Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Canadian Pasture and Shelter-Belt Program to Wind Down (Co-operator,April 19) (Letter)
On the chopping block to save money, but not a murmur about the gold-plated Pension Plan that the MP’s have saved for themselves.
Well, it's apparent that Gerry Ritz, born in 1951, never had to deal with the dry and wind years of the 1930’s,when never-ending dust clouds, grasshoppers, and no rain settled on the prairies.
The settlers of those years knew if they were to survive, changes had to be taken in their farming methods and stop their land base from being blown away.
The tree and shrub belts were a beginning, but also a challenge, as the scarcity of water, even for themselves and livestock, resulted in many failures and setbacks. But eventually, conditions improved and the trees and shelter belts began to flourish. And they were successful.
For not only to help prevent the loss of precious topsoil, shelter belts became a refuge and a haven for wildlife, a nesting area and food for birds.
Yes, with modern farming methods and large machinery, they have become somewhat of a nuisance to the aggressive farmers of to-day, so they are ripped away, piled and burned.
The Minister has now proclaimed that shelter belts and pastures are not the way of the future, in that stubble fields and continuous cropping is the salvation for to-day’s producers.
Guess he's been in touch with Nature at the highest level, and been assured that drought years and winds are a past memory and will never return to challenge, even the modern farmers of to-day.
His crystal ball is due for a cleaning and a complete overhaul.
If we don’t learn something from lessons of the past, it’s difficult to venture into the unknown future.
John Fefchak,
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