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The Rural Voice, 2003-03, Page 14"Our experience assures lower cost water wells" 103 YEARS' EXPERIENCE Member of Canadian and Ontario Water Well Associations • Farm • Industrial • Suburban • Municipal Licensed by the Ministry of the Environment DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LTD. WINGHAM Serving Ontario Since 1900 519-357-1960 WINGHAM 519-664-1424 WATERLOO DRAINAGE Specializing in: ' Plastic Tile Installation - • Backhoe & Dozer Service • Septic System Installation -r Traditional 1 Alternative Systems! For Quality, Experience, & Service, call: MagE® ©oo 6191 2 6 7 0) R.R. #2 Zurich, Ont. NOM 2T0 PARKER ®PARKER ' L 1 M 1 T E rD www.hay.neU-drainage 10 THE RURAL VOICE Jeffrey Carter Environmental stewartship takes moneg Jeffrey Carter is a freelance journalist based in Dresden, Ontario. I talked briefly with Helen Johns, Ontario's part-time agriculture minister, a few weeks ago. She had been talking about the Nutrient Management Act at the Ontario Processing Vegetable Industry Conference in London. Johns recently announced a delay to the implementation of the nutrient regulations, pushing up the initial implementation date into the summer. I smell election. Perhaps the delay has something to do with having Johns safely ensconced back in her Huron -Bruce riding for another four or five years. Farmers are certainly aware that nutrient management rules are on their way. Many, however, remain blissfully ignorant of their full implications. Even the government isn't sure where it where it will all lead. That brings me to my second point. Before I chatted with Johns, I heard the concerns of cole crop producers who were attending a workshop at the London conference. They say the new regulations will not allow them to apply enough nitrogen to produce the yields they need to remain commercially viable. Cole crops are notorious for their inability to utilize nitrogen inputs. At the same time, when the harvest rolls around, not a lot nitrogen is removed. The implication seems obvious. Cole crops are often grown on lighter ground, prone to leaching. If higher levels of nitrogen are being used and little is being removed, excessive amounts of nitrogen are already reaching the water table. I relayed this message to Johns. Her reaction was one of denial. She said farmers are not polluting, that they're already responsible, and so on, and so forth. Why then, one ponders, all the fuss about legislation and regulations? Is the exercise just one of public relations? Is the government just trying to relieve the anxieties of a paranoid public? Obviously not. There are real environmental concerns related to cole crops and, more importantly, to the growing concentration of the livestock industry. Yes, yes, I know. There's more than enough land to accommodate current livestock numbers in Ontario. Yet the problem persists. When huge numbers of livestock are concentrated in one spot, the manure needs to travel further. This entails additional costs and with all the pressure to maximize returns, the environment is often the second consideration. It boils down to an economic situation, too, with cole crops. Growers will be put out of business if they cannot find a way around their nitrogen dilemma. What's needed in all this is a long-term commitment. The Nutrient Management Act and corresponding regulations are a beginning but there is more than just one big pill to swallow. More research will be needed — the second pill. That's not going to be done by private industry, given the economics, so government will need to fork out the cash. The third pill is the obligation for society to support farmers to take the necessary steps to ensure environmental stewardship. After all, if society is to continue receiving the supposed benefits of the cheap food policy while demanding environmental purity, either one will have to go or someone will have to pay.0 The Rural Voice welcomes your opinions for our Feedback letters to the editor column. Mail to: The Rural Voice PO Box 429, Blyth, ON NOM I HO