HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-03-16, Page 26Page 10 -Farm Progress '94
Topsoil should have 3%
organic matter says Hack
.from page 9
at least three per cent organic mat-
ter in topsoil, he says.
His method also ignores the use
of chemical sprays.
He doesn't need chemicals
because plants immunize themsel-
ves --they produce their own an-
tibodies --the enemies of viruses.
"That's the secret of organic
agriculture. We can live without
herbicides, fungicides and insec-
ticides."
Besides, he says microbial life is
not killed by fungicides.
"Why do we believe so much in
science and have totally lost faith in
God's creation?"
That creation, he says, was in
balance before man became smarter
and decidedhe could make it'better.
Hack is a born-again organic
farmer and recalls how he tried to
cheat nature in the conventional
way. He learned some lessons along
the way.
Hacks remembers spraying ' his
apple orchard for spider mites, and
that he didn't spray the odd tree
that was located away from the
orchard. What surprised him was
the trees that weren't sprayed didn't
have mites.
"And that really opened my
'eyes."
• He quotes an Italian professor
who said 'Nature is an open book.
We have to learn how to read it.'
When conventional farmers are
faced with a pest or disease, their
first question is 'how can I kill
But using the holistic approaeh;
Hack says the question he' asks, is
'how can 1 avoid it'.
"What is the situation that caused
the disease so I can avoid it ne
time."
Hack and his family has con-,
verted to organic farming and h
says he's convinced they are bette
off.
While crop yields are about they'
same compared to conventional
farming, Hack realizes greater
savings as he doesn't buy chemical
sprays and fertilizers.
And he's convinced his family is
healthier because of it.
A leade
by Ron Wassink
The Hack family of Kincardine
Township is a leader the
move to organic farm' in
Ontario.
They moved to Can da from
Germany in 1982. On o their
first jobs was to p t wind-
j)reaks. Today, the f d its
fields are lined with 0,000
"trees.
Bernard Hack switched to the
biodynamic method f 'ng in
1969. `!
Organic farmiq.g in On 'Q'is
growing, thanks .o eop e. like
Bemard Hack.; a Hac farm
spons s as pian" as `10' field
dais Oach year and Hack says
Quebeb farniprs are especially
receptive to his method of
farming.
"We get bus loads of farmers
from Quebec."
Hack is also sharing his
knowledge with Russian farmers.
He has travelled to Russia every
in organic farming
year for the past three years to
train the new farmers in Com-
munist -free Russia.
Under Communists, he says
Russia had no farmers. Instead
there were state farms of 10,000
to 20,000 acres that had farm
Workers.
Hack is a farm consultant, who
visits Russia on his own accord,'
paying his own way. He will be
leaving for Russia • the end of
March and will return to Canada
in November. In the meantime,
his two sons will run the
family's Kincardine Township
cow -calf operation.
Biodynamic agriculture was
developed from the Agriculture
Course of Rudolf Steiner, given
in 1924 in Koberwitz, Germany.
Biodynamic farming is a
holistic approach to agriculture.
It is self sustainable, in that it is
a totally closed farm organism.
Thc' use of artificial fertilizers,
synthetic chemicals or any harm-
fulsubstances are eliminated.
With the help of the
biodynamic preparations which
are specially prepared substances
and herbs, biodynamic farmers
work with' nature for healing and
renewal. The application of the
preparations is where the healing
of earth and nature begins. The
preparations contain the remedies
which can heal the soil, feed its
life and guarantee production.
Biodynamic farming is a step
beyond organic agriculture. The
biodynamic farmer looks at
weeds, insect and diseases not as
pests that must be eliminated
through use of specific chemi-
cals, but as indicators of mis-
takes that are being made. He
uses an environmentally sound,
ecologically balanced and econ-
omically profitable method of
working with nature, not against
it.
A biodynamic farmerconsiders
himself a steward of the soil, a
builder of the future and a ser-
vant of the spiritual in nature.
ADVANTAGE
1
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HIGH `DING - Highest Yield Recommended Variety.
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MATURITY - Uniform.Mid Season.
CERTIFIED SEED:
Oats:
Barley:
Mixed Grain:
Soybeans:
Canola:
Wheat:
Also For Your Spring Seeding Requirements
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Above varieties to your specifications r
OAC LIBRA - OAC DORADO - MAPLE GLEN - MAPLE DONOVAN
OAC SUMMIT (Limited supply for 1994)
ROBLIN (Hard Red Spring) FIELDER (Soft White Spring)
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REMEMBER: We still carry WHOLE OR GROUND FLAX for livestock, horses and birds,
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MIKESNOBELEN FARMS LIMITED
505 Canning Street (Advantage Member)
'LUCKNOW; NOG 2H0
Office (519) 528-3203
Fax :(519) 528-3542
Evenings ,(519) 528-2532