There are many reasons why producers have adopted the practice of direct seeding in Saskatchewan. Some say it saves money. Some say it saves time for fishing. Some say it saves soil from wind and water erosion. While others say it saves wildlife.
All of us have a different perspective of what is environmentally friendly. One of the more common questions I get about the Conservation Learning Centre from non-producers is, "So, do you grow your crops organically then?" From that statement, you can readily recognize the opinion that the only way to farm in an environmentally-friendly way is through organic farming.
An interesting presentation was made at a recent Manitoba-North Dakota Zero-till Conference in Brandon. Mr. Dennis Avery, Director of Global Food Issues, Hudson Institute, Indiana, told the crowd of enthusiastic producers that in order to save world wildlife habitat, we will in fact have to increase production on present farmland.
His argument goes as follows. It is pretty well accepted that organically grown crops tend to be lower yielding. If the world population continues to rise, which we have to assume is true, then we need more food. If we need more food, either our production needs to increase through increased yields or through increased acreage. Certainly, if increased acreage is allowed, we will begin to crop the corners of the earth which we have deemed "marginal". This is exactly the land which has often been left for wildlife habitat or wildlife in co-existence with livestock.
This argument in favour of modern crop production systems, those using herbicides and fertilizers, is quite unique. But we still have to ask the question, "What are the effects of agriculture on the land, the wildlife, the air, and the water?" Researchers have considered many of these questions for a long time. At the Conservation Learning Centre, we can only look at these issues on a fairly limited scale, but we have several agencies involved in monitoring 'our own backyard'.
The longest running project is one in which greenhouse gases have been measured by students and scientists from the University of Saskatchewan. By 1996, we will have a better idea of how much nitrous oxide evolves from direct-seeded land vs. conventionally farmed land, fertilized vs. non-fertilized cropland, cropland vs. grassland, and how the landscape affects the process.
Water quality is of concern to all of us, including wildlife. The National Hydrology Research Institute is coordinating the monitoring of several potholes at or near the Conservation Learning Centre. They are measuring any contamination of surface water from all of the inputs used for crop production.
Wildlife, weed populations, and soil quality are other components which will continue to be monitored. We hope that these projects will provide a glimpse of truth as to the potential environmental advantages and disadvantages of the practices we have adopted.