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NOVEMBER 2018 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


19


Pilot project in Delta supports perennial crops Stewardship programs help growers mitigate waterfowl damage to fields


by SEAN HITREC


DELTA – It’s November, and while enthusiasts with big cameras roam the farm roads of Delta searching for the magnificent array of migratory bird species, forage and dairy farmers keep a wary eye on their fields. To farmers trying to


grow forage crops in Delta, waterfowl mean losses in the tens of thousands of dollars. Snow geese and other migratory birds have flown thousands of kilometres to rest and regain energy in the Fraser River estuary. They’re stopping for the same reason the area has agriculture – amazing growing conditions for their favourite foods. In whatever grassy area they land, their beaks and bills pull plant from root and their thousands of tiny feet crush the soil so water pools and grass doesn’t regrow. “We seeded 30 acres last


and nurtured it.”


The damage is enough that some farmers turn what once were perennial hay fields into annual ones by tilling over the grass every year and reseeding each spring. A tilled field dries quicker and that means it can be planted earlier. The bare fields also don’t fall victim to the birds over the fall, winter and early spring. However, when this is done it increases the vulnerability of the remaining perennial fields and the birds have less food. Three years ago, Bates changed a portion of his forage crop to costly (and annual) silage because the losses to migratory birds were too substantial.


Stewardship The issue is one the Overwintering birds and the damage they do to crop land are a huge issue for Delta farmers. SEAN HITREC PHOTO


year [due to damage] and then we had to reseed the same amount this year because they just killed it all,”


says Jack Bates, who has around 140 head of dairy cattle and until recent years was able to grow enough


forage to feed his herd. “There was another 30 [acres] that was damaged, but we made it work. We fertilized it


non-profit Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust has spent the last 25 years combatting through stewardship programs. Birds that once grazed on


thousands of acres of farmland See FORAGE on next page o


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