 10 acres of tallgrass prairie species, hoping to stabilize nitrogen levels in those fields, and build up organic matter in the sandy soils that are typical of the region.

Tallgrass prairie contains a diverse mix of native flowers and grasses, and it used to cover much of Ontario before settlement. Prairie grasses provide habitat and food for pollinators, grassland birds and badgers, amongst other wildlife. The deep roots of the grasses can sequester carbon at the same rate as forests, and the native assemblages tolerate a wide range of temperatures, unaffected by drought conditions. On Csoff’s land, you will find big and little bluestem grasses, as well as Indian and switch grasses – all plants that pollinators love. So far, Gunther is happy with the results. He’s allowing the field to flourish for five years to build fertility before planting crops there again.

One of the unexpected positive outcomes of the tallgrass prairie habitat is an increase in native bee populations. In fact, when he started growing Asian squash in 2011, he did not need to rent honeybee hives, as did neighbours who grew cucumbers. “The field was literally buzzing when the bees were there,” said Gunther. Of course, the native squash bees are beneficial for the other members of the Cucurbit family which he grows (cucumbers, zucchini, melons).

Minimum till has been practiced for the last 30 years on corn land that the Csoffs manage. Their whole operation is now minimum till to help with erosion control, moisture retention and selected species protection (such as the squash bees which tend to nest under the crops they pollinate).

While Gunther expected the diverse amount of wildlife, he didn't initially realize there would be so many other beenfits too. On a personal level, the Csoffs enjoy walking in the field to see, hear and feel its natural beauty and everchanging state. Gunther and Helga are continually experimenting with the sustainable production of new and unique crops for a changing marketplace. As Gunther said, “Knowing we have a good source of nature’s pollinators in our backyard is a big plus towards success.”

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