"We got an award there from the Soil and Crop last year for soil conservation and you know the bank picked up on that and they reflect that in our equity. When it comes to what's the market value of your land and the average market value is, say eighteen hundred, they might tack on ten percent if they feel your land is being well looked after." If you get a chance to tour Peter Townshend's potato farm in Rollo Bay you'll see right away why he and his farm won the Soil Conservationist Award from the PEI Soil and Crop Improvement Association in 1997. Growing potatoes since 1974, it was in the mid 80s when Townshend decided if he wanted to maintain his success he better start taking care of the soil. That's when he instituted strip cropping, terracing, grassed waterways, crop rotation, and contour farming. Photo: Aerial photo showing strip cropping and contour farming Townshend's potato farm has one thousand acres of land for production but actually only keeps about four hundred acres in potatoes each year. The remainder is rotated on a three year basis with hay and barley. The land in the Rollo Bay area is very hilly and Townshend has to be very careful about soil erosion and run-off. That's why he instituted terracing and contour farming. Photo:Spring planting and rotating with forage crops A new idea to PEI in the mid-80s, the methods were very expensive at the time. The land had to be surveyed and mapped by engineers and then it had to be flagged and marked in the appropriate areas. Today, contouring and terracing are far more commonplace and less expensive. A diversion terrace directs or diverts run-off water from an area and is often built at the base of a slope to move run-off away from bottom lands. The terraces are twenty-two feet wide and a ditch is dug on one side of the terrace with dirt bermed up on the other. On top of these methods, Townshend plants his earliest potatoes on the hilliest land so they can be harvested ahead of time. That means he can plant a good cover crop of winter wheat to hold the soil over the harsh winter months. As well, parts of the hill won't be used for production at all. Contour farming can be impractical on Prince Edward Island. When land was surveyed and divided up in the 1880s it was in long, thin strips usually running up from the shore line. Many farms were divided up among sons over the years and made even thinner. This means it can be difficult to try to contour and terrace when you don't have any room to turn your tractor around. To get around this and to reduce erosion, Townshend puts in a grassed waterways to divert the run-off. Grassed waterways are forty-four feet sloping ditches that stop water run-off from upper fields. The water collects in the waterway and is diverted minimizing soil erosion from the lower field. The loss of forty-four feet from production is offset by the soil that isn't washed away. Photo:Small field sizes To minimize soil compaction and excessive spraying of chemicals, Townshend designs his fields in certain sizes. His sprayer is thirty yards wide which means he generally puts in crops that are sixty yards wide. This allows him to go up the field once and back again. This way he's not overlapping his runs just to get ten or twelve rows. The method saves time and money. When looking for additional land to farm, Townshend is a good neighbour. He looks for property away from other homeowners and creates buffer zones between his fields and homes. He prides himself on never selling land near his fields to someone who might want to build a house. As a result of these methods, Townshend has virtually eliminated soil erosion on his properties. After winning last year's Soil Conservationist Award his bank noticed his efforts and appraised the land with a higher value. Pleased with the distinction, Townshend says "my equity isn't washing away anymore." Virtually eliminated soil erosion Increases equity in the land Maintains soil quality and crop yields. Inexpensive farming methods

Some photos and technical information courtesy of the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Forestry