Emo research station in full swing

The seeding is coming to an end at the Emo Research Station, and plots of experimental crops can be seen from the highway in different hues of green.
“We need a few days of good weather,” noted research technician Kim-Jo Bliss, who has been rushing to plant her crops between rain showers.
Bliss, along with summer employees Ryan Sinninghe and Laura Zimmerman, have been planting a wide variety of cereals, pasture plants, and fibrous plants, which will be observed and evaluated throughout the summer as part of federal, provincial, and University of Guelph research projects.
A number of studies are underway, including a variety test of early-maturing barley which already is beginning to seed, fast-growing poplar trees which may be a valuable asset to the pulp industry, and hemp which has the potential to be used for its fibre and seeds.
“We’re hoping that Canada will supply the seeds to the U.S. and be ahead of them for once,” Bliss said.
But a number of crops are facing a true test with the heavy moisture in the soil thanks to Mother Nature this spring.
“They don’t like the moisture,” said Bliss as she pointed out a patch of chick peas. “If it stays moist like this, they won’t do well.”
Another test is the invasion of army worms, which are beginning to eat away at the two-year-old poplar trees.
“It’s really the true battle. They obviously would see this at some point in their life,” said Bliss, who has little choice but to leave the trees to fend for themselves.
The study plants also have had to endure unseasonably warm temperatures as well as those that hovered around the freezing mark last week.
Bliss said the nature of the research has changed over the last few years, with new species of plants moving to the forefront of the agricultural industry.
“We are grass farmers more than we are grain farmers,” she noted.
Besides planting and maintaining the crops, research station staff are visited by a number of area farmers looking for information and advice, as well as a few tour groups that have visited the site this spring.
Most recently, a Lake of the Woods agricultural club came down for a tour.
“They’re closest research station is Grand Rapids, where the climate is a bit different,” Bliss explained.
Bliss is planning to hold an open house at the research station around June 17.