Environmental stewardship job one for potato growers: Linkletter maintains

Abstract

The Chair of the PEI Potato Board, Gary Linkletter, says it's time for the public to move past the history and look at what today's potato growers are doing to protect the environment. Linkletter outlines that farmers here operate under the most stringent environmental legislation and the highest level of Enhanced Environmental Farm Planning in Canada. He outlined many measures that farmers undertake here including soil conservation, use of buffer zones, nutrient management, strip cropping, crop rotation, integrated pest management and other initiatives that foster beneficial management practices that protect soil quality and reduce nitrate levels. Linkletter explained that supplemental irrigation can help farmers be more efficient, more effective and be more environmentally responsible. Some preliminary results from the Nitrate Pilot Project with the Kensington North Watershed Group in 2013 showed an 11.5% increase in income per acre due to increased marketable yields and another test from same study showed a reduction in average residual nitrate levels by 31.4%

Date

2014-04-16

Issue

1

Title	Environmental stewardship job one for potato growers: Linkletter maintains
Abstract	The Chair of the PEI Potato Board, Gary Linkletter, says it's time for the public to move past the history and look at what today's potato growers are doing to protect the environment. Linkletter outlines that farmers here operate under the most stringent environmental legislation and the highest level of Enhanced Environmental Farm Planning in Canada. He outlined many measures that farmers undertake here including soil conservation, use of buffer zones, nutrient management, strip cropping, crop rotation, integrated pest management and other initiatives that foster beneficial management practices that protect soil quality and reduce nitrate levels. Linkletter explained that supplemental irrigation can help farmers be more efficient, more effective and be more environmentally responsible. Some preliminary results from the Nitrate Pilot Project with the Kensington North Watershed Group in 2013 showed an 11.5% increase in income per acre due to increased marketable yields and another test from same study showed a reduction in average residual nitrate levels by 31.4%
Journal	Island farmer
Date	2014-04-16
Volume	41
Issue	1
ISSN	0823-7735