Quote:
Originally Posted by lio45
You're right that it's prime land and I was about to say (someone beat me to it) that you WANT to have your cropland flooded from time to time. Brings new nutrients.
|
We're a long way from Egypt or the Indus valley where flooding is a good thing.
1. Canada has modern technology including irrigation, so all those blueberry farmers would much rather choose exactly how much water is given to the plants rather than having unpredictable floods decide it for them.
2. Canadian farmers all use fertilizers, so again, Canadian farmers would rather take a soil sample and decide what exactly needs to be added, and then do so rather than allowing unpredictable floods do it for them.
3. Canadian farmers don't leave a lot of ground cover (with the exception of hay fields), so the receding flood waters will strip all of the valuable top soil and the ability of the ground to soak up the water is hindered.
4. Modern farmers have significantly more permanent infrastructure in their fields that will be damaged by flooding including fence lines, irrigation pivots, barns, and roadways.
The reality is, technology has rendered nature's helping hand to farmers useless. Some good steady rain over many months, or some snow to help replenish ground water is all that Canadian farmers want. That isn't to say that some farmers aren't naïve to assume nature will always co-operate...