My Letter to the Editor

To the Editor,

Another successful year of agriculture has surely been a blessing this year for many of our region’s farmers. With the good harvest there is seemingly no agricultural concern, on the surface at least. However I believe there is real reason for concern- not for this year, or next year, but in the decade to come.

The cause for my concern is the deteriorating health of our farm land and its soil. Current tillage practices and crop choices have been leading to the loss of approximately 24 billion tonnes of soil world wide. Although this statistic does not specifically identify the degree of deterioration in Woolwich country, we do have local issues that need to be addressed. Although this soil erosion does occur in developing countries where the stress to produce cash crops compromises care for the land, we are adding to this growing problem ourselves. No government study is necessary to confirm that soil erosion is affecting our local farms. Each of us can plainly see that our waterways are saturated with soil sediments. We all can logically conclude that bare fields will be stripped clean in this windy area. And we all must understand that this is an issue.

It takes thousands of years to produce a few centimetres of soil; normally, this slow formation of rich soil is not a problem, even with the natural process of erosion. However when we till the soil or grow crops such as corn in open fields, their land is exposed and erosion is sped up. This can degrade farmland dangerously fast. In Ontario, land that has become severely eroded can reduce our crop yields by up to 50%. It also reduces our crop quality and can destroy our drainage networks. Obviously it would pay to change.

We should take a good long look at our beloved land this fall season. Our land is some of the most productive in all of Canada. I believe now is the time for us to consider implementing no-tillage practices or strip farming, and planting buffer zones by waterways or living wind break. Many of these practises do pay off even in the short term and are subsidized by our government I also hope we are all most interested in the inheritance we leave for future generations. Will it be one of hope, with healthy farm land and a sound planet?

Sustainability is not only a matter of how much money we can make or save (though studies have shown a farmer can make $14 for every tree they plant in a windbreak around a field). It is again really about leaving the best for the future.

A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children (Proverbs 13:22). Dead waterways and infertile soil are not the kind of inheritance we wish to leave our children.