Soil conservation agency faces tough choices
The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association recorded another sold out convention last week in Regina.
Its annual meeting is usually the most popular farm meeting held in the province, attracting 1,000 people or more to the educational sessions and trade show.
But ironically, the future of the popular organization is unclear.
Since inception about 12 years ago, most of its money has come from the provincial and federal governments through multi-year grants, not annual core funding.
The latest grants wrap up this year. Funding from private industry is also winding down.
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Last week, the Saskatchewan government announced support of $200,000 for one year. The fate of applications to federal programs will be known later this month.
If it doesn’t get the money, the SSCA will have to make a decision, said outgoing president Greg Kane.
It can use all the Saskatchewan money and its own reserves to carry on as normal for one year or eliminate its extension work, cut staff and go into survival mode, spending just enough to print the newsletter and plan the annual convention.
The latter option means the group’s six conservation field specialists would be laid off. And that would be a shame.
Western Canadian farmers, and particularly Saskatchewan producers, have embraced direct seeding more than have other farmers around the world, but there remains much to do.
Only 30 percent of Saskatchewan’s seeded acres are farmed under a low soil disturbance type of management.
“People who think that the job is done and we don’t need to say the same messages are missing the point that 70 percent of the land still can be converted and protected from erosion,” said Doug McKell, the group’s executive manager.
The pace of progress will slow greatly without the field staff.
Kane points out that the public benefits from SSCA’s actions as much as do farmers.
By reducing the need for equipment, maintenance and operator time, direct seeding lowers producers’ costs, making them more financially sustainable and less dependant on government support.
It protects soil from erosion by wind and water.
Also, by allowing plant residue to build in the soil, it removes carbon dioxide from the air and puts it in the soil.
For this reason, conservation farming is one of Canada’s best tools to meet its international commitments to lower greenhouse gases.
