Huron Expositor, 2005-07-13, Page 17News
THE HURON EXPOSITOR. July 13. 2005 - 17
Farmers need rain badly, says OMAF
By Ben Forrest
Expositor Staff
Rain fall that has been
extremely spotty in Huron
Country has caused odd
conditions for farmers in the
area.
Peter Johnson, a soil and
crop specialist with the
Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food,
provided an example of
weird weather in the area.
"The southwest corner of
St. Marys got 3.75 inches of
rain (on July 8)...with hail
included," he says. "By the
time you got a concession
away, they got an inch of
rain. You (go) two
concessions away, they got
no rain."
It has been this way since a
snowfall in late April, he
says.
"Essentially, most of the
area is quite dry," he added
later, "but you get these odd
pockets where they've had a
big dump of rain."
Wayne Hamilton, Second
Vice President of the Huron
County Federation of
Agriculture, tells much the
same story.
The state of crops is "quite
variable across the county,"
he says. "Some places have
had more than adequate
rainfall — excessive at
times."
He said certain places in
the Dashwood and Exeter
have had a great deal of rain,
but the Auburn area has been
quite dry, and north of
This summer, spotty rain fall is causing odd conditions for farmers in Huron County.
making it difficult for farmers to grow their crops in some areas.
Zurich, he says, "It's getting
to a critical stage. We need
rain."
But, as Johnson says, an
area with a good deal of
rainfall might not be far from
one that hasn't had much.
"It's all over the map,"
Hamilton says. "One
concession could be
relatively not bad, and other
areas really really dry.
"But for the most part now,
I think the whole area is in
need of rain one more time,"
he says.
That would appear to be the
case for Seaforth-area farmer
Ken Scott.
"The first cut (of) hay was
a good crop, but second cut is
very slow in coming back,"
he says. "It needs rain. Soy
beans are doing (reasonably)
considering the dry
conditions. Corn is definitely
needing good rain..."
There is some concern that
the size of winter wheat
grains might be smaller than
normal, he says, due to the
lack of moisture experienced
to date.
And the heat experienced
thus far has hurt crops as
well, Scott says. "The hot,
Susan Hundertmark photo
New playground
St. Patrick's in Dublin
student Isabelle Cronin
goes for a ride on the slide
during the opening
ceremonies for the
school's new playground
equipment on June 29.
Students test out the new
playground equipment.
The previous playground
equipment was removed
after it was vandalized and
deemed unsafe. Money for
the new equipment was
raised through community
and corporate support.
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dry weather probably is
stunting growth," he
explains.
Both Hamilton and Scott
say wheat harvest will likely
be early this year. Though
Scott said he would likely
start his harvest a week to
two weeks from July 1I,
Hamilton said he might start
harvesting in a couple of
days.
Hamilton says wheat
harvest typically begins
around July 25.
"Because of the dryness, it
may not be that good in
yield," he says. "It looks like
Ben Forrest photo
The dry conditions are also
that's going to be off
somewhat."
That is starkly contrasted
against last year's conditions,
where Hamilton says it
wasn't uncommon to plant,
spray and harvest in muddy
soil. Those conditions
produced good yields, he
says. "But it's pretty difficult
to grow a crop in dry
conditions."
Johnson says that although
this year crops are looking
very good despite the
weather, they are reaching a
critical stage, where rain is
needed very soon.
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COUNTY OF HURON
CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, SCHEDULE B
BRIDGE REHABILITATIONS
2ND MANDATORY PUBLIC CONTACT - PHASE 2
NOTICE OF COMPLETION
Tb resolve the deterioration of a number of bridges, the County of Huron is proposing to undertake
repairs to the following bridges:
1) Molesworth Bridge, Maitland River, County Road 86, 3.8 km east of County Road 12,
Municipality of Huron East/ Twp. Of Howick, Geographic Township of Grey, Concession I,
Lot 27-28
2) Boundary Bridge 26, Tributary of the Ausable River, Line 17, 1.5 km west of County
Road 11, Municipality of South Huron/ County of Perth
3) Boundary Bridge 4, Tributary of the Maitland River, Line 172, 0.8 km south of County
Road 86, Municipality of East Huron/ County of Perth. Geographic Township of Grey.
Concession I, Lot 70
This work is planned to be completed by late 2005.
The project is being planned under Schedule B of the Municipal Class Environmental
Assessment. Subject to comments received as a result of this Notice, and the receipt of necessary
approvals, the County of Huron intends to proceed with the design and construction of these
projects. The project plans and other information are available at the Goderich Public Lihrary, 52
Montreal Street, Goderich, ON N7A 2G4.
Interested persons should provide written comment to the County on the proposal within 30
calendar days from the date of this Notice. Comment should be directed care of Mr. Scott Davis,
Totten Sims Hubicki Associates, 72 Victoria St. S. #202, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4Y9.
If concerns arise regarding this project, which cannot be resolved in discussion with the County, a
person or party may request that the Minister of the Environment make an order for the project
to comply with Part II of the Environmental Assessment Act, which addresses individual
environmental assessments. Requests must be received by the Minister at the address below
within 30 calendar days of this Notice. A copy of the request must also be sent to the County
Engineer care of the above noted address. If there is no request received by August 13, 2005, the
bridge repairs will proceed to design and construction as presented in the planning documentation.
Minister of the Environment
135 St. Clair Avenue
10th Floor, 'h Tonto, ON M4V 1P5
This notice issued June 1, 2005
Don Pletch, County Engineer
County of Huron
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