Untitled - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Hills and Rough Surface Areas in the Dumfries Series
raising and dairying. Because of steep slopes and excessive stoniness somewhat less
than 30 per cent of the land is used for cultivated crops, chiefly spring grain, winter
wheat, silage corn and mixed hay. Pastures and woodlots make up the remaining
70 per cent. Pastures on the Dumfries soils are often weedy and thin.
Pasture improvement on the smoother slopes and reforestation of the steep
areas are the keys to better land use in the Dumfries area. Hardwoods, especially
sugar maple and beech, do grow well. More attention could be paid to the wildlife
potential in areas occupied by the Dumfries soils.
BONDHEAD SERIES
The Bondhead soils occupy a small area in the southeast corner adjacent to
the Simcoe County boundary. Slopes are gentle (erosion hazard is slight) and there
are few stones to interfere with cultivation.
The soils are well drained and belong to the Grey-Brown Podzolic great group.
The surface soil is dark grayish brown loam or sandy loam, moderately high in
organic matter. A brown Ae horizon which becomes lighter in color with depth
underlies the surface layer. This is followed by a dark brown Bt horizon which contains
more clay than the layers above and below it. The parent material is a
calcareous, gray sandy loam till derived mainly from a limestone and it occurs at
a depth of approximately 24 inches.
Dairying and livestock raising are the major farm enterprises on the Bondhead
soils. The main crops grown are mixed grains, oats, winter wheat, hay pasture and
silage corn. Yields are above the provincial average but could be increased by
applying more commercial fertilizers.
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