The Robinson family has been farming the East Prince area since the mid 1800s and the company, in its present form, has been in business for over fifty years. Eric C. Robinson Inc. (ECR) produces approximately nine hundred acres each of potatoes, cereals, and forage crops each year on a three year rotation. Several hundred acres of land is also managed under a provincial forestry management program. ECR has been a leader in the identification and implementation of numerous techniques which help ensure an ample supply of high quality cropland for future generations. Photo: Rotated crops with hedgerows As PEI agriculture evolved through the 1960-70s, producers were encouraged to adopt the "bigger is better" philosophy toward crop production. Many of the hedgerows separting small fields were removed to allow larger, specialized machines to work more effectively in large fields. With this came an increased incidence and intensity of various types of soil erosion. ECR was one of the first operations on PEI to begin replacing these hedgerows and reverse the damage. Today, Farm Manager Steve Watts, says the farm has about eight to ten miles of hedgerows running on the various properties. Watts says tillage practices have changed a great deal at ECR over the years as well. As recently as ten years ago, the normal practice would be to mouldboard plow a field in the mid to late fall. The field would over winter in that state until spring when it would be given two to three passes with a disc harrow followed by one to two passes with a triple k or spring tooth harrow, prior to planting. Photo: By the following year the plowed under residue has completely decomposed A new practice implemented at ECR is showing great potential in reducing soil erosion. The field to be planted will have a herbicide applied in the fall prior to the spring planting and will overwinter in that state. Approximately five to seven days before the anticipated planting day, the field will receive one pass with a disc harrow. This will allow the soil both to dry out and warm up a bit faster. A Resitill machine is used for the final tillage pass. This machine combines the concepts of discing, harrowing, and seed bed finishing into one operation. It will tend to leave as much as forty percent residue on top of the soil. By growing season, much of this fibre has disappeared. This practice itself has eliminated all potential late fall-early spring erosion. It has greatly reduced potentil erosion through the late spring crop emergence phase as well. Other benfits include better moisture retention through the growing season and a major savings in tillage costs. Although not measured, Watts feels the marketable yeilds have increased with the use of this technique. Over fifty percent of ECR's potato crop in 1998 was treated in this manner. ECR is a firm believer in other erosion control methods as well. The farm has several properties where contour farming, strip cropping, grassed waterways, and diversion terraces have all been implemented.Strip cropping of systems sometimes presents challenges with regards to insect and other pest control but at present, Watts believes the benefits far surpass the problems. Photo: What was once a huge field has now been divided up into contours and rotated crops Photo: Two crop scouts looking for blight and insect infestations Integrated pest management plays an important role at ECR. Fields are scouted regularly and pesticides used only when necessary. Two crop scouts check for blight and insects, how much, and where. The scouts help determine an economic threshold which allows the company to spray only when absolutely neccesary. Eric C.Robinson Inc. also has a number of other initiatives underway. They include the use of fall seeded cover crops following potato harvest to hay/straw mulching of fields where there is a higher risk of erosion potential. Improved soil structure and decreased erosion Increased organic matter Improved ability of water absorption Reduced tillage wear and tear, fuel costs, and labour costs

Some photos and technical information courtesy of the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Forestry