The Soils of Brant County - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THEAREALocation and ExtentBrant County is located in south central Ontario boundedby Oxford County, and by the regional municipalities ofWaterloo, Hamilton-Wentworth and Haldimand-Norfolk(Figure 1) . It is between 43 00' and 43 20' degrees ofnorth latitude,and 80 00' and 80 36' degrees of east longitude. Its locationoffers some of the ameliorating climatic effects of theGreat Lakes because of the relative nearness of both Lake Erieand Lake Ontario, its southern boundary being about 19 kilometresnorth of LakeErie .The County is relatively small, with a total land area of109,297 hectares (270,080 acres) .The total population of Brant County according to the1986 Canada Census was 99,090 with a rural population of32,040 . The larger urban populations are in Brantford with76,150, followed by Paris with a population of 7,900 . Numeroustowns, villages and hamlets are important to theeconomiclife of the County, offering convenient services to the farmingcommunity. The location of the main urban centres in BrantCounty are shown inFigure 2 .Early HistoryBrant County gains its name from the great leader of theSix Nations Indians, Joseph Brant . These tribes had been alliesof the British in the war against the French, and later the Americansduring the Revolutionary War period . In 1784, ChiefBrant accepted a large grant of land along the Grand River forhis people, given in appreciation for their loyalty to the Crown .Present-day Brantford rose from the site where Chief Brantand his tribesmen placed a boom across the Grand River toserve as a fording-place (1) . The Indians found that this landgrant far exceeded their needs and over the years it was reducedby sales to white immigrants, or concessions to government,until it reached its present size of 17,820 hectares (44,000acres) . The Indian population has more than doubled from its1853 assessment of 2,330 . They are members of the Mohawkand Cayuga Tribes .As white settlement of the region advanced, townshipsevolved and eventually the County of Brant came into existenceby acquiring several townships from adjoining counties,resulting in its tripartite shape.The future site for the town of Paris so captivated HiramCapron, a Vermonter, in 1828 that he bought 1,000 acres presumablyfrom ChiefBrant and ensured the beginnings of a newcommunity with the construction of a water-powered gristmill, partly for grinding wheat, but also for grinding gypsumwhich outcropped there. The community grew and in 1838 thename Paris was selected by the people in deference to the firstindustry, the production of gypsum, commonly known asplaster of Paris .Figure 1 .General location of Brant and surrounding counties7Present AgricultureThe broad range of soils found in Brant County, combinedwith a favourable climate, has resulted in the development of avery diversified agriculture. Livestock farming is prevalent inthe lacustrine and glacial till soils while tobacco, vegetables,grain corn and other cash crop enterprises are located on theextensive areas of outwash soils .The extent and land use by townships are shown in Table 1(2) . The main crops grown inthe County (Table 2) disclose thatcultivated hay, wheat, grain corn and soybeans are majorcrops, but the sizeable area planted to tobacco and vegetablesindicates that these are of major economic importance andmake effective use ofthe sandy soils inthe County.Corn is the most popular grain crop in the County. Averageyields are surpassed in Ontario only by the counties ofKent, Elgin, Oxford and Middlesex (3) .Agricultural statistics for 1988 (3) reported that the totalfarm value for flue-cured tobacco produced in Brant Countywas $24.2 million (Table 2) . This was the fourth-highest in theprovince, surpassed only by Haldimand-Norfolk region, Elginand Oxford counties .Ginseng is a high-value crop in the County, commerciallyraised by an increasing number of growers on the sandy texturedsoils near the village of Oakland .There is a fairly large livestock population in the County,representing both beef and dairy enterprises . The large areasoffloodplains associated with theGrandRiver and its tributaries, and the rolling lands in South Dumfries Township providegood pasture for livestock enterprises .