The Rural Voice, 1998-08, Page 16WE WANT
YOUR GRAIN!
Elevator - Seaforth
519-527-1241
• Corn • Soys • Oats
• Western Grains
CASH & FORWARD CONTRACTS
Call us today for Quotes
Dave Gordon
Elizabeth Armstrong
Richard Smibert
Ian Carter
london agricultural commodities, inc.
1900 HYDE PARK ROAD
HYDE PARK, ONTARIO, N6H 5L9
519-473-9333
Toll -Free 1-800-265-1885
•AUTO •TRACTOR •TRUCK
111:TITiI•�l.�.lcl:E
TIRES
for every
application
• Road and Farm
Mobile Service
• All tires in stock
• Installation while
you wait
• Farm implement
rims
- Sales -
- Service & Repairs
1N3111 dWIWE'
DESBORO TIRE SALES
1 mile east of Cty. Rd. 3
2 1/2 miles south of Desboro
519-363-5682
12 THE RURAL VOICE
Guest Column
To log or not to log: that is the question
By Andrew Grindlay
"There is no way I'm going to let
anybody log my bush again - ever",
said Don, a farmer friend of mine
after allowing a logger to go into his
woodlot, cut what he wanted and pay
what he said the logs were worth.
Apparently the logger not only took
advantage of Don, he made a mess
of the woodlot as well. So, the
question is: Is Don better off by
leaving the woodlot untouched by
chainsaw? Or are there ways of
taking logs out without doing much
damage to the remaining trees and
gaining a little revenue at the same
time?
To leave a woodlot to develop as
nature decides offers several
advantages. First, such a woodlot
provides opportunities for school
classes and community groups to
view firsthand what a pristine forest
is like. Don could make a significant
contribution to the community by
allowing his woodlot to be used as a
showplace. Some farmers conduct
tours — eco -tours — of their forests
and charge a fee to help cover the
cost of liability insurance. In such a
forest there will be a mixture of
young trees and old trees, many with
cavities that invite wildlife to nest.
Unless they are cut, trees get old
and die. They fall over or are blown
down by the wind, often making a
pit and a mound in so doing. The pit
is created when the tree root drags a
ball of earth with it when it blows
over, and the mound is the pile of
earth left after the root rots away. A
farmer viewing such unevenness
feels the urge to take a machine in
and level the soil. To the forest,
however, the pits and mounds are
valuable. The bottom of the pit is
usually bare soil, allowing some
wildflowers and tree species such as
red oak, white pine and basswood
that will not take root in humus to
become established. These trees will
not likely grow to maturity,
however, because the surrounding
trees cut off the light they need. The
mound is a mixture of soil, roots and
humus — an ideal environment for
insects that enrich the soil — and
provides tunnels for rabbits,
groundhogs and chipmunks.
The large trees that remain
standing in the woodlot are normally
not of high value as sawlogs because
they are over -mature; rot has
usually started to gnaw at their
insides. In time, such a woodlot
stabilizes with a few species and a
mixture of young, old and very old
trees.
A good example of an "old
growth forest", as these untouched
woodlots are known, is the
Springwater Conservation Area near
Aylmer. This 300 -acre tract is
managed by the Catfish Creek
Conservation Authority, which cuts
no trees unless they have fallen over
and are blocking a trail or area
danger to the public. The area is very
popular with people who live nearby
for hiking, fishing and
snowmobiling. According to Ron
Drabick of Deer Leap Forestry
Service and formerly with the
Ministry of Natural Resources, the
predominant trees in Springwater
over the long term are likely to be
beech, hemlock and hard maple,
with a scattering of other
species.The reason, he said, is that,
unless there is a catastrophe such as
a fire, nature does not create
sufficient openings in the canopy to
allow trees that need light to become
established.
An alternative approach for Don
is to manage his woodlot and
although he will have fewer trees
dying of old age, he will have a
forest that has a wider variety of
trees, including such valuable
species as oak and cherry, because
he has created gaps in the canopy,
allowing light to nurture the species
with low tolerance for shade. If the
trees have been looked after, that is,
given room to grow and protected
from cattle, and if he harvests, on
average, one tree per acre per year,
he should realize something
approaching $100 per tree, or, $100
per acre per year over the long term.
Not bad.