Page 38 - RealDirtENG2020
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CHAPTER 6
Environment, climate change and sustainable farming
Farmers are on the front line of our environment every day and they know rst-hand how important healthy soil, air, and water are to growing crops and raising livestock successfully.
They’re also among the rst to experience and be forced to adapt to our changing climate from more frequent extreme weather events, drought and disease.
That’s why, more than ever, sustainable farming is the name of the game—regardless of the type, size or style of farm.
Jamie Allport
Investing in change for the better
On their own, through farm organizations, and with government, Canadian farmers invest heavily in environmental research and sustainable farming practices.
Success story: the Environmental Farm Plan helps farmers across Canada to identify where environmental improvements can be made on their farms, and to set goals and deadlines to complete them, such as establishing buffer strips along water courses; reducing soil erosion by planting trees and cover crops and supporting pollinators by planting wild ower strips. The program has been so successful that some of its elements can now be found in processor and retailer food system sustainability plans.
Maria Ramirez Giraldo
Strip of pollinator-friendly owering plants, including Phacelia, planted at the edge of a farm eld as part of the Operation Pollinator program
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The Real Dirt on Farming
How good were the “good old days” really?
Environmental degradation is not a phenomenon of “modern” farming. The dust bowl of the 1930s, for example, was caused by a combination of a lengthy drought, and working or tilling the land too much, which caused topsoil to be blown away by strong winds. Back then, ghting weeds and pests often involved plenty of tillage, and naturally occurring but toxic pest control substances like sulphur, mercury, and arsenic compounds were also commonly used.
Today’s products are safer and much more tightly controlled and regulated by government, and we know so much more about soil health, pest and nutrient management, and sustainable crop production.
