Farmers Are
Environmentalists
Fanners have been environ
mentalists long before the envir
onmental movement became
popular.
Good fanners are good ste
wards of the land. It is simply
good business!
No farmer in his right mind
wants to pay a big price for farm
land and spend a lot of money on
lime, fertilizer, seed and pesti
cides, only to watch his invest
ments wash away because of poor
conservation practices. He wants
to build up the soil so he can
obtain good crop yields while also
protecting the environment
Sometimes we fail to appreciate
all the things farmers are doing to
help protect the environment we
all share. Perhaps they have
become such a routine part of
good farm management practices
that we tend to take diem for
granted.
Soil Conservation
For decades, farmers have been
planting crops in contour strips,
alternating row crops with sod
crops. Steeper slopes have been
terraced and runoff water has been
diverted into sod waterways to
prevent the formation of deep
gullies.
Cover crops, planted after
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ragweed, giant ragweed, sun
flower, shattercane and seedling
Johnsongrass. Without causing
crop injury. And because of its
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By
Glenn A. Shirk
Lancaster Extension
Dairy Agent
harvest, help prevent soil tosses
and reduce the leaching of soil nit
rogen. They are also a source of
early spring forage, a green man
ure crop to incorporate into the
soil, or a crop that can be
harvested for grain and straw.
Some steeper slopes are planted
to permanent hay or pasture thus
reducing the need for tillage on
these highly credible soils. There
has also been increased usage of
no-till and minimum-till tech
niques. Besides reducing soil tos
ses, these practices also reduce the
use of petroleum fuels.
Fewer Chemicals
More and more fanners are
looking for non-chemical ways to
control pests. Thanks to bio
technology and genetic advance
ments. they now have a greater
array of insect and disease tolerant
crops to choose from. Insecticides
are being replaced with helpful
parasites, bacteria, fungi, traps,
etc. Rotation of crops helps to
reduce problems associated with
insects, diseases and weeds.
Wide rows have been replaced
with narrow rows, which produces
a thick shade canopy more quickly
and provides better weed control.
The shade canopy also reduces
surface evaporation of soil
moisture.
More and more fields are being
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tested and scouted by crop consul
tants on a regular basis, and the
reckless use of fertilizers and
chemicals is being replaced by
best management practices.
Soils and manures are being
analyzed for nutrient content and
applied in accordance with crops’
needs. Nitrogen tests are run on
con fields when corn' is about
knee high to more accurately
determine nitrogen levels in the
soil so proper amounts can be
sidedressed for more efficient use
by the crop.
Similarly, fields ate monitored
for insect, disease and weed pres
sures, and chemicals are recom
mended only when these pests
reach threshold levels, or when
other means fail.
Nutrient Management
Soil testing and manure anal
yses, as discussed above, help
reduce excess applications of
nutrients. To avoid excess appli
cations of manure, many farmers
are exporting manure to other
farms that need it, or arc process
ing it and selling it as compost or
as a soil amendment.
Nutrient management plans arc
being developed for many farms
to save as a guide for applying
manure and fertilizers in a safe,
responsible and efficient manner.
Alfalfa, planted after corn,
helps to reduce phosphorus and
potash levels that have built up in
the soil during the com phase of
the rotation. Where more nitrogen
is needed, legumes such as beans,
alfalfa and clover are planted to
fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus
reducing the reliance upon chemi
cal fertilizer.
Conversely, if soil nitrogen
levels are high, annual crops such
as grasses, com and sorghum are
planted to utilize the nitrogen and
to help prevent it from leaching
into the water table.
Long-term manure storages are
being built on many farms for sev
eral reasons. It eliminates the need
for daily hauling, thus enabling
farmers to apply manure when
soils are “fit” and closer to the
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 30, 1994-A25
time crops can utilize it efficient
ly. This, coupled with quick incor
poration. reduces nutrient loss and
soil compaction.
Farmers are concerned about
the quality of water their family,
their hods and their flocks drink.
Thus, it is desirable for them to
protect their wells and streams.
The above practices help them
accomplish this. In doing so, it
also helps to keep our rivers and
bays cleaner.
Our forefathers built barns
close to streams and close to sour
ces of water that fed their shallow,
hand dug wells and their spring
houses. Since then, the number of
animal units on these farms has
increased many fold! This high
animal density on sensitive sites
presents some farmers with seri
ous nutrient management
challenges.
Many of these farmers are fenc
ing livestock out of streams. They
are replacing their dirt barnyards
and exercise lots with concrete
barnyards and sodded sacrifice
lots. Some have gone to total con
finement of the herd, or have built
new facilities in less sensitive
areas.
Recycling Wastes
Fanners are great recyclers!
Many of the feeds they use are
recycled wastes that, if not fed,
would be filling up our land fills.
Examples include soybean oil
meal, cotton seed, canola, beet
pulp, brewers grains, distillers
grains, bakery wastes, cannery
wastes, candies, etc.
More recently, newspapers and
old phone books have been ending
up under cows as bedding. Leaves
are being applied to fields or used
as a source of carbon for compost
ing manure. For decades, they
have been using crop residues as
bedding, and recycling it back to
the field as manure.
Energy Conservation
Milk is warm when excreted
from the cow. but it must be
cooled down quickly to a tempera
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turc of less than 40 degrees for
safe keeping. A lot of heat is dri
ven off during this cooling pro
cess. Farmers are using heat
exchangers to help capture this
heat so they can use it to heat
water, their milk houses and their
milking parlors.
Many farmers are harvesting
their grain at higher moisture
levels and ensiling it as high mois
ture grain. In addition to reducing
field losses, this technique elimi
nates the need for artificial drying
and the use of electricity and
petroleum-based fuels.
To remain healthy and to attain
efficient levels of production, ani
mals need fresh, clean air, and
they need to be comfortable. To
accomplish this, farmers have
relied heavily on fans.
In recent years, many fanners
are relying more heavily upon
natural ventilation, thus reducing
their reliance upon electricity.
Farmers who rely heavily upon
horses and mules and diesel pow
ered generators have less need for
petroleum-based fuels and
electricity.
On some farms, methane gas
from manure is being captured
and utilized for generating heat
and electricity. Attempts are being
made to adapt methane generation
to smaller farms. If accomplished,
it may reduce methane emissions
into the atmosphere. Improved
animal nutrition and balanced
rations also helps to reduce
methane production by ruminant
animals.
Many farmers are active envir
onmentalists. As you can see from
the examples just cited, they have
accomplished much. They need to
be commended for their accom
plishments. However, the job is
not yet done, and probably never
will be done as we continue in our
attempts to make our communities
a better place to live. It is a respon
sibility we all share.
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