Treat her right
John Schlageck
Saturday, April 28, 2007
It comes as no surprise that as this nation celebrated Earth Day last weekend, farmers and ranchers remain committed to protecting the environment using modern conservation and tillage practices.
The fondest wish of most farmers and ranchers is to pass their land on to their children. They work years, often a lifetime, to leave a legacy of good land stewardship. Most farmers learned about conservation and respect for the land from their parents.
When it comes to protecting the land and improving the environment, farmers continue to do their part. Kansas farmers use such agricultural practices as early planting, pest control, good soil fertility, conservation tillage and many other innovations that help them grow more food while protecting the environment.
Throughout our state, depending on which region they live in, farmers adjust accepted practices to meet their individual cropping conditions. Practices can vary from farm to farm and even field to field.
During the last 20 years, most Kansas agricultural producers have incorporated some form of minimum tillage to further conserve the soil. Like compost in a garden, these conservation tillage practices ensure ground cover by leaving stalk residues on the surface, provide stored fertility for future crops while protecting the soil against erosion and loss of nutrients. This cultivation practice sustains and improves the soil’s productive capacity.
Today farmers use conservation tillage on more than 112 million acres. This reduces soil erosion and protects this country’s water quality.
Kansas farmers, in partnership with the state Soil Conservation Service, have built more than 130,000 ponds to save valuable moisture and provide a wildlife habitat, constructed more than 331,000 miles of terraces to save the soil and planted more than 320,000 acres of grassed waterways, which also control soil erosion. Farmers have also planted thousands of acres of trees.
Farmers across the state have been known to leave patches of milo close to timber and other grassy cover so birds and other creatures have something to eat when snow, ice and other bad weather hit. It’s not uncommon to see a farmer with a cherry-red face and earflaps pulled snugly over his head, walking along a hedgerow with a 5-gallon bucket of milo in each hand. No he’s not out to feed a lost calf, but rather the quail, pheasant or some other hungry critter.
Farmers and ranchers have a vested interest in protecting endangered species. More than 75 percent of species listed as endangered or threatened live on private lands.
Kansas farmers utilize biotechnology on their farms. This benefits the environment by producing crops that protect themselves against insects and disease, requiring less tillage and less use of chemical weed control.
Ag producers also produce biofuels that benefit the environment and promote energy security.
Farm and ranch families are proud to live and grow in harmony with Mother Earth. They understand how important it is to protect and nurture this valuable resource. They take their stewardship of the land seriously. They’ve devoted their lives to safeguarding their farms and families while providing us with the safest, most abundant affordable food in the world.
F John Schlageck is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas. Born and raised on a diversified farm in northwestern Kansas, his writing reflects a lifetime of experience, knowledge and passion.