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The Rural Voice, 1977-11, Page 19Seeding by air tried at Seaforth While harvesting in the mucky fields of Western Ontario has been the problem for most farmers, for wheat growers the problem has been trying to seed their winter wheat before the weather becomes too cold. For one Seaforth area farmer it was a novel approach to getting the job done. He hired an aircraft owned by Jim Horvath of Tillsonburg to seed 95 acres of wheat at a time when his tractor couldn't get on the land. The $40,000 Piper Pawnee aircraft works out of the Seaforth area airstrip of Durl Hopper. It carried 900 pounds of seed in a tank ahead of the cockpit and released it from an opening beneath the wing while flying only a few feet above the field. It spread the seed evenly over the field at a rate of 144 pounds per acre. The whole operation which would normally take a day and a half was finished in just two and a half hours. While it was the first time the aerial seeding technique had been used locally, it's a tried and true method of seeding according to Milton Dietz of Seaforth, the man who supplied the seed. "We know it works," he said. pointing to success in the past in Western Canada. "It's not just something we're taking a chance one." Apparently others are convinced too, because at least five Seaforth area farmers with a total of 220 acres had requested similar help. The seed is dropped on top of the ground to germinate but Mr. Dietz says that presents no problems and points to the ease with which kernels of grain dropped by a combine will germinate on top of the ground. Kincardine not logical site for greenhouse project, planner says It may have been Kincardine that came up with the idea for using Bruce Nuclear Power Plant waste heat to heat greenhouses but if logic is followed, it won't be Kincardine that gets the project. That was the word recently from Don Haycock, a senior partner in Conestoga - Rovers. the Waterloo -based company which is conducting the study into the feasibility of the project. He pointed out that to have the project built on the outskirts of Kincardine as the Local politicians and developers want, would require building a 12 -mile pipeline to carry the water from the Bruce project. That's possible, he said, but the reasons would have to be political, rather than fr ec3'nomic. There may indeed, he said, be two such projects. "There are two stores of water at the A and B plant. They are separated by a mile or two...1 can't see any compelling reason why they should be hooked together (with a pipeline)." Haycock presented the first draft of the study on the project sh-wing the technical aspects of the project, such as topography. He said that no matter where the project is located, the whole area will benefit. Kincardine Mayer Harvey Palmateer still wants the project located as close as possible to Kincardine saying "After the work we put into it, and we are the only ones who did, we are certainly hoping for it.' Haycock says that the usual operating cost for greenhouses is $300,000 per acre and the project would have 400 acres, meaning a worth of $120 million. Employment could range from 1600 to 2800, using semi -skilled agricultural workers. The other aspect of the project are the proposed fish farms which would make use of the same waste heat now being dumped into Lake Huron. "The fish farms have some favourable long-term possibilities and I'm quite excited about them," Haycock said. Glengowan dam may have to undergo study yet The controversial Glengowan Dam proposal for the Thames river between Mitchell and St. Marys may have to undergu an Environmental Assessment hearing. The study may be required under a new government regulation introduced by a report from the provincial -municipal liason group which states that all projects over $1 million will have to go to such a hearing. "However," said Environment Minister George Kerr, "the act should effect projects already under way in an advanced stage of planning". Glengowan planning is in such a state, which would seem to free it from the investigation but another provision is that if 25 per cent of its capital costs have not been tendered by 1980, it would be necessary to hold a full scale environmental assessment before continu- ing the project. The dam, which is designed to alleviate flooding in St. Marys and to regulate water flow at London to aid sewage disposal has been a bone of contention with area farmers and conservationists protesting it. Although under discussion for 25 years, the project is only at the executive level of the conservation authority, and has not been considered by the full authority. If the authority misses ifs 1980 deadline, says Vic Rudik, assistant director of the environ- mental approvals branch of the ministry of Environment, the government would be unable to exempt the project from environmental assessment. Z.. AAN'S WELDING AND EQUIPMENT Bldg. 25 Winnipeg Rd. Vanastra 482-7931 Next to Bayfield Boats SALES AND SERVICE OF . Livestock Racks Edbro Hoists Grain Bodies Fifth -Wheel Trailers General Repairs • CLAY — Silo Weeders Feeders• Cleaners Stabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure EMAPnwW Hog Equipment BUTLER — Silo Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mills ' Augers, etc. ACORN -- Cleaners Heated Waterers WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B 8 L - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine, Ontario Phone 395-5286 1 THE RURAL VOICE/NOVEMBER 1977. PG. 19.