[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: European caution
Mike, Teige, Craig, Beth, and others: several have referenced the
"closeness" (literally and figuratively) of Europeans to farming,
both intergenerationally and spatially. To this I would introduce
the question of farm size/scale. I have a vision (based entirely on
intuition) that farms in Europe are smaller and somehow more
approachable by passersby than the several hundred to several
thousand hectare farms that are typical in North America. My
intuition comes from hearing chance comments complaining about the
inefficiency of small, heavily subsidized European farms (e.g. units
of 12 cows), or about farmers being paid to protect environmentally
sensitive zones (UK), support wildflower habitat, etc. I can also
recall UK livestock operators complaining about people tramping
through their properties on nature hikes and the uneasy interface
between agricultural and environmental interests (e.g. geese habitat
vs. damage to crops; ecotourists; etc.)
All of this brings to mind a vision (which perhaps some REAL
Europeans could comment upon) of a somehow more "welcoming"
countryside - one that people would want to visit on a Sunday drive.
Vast plains of corn, soybeans, and/or wheat waving in the sun with
the occasional, distant farmstead in the distance may not be so
appealing or interesting to city people. Might scale itself be a
factor in separating/distancing city from rural people, and urban
from agricultural interests? Ann
be so appealing as
ACLARK@crop.uoguelph.ca
Dr. E. Ann Clark
Associate Professor
Crop Science
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON N1G 2W1
Phone: 519-824-4120 Ext. 2508
FAX: 519 763-8933