Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1971-04-01, Page 15As communities spread into what was once productive farm land, the problem of animal wastes takes on added importance. Larger livestock and poultry operations add to` the problem as does confined housing and feedlots close to growing residential areas, Researchers have found that manure, spread from barns and feedlots, helps increase the tilth of soil and cuts down on the amount of commercial fertilizers needed in some soils and increases nutrient value to plants. Garden Notes Air layering house plants THE McKILLOP MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY SEAFORTH i r nu INSURANCE , Insures: -COMPANY , * Town 'Dwellings * All Class of Farm Property ., * Summer cottages * Churches, SchOolt, Halls Extended coverage (wind, smoke, water damage, falling objects etc.) is also available. Agents: James Keys, Tilt 1, Seaforth; V. 3. Lane, Kit 5, Sea-forth; Wiri, Leiper, sr.,,, Londesboro; Selwyn Baker, Brnssels; Harold Squire, Clinton; George Coyne, Dublin; bohald G. Eaton, Seaforth. Alert y. e.es //oh »i/X cemnhmee" WHITE BEAN CONTRACTS We have a good supply of the "NEW SEAFARER VARMTV" and SANILAC Foundation and Certified, RED KIDNEY BEAN CONTRACTS CUSTOIVI SEED TREATING Seed Beans Corn Seed Grain ANDERSON'S FERITLIZERS NIAGARA CHEMICALS All at competive prices. "Trade with Confidence" Trade With COOK'S DIVISION OF G1ERitit0 CORP,. ltIENSALt 'PHONE 20-2605 - I • 6 Mra-6-traIrrtralf615as Clirrb S'15 Crb 6 trirrera tarn a stra Is sera DELTA GRILL and TINA STATION We have a new line of car and home stereo players, tapes and speakers. Also fishing tackle and camping supplies OPEN 8 a.m. —9 p.m. Phone 482-7993 279 Victoria St. 13, 14b First Year Report from Hundreds of Farmers: 550 4 with Attazine gives season long control of annual grasses and broadleaf weeds Last year Lasso 4 was a brand new herbicide and we made a lot of promises. Now the promises have been proven. A Lasso Vatrazine mix needs no incorporation, Lasso Vatrazine will not damage your crops or ruin your rotation plans because there is less carryover. Lasso 4/atrazine controls both broadleaf weeds and grasses (including crabgrass, fall panicum and barnyard- grass) in corn. Lasso 4 is available from your local farm supply dealer. For free descriptive literature on Lasso 4 and its uses, write Monsanto Canada Limited, 175 Rexdale Blvd., Toronto, Ontario. ,,,,,4",apy Monsanto Farm animal waste disposal becoming a serious pioblem Clinton News-Reccrel, Thursday, April 1, 1971 5A Borrow own money veipvtopropp- /WEITANT MIN taking out insurance to pay estate taxes and. succession .duties. For years, the farmer and his manure spreader have been the brunt of many a joke from non-farm people. But manure is not a joke to farmers, nor to suburbanites who have moved in close to farms. In tact, animal waste disposal is fast becoming the number one problem of farms and feedlots across the continent. The increasing number of agricultural engineers, economists, soils men and crops men who have considered the problem in recent years agree it is becoming one of the most serious problems in agriculture. These experts predict, the problem of disposing of waste will become even more serious in the coming decade because of several recognizable trends. These include the increasing squeeze on farmers as suburbs xpand into farmland and on-farm people seek a home by he road in the country. Also adding to the problem is he increase in livestock numbers eeded to feed a growing opulation, the increase in size f individual livestock and oultry operations, coupled with he trend toward confinement ousing.' There is also a gradual ecrease, in many areas, of easily vailable crop and pasture creage where manure can be pread efficiently throughout he year, and increasing the use f commercial fertilizers that an supply most of the major lant nutrients, which farmers ace depended on manure to rovide. In short, there will be more ante produced as a result of creased livestock production nd .less land on which to ispose of it. Ag researchers cross North America have been udying the problem and have •me up with some interesting bservations, if no clear cut lutions. Odors and possible pollution roblems from animal wastes ave become so prevalent in me areas where farms, towns d suburbs intermingle, that ams of experts have joined rtes to help farmers find a lution. Near Plainfield, N.J., wastes om a huge 2300-cow dairy peration, formerly dehydrated d sold as a garden soil onditioner, have triggered rotests about odors from new ome owners in the area. No less han 23 local, state, federal and rivate agencies are ncentrating on the problem, ith Rutgers University .roviding a research task force. heir findings and commendations will provide ome additional answers for early every dairy and livestock •peration in the populous arden State. Here in Canada, L. R. Weber nd Tom Lane of the University f Guelph in Ontario have done . • me work in determining the creage needed to handle enure from various farming perations. In Studying the manure .utput of various poultry, swine, airy and cattle feeding nstaIlations, Lane and Weber ave calculated maximum crop utilization of manure. For instance, the pair found that for maximum crop utilization of the manure from a 100,000-capacity broiler operation during a 10-week period, 100 acres of torn load is needed for spreading. In further study they found similar acreage is needed for a 565-day operation of 10,000 layers, 1,000 hogs, 100 feeders or 100 dairy cattle, A variety of other studies is under way to find how to best handle the growingmountain of animal waste from large centralized livestock Operations, Along with pits, lagoons, tanks and the like, the researchers are working on methods for composting the solids and injecting the liquids into the soil by various means, Some of the engineers and soils men have figured out how to handle and distribute them through irrigation channels and sprinklers, But J. D. Blickle, Ohio State Extension Engineer, cautions not to sell the manure spreader short. He, along with most other extension people, think it will be used on farms for quite some time. Researchers at the University of Delaware agree. They found manure, spread from barns and feedlots, not only improves the tilth of the soil, it also reduces the amount of fertilizer needed on the sandy soils of their state, and increases nutrient availability to plants. Equipment manufacturers are giving some of the answers to help farmers satisfy complaints of their rural non-farm neighbors. Engineers at New Holland, the farm equipment division of Sperry Rand Corporation, have developed a spreader equipped with special rubber seals on the bottom and sides of the endgate to keep manure in the spreader when traveling to and between fields. The design not only, keeps roads and highways clean; it saves the farmer money be eliminating loss of manure. At the University of Wisconsin, a three-man team of ag engineers studied the cost advantages and disadvantages of three different methods of handling manure from stall barns and free stall housing. In Kentucky, livestock grown in the state produce a mountain of manure — about 16 million tons. Based on its nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content, University of Kentucky researchers estimate its potential value at more than $47 million. Half or more of this accumulates in barns, feedlots and loafing areas, the researchers say. If manure can't be spread frequently, tight-walled manure pits, or deep, well-packed piles with straight sides should be used. Where spreading is done infrequently, they recommend plowing or disking the manure into the soil immediately after it is spread. This will also help cut nutrient losses sharply, researchers point out. Stanley Witzel, University of Wisconsin agricultural engineer, ,says..,Pie, „growing -need for modern structures and methods for animal manure storage could further raise dairymen's already rich cost of operation. He thinks this is an unfair burden to place entirely on the shoulders of the farmer, and advocates government cost sharing and a unified approach to the pollution problem by industry, government, urban groups and agriculture. Witzel proposes the government help farmers with the waste storage problem in much the same way it shares the cost of dams, terraces, ditches, special cropping methods and other soil and water conservation structures and practices. A step in this direction already has been taken in Deaf Smith County. There the county Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Committee has 'approved a pilot program for sharing the costs of applying animal wastes to farmland. Purpose is to use feedlot manure as a mulch to control wind and water erosion and to improve Soil structure and permeability. Much study and talk have been done on the manure problem, but More can be expected, as long as more livestock is raised on less land. In short, manure is still a valuable by-product of livestock production and the important question is not how to get rid of the waste, but how best to use it. BY A, R. BUCKLEY Sometimes at the Plant Research Institute certain long-stemmed house plants like aphelandras and dracaenas present a problem. They grow taller and taller until they must either be moved to a larger greenhouse or be pruned back and allowed to branch out at the base into smaller and more compact plants with two or three main shoots. Quite often the problem is solved by cutting off the tops and rooting them in a heated propagating bench. Most homeowners who have such plants will find this last recourse a difficult one for they seldom have the equipment to do a thorough job. Dieffenbachias are an exception, for they will root in a jar or pail of water, A good solution, and a fascinating one to carry out, is to root the top by means of air layering, which will result in a neat shapely plant on a short stem all ready for potting with brand new roots. The method of plant propagation known as air layering is not, by any means, new. It was practiced many centuries ago by the Chinese and used to be called pot layering or marcottage. With the invention of polyethylene film this old method of pot layering became more extensively used for increasing many plants otherwise difficult to root. The old way was to make an incision in the stem, place two halves of a split pot around it, then fill the pot with moss and sprinkle the moss With water about three times a day. Now with the newer polyethylene wraps it is unnecessary to sprinkle after the initial Watering. Here's how to perform this unique propagating operation: 1. Have at hand' sharp knife, a double- handful of damp sphagnum moss, a six by eight inch sheet of polyethylene film, some rubber bands and twine. 2. Remove any leaves or twigs from the _Selected limb or stem for three or four inches above and below where the incision is to be made. S. Make a long slanting cut upward about one quarter or one half Way through the stem of the plant or twig. Keep this incision open by inserting a small chip of wood Or a toothpick, and so prevent it from closing arid healing itself. 4. Dust the cut with a mild hormone powder sold as a propagating aid. 5. Enclose the injured area in a ball of moist sphagnum as soon as possible after making the cut. Take two handfuls of sphagnum moss and place this over the cut surface. 'Then firm the ball around the cut snugly to ensure good contact. This should form a covering: thickest neat the center 'and tapering toward each end. 116 the ball firinly in place With twine. BY J. J. HAqARTY Area Co-ordinator and Farm Management Specialist Extension Branch Ontario. Department of Agriculture and Food Stratford, Ontario When you need to borrow money, borrow your own. It's quite possible to borrow the cash surrender value of your life insurance policy. Chances are, you can borrow on your life insurance at six per cent interest or less. Rates elsewhere likely vary from nine to 12 per cent. As an example, take a $5,000 policy with a cash surrender value of $2,100, pins dividends of $500 on deposit. This $2,100 borrowed for 15 years at six per cent interest would mean paying back $5,061. At today's rates of 10 per cent, for example, you would pay back $8,841. By borrowing at the lower rate, you save $3,780, Your dividends, of course, can be cashed at any time without paying interest. However, now that interest earned on dividends is taxable, you might decide to cash them in each year. When you borrow on a policy you must continue to meet the annual payments, to keep you insured at the $5,000 level. Since you have $2,100 out of the policy, you are, in fact, insuring for the difference, in this case $2,900. Should you cash in such a policy? Perhaps — but what are your alternatives? It's true that $5,000 isn't much insurance today, If you can pass a medical, then perhaps you should consider taking out more insurance or a different type of insurance. Once a farmer is well established, he should insure mainly for retirement purposes. His family may be interested in Safel y l ips Sweden has very strict laws, and enforcement, to prevent drunk driving. The result, according to the Hon. John A. Volpe, U.S. Secretary of Transportation is that only 10 per cent of traffic fatalities in Sweden are attributable to impaired driving; in the U.S. the figure is over 50 per cent. The Ontario Safety League says that the risk of arrest for anyone who drives after drinking in Sweden is 1 in 200; in the U.S. it is 1 in 2,000. 6 Wrap the moss ball with polyethylene film and tie securely above and below it to prevent evaporation. Cut rubber bands are ideal for tying since they will expand with any growth the stem might make. Do not remove the layer for transplanting until at least five or more roots may be seen through the polyethylene emerging from the moss ball. At this time remove the wrapping, sever the main stem of the old plant below the moss and then pot the moss, new roots and upper part of the old plant intact into a five-inch pot filled with a compost of one-third sand, one-third peat moss and one-third soil mixture. These instructions are intended for doing this layering operation on indoor plants such as rubber plants, aphelandras, dieffenbachias, dracaenas or similar plants with fleshy stems. It may also be performed with success on many outside trees and shrubs. The main difference in procedure is to shade the polyethylene and wrapped moss ball with aluminum foil or kraft paper. The best time for air layering of garden plants is in May and the easiest plant to practise on is the lilac. Choose young, maturing, healthy branches from pencil size to about three quarters of an inch in diameter and leave as many tip leaves on the twig as possible, because these aid in root formation. The dark violet, Monge variety, and the Preston hybrids, such as Coral, .Donald ..Wyman and Royalty are the easiest to root of all the lilacs, ECKERT and SONS, BAYFIELD Mechanical Service Ornamental Iron Railings and Lamp Posts Fishing and Camping Supplies Lawn and Garden Equipment Sales and Service Phone 565-2528 Argyle St. 13, 14b 416