The Rural Voice, 2001-04, Page 36LUCKFNOW® HAY MASTER
Now, at last, a mixer that will cut & mix the
amount of HAY or ROUGHAGE (up to 1000/0
roughage) that you require from round or square
bales with the time -proven SUPERIOR quality &
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MODEL 500 HAY MASTER
• Mixes Rd. or Sq. bales - wet or dry
• Discharge - 2 opposing 12" augers
• 4 auger mixing
• PTO drive w/slip clutch
• Various Electronic scales
"FOR A TOTAL MIXED RATION"
HELM WELDING LTD.
1968 - 2001 Quality Craftsmanship
Built 'Right' Here in Ontario
Lucknow, Ont. 519-529-7627
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
SPECIALIZING G I.1':
■ Farm Drainage
• Municipal Drainage
■ Backhoe Work
■ Excavator Work
• Dozer Work
■ Erosion Control
WE OFFER:
• FREE ESTIMATES
• Personal evaluation of your project
■ Detailed plans and design work
• State-of-the-art equipment
• Qualified and experienced personnel
IN Guaranteed workmanship & customer service
For that personal touch, pride in workmanship,
experience and FREE ESTIMATES call
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
R.R. #3, Palmerston, Ontario
1-888-534-0393
OFFICE 343-3233 HOME 338-2373
STEVE CRONSBERRY (Owner)
32 THE RURAL VOICE
materials. At this stage mesophili
bacteria predominate.
2. The thermophilic stage: The
bacteria create heat and as heat rises
above 40 degrees C, thermophilic
bacteria take over. The microbial
populations during this phase are
dominated by members of the genus
Bacillus. The diversity of bacilli
species is fairly high at temperatures
of 50-55 degrees C but decreases
dramatically at 60 degrees and above.
At these high temperatures another
kind of bacteria of the genus
Thermus takes over.
Jt is this high heat phase that's so
beneficial in turning manure,
which may contain pathogens,
weed seeds and fly larvae, into a
more stable nutrient. If the
temperatures can be maintained for
several days, these problems will be
eliminated.
But it's not so simple. Because
temperatures over 65 degrees C kill
many forms of microbes and limit the
rate of decomposition, compost
managers use aeration and mixing to
keep temperatures below this point.
Oxygen is essential for the
metabolism and respiration of
aerobic microorganisms and for
Oxygen is essential to
the composting process
oxidizing the various organic
molecules present in waste material.
If there isn't enough oxygen,
decomposition switches to anaerobic
from aerobic activity and undesirable
odours can result.
3. Maturation phase: Once the
composting process has been
completed, the temperature will drop,
even if the compost is turned and
more oxygen is introduced to the
compost. This cooling and
maturation phase can Last several
months before the finished compost
is ready for use.
So, as Andres has pointed out,
composting is not as simple as
throwing manure in a heap and
waiting for it to decompose. "I still
maintain that it's an art and it has to
be well understood because it is a
very complex process," he explained
In a 1994 article in The Rural Voice.
Various universities have been
exploring the science part of that
equation in recent years, trying to