The following letter to the editor was recently sent to the National Post in response to an article which appeared in their newspaper on February 14, 2001. The implications that farmers are only concerned about the environment for legal reasons and must be forced to comply really missed the mark. The manure storage study mentioned was just one of over a million dollars worth of environmental research projects funded by Ontario's pork producers in the past five years.
Margins are tight on the farm.
Expensive environmental fixes demanded by society may or may not be in an individual farmer's budget. However, responsible environmental stewardship is the norm, not the exception. Our livelihoods depend on it.