HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-03-17, Page 39Consultation
researcher, who is gathering information for a handbook,
which would help farmers adopt environmental practices
(OMAF photo)
Environmental farmers work
for change
By Bonnie Gropp
The way to change farm practices is through a co--operative effort on a
one-to-one basis.
This is the feeling expressed by Environmental Farmers Association
of Ontario (EFAO) Public Relations spokesperson Ted Zettel a Bruce
county dairy farmer.
"Each farm has unique qualities. You can't take a recipe for ecological
farming and apply it to all operations," he says. "The EFO is effective
because it involves farmers talking to other farmers, which often makes
change easier to accept "
Legislation is ineffective, he says. "You don't need expensive research
to make changes. The key is voluntary."
The EFOA is a voluntary group, comprised of environmentally con-
scious farm operators, Mr. Zettel said, motivated to helping where
needed.
Fanners, however, don't have all the answers so the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority (MVCA) is helping the organization, which is
"working well", he said. "T EFAO has developed a co-operative spirit
with MVCA." ,
Mr. Zettel says he was trained in the conventional method of farming
until 1983 when he met an environmental farmer who "did things drasti-
cally different".
"I was impressed with the results so in that year, to the amazement of
family and friends, I started planting windbreaks and making other
changes."
Mr. Zettel says he believes farmers need to take a holistic approach to
the problem, by looking at all the factors.
Due to specialization, agriculture has become significantly different ;.
than the diverse farming of the 30s. "Specialization is the enemy of eco-
logical farmers. The natural balance of the ecosystem is so altered by
this way of managing all types of problems result," he said.
Mr. Zettel said it was during the late 80s that MVCA first learned of
the message being spread by the EFAO. "They should be credited for
their perceptive view that we link. MVCA has been willing to go
beyond map and bureaucratic boundaries," he said.
Through the partnership they have established a lending library of
written materials to help focus on ecological management. There is an
on-fann consultation service as remedies for turning farms over are site
specific. 4-\\ We are richly blessed in this area. You have to go ajT?,;\way to seelik.•,
country as richly blessed in natural resources. We tnuittaihance oppcjk•
tunitics so that future generations will have the same resources.Througl0
co-operation we can. No one has what it takes to solve all the probA
lems," he said. "We have to network to have something lasting over"i
wide area. We must do it.."
Turnberry talks to a Township farmer Brian Jeffray
on their property.
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FARMING '93, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1993. A19.
Farm 93
Farms all have own environmental problems
Continued from A 18
organic farmers while the Lobbs
are ..iviservationists. The only thing
missing to illustrate an accurate
cross-section was the selection of a
totally conventional farmer, Mr. de
Boer said.
Though there were no surprises
presented in doing the project, Mr.
de Boer said that each case had dif-
ferent problems. "All farms have
unique problems and farmers will
therefore have to try to find differ-
No-till
works on
clay soils, too
For those who say no-till doesn't
work on clay soils, David Ainslie
was living proof at the Progressive
Fanning workshop of the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority in
Brussels March 10 that no-tilland
clay can mix.
Mr. Ainslie farms 650 acres of
clay soil in Essex County. The land
had been in soybeans for decades
and there was a lot of soil degrada-
tion and crusting of the clay soil
when he decided to try no-till in
1989 on 25 acres of his toughest
ground. "Within a year we were
100 per cent no-till" he told the
farmers present.
He has a 15-foot no-till drill and
the tractor that pulls it hasn't been
unhitched in three years. That illus-
trates the lack of significance the
tractor plays on a no-till farm, he
said that it doesn't have to be used
except in the spring when the plant-
ing is done.
He uses liquid fertilizer on wheat
(he finds no benefit on soybeans)
but that's the only fertilizer he's
used in the last four or five years.
On clay soil, he says, it's important
to make sure the residue is evenly
distributed over the soil. "No-till
might look ugly for a month or so
(in the spring) but by the end of the
year I don't have any reason to
complain," he says.
He credits Don Lobb with help-
ing establish interest in no-till in
Kent and Essex. The first workshop
held in the area had 15 farmers.
Now there are regularly 50 at meet-
ings and at a demonstration day
there were 200.
Continued on A20
ent ways to handle them," he said.
There are funds available to
farmers, said Mr. Beard. For opera-
tions where manure storage is a
concern, their is funding through
the CURB program, while there are
many grants for windbreaks for
windbreak planting through MVCA
and the Ministry of Natural
Resources.
Copies of the Environmental
Farm Plan Do-It-Yourself Hand-
book are available from the Univer-
sity of Guelph or at MVCA.