The Rural Voice, 1983-05, Page 9a stable humus but insisted that all
manure be properly composted before
being applied to the land.
"You must add lots of straw in with
your manure because it is the carbon in
the straw which the nitrogen gets fixed
with" Hack laughed at farmers who
applied nitrogen to their alfalfa crops.
"The role of the legume crops is to fix
nitrogen in the soil," he said. He
recommended planting barley with an
underseeding of red clover for a piece of
land that is low in fertility stating that
barley requires the lowest level of soil
fertility and the lowest water needs
making it the best transition crop.
There is more than a strong indication
from history for the value of crop rotation
explained Lawrence Andres, a bio -dy-
namic farmer from Tiverton. He des-
cribed his 300 acre farm as a typical dairy
operation with 55-60 cows plus their
calves which are fed grain and hay. The
275 tillable acres of medium loam is flat
and well drained with a soil PH of 7.3-7.7.
Andres has developed an eight year crop
rotation plan specifically designed for his
operation, feed needs, and soil condi-
tions.
The first year he plants grain corn. He
cultivates twice and when the corn is
knee high he underseeds with yellow
sweet clover. The land had been spread
with manure compost two months before
spring tillage.
The second year's crop is oats,
followed by a fall rye planting inter-
planted with vetch. Sorgum-sudan grass
is his third year crop, a nutritious
alternative to corn silage. Rather than fall
plowing he plants oil radish which has a
root system which breaks up the soil well
for his spring tillage.
His fourth year is once again grain corn
underseeded with yellow sweet clover.
The fifth year he plants a barley oats
mixture seeded down with alfalfa. During
the first five years he has supplemented
by seeding manure compost. The sixth,
seventh and eighth years are alfalfa
taking three to four cuts each year.
Andres explains that by having the
ground continually covered you reduce
soil erosion and build soil fertility.
Lawrence Andres' grain corn yields
have equaled his neighbours who rely on
chemical fertilizers and herbicides. ''I've
kept up the yields at one half of my
neighbours input costs", he said.
The final speaker, Murray Bast, des-
cribed himself as "not an expert; an
expert is someone who knows more and
more about less and less until he knows
absolutely everything about nothing at
all".
He described the natural methods he
has used to restore animal vitality,
fertility and health. He explained that the
use of atrazine is causing an estrogen -
like hormone in the soil which acts like a
birth control pill to the cows rendering
them infertile. He now makes his living
by restoring health to animals other
farmers would abandon. "The health of
animals and man is linked directly to the
mineral balance of the soil" Bast ex-
plains. "The growing incidence of cancer
in our society is directly linked to the
arsenal of goodies (chemicals) being
applied to the land".
His conclusion that farmers have a
greater responsibility than any medical
doctor in this country for the health of
the people drew a cheer from the crowd.
Conference organizer Tomas Nimmo
from Oak Manor farm said the purpose of
the conference was to expose the
concepts of regenerative agriculture. He
was pleased by the large crowd of
farmers and the response by local media.
"We have not only provided a forum for
ideas, but demonstrated this by serving a
lunch grown by organic producers. We
have provided displays and literature
which show this method of farming is
now international and being practiced all
over the world".
He explained that it is important for
today's farmer to diversify explaining that
Oak Manor grows 15 different crops and
markets them all. "We must relate all that
we practice on our farms to the balance
in nature and no one can tell me that
Are You SqueezingThe Life
Out Of Your Soil?
The idea is quite simple really . .. you can pick up a handful of damp
soil and feel it for yourself.
Take that earth in the palm of your hand ... you can see and feel
how the loose crumbly structure can hold the nutrients, moisture and
oxygen that crops need to grow and flourish.
But squeeze that soil in your fist and you squeeze the capacity to
promote growth and plant life right out of soil. If you can do that
with a squeeze of your hand, what does the weight of a tractor and
spreader do?
An LH manurigation system eliminates that kind of compaction and
supplies your crops' nutrient needs!
Find out more about MANURIGATION, call or write... .
LH Resource
Management
R.R. #3, Walton, Ontario. NOK 1Z0 (519) 887-9378
Irrigation and liquid waste utilization systems
THE RURAL VOICE, MAY 1983 PG. 7