Emily Clegg - MSc. Candidate

I will be conducting my research on greenhouse gas emissions from an organically-managed potato, forage rotation over the course of two years. Some of the factors I will be looking at are the effects of tillage, the timing of tillage, the type of forage used and the effect of compost addition on nitrous oxide emissions. I have two sites, one near Bible Hill, Nova Scotia and the other near Bouctouche, New Brunswick.

I am originally from the Ottawa area, but have lived in several places around Canada. My sister and I were born and raised in Yellowknife NWT, and the only farm around was a dairy but you rarely saw any cows since it was too cold for them to be outside!

I started my university career at Dalhousie but transferred to the University of Guelph in the Biomedical Toxicology program. Most of my course work involved working with animals and fish. I became involved in crop science when I began working with an agronomist in the Ottawa Valley. As toxicology deals a lot with food safety and occupational health, I thought it best to learn how these products are used and get an understanding of the crop protection industry before doing more toxicological research.

Along with walking many fields and climbing even more fences, I learned to appreciate crop science and what makes a good producer and farm manager. From there I’ve worked on numerous research projects with wheat, soybeans, corn, bio-solid management, nutrient management and water resources and I once spent an entire fall season digging for worms! Recently I was working in soybean research in Chatham, Ontario before I decided to return to school in Nova Scotia.

My interests include learning to play hockey, volunteering, rowing, biathlon, cycling, playing the fiddle, step dancing and horses.

I have enjoyed being back in Nova Scotia and I look forward to continuing my research with the OACC and learning about more sustainable approaches to agriculture.

 

Posted December 2007