The Rural Voice, 2001-08, Page 30CID
Kia of Owen Sound
it'a afloat time
eaetgaae had a
cuett-made cat
519-371-4447
Hwy 26 East
(across from Montana's)
RIDEAU RAMS
Strong Maternal Traits
Greenock Farms
R. & K. Velocci
R R #2 Paisley. ON NOG 2N0
1-519-353-5530
1-519-353-4018 phone/fax
WooLDrift Farm
East Friesian Dairy Sheep
Breeding Stock & F. Crosses
Prolific & High Yielding
Semen and Embryos Approved for Export
Consulting Services
Chris Buschbeck & Axel Meister
R.R. #3 Markdale, ON NOC 1H0 Tel.: (519) 538-2844 Fax (519) 538-1478
E-mail wooldnft4bmts com
Closed Flock, MaediNisna - Negative
Extensive Production Records
AUGUST IS THE TIME
TO PURCHASE
BREEDING EWES TO
RUN WITH YOUR RAM
QUALITY COMMERCIAL
BREEDING EWES, RAMS
AND GOATS
Small Tots to trailer loads
Will arrange shipping
anywhere in
Eastern Canada
Allan Ribbink
Livestock
R.R. #1, Tiverton,
Ontario NOG 2T0
(519) 368-7691
26 THE RURAL VOICE
CANADIAN
CO-OPERATIVE
WOOL GROWERS
LIMITED
�,.,.tiy '�•;.w: iii►',
Now Available
WOOL ADVANCE PAYMENTS
* Skirted Fleeces
* Well -Packed Sacks
For more information contact:
WINGHAM
WOOL DEPOT
John Farrell
R.R. 2, Wingham, Ontario
Phone/Fax 519-357-1058
winter grains and spring grains. He
used to grow a combination of oats
and field peas but now grows them
separately.
As much as possible he likes to
keep the ground covered with some
sort of plant as much as possible,
using buckwheat and rye both as
green manures and as ground covers
to keep the humus in the' soil which
can be lost when soil is exposed to
air.
When he was still farming
conventionally, he used to grow
canola and found it a good part of a
rotation. He no longer grows canola
but to replace it he has experimented
with forage rape to geta brassica into
the crop rotation.
Experimentation is a constant
part of the Boettcher farm.
This year he set out a small
acreage of soybeans no -tilled into rye
that had been chopped off with a
bushhog. The result is a crop with a
heavy mulching around the plants
which grew up through the rye
residue.
Weeds are a concern, as with all
farmers, whether conventional or
organic but there are different ways
of fighting weeds. For his soybeans,
for instance, he worked the field in a
shallow tilling several days before
planting in order to promote
germination of seeds in the soil
before the final tilling. "You try to
make the weed seeds germinate on
your timetable," he said.
Ire's also come to believe that
mustard, though unsightly in a field,
dgesn't hurt yields and may actually
increase yield. "I call it a companion
crop," he says.
The Boettchers, who have five
children, make their living from the
farm with no outside income. After
graduating from University of
Guelph, Chris came home to help his
father and mother, Herbert and
Elizabeth before taking over the
farm. The conversion to organic
growing began when Chris and
Gabriele's family started developing
allergies so they began growing all
their own vegetables using organic
principles. When the allergies cleared
up, they looked at organics for the
whole farm, finally taking the plunge
five years ago.
They're happy with their decision.
"Since I switched to organic, things
are looking not too bad,"Chris says.0