A Huron County soil conservation pioneer says society is becoming more concerned about water quality and carbon in the atmosphere, and farmers have a responsibly to address those issues.
Don Lobb says soil aggregation has to be improved and the impact of water and wind erosion needs to be reduced.
Cover crops are helpful, but he says they are only part of the solution.
Another concern is that only about ten per cent of the land now being farmed is being used the owner.
Lobb says more has to be done to encourage farmers to look after the land they rent like it was their own; and landowners have to take a greater interest in who is farming their land.
Lobb adds that water quality cannot be separated from land management - one impacts the other, and improving one will improve the other.
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Lobb told members of the Huron County Water Protection Steering Committee that there are things farmers can do to address those concerns.
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Lobb says the amount of rented land being farmed raises concerns about the degree to which best farm practices are being employed on rented land.
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