The Citizen-On The Farm, 2004-03-18, Page 28SHUR.GAIN
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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2004. PAGE A-7.
On the farm
Mixing farming with nature not always easy
By David Blaney
Special to The Citizen
Mention wildlife to an urban
audience and you will hear that
raccoons are cute, geese are a
majestic symbol of Canada's
northland and white-tailed deer are
the animals found in the Disney
movie Bambi.
Mention the same three to a farmer
and the picture that emerges is to say
the least, different.
Farmers have always striven to be
good stewards of the land, but for
them it is a complex process
requiring them to balance the
economics of today's farm with the
needs of the natural environment.
The question of whether to tile
drain a wet field can ultimately
involve an equation in which the
potential added yield from the land
must be set against, the cost of the
tiling, the benefits of water retention
for adjacent areas and the costs of
predation from the wildlife currently
inhabiting the area.
Murray Cardiff who has farmed in
Continued from A-6
"Also, someone once said to me
that if you take your blankets
somewhere to sell, the colour you
don't have with you is the colour
everyone wants. So we opted to stay
with the natural."
Prices are $75. $100 and $125 plus
taxes.
The couple's love and respect for
agriculture is evident in how they
approach it. They have done a lot of
research into grass-fed livestock and
believe in the benefits. "They say
that there are more health benefits
from grass-fed foods," said Marg,
citing higher vitamin E and A and
Omega 3 fatty acids.
"We're not trying to beat up on
conventional farmers," said Rick,
"but certain people want to know
what they're buying."
"We have nothing but respect for
farmers," added Marg. "But I really
believe you are what you eat. What
you put into your animals affects
Huron County all his life is happy to
admit that he enjoys the sight of a
fox sunning itself on a bale of hay in
his field or hawks soaring watchfully
as farm machinery disturbs the mice
in a field.
"They seem to have learned that
moving machinery means other
movement," he says. "They follow
the tractors watching for mice."
When he discusses deer and
raccoons however he is not as fond
of wildlife. He has counted 17 deer
at one time in a cornfield and
comments, "I know of fields where
deer have destroyed three acres of
crops and that was out of just 20."
His real annoyance, however, is
reserved for raccoons. "If I had to
choose I'd take deer (over
raccoons)," he said. The raccoons
not only break down the standing
corn to get to the cobs but they also
get into farm buildings.
"We had raccoons get in above the
garage," he said. "They chewed the
wires and when you turned on the
lights there._ were sparks from
electrical shorts. It cost $700 or $800
yourself."
The fact that consumers today are
often concerned about what they're
eating is making the direct to
consumer method of farming
attractive as well. "No one did well
on the commodity market this year.
We like to do direct sales," says
Rick.
"If people know the person from
whom they are purchasing their food
it's more reassuring," Marg adds.
"We eat it too."
Rick notes that in visiting the farm
to purchase the food, consumers can
also have the opportunity to have a
look at where the animals are raised
and how the farming operation runs.
"We can show them environmentally
what we do as well."
"They know a lot more about
where there food came from."
Information on Steele Wool Farms
wool products or its pork and lamb,
can call 526-7446 or e-mail
rmsteele@hurontel.on.ca
in repairs and I was a little surprised
we didn't have a fire."
Steve Flynn is another farmer
intimately aware of the relationships
between farming and wildlife. As a
fourth generation farmer from
Hullett Twp. Flynn farms hundreds
of acres in and around the Hullett
Natural Wildlife Area near Clinton.
The area, popularly known as the
Hullett Marsh, was established over
two decades ago, by the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Ducks
Unlimited, to provide breeding
grounds for waterfowl and a 'rest
stop' for migrating birds as they
moved to and from their summer
habitat in northern Canada.
Canada geese are a particular
problem from Flynn's point of view.
"Geese can eat 10 acres of beans in a
night," he said. "One year I had to
replant a field three times."
Cardiff also agreed that geese
could be particularly devastating,
causing damage to crops in both the
spring and the fall.
Both Flynn and Cardiff wondered
about the possibility of the
reintroduced wild turkey population
becoming a problem similar in
nature to the one posed by Canada
geese. Flynn indicated that farmers
in the Collingwood area were
already beginning to see this happen.
Flynn's problems with geese
highlights the complexity of wildlife
conservation. Areas such as the
Hullett Marsh provide benefits to
farmers by providing habitat for
foxes and raptors, which act to keep
the rodent population in check. They
also act to retain moisture for use
during summer dry spells and help
filter pollutants from ground water.
Simultaneously they attract deer,
raccoons and geese, which prey on
farm crops.
The hunters attracted to the area
by the opportunity it provides for
hassle-free hunting provide
economic benefits to the rural
community but that is a cold comfort
to a farmer who has had his cornfield
raided by 10 or 20 deer for several
nights in a row.
Darren Kenny a planner and
ecologist for the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority, suggests
that the amount of damage a farmer
suffers from wildlife has a lot to do.
with the location of the farm.
"If you in an area with little
natural cover or where the woodlots
are not connected deer are much less
of a problem," he commented.
On the other hand he mentioned an
area near Wingham, which was
particularly suited as a deer
wintering yard. The adjacent farmer
eventually found it necessary to
install electric fencing to protect his
feed supplies as herds of deer up to
30 strong were driven from the
Continued on A-8
Couple strays from
conventional methods