Guy McPherson of the University of Arizona says it well when he reminds us where our first allegiance should lie.
“If you really think the environment is less important than the economy, try holding your breath while you count your money.”
McPherson is reminding us that we are part of the earth, not the other way around, and she is entitled to our respect.
The importance of earth was brought home to me in a visceral way last year when I was lucky enough to travel to Yellowknife.
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The landscape around Yellowknife is incredibly beautiful, in a stark and primal way. The rock formations are largely exposed: life bursts forth from the tiniest pockets of soil and trees hold on with the barest of encouragement.
It reminded me how grateful I am for soil, the deep rich bounty of the Prairies.
In organic agriculture, respect for the environment and for soil is built into the basic principles:
- Protect the environment, minimize soil degradation and erosion.
- Maintain long-term soil fertility.
Of course, these principles are followed up with specific encouragement of soil friendly practices such as green manure and biodiversity.
It is a common misconception that organic farmers are not committed to soil quality because they use tillage. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is simply that organic farmers do not embrace chemistry as an alternative to tillage.
Tillage can be a useful tool for organic producers, but it must be respected and used only as appropriate and in conjunction with other techniques that build soil.
Soil scientists such as Diane Knight of the University of Saskatchewan have found that practices that feed the soil, such as green manure and forage in rotations, mitigate the damage that might otherwise come from tillage.
Soil is obviously the foundation of agriculture, but I am also concerned about how we on the Prairies relate to wind and water. Our attitude to trees is particularly alarming.
I understand that trees get in the way of big equipment, but they are crucial in reducing wind speed and temperature extremes. They provide habitat within and around them. They are oases for wildlife in the vast monoculture deserts we create. They filter and gentle the air moving across the prairie.
This year I have seen a growing tendency to remove the woodlots and hedgerows, which goes hand in hand with the idea that we no longer need a federal shelter belt program.
In the same vein, I regularly ask students in my organic weed management class how they can incorporate natural areas into their farm plan.
In the past, I have heard answers that revolve around the importance of shelter belts, sloughs and native prairie in providing beneficial biodiversity. This year, I heard plans to cultivate this waste land and make it productive. This change in mindset seems tragic to me.
I am also concerned about water.
Year after year of flooding is a bit of a shock in a land conditioned to drought, but I think it is time to shake ourselves and consider our collective role in this.
No, I don’t mean fossil fuel contributing to climate weirdness, though that is important, too.
If we look at the native vegetation of the prairie, which is somewhere between the dry of desert and the wet of muskeg, we find an enduring mixture of species adapted to both wet and dry.
In the longterm, cycling between these two states is natural.
What we are missing now is the resilience that comes, on a small scale, from high organic matter in the soil, and on a landscape scale, from marshes and sloughs and ponds. Increased organic matter allows land to cycle water more effectively, absorb it and retain it.
Organic matter is increased by feeding the soil through the use of green manures, forage in rotation and returning crop residues to the soil.
Prairie potholes are the sponges that soak up the excess in the wet cycle and release it gently to be absorbed into the aquifers, dry lands and air for recycling. Cattails and slough grass filter and slow the water’s movements.
Like shelter belts, marshes provide landscape diversity and protect us from extremes. Cultivating from road allowance to road allowance all across the rural municipality is not what is best for natural resilience processes.
When I compare the agricultural potential we have on the Prairies to the stark beauty and harsh environment around Yellowknife, I am grateful to the stewards of the land, the soil, the trees and the wetlands.
My wish for the new year is that we all remember how lucky we are, and that we work to respect the bounty that encompasses us.
“Nature is the home team and she always bats last.”
I had a hard time finding the original author of this adage, but it is an important reminder. We can treat the earth with respect, out of love and admiration for her beauty and power.
If we don’t treat the earth with respect, there will be, and already there are, consequences.
Brenda Frick, Ph.D., P.Ag. is an extension agrologist and researcher in organic agriculture. She welcomes your comments at 306-260-0663 or email organic@usask.ca.
