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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-01-15, Page 20Page 4 Conservation farming is fast gaining popularity in a number of agricultural communities within the Maitland Valley Watershed. It often begins with one farmer in the area, who, perhaps being rushed for time, decides to "scratch" a field only once with a disk or field cultivator in preparation for planting. Come fall, he is pleasantly surprised 'to discover his yields are just as high from the reduced tillage field as the fields planted after three times as many tillage trips. At this point, the farmer begins to look seriously at con- servation tillage. He begins to make plans to plant more acres of reduced tillage plots next spring; he spends time in the winter researching the possibility of no -till on his farm and he spreads the good news about the yield from;his "once-over" rush job among his neighbours. Consider just such a situation in a farming community within Goderich Township. There, the tpast five years has seen conservation tillage increase from being almost non-existent to covering over forty (40) percent of the land area used for cropland. Why has there been this rapid change in tillage practices within this particular farming community as well as other communities? Would it not have been much "safer" for the farmers in the area to continue using the same conventional tillage system that has ensured them satisfactory yields for so many years in the past? This is especially true when we con- sider the last five years in agriculture with a combination of high interest rates and low commodity prices. One would tend to think that such an economic environment would not en - CONSERVATION TILLAGE courage anyone to stray from the "proven" tillage system. There must be a reason! Growers must be realizing benefits. Before we discover what these benefits are, we should first define what conservation tillage is. A precise definition used by the American Con- servation Tillage Information Centre is: "Any tillage and planting system that retains at least thirty (30) percent residue cover on the soil surface after planting." This can be achieved in a number of ways. Mulch tillage is one method. The total soil surface is tilled before planting using chisel plows, field cultivators or disks. Weed control is achieved through a combination of herbicides and cultivation. Ridge tillage is another system. Here the soil is left undisturbed prior to planting. About one-third of the soil surface is tilled at planting with sweeps or row cleaners. Planting is done on ridges which are usually about four to six inches higher than in between the row. Again, a combination of cultiva- tion and herbicides is used to control weeds. The strip -till method is similar to ridge tillage with the exception that ridges are not formed. The soil is left undistrubed until planting when about one-third of the soil surface is tilled with cultivator teeth, a roto -tiller, coulters and row cleaners or other tillage tools. Herbicides provide the majority of weed control. Finally there is the no -till or slot planting method. The soil is left un- disturbed prior to planting. Planting is LAND USE PLANNING & CONSERVATION CO-OPERATION THE KEY Land use planning has been developed primarily as a tool to assist municipalities in creating and main- taining a vision of the future. A future in which the community takes an ac- tive role in both the development and implementation of these land use plans. The planning process allows communities to develop land use policies and programs which address concerns of local interest and significance, such as agriculture, natural environment, community im- provement and municipal services. A wide range of planning services are provided by the Maitland Valley Con- servation Authority to assist municipalities, government agencies and the general public in planning for the conservation of our water and related land resources. We have a moral obligation to future generations to act in a "conservation conscious" fashion so that they too can enjoy the same quality of environ- ment. Municipal councils are therefore en- couraged to adopt the "conservation ethic" with respect to land use plann- ing and resource management. Very simply, this ethic stresses an informed, intelligent, approach towards develop- ing a sustainable relationship with the land. By recognizing the lands associated with the river system and including policies governing their use, municipalities can help to ensure that these. areas are not used for develop- ment which could adversely affect our water or land resources. For example, Official Plans include policies govern- ing the location of future development and the specific land use in a municipality. The Water and Related Lind Resource Mapping Program has been WATER RESOURCE CORRIDORS A water resource corridor is defined as a protective zone or buffer along the length of a watercourse. This zone serves to buffer or protect the water- courses from adjacent land uses and to prevent inappropriate land uses from locating too dose to the watercourse. The corridor also acts to protect adja- cent land uses from the watercourse. done in a narrow seedbed one to three inches wide. Weeds are primarily con- trolled with herbicides. Many farmers in this area have ex- perimented with all these forms of con- servation tillage. After having selected the method they feel most comfortable with and having used it on their farms for a few years many of them have developed their own definition of con- servation tillage. Their definition sounds something like this: "Those far- ming methods that conserve our natural resources of soil, water, labour, energy and working capital, while bolstering the farm's profitabili- ty." Economics may be the major reason the adoption pace for conservation tillage has accelerated in recent years within the farming community. It is tough times that encourage people, in- cluding farmers, to economize and be inventive. Conservation tillage is prov- ing to be more economical. At the very least, conservation tillage means lower maintenance costs, for two reasons. First, Tess equipment is needed and se- cond, there is less wear and tear on the equipment that is used. Common sense tells us that machinery that lasts longer does not need to be replaced as often. Spending less time on the tractor seat in the spring provides the lan- downer with more opportunity to do things that directly boost profits. This may involve having more time to watc h the volatile futures at planting time, so that the elevators can be called at just the right time to peg another 25 cent to 50 cents per bushel. There is also more time to manage farm finances and to keep financial records, an area that is becoming increasingly important as farming continues to develop into be- ing an agri-business as well as a family lifestyle. Finally, farmers are finding that they are making better use of the time spent on the tractor - actually planting the crop as opposed to preparing a seedb- ed. Thus, they are better able to take advantage of good weather conditions when they are available during the op- timum planting period. Timely planting is important. Crops yield more when planted at the op- timum time because they are able to take full advantage of the total growing season. Timely planting in turn usually means one is in a better position to spray insects or post -emergent weeds at a time when the application will do the most good. The combination of timely planting and elimination of ear- ly season weed competition translates into higher yield potential. Obviously turn to page 7 Local farmers have been testing various methods of conservation tillage. Con- servation days provide the opportunity for4farmers to exchange information and ideas on conservation tillage. specifically designed to promote the conservation. of the lands associated with the river system through municipal land use planning programs. The objectives of the Authority's resource mapping program are to: 1) make municipalities aware of the location and importance of the water and related land resource which exist in their area; 2) encourage municipalities to recognize these important resources in their land use plans and to develop policies related to the protection and management of these resources; 3) make municipalities aware of the ex- istence and purpose of the Authority's water management regulations and to develop policies related to their use which will complement municipal land use plans, and WATERCOURSES Permanently flowing watercourses, whether they he rivers, streams, creeks or municipal or agricultural drainage ditches are being identified and map- ped. These watercourses are con - 4) to provide support information for other Authority resource management programs. The program was initiated in 1982 to provide municipalities with preliminary information concerning the location of flood prone lands and buildings. In 1983, the program was expanded to include the mapping of river systems in a more comprehensive fashion. It was determined that the Authority should not just be concerned with those lands where development would be affected by flooding, but also those lands which could be adversely affected by development. Permanently flowing watercourses, water resource corridors, flood prone land, eroding and unstable banks and water resource areas are all being mapped under this program. sidered to he the most important part of a watershed system because of their value for water supply, habitat for fish and wildlife and for recreation.