HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-07-12, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 12, 2012.Farmers are waitingfor the rain, Ball says
Health Canada announces
turbine noise, health study
On the mark
Blyth native and current back-up goalie for the Carolina
Hurricanes Justin Peters took some time out of his busy
schedule late last month to participate in the Ainsleigh
Bontaine Memorial Golf Tournament. He and several other
professional hockey players were in Clinton at Woodlands
Links seeing how they could perform under pressure with
their clubs. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
July is the time of year the waiting
game begins for farmers. They are
waiting on their crops to mature for
harvest, and waiting for the rain to
come.
Bonnie Ball, a soil fertility
specialist with the Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs (OMAFRA), says “not
enough rain is a big [issue].”
A lack of rain affects the uptake of
soil nutrients, she says. Symptoms
of potassium deficiency can start to
appear in soybeans this time of year.
Ball says so far this year a deficiency
has not been seen, but “if [the lack of
rain] continues it might be
expected.” The soybeans in general
are growing well at the moment
according to Ball.
Potash levels are down she says, as
a result of not enough fertilizer being
applied to fields in the spring over
the past few years. Improper
application is also a concern for Ball
who would prefer to see fertilizer (or
manure) placed subsurface than
broadcast on top of the soil and not
incorporated.
“It’s not a good practice,” says
Ball. “[Surface broadcasting] quick,
but in the long run, it’s not efficient.”
Ball says the forage shortage is a
real concern. Yields have been down
for both the first and second cut of
hay and haylage. The second cut is
poor due to a lack of water she
says, while the army worm
caused problems during the first
cut.
In addition to the environmental
conditions reducing yields, more
forage land has been plowed under
in favour of cash crops, Ball
adds.
The alfalfa has been tested to show
low potassium levels as well as low
sulphur levels. “Where we see the
low sulphur levels is often where
manure is not routinely applied. That
is because manure contains sulphur,”
Ball says.
“We were really hurt by the warm
weather in March,” says Ball about
this year’s alfalfa crop in particular.
The weaker stands of alfalfa did not
fare well when the frosts came in
April.
“Wheat yields are decent, but not
outstanding,” says Ball. The wheat
harvest has started in a few places
and Ball expects “lots will come off
this week.”
The lack of rain in the forecast is
good for those looking to harvest
wheat and bale straw but not for the
other crops, Ball acknowledges.
The corn crop is maturing early.
Ball says tassels have started to
appear on crops in Perth and Huron
counties before more southern areas.
Some corn is tasseling in Elgin too.
She adds lack of rain may slow down
the corn.
Ball has not seen an abnormal
increase in erosion but says time will
tell.
She noted that there were reports
of pre-plant herbicides not being as
effective as normal and that weeds
were a challenge in some fields.
While the waiting game will soon be
over for the wheat crop, the
remaining crops, in particular corn,
will need rain sooner rather than
later.
Health Canada, in collaboration
with Statistics Canada, will conduct
a research study that will explore the
relationship between wind turbine
noise and health effects reported by,
and objectively measured in, people
living near wind power
developments.
“This study is in response to
questions from residents living near
wind farms about possible health
effects of low frequency noise
generated by wind turbines,” said the
Honourable Leona Aglukkaq,
Minister of Health. “As always, our
Government is putting the health and
safety of Canadians first and this
study will do just that by painting a
more complete picture of the
potential health impacts of wind
turbine noise.”
Health Canada is aware of health-
related complaints from individuals
living in close proximity to wind
turbine establishments. The study is
being designed with support from
external experts, specializing in
areas including noise, health
assessment, clinical medicine and
epidemiology.
The proposed research design and
methodology was posted on Health
Canada’s website on Tuesday for a
30-day public comment period.
Feedback obtained will be reviewed
by the design committee, compiled
and published to the website, along
with the design committee’s
responses.
The study will be focused on an
initially targeted sample size of
2,000 dwellings selected from eight
to 12 wind turbine installation
facilities in Canada. In addition to
taking physical measurements from
participants, such as blood pressure,
investigators will conduct face-to-
face interviews and take noise
measurements inside and outside of
some homes to validate sound
modelling.
Health Canada has expertise in
measuring noise and assessing the
health impacts of noise because of its
role in administering the Radiation
Emitting Devices Act (REDA). As
defined under REDA, noise is a form
of radiation.
The study results are expected to
be published in 2014.
SAVE
up to
$2650
a year
Off the newsstand price
Newsstand price - $1.25/week
Subscription price - 72¢/week
Yes - I want to save money.
Enclosed is $36.00 for a 1-year subscription
Festival workshop
runs this week
Continued from page 23
school, Hood said that she was one
of the first members of her grad
class, (which had 30 people in it
originally and 19 at graduation), to
nail down full-time work.
“Everyone else laughed when I
said I was going to go back to my
hometown but I was the first one to
get work,” she said. “It was a dream
come true though, to come home
and work here.”
She said that Blyth, like Goderich,
is a place where creativity blooms
and she is happy to be a part of that.
She also loves that the Festival
works solely on Canadian theatre.
“There’s just no other place like
it,” she said. “This is an awesome
place of innovation and new work.”
Another benefit of being so close
to home is that she can work with
the people who helped her to chase
her dream.
She mentioned that she loved
visiting GDCI and her former
teachers and working with them
through the Livery and that she also
loved the idea of visiting other
high schools in the area and
working to get kids interested in
theatre.
By Ursina Studhalter
The Citizen
See histories and historic
photographs on the
Huron History section
of our website
www.northhuron.on.ca
The Citizen