The Rural Voice, 1986-09, Page 40�5 J paruinasNE CO.
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40 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
MAKE CONSERVATION
GOVERNMENT PRIORITY
The Ontario government has put
soil conservation at the top of the
agenda, says Agriculture and Food
Minister Jack Riddell.
Speaking to the Soil Conserva-
tion Society of America, Riddell
says that the government's goal is
to cut back on lost productivity
due to soil erosion in the province.
Soil erosion is estimated to cost
Ontario farmers about $75 million
annually.
He pointed out that although
Canada has a large land base, only
five per cent is farmland. Ontario
statistics are somewhat better
--close to seven per cent of the pro-
vince is suitable for producing
food. In contrast, 45 per cent of
the U.S. land base is farmland.
OMAF has taken two important
steps in encouraging improved soil
conservation techniques by On-
tario farmers, he says. A soil con-
servation and environmental pro-
tection cost -share program offers
financial incentives; Tillage 2000 is
a long-term research and
demonstration project that will
compare conventional and conser-
vation tillage methods.
The cost -share program, which
runs until 1990, covers up to 50 per
cent of the cost of grassed water-
ways, drop structures, terracing,
and alternate watering systems for
livestock. And OMAF will under-
write a third of the cost of manure
storage and handling facilities.
A financial assistance program
is also available for erosion control
in municipal drainage ditches and
for training drainage contractors
in installing erosion control
devices.
"All tolled, we've provided
assistance for 1,800 manure
storage projects and over 1,400 soil
erosion control systems across the
province," says Riddell.
Tillage 2000 research takes place
on the farm -- in farm -scale field
trials rather than small research
plots. Over the next five years, the
ministry will conduct field ex-
periments and comparisons of con-
ventional tillage systems versus
conservation methods on as many
as 40 different farms.
The recently announced $30
million Soil and Water En-
vironmental Enhancement Pro-