Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station continues to help local farmers

THUNDER BAY — The Lakehead University Agricultural Research Station (LUARS) is continuing to test new fertilizers and other products, with 51 experiments happening in total this summer.

At the annual tour on Aug. 1, Andrew Brekveld, a farmer at Woodstar Farm, said having LUARS is a huge benefit.

“Tarlok Sahota (the LUARS director) and his crew over here do research on a small scale so that, as farmers, we can take those results and apply them to a larger field with less risk because it's been trialled.

“It's been a great thing to have this station here,” he said.

Brekveld said this station is a necessity for the area.

“It has allowed farmers to increase their acres of production and involve new practices. We're very thankful for the work that Tarlok and his crew here does for us,” he said.

Farmers are not the only ones benefitting from the research station.

Harsh Bagria completed his master’s degree in forestry at Lakehead University and LUARS. Under Prof. Brian McLaren and Sahota’s guidance, Bagria performed research on spring wheat.