Happy Earth Day: Farmers Celebrate Earth Day Every Day
April 22, 2010
HAPPY EARTH DAY: FARMERS CELEBRATE EARTH DAY EVERY DAY
Ontario’s Farmers release a “Top 10” List of environmental commitments
News Release For Immediate Release
April 22, 2010 [GUELPH, ONTARIO] – Ontario’s farmers released a “Top 10” List to celebrate Earth Day highlighting what farmers have been doing to preserve the environment while they grow our food. Canadians sited the number one reason for buying local food was to support the farmers and the local economy in an Ipsos Reid study commissioned by the Ontario Farm Animal Council in 2009.
“Act local” has no truer meaning than for the people who farm, as their actions impact their own 100 acre backyards directly.
“Everything we do impacts the earth and the environment somehow, whether I’m growing carrots, corn or cattle,” said Wendy Omvlee, a dairy goat farmer from Nanticoke. “The reality is that as farmers our animals, our families and our livelihoods depend on our commitment to take care of our land, air and water.”
Farmers are the true environmentalists with real dirt on their boots and the commitment to practical environmental improvements. Ontario farmers have invested over $600 million of their own money over the past 20 years to better the environment, improve farming practices and help the earth.
“As a mother of six, my legacy to each of my children is to improve the environment on our farm every day – we live, work and play there.” said Amy Cronin, a hog farmer from Listowel. “Earth Day is a time for us to reflect on the improvements we’ve made over the past year on our farm, and to look ahead to what else we can accomplish.”
TOP 10 LIST OF ONTARIO FARMERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
1. Preserving Soil – Our very existence on this planet is dependent on a few inches of topsoil. Over 2/3 of farmers use conservation tilling practices to help preserve that precious resource.
2. Reducing Greenhouse Gases – The carbon sequestered (saved in the soil) due to conservation tillage in Ontario equals 600 kilotonnes/year. That’s equivalent to taking 125,000 cars off the road each year.
3. Environmental Farm Plans – Over 70% of Ontario farmers have taken a course, evaluated their farms’ environmental footprint and made improvements.
4. Earth to Satellite - Our grandfathers couldn’t have dreamed that GPS satellites could map a field to show exactly what fertilizer or chemicals are needed in precise and reduced amounts, or sometimes none at all.
5. Environment School – Ontario farmers have spent over 300,000 days in environmental training courses.
6. Bugs can be good – Some farmers buy ‘beneficial insects’ to put in fields or greenhouses to eat the destructive bugs. As always, bees continue to work hard at pollinating plants.
7. Trees, Trees, Trees – Farmers have planted hundreds of thousands of trees on their land. Whether it’s for windbreaks to protect the soil, to harvest for Christmas, fuel or building, every tree planted is a good thing for so many reasons.
8. Green Energy – Farms have always been a natural recycling centre and new technology is making that even better. Manure is generating power on some farms and sometimes enough for their neighbours too. Ethanol, biodiesel and solar power are just a few other examples that may help power our future with help from the farm.
9. Wetlands, Wildlife and Wide Open Spaces – Take a drive in the country and look around. Hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat and wetlands are on private farmland. Many farmers have worked hard to create, improve or expand those spaces.
10. Food and the Environment - The farmers’ ultimate challenge is to grow more food on less land to feed more people. There are no easy answers, but farmers keep investing in research, both in labs and on the farm, to continue towards that critically important goal.
Paul Wettlaufer grows crops and raises cattle near Hanover. “You support Ontario farmers when you buy local, and in turn we’re the ones committed to improving the environment here in our own backyard. It’s good for people, animals and our planet.”
For more information on how your food is grown here in Ontario and what farmers are doing to protect our environment, visit www.caringfortheland.com or tour a farm virtually on www.farmissues.com.
AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned about Resources and the Environment) is the voice of Ontario's 45,000 crop and horticulture farmers on environmental issues. Visit www.agcare.org for more information.
The Ontario Farm Animal Council is the voice for animal agriculture, representing over 40,000 livestock and poultry farmers, associations and businesses on issues such as farm animal care, food safety, and the environment. Visit www.ofac.org for more information.
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For further information contact:
Wendy Omvlee – Dairy Goat Farmer (905) 776-5304
Amy Cronin – Hog Farmer (519) 887-9158
Paul Wettlaufer – Crop & Beef Cattle Farmer, AGCare Chair (519) 665-7646 or (519) 369-7528
John Maaskant, Chicken Farmer, Ontario Farm Animal Council Chair (519) 525-2629
Crystal Mackay, Executive Director, AGCare and OFAC (519) 837-1326 x 223
cmackay@ofac.org