Features
The Miller Group transforming depleted Ontario pit back to farmland
A parcel of Ontario land has supplied a community with sand and gravel is now providing that community with crops of corn, soybeans and wheat.
October 18, 2024 By Mike Lacey
Boyington Pit, owned by The Miller Group and part of a parcel of land south of Uxbridge, Ontario, has been converted back to farmland. Photo: The Miller Group A parcel of land that, for decades, has supplied an Ontario community with sand and gravel is now providing that community with crops of corn, soybeans and wheat.
The property, known as Boyington Pit, is owned by The Miller Group and is part of a 196-hectare piece of land south of the town of Uxbridge in Ontario’s Durham Region.
“The pit is one of three properties that were originally purchased from the Boyington family in 1965 by Markham Sand and Gravel, which became a part of The Miller Group in 1976,” explains Megan Smythe, planning co-ordinator with The Miller Group. “The site has supplied sand and gravel for local construction projects within the Uxbridge area and Region of Durham. Prior to becoming a sand and gravel pit, the site was primarily used for agriculture.”
A Return To Agricultural Roots
Under the Aggregate Resources Act, operations are required to have a detailed rehabilitation plan as part of the licensing process. The Boyington Pit rehabilitation plan is to return the site back to an agricultural use.
The goal is to complete the rehabilitation of the eastern portion of the site, and focus current and future extraction to the west, where the active face is. Of the 196 hectares, about half of the site (94 hectares) was disturbed and the rest was forest and undisturbed future reserve land remaining in agricultural use.
“We looked at the pit from a larger land stewardship perspective to determine the best balance of the site to meet our extraction needs while simultaneously returning as much of the land to agriculture as possible. This goal helps reduce the total disturbed area on site. As of 2024, nearly 40 per cent of the disturbed area has been rehabilitated,” Smythe explains.
The work began in 2021 when Todd Brothers and equipment operators from VicDom Sand and Gravel rehabilitated 11 hectares at the northeast of the site back to agriculture use.
“This area was chosen first because it was depleted and quite visible from the nearby road,” Smythe explains.
After being graded, Highview Holstein amended the soil with horse manure and began using the fields as part of its on-site crop rotations. Highview Holsteins’ now utilize both the undisturbed and rehabilitated disturbed lands as part of its agricultural operations on the site.
Each spring a portion of the land is returned to agriculture use with Todd Brothers spending a month grading and reshaping the land, followed by Highview Holsteins follows adding these lands to its crop rotation and land stewardship practices.
An August 2021 photo of Boyington Pit. Photo: The Miller Group
Rebuilding Soil Structure
Today, the rehabilitated land is being used to grow corn, soybeans and wheat. For the 2024 season, corn is being grown.
The first-year yields on the land were around 30 to 50 per cent of that on undisturbed land on the property and The Miller Group plans on tracking the yields over the course of several years.
“Since the soils have been stored in stockpiles, we expect that it will take some time to rebuild the soil structure, organic matter and biological activities. We expect that the yields will increase with time and amendments, and we have a three- to five- year plan where we work closely with Highview Holsteins,” she says.
The Miller Group is relying on Highview Holsteins’ expertise for decisions on soil amendments and crop rotations.
Over the three years of rehabilitation work, approximately 30 hectares of the site (nearly 72 acres), have been returned to agricultural use. Those areas of the property that are not suitable for farming, in part due to steep slopes, will eventually be turned into forest lands.
“In 2023, about 6.5 hectares in the northeast portion of the site was planted with 7,200 trees composed of 10 different native species,” Smythe explains. “The tree planting is part of Miller’s larger program that aims to plant 115,000 trees over 10 years starting in 2022. In the first three years, Miller has planted nearly 50,000 trees across 10 of our sites.”
The Boyington Pit site is also host to two dozen beehives from local beekeeper, Circling Hawk Apiaries.
Smythe notes this project would not be possible without the experience and expertise of the equipment operators.
“Skilled operators are paramount to rehabilitation work and may even execute the grading and earthwork above and beyond the initial vision,” she says.
Rehabilitation Efforts Receiving Recognition
The efforts are being noticed by the wider community and industry. Residents cycling, driving or walking past the site can’t help but see the changes. The project also received the Judge’s Choice Award for Progressive Rehabilitation at the 2023 Ontario Stone, Sand and Gravel Association Industry Awards.
“Having a farmer fully engaged with the rehabilitation work can help spread the word and earn community buy-in as well,” Smythe explains. “Rehabilitation is an opportunity for the industry. If we do a good job and demonstrate responsible land stewardship, with time the community may not know that the site was formerly a pit. As an industry, we need to continue to push for more good work and find more ways to document, share, and communicate.”
The work has not come without challenges. The pit has existed for many years. As a result, some of the on-site materials have been stored in stockpiles for a longtime. Smythe explains.
“The prolonged storage of soil in stockpiles and berms decreases the organic matter in the soil and once the soil is applied to the site for rehabilitation, can take more time and amendments to return to the same productivity as its pre-extraction conditions. This is one of the reasons that progressive rehabilitation of a site is important,” Smythe says. “The composition of the site is very variable, with a mix of very fine sands as well as high quality sand and gravel and sometimes shallow topsoil. Additionally, these fine grain soils can be prone to erosion.”
The pit is in Ontario’s Oak Ridges Moraine, an ecologically important area in Ontario that spans 470,000 acres of land. Legislation regulates how that land can be used, which presents some unique challenges for the site, Smythe says.
A tornado in the spring of 2022 also caused some washouts and erosion on newly grades areas that were then unable to be seeded and farmed by Highview Holsteins.
“Our challenge from here on out will be the availability of topsoil on site to continue rehabilitating the pit. Finding more topsoil in the area will be important for the next steps,” says Smythe.
Soil Management Important Factor For Future Rehabilitation Efforts
Since 2021, The Miller Group has rehabilitated five separate sites to agriculture, open space and recreational waterbody. Through that process, the company has learned quite a bit about how to make that successful.
“An operator must follow their approved ARA site plans when executing a rehabilitation plan for a pit. When preparing a rehabilitation plan, the approval process will assess the best end use of the lands based on the site conditions, surroundings, and potential future opportunities,” Smythe explains. “For example, the industry standard of 3:1 slopes are too steep to be farmed so to return as much of the site back to agriculture as possible, slopes need to be gentle enough to operate farming equipment on. More soil is required to execute gentler slopes for farming.”
She says an important point to remember is soil management.
“Long term storage of soil in berms should be avoided and when creating the site plans, operators should investigate which berms are actually necessary or not. When soil is placed in berms, you are delaying the availability of that soil to be used and needs to be closely managed in the progressive rehabilitation of a site. Soil importation can be a great tool for maximizing soil productivity and enhancing the final use of the site.”
A good rehabilitation plan should also rely on working closely with experts, she adds. For example, if the land is going to be eventually used for agricultural purposes, speak with a farmer.
“Having the general buy-in and investment of the farmer on site, like Highview Holsteins, significantly contributes to the success of a rehabilitation plan by utilizing their expertise in soils amendments and crop rotations,” she adds.
As well, it’s also helpful to have the baseline conditions of the soil and site before extraction beings. That allows you to monitor how rehabilitation is progressing.
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