The Rural Voice, 1978-06, Page 24Advice fln Farming
Liquid nitrogen
requires special care
The boon of liquid nitrogen fertilizers
can be offset by tremendous harm if they
are not used properly according to the
Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
These mixtures of ammonia, ammonium
nitrate and urea are extremely toxic to fish
and other aquadic life and a spill of
nitrogen fertilizer near a watercourse can
be very dangerous. Large concentrated
spills can also impair downstream waters
for use by lifestock and irrigation and even
pose a health hazard for people who take
their water from a stream.
The ministry advises that if a spill takes
place attempts should be made to contain
the spill by some form of dyke, dam or
temporary impoundment of the spill site.
Every effort should be made to dispose of
spilled liquid nitrogen by means other than
into a watercourse or drainage system.
The nearest office of the Ontario
Ministry of Environment should be
notified. There is a 24-hour answering
service at the southwestern region office in
London at (519) 681-3600 of the Owen
Sound office at 371-2901 is also open
during office hours.
If there is a hazard from ammonia
vapours from the spill there is little
alternative except to dilute the spill and
flush the fertilizer away with water. If
possible, this flushing process should be
directed toward some sort of impoundment
where attempts can be made to neutralize
the liquid. Addition of acid can reduce the
toxicity of the ammonia but this should
only be done by technically competent
personnel such as those from a Ministry of
Environment office.
The Ministry says that spills are caused,
they just don't happen and the most spills
come from unsafe loads.
Check Toads before
building, engineer says
Before you start building that farm
building this spring, take a look at the
loads involved, advises Ron Fleming,
engineer with the Clinton office of
O.M.A.F.
Four basic kinds of loads must be
considered, he warns. Dead load refers to
the weight of building materials used in the
building. A poured concrete floor on the
second story of a barn, for instance, would
PG. 24. THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1978.
be an example of dead load. A four -inch
thick floor would have a weight of about 50
lb. per square foot.
Live loads are those due to use and
occupancy of the building. They are less
exact and must take into consideration
loads such as animals housed in the
building, tractors and other equipment
used.
According to Mr. Fleming the most
commonly overlooked Toad is wind load. In
the Clinton area this load can be expected
to be up to 5.5 pounds per square inch on a
vertical wall and in a high walled building
such as a machinery shed, this may be
enough to collapse a building without
adequate knee bracing, Mr. Fleming says.
The wind exerts a considerable force on the
roof of a building as well and this force is in
an upward direction. Thus the roof has to
be fastened down well enough to withstand
this force.
In the snowbelt, of course, one of the
most common concerns in building design
is snow load. The amount of snow settling
on a roof is influenced to a small degree by
the slope of the roof. A more important
consideration, however, is whether the
building is exposed to the wind or
protected from the wind. An exposed
building is likely to have the snow fairly
well blown off. In the case of an addiditon
onto a two storey barn, a barn which is
built along a row of pine trees will not have
the win 1 blowing so strongly and greater
loads may build up on the roof.
Employment tax credits
now available
Farmers, as well as other businessmen,
now can take advantage of the federal
government's Employment Tax Credit
Program.
The program started March 8, 1978, and
runs to March 31, 1980. It provides a tax
incentive to employers who create and fill
new jobs in addition to their normal work
force and which would ' not have been
created otherwise.
The tax incentive is a tax credit
deductible from payable federal income
taxes.
Depending on the geographic area of
Canada, a farmer may claim $1.50, $1.75 br
$2.00 per hour for each hour worked by
these extra workers. The maximum is 40
hours per week for a period of up to nine
months.
Tp qualify for the tax incentive, a job
must be of more than three months
duration, be full-time (not less than 35
hours per week), and pay at (east 25 cents
per hour more than the tax credit. The tax
credit is taxable and farmers must add it to
their taxable income.
ZWAAN'S
WELDING AND
EQUIPMENT
Bldg. 25
Winnipeq Rd.
Vanastra
482-7931
Next to Bayfield Boats
SALES AND
SERVICE OF
Livestock Racks
Edbro Hoists
Grain Bodies
Fifth -Wheel Trailers
General Repairs
RAY
PAI9Ust!t'r—
EOu
Farm, Industrial
Garden Tractors
8 Equipment
SCORPIO()
SNOWMOBILES
[275HURON ST., CLINTON
S -0111S a 482• 9991