By JEFF BURBRINK

Extension Educator Purdue Extension

Jeff Burbrink

GOSHEN — Stewardship is a powerful word. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines stewardship as the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

For me, that definition should have a lot of meaning to farmers. Farmers are entrusted with the land they farm to produce food and fibers in a manner that is responsible. This responsibility is not only for themselves and their families, but for their neighbors, for the land, the life on that land, for the environment and for future generations.

Most farmers take that responsibility very seriously. They often state that it is not only a personal responsibility to them, it is also a matter of expressing their faith in their Creator, to care for the land that was given to them.

It saddens me when I hear of situations where a farmer may not act as a good steward to the land. Last spring’s situation in the mid-South, where a handful of farmers in that region chose to use a non-labeled version of dicamba on dicamba resistant soybeans and caused widespread injury to non-target plants, is a perfect example of how a few bad apples can spoil the whole barrel.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that sort of behavior does not happen right here at home. We have a couple of creeks in the community that have high levels of nutrients and fecal bacteria, and I am sure a few farmers in those neighborhoods know why it is there. Yet year after year, the problem gets ignored.

Folks, we all have to work together. We cannot keep allowing our livestock waste to flow down the creek. We cannot keep hooking our septic tanks directly to field tile. We cannot spray herbicides when the wind is blowing 10 mph or towards a sensitive crop. This type of behavior is not only against the laws of man, it is against the very fabric of who we are as people of faith and how we should treat our fellow man.

The obligation to be a good steward of the land does not in any way make it impossible to make a comfortable living on the farm. In fact, I believe that being a poor steward of the land will eventually lead to issues that may reduce the productivity and value of the land, which in turn will affect the financial health of the farm family. And, while no one can afford to adopt all the best management practices in a short period of time, it is something we need to plan for to become the best we can possibly be.

I don’t think anyone wants to be thought of as the bad apple in the barrel, but it is as good of an analogy as I can make. The good thing is, unlike a rotten apple, a human being can change for the better. Good stewardship is, after all, the result of good, conscious decision making.