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The Rural Voice, 1986-09, Page 56There's A FUTURE For You In The Food System ©ONTARIO'S COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY Offer You Two-year Programs Contact the college in this area for information Ontario Ministry of Agriculture & Food Jack Riddell Minister Clay Switzer Deputy Minister Centralia College of Agricultural Technology Huron Park, Ontario NOM 1 YO Telephone: (519) 228-6691 — Agricultural Business Management — Animal Health Technology — Food Service Management a ALFA -LAVAL More Profit Put the finger on feed costs Reduce feed costs and manpower with the Alfa -Laval feed car. Automatically distribute 1 or 2 types of feed. Each cow can be individually programmed for ration according to her re- quirements — "little and often" princi- ple to improve rumen function, therefore milk production and profits. SEE OUR NEW EQUIPMENT ON DISPLAY • RationMaster II - computerized feeding systems • HerdMaster Management system • Della -Therm II energy recovery system • New Century Bulk Milk Coolers • Automatic stanchion barn take -offs • FIo•Master milk meter • Individual electric pulsator. LENCO DAIRY SUPPLY LTD. RR 1 Atwood — Phone 519.356.2282 56 THE RURAL VOICE ADVICE SPOON-FEEDING POTATOES A potato grower in Prince Ed- ward Island is learning how to ir- rigate, fertilize and protect his crop -- all in one treatment, thanks to $237,000 in funding from Agriculture Canada. For the next three years, part of Elwood Lawton's potato lands in Pownal, just east of Charlot- tetown, will be used to demonstrate the potential of irriga- tion and "chemigation" on P.E.I. potatoes. New to Canada, but widely used by American farmers, chemigation means applying all the chemicals a crop needs, including fertilizer and pesticides, through an irrigation system. Used in this way, chemicals can take a free ride with the irrigation water. Farmers can spoon-feed their crops as needed and cut costs by mergin several operations into one. They can also reduce soil compac- tion from tractor traffic and cut down on their own exposure to toxic materials. A portion of the water -chemical mix is applied at planting time. The crop is then fed throughout the growing season. Soil moisture is carefully monitored to avoid giv- ing too much. A large part of Lawton's costs will go towards leasing the irrigation-chemigation equipment. The $125,000 system consists of a "centre pivot", an automatic sprinkler with an arm that sweeps over a 450 -metre range, a pipe, calibrator, chemical injection pump and electrical generator. By 1988, Lawton hopes to have clear-cut evidence that he can save money and get higher yields by ir- rigating and chemigating his crop. He says yearly drought problems had already convinced him to think seriously about irrigating his 240 hectares of Russet Burbank potatoes. "Every growing year we're short of water at the same point, for about a week to 10 days. Both this year and last year were very dry, and we're expecting the trend to continue." During a dry period, he adds, the potatoes stop growing. "When it rains, they start grow- ing again but we end up with a large number of knobs, cracks and