The controversy over crop cannons, the noise makers which polarized Little Compton last year as the town sought a way to placate angry neighbors while supporting farmers’ right to use them, could be a kernel of its former self this summer as farmer Ian Walker has decided not grow corn this year, leaving Walker’s Roadside Stand closed for the summer.

In a letter to the Sakonnet Times, Walker wrote that the town’s actions last year, and frequent citing of the noise ordinance in talks and debate on the issue, leads him to believe that if he were to grow this year, “the town (would) try to stop me from protecting my corn crop.”

The cannons, which emit sharp, loud blasts designed to scare off birds and other animals, have been used by farmers for many years and are an accepted practice under the state’s Right To Farm Act.

But last summer, residents on or near Old Main Road and Sea Spray Way complained that several cannons, used on land owned and leased out by the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust to Walker and others, were having a huge and negative impact on their quality of life. Town officials sent a cease and desist order to Walker last August and spent months studying the issue without settling on a course of action before the winter set in.

Walker wrote this week that he doesn’t want to take the chance of growing financially unviable crops this summer, adding that the cannons are a crucial and acceptable part of his business plan — “Without the crop cannons, we cannot continue to grow and produce top quality corn in a cost effective manner.”

With the roadside stand shutting down for the summer, that leaves few if any farmers in Little Compton using crop cannons near residential areas this year. Town council member Gary Mataronas said Monday that apart from Walker, he knows of “another guy who uses them occasionally but he’s not near residences. I don’t have a problem if they use crop cannons and no one complains about it.”

Apart from a few complaints that came in from Sea Spray earlier this month, Mataronas said, “I haven’t heard a peep, so I’m assuming that’s a good thing. I don’t think we will have any problems this year — I’m hoping it’s going to be quiet, but I know these people (neighbors) are on standby.”

“I told them if they hear anything and problems arise they should call me right away.”

One line of discussion last summer was the Ag Trust’s leasing of land to farmers, and whether the non-profit should pony up funds to purchase less invasive animal deterrents for those farmers who lease trust fields. On Monday, Mataronas said that’s an idea that needs to be kept fresh:

The “Ag trust needs to come up with funding,” he said. “You slap yourself on the back about all the farmland you save but you turn it into open space because you’re not putting farmers on it. If that means you have to spend $100,000 or $200,000 a year out of the $2 or $3 million that you pull in, that’s what you’ve got to do.”