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The Rural Voice, 1978-04, Page 9of aircraft in farming operations. There are problems, he says because at present the laws are written in such a way so that an operator is breaking the law every time he does crop spraying. He is not. for instance. supposed to fly below 500 feet and is only to take off from an airport not unused roadways and such. Hopefully. Pat says, the law will be changed because there are many advantages to using aircraft to spray crops. One of these is the timeliness of spraying. Research shows that for every day after May 1 it takes to plant a cereal grain crop a bushel is lost in yield. The same is true for corn after May 15. Aircraft can take over sonic jobs such as the application of nitrogen on winter wheat and leave the farmer to get on with these important planting chores. Perhaps. Pat says. aircraft should be used to apply spring herbicides. They can do the job. he says, at about $3.25 per acre while it's not likely a farmer can do it himself for under $2.50 and since the plane doesn't tramp down any of the crop as a tractor would. the farmer is likely to lose enough grain by doing it himself to have paid the additional cost of having the aircraft do the job. Aircraft have an advantage of being able to apply sprays when the land is too wet for the farmers to get on with a tractor. Use of aircraft may be the only way to do a good job of spraying beans this year because of two diseases affecting the bean crop which are spread by disturbing the bean plants such as when a tractor does the spraying. There is a lot of interest in grain mixtures this year, Pat says. Farmers are realizing that mixed crops outyield pure stands of cereals. Some farmers last year experimented with growing peas with their spring grain and were very successful. yielding about two tons to the acre of 18 per cent protein feed. They mixed 60-70 Ib. of oats with 90 pounds of peas. While the yield v. as encouraging. Pat isn't optimistic about the continued success of the crop. One problem could be in harvesting. The growers took a bit of a gamble he says because the heavy pea plants could have helped break down the grain sulks under poor v.eather conditions. but last year there was no problem. CORN HYBRIDS in looking at corn Pat recommends that farmers make sure they get the best possible seed. He worries, he says, about the farmer who buys seed from his cousin or a neighbour. A unit of corn. he points out plants about four acres. The variation in yield from good corn to poor seed has been up to 40 bushels to the acre. That means that one bag of poor seed corn could cost $80 more than a bag of top yielding hybrid seed. With the low profit margin of corn a farmer can't afford bad seed, he said. MIRACLE PRODUCTS One of the concerns of the Ministry officials this year has been the number of new "miracle products" being offered to farmers. When times get tough, Pat says, farmers look for all the advantages they can get and often go for some new product that is supposed to make all the difference. So the country roads have been plied by salesmen offering such services as electronic treatment of seeds, enzymes for the soil and a soil testing service from the U.S. using recommendations based on U.S. soil conditions when soil testing with recommendations on Canadian soils is offered b_v the O.M.A.F. office. Another product is liquid seaweed extract which is being sold as a way of being able to cut back on herbicide use. Before using such a product, Pat says. look on the label and see if this surfactant has a P. Product number and read the label to see if it's registered. Most are designed only for use with atrazine. The chemical companies don't want surfactants used with the products. Pat says, and if they do they have their own brand. Technically. he warns, a crop could be quarantined if it is found that an unregistered product is used. In addition these products may cause crop damage and poor weed control. One thing the salesmen are doing. Pat says, is educating farmers. the hard way. See us for TOP VALUES in Weed Sprays and Sprayers We carry a complete selection of herbicides as well as a wide variety of Calsa sprayers and parts. We also rent sprayers. 80W -Atrazine at new lower prices in quantity for a limited time. CONTACT: JIM ARMSTRONG RR 4, Wingham 357-1651 "Home of 1978 International Plowing Match" WARD'S FARM EQUIPMENT MITCHELL wants you to come in and see their tractors for spring. MACHINES IN STOCK INCLUDE: a 970, 1070, 1210, 1210 with 4 wheel drive, 1370 and 1470. We also have good specials on used equipment. Give us a call before you decide this year. Also featuring Mobile Homes - Trailer Park Ski-Doos Mitchell, Ont. ESE 348-8702 THE RURAL VOICE/APRIL 1978, PG. 9.