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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-01-15, Page 21DOES IT M from page 6 conservation tillage has the edge on conventional systems when it comes to timeliness. When the weather is right, you're ready to plant - not make your first pass with the disk! Conservation tillage then is seen by farmers and experts alike to be finan- cially beneficial because it initiates two profitable chain reactions: 1) Less tillage means less machinery which results in a smaller investment in machinery and therefore less debt for machinery or Tess cash to be set aside for machinery replacement. 2) Less tillage decreases the chance of weather delays ensuring more timely completion of planting and spraying operations giving higher short-term and long-term average yields, thus larger profits are realized. Farmers and researchers alike are showing with "numbers" through studies that these chain reactions ac- tually do exist. The information in Table 1 was collected from field preparation costs for different tillage systems in the American Midwest. While the results are in American dollars, Ontario results would be pro- portional because farming methods are quite similar for both areas and we all know Canadian prices are heavily in- fluenced by the American market. Table 1: Per Acre Field Preparation Costs for Different Tillage Practices (Source: USDA, 1984) Tillage Practice Labour No -till Mulch -till Conventional -till 6.74 11.65 14.04 FLOOD" PRONE LAND KE E E Today's farmers experimenting with reduced tillage systems are the ones benefiting from the millions of dollars spent by the farm machinery industry to develop reliable planters to plant through a ground cover of even heavy crop residue. More and more con- servation tillage implements appear on the market each year. The heavier planters and drills that have evolved have practically solved the problem of poor stands due to poor seed place- ment. Similarly, conservation tillage farmers are benefiting from increased research by agricultural chemical com- panies to find new herbicides that can control broadleaf weeds and annual grasses after the crops emerge. As growers continue to take a fresh look at conservation tillage systems, the types of herbicides chemical com- panies will have available for con- servation tillage applications can only improve in response to consumer de- mand. With conservation tillage, the farmer and society in general are able to reap another benefit - reduced soil erosion. Soil erosion decreases crop yields. This becomes quite apparent during dry years. The lack of moisture -holding capacity and the lack of plant nutrients in eroded soil can significantly drop Fuel and Machinery Repair Ownership 9.16 28.03 14.56 32.03 17.97 36.40 Flood prone land is defined as land which has in the past or may in the future be inundated by water resulting from spring melt and/or excessive rain- fall during storm events. Such areas are identified to recognize the inherent risk to life and property adjacent to waterbodies. Total 43.93 58.24 68.41 ERODING AND UNSTABLE BANKS Eroding and unstable banks associated with watercourses are also being identified and mapped under this program. These areas, including gullies and steep slopes prone to ero- sion, are important to identify because they represent a potential hazard to life and property if developed. by the With local fanning ur+n County tt i anticipated t e water. and related I<anrt, re our+t napping will, be mpl+ to ` for West .anosth, Gode:rtch and Turnherry ns%tps in Huron County ant'... Mar< b• 1'0:11. �h Township Wellington � s Wet county in 1986. The final selection of • resource areas to be mapped in any. 'source it ted by servation provide round .nft r.. l i ated with eir respective ority and the. rn ntcr trti s '. <tbe: Lucknow and { attl d aticy watersheds will con- tinue to :work together to Promote the protection ands Wase management of • our water and relate c land resources. yields. Perhaps you have seen evidence of this on an eroded knoll on your farm. The applied fertilizers and herbicides that have blown or washed across the field along with the soil, further con- tribute to the farmer's loss and in addi- tion is of concern to the general public. These contaminents affect the water quality in our streams, rivers and lakes. As landowners and citizens of the com- munity, farmers too want to live in a healthy environment. Landowners are the first to see the damage caused by chemical and nutrient -laden sediment in drainage ditches that must be then cleaned out with tax dollars and revenues from special assessments on all affected landowers. Conservation tillage however, by maintaining a residue cover, helps to keep the top- soil, fertilizer and chemicals where they belong - in the field. Together they contribute to the production of high yielding crops. The benefits of conservation tillage are numerous. In short, farmers who have experimented with no -till or reduced tillage systems are discovering that conservation tillage is a way to in- crease profits while simultaneously reducing erosion on their farms. Growers find they must inves some time and effort learning how to make it work on their farms in order to realize conservation farming's full potential. WATER RESOURCE AREAS Water resource areas are defined as water and land features which serve hydrologic functions such as water retention, recharge and/or discharge. The two most important types of water resource areas are wetlands and head- water areas or spring sites. Wetlands are areas which are seasonally or permanently covered by shallow water and are characterized by the presence of organic or saturated soils and/or hydrophytic or water tolerant vegetation. These areas help to control flooding, improve water quali- ty and often provide habitat for rare or significant species of birds, plants or mammals. Wetland types include swamps, marshes, fens, and bogs. Headwater or spring sites are impor- tant because these areas are fed by groundwater which provides a source of cold, clean water to watercourses on a year round basis. Page 5 Good management is essential for con- servation tillage success and farmer satisfaction. A suggestion: invest some time in determining how you can best make reduced tillage systems work on your farm. The eventual time you save may easily compensate for this initial time investment. Begin on a small scale, perhaps twenty (20) percent of your farm acreage. Give the conservation tillage system you choose a fair chance. Do not try it on a field that has ex- perienced so much soil degradation over the years that even conventional tillage doesn't produce satisfactory results. Conservation tillage systems cannot substitute maintaining the soil's general "health" through crop rota- tions and organic matter build-up. Talk to your neighbours. Perhaps they are experimenting with conservation tillage and can give you some helpful advice. Also, try to attend the various information meetings held throughout the year that cover many aspects of conservation farming. Gradually, your confidence in conservation tillage will increase. You may find yourself joining the ever-increasing group of farmers who have already restructured their whole farming system around con- servation tillage - thus increasing pro- fits and saving soil. Now that makes $en$e! The preliminary identification of all of these areas of concern is based on air photo interpretation. A review of existing data such as soil reports, topographic maps and heat sensitive photography is used to aid in iden- tification. Field inspections are then carried out to confirm the accuracy of the areas previously identified. The mapping is then adjusted to correlate with the field information obtained and the water and related land resources are subsequently plotted on- to 1:5,000 and 1:20,000 scale photo based maps. Once the mapping is completed, a report is prepared detailing the water and related land resources of a par- ticular township. A formal presenta- tion of study results and policy recom- mendations is then made to council and township residents. WATER RESOURCE CORRIDOR 1 Wetland 2 Flood Prone Land 3 Eroding Unstable Bank 4 Watercourse i1, -1 2 .V: { .•C: L . �:y ;" �✓i.`L�4, : /-'`J'�'•�ir.✓,s.K r_�,.,•i•_'�.��!'. ,l�Tvcs. s,�._. • The water and related land resources R. t ti f t 1 r i •c• •t 5� l i t` j � •� � C J associated with the river system.