Farmers Support Soil Conservation Programs
"Farmers are true environmentalists."
Second-generation farmer Dave Winship of Hodgdon holds that statement close to his heart. If he can do his part to conserve the soil for tomorrow's future farmers, then he plans to do that.
That's where the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District (SASWCD) and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians (HBMI) come into play. In 2002, the two partnered with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to create a winter cover and mulching program to protect soil erosion for farms located within the Meduxnekeg Watershed.
"What area the farmers are doing is they're applying mulch that will cover at a minimum 30 percent of the open ground primarily for winter protection from a soil erosion standpoint" explained Don Collins, outreach coordinator for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. "This has been going on since 2003 and in the last two years, we've really had a lot of acreage done as a result of this program. Approximately half a million dollars was made available to do this. "
Collins said farmers get paid just to cover their variable expenses, which is $60 an acre, providing they meet the criteria, which all the local farmers taking part in the program have done in terms of the minimum 30 percent coverage. The monies come from the EPA for the Winter Cover Project, which included both mulching and winter cover in the form of oats or barley or winter rye.
Farmers who harvest early in the fall are able to use oats, barley or winter rye for winter cover, and by the time November rolls around, the soil has green coverage to it. For those that harvest late in October, hay is mulched and spread over the soil. Not covering winter soil could mean taking a loss to winter erosion.
"It's helping to break the impact of rain drops in the late fall and winter thaws and the spring to reduce run-off and keep soil in place, but we found that there are a lot of other benefits from a total soil health standpoint, which includes some biological benefits and some chemical benefits," explained Collins. " What we would really like to see happen is we would like to see this extended for another five-year timeframe so that those two areas - biological and chemical - could be further studied."
The good thing about using hay is that it comes from local sources like Winship who farms horse hay and potatoes on his farm in Hodgdon. So farm this fall, Winship has spread hay mulch on more than 900 acres of farms - 200 acres of that includes his own land.
"It helps maintain our soil for future generations and it keeps it from washing away and builds organic matter," explained Winship. "The main thing is to keep it from washing from the high points of the field and keeping it from the river. I've been haying for quite a few years so I decided to go around and ask if (other farmers) wanted it done and they did."
Winship said it's crucial that farmers take action now to conserve the soil before it's too late. He said tons of soil is lost each year through winter erosion and if there's no, then that means there's nothing to farm on.
"Slowly but surely we're losing it," said Winship. "It's so many tons that is moved. To do this is the best way and sometimes you don't need to do all your ground.
"If you do the hilliest parts, which are more susceptible to erosion, that would be the best to that first and then move to other parts," he added. "This fall, we've had two or three inches of rain and places that normally wash have not washed. It's helped and I'm going to continue doing it."
It's been an excellent programs and there's been a wide range of acceptance by local farmer's said Collins. He also pointed out that the grant was made possible due to the efforts of the HBMI who have worked over the years to continue to preserve areas of the Meduxneakeg Watershed, which is primarily Houlton, Hodgdon, New Limerick, Linneus, Ludlow, Littleton, Monticello and Hammond.
The grant came primarily from the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and that was tremendous and they've done a lot of work in the Meduxneakeg Watershed and not just this mulching program and winter cover program, but a lot of other work that has benefited area farmers directly and indirectly over the years," said Collins. "The nice thing is it's not chemicals that coming in, it's natural. This has all the nutrients in it, it just has to go through the decay process to get to the soil."