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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-04-07, Page 3516 • The rim Union, Week of Api t 7, 1982 Wood waste to heat demonstration warehouse A demonstration project that will heat a greenhouse with wood . waste instead of oil has been unveiled by the federal and Ontario govern= -ments, Ontario Agriculture and Food Minister Lorne Render- . son, Ontario Energy Minister Robert Welch and federal energy, Mines and Resourc- es Minister Marc Lalonde jointly , announced that the. two governments will each contribute 878,000 to assist the owner of a greenhouse near Newmarket to demon- strate this new technology. The governments are prov- iding these funds under the Canada/Ontario agreement which sponsors conservation andrenewable energydem- onstration projects. The operator, Bob Voor- berg, will install a boiler heating system that burns woodchips and sawdust, Each year the new system will burn 2,000 tons of wood waste collected from plants in . the Toronto area, The new system . is expect- ed to reduce oil consumption by 95 per cent, reducing fuel costs by 70 per cent. The estimated saving in fuel costs is as much as $40,000 per year. "Considering that there are large quantities of wood waste available throughout the province, it has tremen- dous potential as an alterna- tive fuel, Mr, Welch said: "This can help reduce Ont- ario's dependence on oil." Check soybean seed for germination: capability By Ken Pelkey, OSGA Director Due to adverse weather conditionslast fall, ..a good portion of . seed soybeans were affected as far as germination is concerned. Soybeans to be processed fora. seed should be checked as soon as possible to ascertain germination capabilities. Seed to be tagged requires a certificate of, germination from an approved testing facility before it can be presented for inspection by Plant Products Division, Something else requiring serious thinking is that of crop insurance for. 1982 crop year. Last year was disas- trous in . some areas and insurance was a salvation for many It is the time of the year to investigate and plan insurance options. Informa- tion is available from local Crop Insurance Agents and agricultural representatives, Workshops will be held again early this year for Probationary and Select Seed Growers. It is a requirement for a probationary grower to attend a workshop to gain status as a Select grower. It is also very informative and an update for a Select grower, So watch for one in your area and plan to attend.` Financial row is tough to hoe ..... -*from ,page d through .improved breeding "and reduced \ energy con- sumption. In the days of cheap energy, farming. became in- creasingly dependent on, en- ergy, but nergy,'but with energy prices forecast to quadruple in the next decade, farm production systems will have' to grad- ually move away from expen- sive forms of energy. ' Already more farmers are reverting to thanure as fertil- izer . as a less-expensive alternative to fossil fuel fert- ilizers. Minimum tillage has. also caught on because ' it requires less trips over fields with fuel guzzling machin- ery. , Farmers can choose alter- native fuels for their mach inert' including propane, soy- bean or rapeseed oil. Crop rotation aimed at replenishing soil nutrients naturally and thus lessening dependence on 'fossil fuel chemical fertilizers, is also being advocated by govern- ment crop specialists. The provincial government is encouraging farmers to sharpen their pencils in keeping . their books and planning production. Although on farm comput- er systemsare still . expen- sive, a growing minority of farmers are adopting compu- ters and some say that savings realized soon make the computer systems pay for themselves. Private comput- erized accounting and prod- uction services are also pro- moting computer systems which they claim make farm managementmore efficient. The farm machineryindus- try, which at present is suffering along with its farm- er customers, will be hard pressed to offer farmer"s better. deals • on existing chinery. But machinery cturers, too, will be fo look at developing more fuel efficient machinery in this 'age of energy con- servation. The belt tightening polic- les of the government and banking as well as the state of the general economy is sure to have a significant impact on the agricultural industry. It remains to be ,seen how serious this impact will be. Under the terms of the agreement, tours. will • be conducted through the facil- ity once it is working and information on the project will be distributed to other enterprisesi likely to benefit from such ` conservation. It will be the first facility of its kind in Ontario. Mr, .Henderson said that the system will be monitored for six months and an evalua- tion report of the project will be published. "This project is expected to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of using wood to heat green- houses," said Mr. Lalonde. "It is one of many projects designed to encourage the use of Canada's renewable resources as a means of getting off oil that is current• ly being supported• by the federal government." • Alternative fuels for greenhouses is one of several projects in the Ontario Agri- • cultural Energy Manage- ` Ment Program, a co-opera- tive program between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ministry of Energy. Check out a CLAAS combine. Everywhere you look you'll see why CLAAS has earned,a reputation for quality and craftsmanship. • Clean, functional design inside and out, • Rugged construction and simplified servicing minimize downtime, • Mercedes or Perkins diesel engine pdiwer with a short, efficient driveline helps provide exceptional fuel economy. ■ 'Advanced metal treatment and painting methods protect against rust and corrosion. • Easy adjustability lets you match performance to varying crops and conditions. These are four CLAAS models to choose from, including the new -concept Dominator " 116CS Cylinder System combine. Stop in and see one soon! Reavis Farm Equipment Lucknow CLAM of AMERICA, IMC. Hwy. 86 West. 529-7995