Does soil conservation pay? This was a pretty common question from farmers only a few years ago. It was difficult to answer yes when Roundup prices were in the $30 range. As Roundup prices fell and better seeding equipment was developed, more and more producers were able to justify soil conservation practices from a purely economic basis. By 2001, 70% of Saskatchewan's farmers said yes, soil conservation pays. According to the 2001 census, Saskatchewan farmers direct seeded 40% of the province's cropland. Another 30% used some sort of minimum till systems with the remaining 30% using conventional tillage. This adoption rate is the highest in Canada (Figure 1).
The spring of 2002 will go down as one of the coldest and driest on record for much of Saskatchewan. The drought also presented the biggest test for the effectiveness of direct seeding systems to date. From a soil conservation perspective, these systems performed very well. While the system may not have conserved enough moisture for good germination in many areas, at least it kept the soil in place. This spring, the erosion control benefits direct seeding was apparent on fields throughout Saskatchewan. Any fields without residue cover were very vulnerable to erosion and conventional summerfallow fields had the worst erosion problems. As was evident in the number fields that suffered from erosion this spring, there is still much work to be done. There is still a continuing need to help producers move towards direct seeding systems and reduce summerfallow levels.
Even government agencies have seen the financial benefits of soil conservation. In late summer of 2001, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation was projecting a $500 million payout. However, they only received claims of around $300 million. Why the large difference? I believe that the moisture conserving soil conservation practices helped to maintain higher crop yields than was expected by either crop insurance or the farmers themselves. This $200 million crop insurance saving in 2001 was a good return on the $90 million governments invested in soil conservation programs over the past 15 years.
The federal government has recognized that soil conservation practices can also benefit the Canadian economy helping reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration. They have recently announced a national program to demonstrate and promote best management practices for managing greenhouse gases like direct seeding, reduced summerfallow and more efficient fertilizer and manure management.
Best wishes with your harvest.