Filed under: November 2015 | Tags: Buffer, dust bowl, kindness, pass on, stewardship, stream
Protecting a stream bed
November 6, 2015
In my off farm job, I provide a buffer from upper management to the workforce. I have been in that job for a very long time. It is an important function to be the one who keeps communication flowing up, as well as down. It is a rough spot sometimes when each side gets frustrated with the other. I really feel the squeeze now and then. Lucky for me I have this farm to relieve my stress, heal my mind and settle my soul. In fact, I think it’s good for all of us 😮
When I think about buffering, I think more about how to reduce the impact of farming on the environment. My farming is small compared to some, but my farming practices are just as important. I want to be a good steward to my animals, but also to the land and especially the water. Erosion, even in a small way, is a problem that needs ample consideration…if you don’t think so, read about the dust bowl of the 1930’s.
I also want my dollars to stay on the fields where I put them, instead of running off into a nearby stream. I don’t buy much fertilizer, but I still want it to feed the crop and not the algae in the water! I also don’t want to fill my farm ponds in with mud and silt. I want the woodland streams that traverse my farm to be clean and healthy. I feel it is my job to protect what I have been given to use. Let’s be real, it is only mine for a short time. I will pass, but hopefully, my ideals will live on, in the minds and practices of my children and grandchildren.
If each of us does just a little part to protect the land, the water and each other. Our world will continue to be a pretty darn good place to live. Ask yourself, “What can I do better?” It may be simple like holding a door, picking up some trash or offering a sad person a smile. I guarantee you will feel better. In the end, isn’t that what life is about? Feeling good, doing good and setting an example for those in line behind us, is a way of buffering our impact upon this world….it’s the little things that matter.
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RicelandMeadows 
Very nicely said and I agree wholeheartedly!
Comment by Donkey Driver November 6, 2015 @ 10:04 pmThanks :o)
Comment by ricelandmeadows November 7, 2015 @ 9:15 pm