by RONDA PAYNE
ABBOTSFORD – Soil is essential for food production yet, over the winter, so much of that necessary resource is lost due to a lack of planning and preparation. Farmers on prairie-type land and those with strong wind patterns are particularly s usceptible, but with the rains that fall all around B.C., both water and wind can wreak havoc on fields just about anywhere.
The Abbotsford Soil Conserv-ation Association (ASCA) has been around since 1990. Over the years, the organization has observed soil movement and has identified Sumas Prairie and Matsqui Prairie as problem areas in the region.
“On Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford, we have a really bad soil erosion problem because of how the winter winds blow,” says ASCA co-ordinator Kristine Schlamp. “Basically, when the fields are left without winter cover crops, the soil all ends up in the ditches.”
And as a result, the lost soil not only impacts the farm-ability of the land, but it also impacts streams and aquatic life.
“Most of the ditches in Sumas Prairie are connected to fish bearing streams so it affects fish quality,” Schlamp continues.
Obviously, this concern isn’t confined to Abbotsford, but the region is Schlamp’s main focus. The dilemma faced by the ASCA and other organizations working in soil conservation and education fields is that it isn’t that exciting; it is challenging, therefore, to get funding to assist farmers and others in improving the stability and winterizing of their soil.
“It’s not sexy. These are tried and true and trusted measures,” Schlamp says.
There is nothing new under the sun here. The ways to prevent soil loss are centuries old farming techniques – cover crops and wind breaks. Farmers and homeowners on Sumas Prairie have been given information in the past, but with farms and households changing hands, that information may not have been passed along. The ASCA is planning on providing another round of education to the Sumas Prairie farmers.
“There has been a drop in education and they are not putting winter cover crops in there,” says Schlamp. “The wind is taking up the soil and so I’m trying to get money for wind breaks. I’m working with the Ministry of Agriculture to identify the properties most susceptible and get funding and to build wind breaks.”
Cover crops create a rough layer on top of the soil that reduces the wind velocity at the soil surface. Taller and denser crops are the most effective. This plant barrier prevents the soil from blowing away, plus the roots of cover crops bind the soil together, improve its structure and hold the most fertile elements of the soil in.
Rain can be just as harmful as wind. When the soil can no longer absorb the rain, the water accumulates and begins to travel downhill. For those on especially hilly terrain, this can mean the loss of huge amounts of soil. Small rills may not seem like a problem until they form together and cause large gullies capable of washing soil to streams and rivers.
“You can see the damage the rain does,” notes Schlamp. “You see the little rivers going through the gravel because there are no roots holding the soil in. The rilling happens and causes those little trenches to be created and washes the soil away.”
Cover crops should be planted from early September to the start of October. Even though we’re into January, now is an ideal time to do research and determine what works with crop schedules. Depending on the variety, cover crops can also be a potential source of income. Grasses, cereals and legumes all make excellent choices in soil retention according to Schlamp. By planning before next year’s harvest, farmers can be prepared with cover crop seed when it’s needed.
Ensure that cover crops are susceptible to winter kill so they don’t become the next season’s weeds. Other tips include selecting a different plant family from the succeeding crop and choosing inexpensive seed that produces, and easily establishes, a quick growing crop in cool conditions.
In addition to preventing soil erosion, cover crops fill the gap in crop rotation, can be a source of food for livestock, provide mulch and green manure as well as offer control over weeds, insects and pathogens.
If cover crops are not an option, wind breaks are also helpful. Wind at just 21 kilmometers per hour within 30 centimeters of the soil’s surface can cause soil erosion. Protect the soil by disturbing the air flow with a single or double row of trees. Windbreaks reduce the windspeed and help prevent snow drifts by forcing the snow to distribute more evenly.
In each windbreak, only one variety of trees should be used and each subsequent windbreak should be a different type of tree. Height is beneficial in that about ten times the height of the break is the amount of surface area protected downwind. For example, if trees are 30 feet high, an area of 300 feet downwind will be protected.
Of course, sometimes neither cover crops nor wind breaks are possible. If this is the case, position filter cloth at streams and areas where soil may wash away and reclaim soil on a regular basis. “I staple down lumber tarps about two to three layers thick,” says Paul Healey, owner of Hannah Brook Organic Farm in Mission. “This kills the weeds and holds in the soil.”
Healey also plants Austrian winter peas and micro fave beans as cover crops and is able to sell them as an additional source of income.
For more information about cover crops, wind breaks and soil preservation practices, contact Kristine Schlamp at 604/557-5815.