The Citizen, 1996-03-20, Page 29Agriculture 1996
Extruding
The safety guard has been removed to show the porridge-
like state of the beans after they pass through the extruder,
which takes the dry hulled beans, grinds them, heats then
compresses them.
AM;
• Home, Farm & Commercial Wiring
• Pole Line Construction
• Winpower Generators
• Sommers Diesel Gen Sets
• Vehicle detectors for farm security
FARM PROPERTIES
FOR SALE
149 ACRES: 137 workable, located in East
Wawanosh, 1 1/2 storey frame home, 4
bedrooms, large barn with loose pens, on
paved road.
MORRIS TWP.: 90 Acres, 55 workable, mixed
bush, no buildings. Priced to sell.
TURNBERRY TWP.: 38 Acres on Highway, 32
workable, drilled well and septic tank. No
buildings. Ideal hobby or retreat.
CARDIFF & MULVEY
REAL ESTATE & INSURANCE LTD.
BROKER
• Farm • Residential • Commercial
Brussels 519-887-6100
What in the World is Site Specific Farming?
Site specific fanning or precision agriculture is the
ability to attach information to any given point in a
field and to be able to return to that point.
How can that point be identified? By using signals
sent from the military satellites, along with a
differential signal, any location on earth can be
identified using longitude and latitude. This includes
any points in your field. This technology is referred to
as global positioning systems (GPS). Any piece of
farm machinery, from your pickup truck to your
combine or your custom fertilizer/pesticide
applicator can be equipped with GPS.
What sort of
information can be
attached to these
points? Permanent
soil characteristics such as soil
texture, soil type, drainage, trees, creeks, yields and
plant populations are just a few. The soil
characteristic that is getting the most attention is soil
fertility. This is done using grid sampling.
Grid sampling is based on making a perimeter map
using GPS. Then a grid (usually 2.5 acres in size) is
laid over the field. Each grid is sampled at its centre
and can be thought of as an individual field. The soil
sample is displayed as a coloured grid with each
colour showing a different level of soil fertility. Each
nutrient has a separate map.
Then a fertilizer application map is produced using
your requirements for each crop on a field by field
basis. The total requirements of each nutrient are
worked out for each grid. From this total all sources
of on-farm nutrients including marure and legume as
well as starter fertilizers are subtracted. The
remainder is applied on a variable basis, grid by grid.
How does fertilizer get applied on a variable basis?
There are many variable rate fertilizer applicators on
the market. These units use GPs to pinpoint its
location in the field and a computer program to
control the rate of each nutrient. One such applicator
is the Soilection variable rate applicator from Ag-
Chem. This unit can apply up to 6 different rates on
each grid with one pass. The Soilection unit best fits
the requirements of the diverse agriculture in Huron
County.
The next step in precision farming is to monitor
what happens in the field as the crop is growing.
Plant populations, weed pressures, insect
pressures, emergence rates,
growing conditions are
some things that should be
noted during the growing
season.
Then comes yield monitoring. The most advanced
systems can monitor yield as the crop is being
harvested. Again, GPS is used to pinpoint the location
in the field while the monitor keeps track of the yield
and the moisture as the combine travels through the
field. This information is translated into a yield map.
The final step is to u.,, the data to improve your
crop. One year's data is not enough to make radical
changes on your farm. Information should be
gathered over 2 to 5 years.
In conclusion, the simplest way of looking at site
specific farming is to consider each grid as a separate
field. This is similar to the way your forefathers
farmed their 5 to 10 acre fields. They knew which
field would yield the best corn or oats or forage. This
technology allows you to do the same except with
your present equipment.
George Lubberts
Agronomist, Cargill Ltd.
AGSTAR
Sit down with us to discuss:
• Grid Sampling
• Variable Rate Fertilizer Application
• Yield Monitoring
As it applies to YOUR operation
CARGILL LTD.
Clinton, Ontario Ask for: Dennis, Paul
(519) 233-3423 or (800) 387-0811 or Susan
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1996. PAGE A-5.
Fresh ideas emerge for processing agricultural products
By Bonnie Gropp
It only makes sense. As the rich-
est agricultural county in the
province, it only seems logical that
we take the bounty we produce and
process it locally.
Though there have been exam-
ples of Huron County processors
over the years, most notably Hub-
bard's Rutabaga plant in Blyth,
recently, according to Paul Nichol
of the Huron Business Centre, there
have been some interesting new
things happening in the industry.
"We are starting to see fresh ideas
in processing Huron's agricultural
products."
By Bonnie Gropp
Taking new technology and mak-
ing it work on a community-based
scale.
Such is the force behind Sunfield
Oilseeds, a division of George
Underwood Elevators, located at
RR1, Wingham, which went into
operation last November.
Nichol says the Business Centre
has been targeting this particular
area with organized seminars on
food processing opportunities in
the hopes of encouraging would-be
entrepreneurs.
"We have heard the ideas, now
we are looking at the private sector
and saying, 'Here are the opportuni-
ties. What can be done?"'
Currently, the Centre is working
with representatives in Wingham to
pinpoint local business opportuni-
ties and develop a number of busi-
ness plans in the food processing
industry."
One of the products for which the
It might be said the expansion
was part inspiration, part innova-
tion, part desperation. George
Underwood, with sons Nelson and
John, has been in the commercial
elevator business, buying and sell-
ing grains from local farmers since
1976. Since that time, they have
seen drastic changes in the business
market potential is just now being
realized is hemp, says Nichol,
which is used for pulp and paper
and shoes. "Huron County has the
best climactic conditions for the
production of hemp."
The Business Centre has been
working on the project with the
University of Guelph and the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Affairs for the past couple of
months, though Nichol says, they
had actually been sitting on the idea
for about a year. "(Processing
Huron's produce) is probably the
most logical business opportunity
for this area. Its makes so much
of agriculture. George's son, John,
recalls that during his university
years in the 1970s, farmers were
becoming interested in the growing
of soybeans in this area, primarily
for economic reasons, and profes-
sors began planting the idea in the
heads of their students.
At that time, there were three
major soybean crushers or proces-
sors. The plant owned by Archer,
Continued on A-7
sense it's staring us in the face."
Now that general seminars have
raised public awareness the co-
ordinators are "getting very specif-
ic," says Nichol. "We have the
knowledge and the tools. We just
need to put them into people's
hands."
Making technology work