Why do farmers burn ditches

If there is less fuel, there is less heat. And since only the top couple centimeters is affected, microorganism communities can quickly bounce back. Worms and other insects can simply move deeper into the soil and be saved from the heat.

Check out our other blog posts about plowing and our discussion of no-till practices which we definitely endorse! Pingback: Kimberli Boudrie. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account. You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Menu Skip to content Home About. Search for:. Farmers Take Great Care Prescribed burns or controlled burns are effective because they are controlled.

Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public.

Name required. Because a slight breeze was coming from the northeast, the fires were started in the southwest corner of each section. Then fires were started on the flanks and the head so the fire burned back on itself. Several people also were stationed around the perimeter to suppress any fire that might jump the brakes.

On this day, with almost no wind, the smoke went straight up. Kevin Vosters, an admissions specialist at the school, participated in the control burn, and found the activity beneficial.

The most surprising part of the experience to Vosters was learning how fast fires can come together, and how they surround the whole area. Kellermann stressed that farmers and other landowners can reap significant benefits by conducting controlled burns on portions of their land. Why did we do that? During the year grass and weeds will gradually grow in the ditches, in the fall this all dies off.

To assure good water flow to the crops all this dead material is easily burned out in the spring. Weeds in the ditches acts like friction slowing the flow of water, also the weeds occupy space in the ditch reducing the volume of water delivered. Burning the ditches solves these problems. And I believe people need to be very responsible when burning and get the appropriate education and permits before lighting the torch.

I would rather put up with a little more smoke and decrease the number of pesticides than not. Plus, our farmers need our support. Remember, there are normally reasons for processes in Agriculture and there are always two sides to a story.

Thomas M. Bonnicksen, M. Kat Anderson, Henry T. Lewis, Charles E. Kay, and Ruthann Knudson. Native American influences on the development of forest ecosystems.