Agriculture and Wildlife Conservation Panel

Bob Elliott, California State Department of Pesticide Reduction,
and Pat Delwicke, College of Agriculture, participated in agriculture and
wildlife panel. (photos BF)
Driving on many of the back-roads toward Chico, the scenery looks all too familiar: a canal bank and nearby fields completely devoid of vegetation with not a tree to shelter an occasional bird. Some would call such "clean farming" practices both necessary and sound, and for many years, it was the accepted `best practice.' Understanding about the environment and what is possible in terms of both efficient farming and good ecology has increased tremendously and there is a growing cooperation between agriculture and conservation.

Set up by Walt Schafer, Sociology,a two-part forum, on March 9 and 12-addressed issues of agriculture and conservation. Sponsored by the CSU, Chico College of Agriculture, the Chico Rotary Club, and the U.C. Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Center, the first forum, March 9, included presentations by Greg Timber, orchard manager at the University Farm; Rachael Long, a farm adviser for U.C. Cooperative Extension, Yolo and Solano Counties, who spoke on bat houses for agricultural areas; and Sinthya Penn of Oak Run Beneficial Insectary.

After introductions by Pat Delwiche, College of Agriculture, keynote speaker, Bob Elliot, California State Department of Pesticide Reduction, outlined the progress of the DPR's recognition program promoting reductions in pesticide usage. The program recognizes farmers who use integrated pest management practices such as mulching vineyard rows or hedgerow and border-strip plantings instead of herbicides. These growers receive awards and then serve as mentors for encouraging reduced-risk farming practices.

Jessica Lundberg, CSU, Chico Biology student, presented a brief history of how her family has practiced reduced-risk farming and wildlife conservation in Richvale just south of Chico. Lundberg first noted that rice farming provides almost 500,000 acres of habitat usable by migratory waterfowl.

Lundberg Family Farms uses green manure crops such as oats and vetch to fertilize its organic rice fields. They employ practices to insure nesting success for ducks and pheasants, such as delaying plowing for as long as possible and requiring their tractor operators to stop for nesting birds. If large numbers of nests remain in the fields, workers gather the eggs and give them to a local hatcher who has an 80 percent success rate in returning hatchlings to the wild.

Lundberg Farms has not burned any rice straw since 1960. Leading the way in innovative approaches to the perennial problem of rice straw burning, the Lundbergs have invented new equipment such as cage rollers and compactors that return up to three tons of straw to the soil.

"Bring Farm Edges Back to Life" was the title of John Anderson's presentation. Anderson, a veterinarian and owner of Hedgerow Farms, became interested in hedgerows after touring England where beautiful roadsides and agriculture have co-existed for hundreds of years. Eroded waterways and roadsides devoid of vegetation can be turned into lush habitats for plants and animals by planting native species of trees and grasses well adapted to California. Only about one acre for every mile of such a wildlife corridor is taken out of farm production.

Jessica Lundberg, Lundberg Farms, CSU,
Chico Biology student.

Establishing these perennial wildlife corridors pays off in big dividends for the ecosystem and farmers according to Anderson. Less flooding, more filtration of toxins, less money spent on chemicals, large increases in game animals and wildlife, and a better quality of life for people are just some of the benefits.

The panelists fielded audience questions such as: Is the water usage justifiable for restoring waterway vegetation? Has research been done on perennials for orchards? What effect do restored waterways have on non-source point pollution?

Anderson pointed out that much more research needs to be done, but we have already lost 95 percent of our riparian systems, and fisheries and the quality of water continues to decline. He believes that we can no longer afford not to restore farm and riparian buffer strips.