Changing farmer attitudes: An Ontario experience

Excerpt

WHILE some professional conservationists are familiar with the concept of conservation tillage, many farmers are not. At least that has been the situation in Ontario. The situation is understandable if one looks at current farmer attitudes, which are often indifferent or negative toward conservation tillage. In so doing, several extenuating circumstances emerge, particularly lack of education, economic misconceptions, and negative experiences with conservation tillage.

In 1980, when the Thames River Implementation Committee (TRIC) initiated a three-year pilot program in diffuse source management for the Thames River Basin, two points regarding conservation tillage were clear. First, to promote the practice as a soil erosion control option and offset any negative or indifferent attitudes toward it, an extensive program of information, education, and demonstration was needed. Second, because of time constraints, the TRIC program would serve only to indicate the most appropriate direction for long-term efforts and to provide the initial momentum so crucial to success.

The TRIC program

The 1975 Thames River Basin Water Management Study indicated that 74 percent of the river's total phosphorus and 95 percent of its nitrogen originated from diffuse source inputs, especially agricultural land (5). In response to the recommendations in this study, TRIC was formed in 1976. Represented on the committee were the Ontario Ministries of Natural Resources, Environment, Agriculture and Food, and Housing as well as the Upper Thames River and Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authorities, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Municipal Engineers Association. …