Meet Prof. Laura Van Eerd Descriptive Transcript

Summary: Prof. Laura Van Eerd describes her research focus on cover crops and how cover crops benefit the environment. 

0:00 - 0:04
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Text: :60 Second Snapshots
Meet the Profs of the Ontario Agricultural College
0:05 - 0:39
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Text:
 Prof. Laura Van Eerd
School of Environmental Sciences
Ridgetown Campus
Laura: My research is important because we look at the interface
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between agriculture and the environment.
So we're trying to address grower issues
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and match that with the environment. 
So part of my research is looking at nitrogen dynamics and minimizing losses.
We're also looking at cover crops and how they have an environmental benefit.
And probably the third pillar of my research is looking at soil health.
So how do what the growers do impact the soil in terms of biological, chemical and physical properties.
0:40 - 1:17
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Laura: So what a cover crop is, is it's planted usually after corn harvest and it covers the ground throughout the non-growing season and therefore the name cover crops. 
So as that crop is growing it is taking up nutrients, protecting the soil from erosion and that's part of what our research is looking at,
is trying to find the best cover crop for the growers' situation and trying to quantify those environmental benefits, whether it's soil health, minimizing erosion, minimizing
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nutrient losses.
1:18 - 1:23
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Text: www.uoguelph.ca/oac
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