Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1981-11-18, Page 3Donna. and Neil HertingWay and "JaWa" in. front' of their" new hog barn. THE BRUSSELS POST, NOVEMBER 18, 1981 — A3 Earthen manure pit studied flying Frito-Lay Chips All Varieties BY SUSAN WHITE Neil and Donna Hemingway are consid- ered progressive farmers, interested in economical, energy efficient ways of doing things. That's why they chose to build a naturally ventilated barn, one of four in the province, when they expanded their hog operation in Grey Township outside Brussels earlier this summer. And that's why they decided to build an earthen manure pit to store liquid wastes from their animals. (They also bought a separator to remove manure solids, which they plan to compost and use to produce methane gas.) "I never had a big thing about earthen tanks. Concrete looked a good way to go," Neil says. But then Doug Young of Aero Flush Inc. described the economic and environmental advantages of earthern storage over the more costly concrete tanks and the Hemingways were sold. That's when the trouble began. "I was 28 in the spring but I feel 41 now," Neil says with a rueful smile. Although earthen manure storage has been used around the province for years and many operators just get a bulldozer in, build the pit and quietly put it into use, the Hemingways were more straight forward about their intentions. First they got a Certificate of Compliance from the ministries of agriculture and the environment. Then they applied for and received a building permit from Grey. But, as Huron's agriculture engineer, Ron Fleming, explains it, while a Certificate of Compliance ensures that odourwon't be a problem in the manure storage tank, it's really not set up to consider • possible contamination of groundwater by stored manure. And it was a fear of groundwater contamin ation that led a number of Grey Township residents to circulate a petition opposing the construction and operation of earthen liquid manure pits in the township. About 80 of them showed up, bearing the 800 signature petition, at an information meeting August 31. The Hemingways had arranged to have a variety of experts, some of whom have been working out draft guidelines on earthen manure pits for the whole province, come to the meeting to explain the pits' advantages to council. Those experts found themselves on, as Neil Hemingway says, "the hot seat", defending this type of manure storage to people who were convinced that Grey's groundwater, and eventually their wells, would be polluted by seepage from an earthen tank. ENGINEER'S STUDY But the Hemingways had researched the matter and a $4000 engineering study they commissioned by Peto MacCallum Ltd. of Kitchener said the subsurface and ground- water conditions at the pit site wouldn't allow contamination. Experience in Ontario is that earthen manure pits seal themselves within a matter of weeks of construction but,, just in case, the engineers suggested lining the pit with an asphalt sealant, A huge earthen manure tank has been in use for about seven years near New Dundee and the Hemingways say there has been no seepage problem, although the tank is "within sight" of a well that serves part of Kitchener-Waterloo. The Hemingways, and provincial offic- ials, saw their earthern manure pit as a test case for the proposed Ontario guidelines. Dan Brown, a groundwater evaluator with the Ministry of the Environment did a study of soil permeabilit y and an evaluation of the Hemingways' engineer's report and says the proposed tank complies with all but one of the proposed guidelines. For part of the year the water table will be less than a metre below the pit site but, most of the year it's six feet below. Mr. Brown concludes, "the proposed earthen storage for liquid manure is adequately designed and located and will cause minimal ground water impact." But some people in Grey Township have trouble believing -this. The township has sink holes in a• couple of municipal drains not far from the Hemingway property and township council asked Mr. Brown, the ministry of environment groundwater specialist, to investigate the possibility of contamination in a letter to council Oct. 5. He reported results of a dye 'test -of area' wells to see if they are hydrologically' connected' to the sinkholes. Mr. Brown found no trace of a dye dumped in the sinkholes in five neigh- bouring wells. He concludes that the wells and sinkholes are connected but there's enough dilution by groundwater to protect the wells from sinkhole contamination. Grey Township has since hired an engineering firm, Canviro Consultants of Kitchener to duplicate and check the ministry's tests but the engineer on the project, Richard Rush, was not available for comment on his progress. Reeve Roy Williamson says Grey wanted "a little more extensive" report than the ministry's and he's waiting for that report before commenting on what council's next step is. SURFACE WATER Mr. Brown reported surface water contamination of some of the wells be dye tested and this is one of the Hemingways' concerns. Neil Hemingway says because concrete manure tanks are so relatively expensive to build (1/2 cent to 1 cent storage per gallon for earthen tanks versus 7 or 8 cents per gallon for a concrete tank) they are often built as small as. possible. That can lead to overflow problems and the overflowing manure goes directly into runoff water and then into drains, streams and ultimately wells. Neil believes that an earthen manure tank is actually environmentally safer than a concrete one because it can be built to hold a year's supply of liquid manure. The larger tank also gives a farmer better manure management options. Manure can, be stored all year and then used on crops when it's most needed rather than as a last resort when the concrete tank is about to overflow. "Manure is a liability, not an asset if you pump it out and it ends up in a. river," he says. "We want to use our manure as an asset, not a liability", echoes his wife Donna. Another Grey Township farmer, (an operator with his wife of an irrigation business) Chris Lee, says that's why he's convinced of the value of earthen manure storage. The Lee farm near Walton has had an earthen manure storage pit for 80 dairy cows for eight years. The Lees irrigate their corn from the storage tank once a year, in July when the plants most need nutrients and moisture. There have been few problems and no complaints to the Lees. -Mr. Lee says his• custom operation visits a. lot of farms and he's been appalled at some of the structural and. manure management problems he's seen. REGULATE Both he and the Hemingways would like Grey to adopt a bylaw that doesn't prohibit earthen tanks..." the ostrich approach" Neil calls it...but regulates and sets site and management guidelines for all sorts of tanks. They sympathize with Grey coun- dl's concern that an earthen manure, tank could be fine in the hands of a responsible operator but a hazard on the farm 'of someone who doesn't care about possible contamination. Until the last year there weren't many successful prosecutions of unsafe manure handling cases and townships are naturally concerned about abuses. OMAF's Ron Fleming agrees. "There's a lot of fear of ground water pollution from earthen pits but because of the overflow problem (with concrete tanks) it's often the other way. around." Mr. Fleming says bad management could make an earthen tank a hazard, but because they're so big (a year's storage versus six or in some cases three months in a concrete tank) there's less chance of an overflow in March when ground is so wet a farmer Sweeney Remember the plane that Sam Sweeney of Brussels built himself? He just recent- ly received his flight permit for test flying it and on Thursday was busy putting the permit to good use. He's keeping the plane at Goderich where the runway is longer. He got the permit on Monday and was waiting for a good day to test it and he said. Thursday was a good day. "It performed really fav- ourably. I was pleased with. the way it handled." For now this is just a temporary licence Sam has and he's not suppose to go more than a 25 mile radius from his home base to fly it, Once Sam has put in 50 hours of flying time he can apply, for a regular licence which is renewed each year. "It's always real exciting the first time," he said adding that he had left the plane up at Goderich until he gets used to it and gets more professional with it. "I'm glad we had this still day so I know it will fly now; he said. Sam started building the plane about two years ago last Nevember and completed it can't possible spread manure. "I don't think most people have realized the importance of manure," Mr. Fleming says and he points 65 an upcoming provincial meeting sponsored by OMAF and the provinces Soils and. Crop Associ- ation in February which will look at manure management from all angles. Increasingly, he says, there'll be a "push to preserve nutrients rather than letting them off into our streams." Chris Lee adds that with higher energy costs pushing up chemical fertilizer prices, more and more farmers will see the economics of using manure well. Neil Hemingway figures he'll get a benefit of $50 to $60 per acre from his new manure handling system, if he can build the bigger earthen storage tank. But he admits trying to prove its worth has cost him about $10,000 in engineering and legal fees. The township of course has had costs too and councillor Charlie Thomas says its lawyer, an Murphy of Goderich, is now working at drafting a manure storage bylaw. The Hemingways and Mr. Lee hope, it'll be a comprehensive one, that regulates management, as well as building, of all sorts of manure storage tanks. A rational, economical, enviromentally safe way of storing and using manure is what the Hemingways want. And that's why they've kept going, in the face of a' great deal of opposition from fellow Grey residents. Councillor Thomas says the couple has "spent a lot of money to do it right, to protect the environment" but he also adds, "people aren't very rational about pig manure." The Hemingways are hoping though, that people will try to be and they're inviting the community to an open house at their Nelloway Farms, just east of Brussels, to see their innovations - the new barn, the manure separator and all, so that they can get the facts and judge for themselves. Suppliers and officials from OMAF and the environment ministry will be on hand to answer questions. It's a chance for anyone who's interested in modern hog management, in economical, environmentally conscious farming to see their set up. The young couple are eager to talk to anyone who'll listen, and hope for a good turn out. The open house (really it's an "open barn" jokes Huron's ag. rep, Don Pullen) will be held Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served. his plane and instruments. Sam's plane is made of styrofoam and fibreglass. in May of this year. The plane came in a kit. The inventor buys the engine, landing gear 200 Sr. .95 2% Milk 3 qt. pitcher bags 2.3.5 n We carry a fine selection o BRIGHAM PIPES AND ACCESSORIES Mon. - Thurs. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sun. 10 a.m, to 10 p.m. IS