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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1981-07-22, Page 164 1 Page 16 Times -Advocate, July 22, 1981 Genetics pla Hobert I Brown. the new director of research and development at Ciba-Geigy and Stewart Seeds in Ailsa Craig was introduced at Tuesday's annual media day Dr Brown presented the following report Cecil R Squire Sales & Service Repair Shop Equipment 92 Waterloo St. Exeter 235-0465 Our H & 1) program in- volves the basic assumption that many problems in crop production are amenable to improvement by genetic means Our Agrochemicals Division attacks cropping problems through chemistry - we use plant breeding. Various studies during the past decade have shown that more than half the yield gain achieved over a 40 year peritx1 in barley. wheat and corn is attributable to genetics That is. while fertilizer usage. agrichemicals and other improved farming techniques have played a role. about 50`. of the total yield improvement of most TERRA -GATOR Custom Application Saves Time and Money Ask About Our Special Summer Prices Fast, Economical Custom Flotation Manure Application. Serving Huron, Perth, Middlesex and Oxford for the past 3 years. For Information CaII 519-225-2340 LO -DELL AGRI-SERVICES R.R. 2 Granton NOM 1 VO ANNOUCEMENT J.C. (Jack) Brintnell Kirkton Cooks (Division of Gerbro Inc.) is pleased to an- nounce the appointment of J.C. (Jack) Brintnell as Manager of the Kirkton plant. Please feel free to come in and meet Jack at your convenience. Jack and Cooks will be more than pleased to take care of your elevator and farm supply needs. of Gerbro %n(' 229-8986 New research director introduced at Stewart Seeds major role in crop yield plants has been due to new varieties. Many stress situations detract from high yield of plants. While improving yield for the farmer is our chief concern. we seek to achieve that end by im- proving such things as heat, cold. drought. disease, and insect tolerance - the so- called components of yield. The higher average yields of the past decade have been achieved. in many cases, by reducing the impact of dis- eases. insects, and other stresses - not by improving the absolute top yields possi- ble with perfect conditions. Our breeding program is called the Comprehensive Breeding System because it attacks all aspects of im- provement at the same tiine on the same material. For example, in our corn breeding program we plant early to select for cold tolerance: we infest with European corn corer; we study the roots for corn root worm and root rot tolerance. We may inoculate with several leaf blight organism and stalk rot: we plant thick to create stress. particularly as it affects stalk strength, and we harvest only the ripest ears which harvest easily and have the highest grain quality. In addition, we put strong emphasis on testing large numbers of experimental improvement says Brown hybrids at several locations in Ontario. Quebec, and Manitoba. Our R & I) program of genetic improvement covers five crop species: maize, barley. wheat. soybeans, and white beans with our greatest emphasis budget - wise. on maize. Nonetheless our barley and wheat programs. initiated as recently as 1974, have been successful already in producing licensed varieties AT CIBA-GEIGY MEDIA DAY — A panel discussion on "Women in Agriculture" featiirod T<,ns in✓s annual Ciba-Geigy media day at Ailsa Craig. Above, Ciba-Geigy and Stewarts Seeds officials Byron Bonler tnvwrn'rPeacock and Larry Morris chawith panel members Lynne Cohoe of Burgessville and Barbaro Peacock a Wind-ar nr-'n hraadcaster.T-A photo Few people worried about the Toss of farm land in Canada before World War II. Canada is a huge country with enough 1 tad un- developed to last tor cen- turies. they said. Since the early 1950's, a few more voices were added to the concern, especially when great tracts of land were lost forever as cities gobbled up some of the best farm land in the country. That land became lost un- der huge mounds of con- crete. asphalt, ticky-tacky houses. power corridors and car -filled parking lots. The land is lost as a resource now. But every time you go through a checkout counter at the supermarket, another thousand acres of land dis- appears in Canada through erosion or urban expansion. This loss of farmland was accepted by most people un- til the last decade. Canadians produced a suplus of food. We had too much grain. too much milk, too many hogs. too many beef cattle. too many chickens, ' too many eggs, too many turkeys. It was a time of large sur- pluses and increasing yields per acre. Lots of food. If the western world is los- ing its pre-eminence in many area such as arms superiority, lack of domestic energy supplies. lack of technology and innovation, perhaps another lack is the inability to protect the great body of farm land left in this country. A patchwork quilt of restrictions exist across the nation. Some provinces have tried legislation to protect the land but many of the laws are too difficult to en- force or the legislation is too vague to be effective. It is my humble opinion - ind 1 am not a farmer - that per acre yields in Canada have reached a peak, that agriculture can no longer replace the cropland by technology. Mechanization, fertilizers. pesticides, new varieties. high technology have been able to offset the loss of land. But not any longer. When this country was settled by pioneers, the best larm land was chosen. Around that agricultural SUMMER HOME IMPROVEMENT VALUES DOMTAR TRUSEAL ASPHALT SHINGLES - Self-sealing shingles with hold-down tabs - Available in assorted colours - Bundle covers approxima- tely 32 sq. ft. ,69 Bundle C.I.L. PAINT 1 0 Off Regular Co-op Price DASHWOOD WINDOWS PATIO DOORS AND CLASSIC ENTRANCE SYSTEMS 28%"" Dashwood's Suggested List Price SHOP CO-OP FOR CEDAR LUMBER Great For Decks and Fences EXETER DISTRICTCO-Op EXETER 235-2081 Letters aro appreaated by Bob Trotter [Wale Rd Elmira Orli N38 2C1 base came towns and villages, then cities. Where stand the cities`' The towns and villages of yesteryear have become the cities of to- day and most of them are right in the middle of the nation's best agricultural land. That urbanization has gobbled up the land. The best farm land 'being converted to urban - t twice the rate of poorer and. What happens in the United States eventually happens here. It has been es- timated that more than 100 million acres of U.S. land had died through erosion because farmers have been forced onto poorer land which is harder to farm and more difficult to protect from the forces of nature. Increasingly, rural Canada is becoming in- distinguishable from urban Canada A mammoth report prepared during the Carter administration took a global view of the situation. The global experts said that arable land around the world will increase by only four per cent in the next 20 years while population will in- crease by as much as 50 per cent The world's population - four billion in 1975 - will be 6.35 billion by the year 2000. Where there are two people today. there will be three in 20 years Faulty farming methods are turning global grass land and crop land into "barren wastelands." according to the report. at a rate of ap- proximately an amount of land the size of the state of Maine each year. Now. somewhere in this pile of statistics and the past and present trends is a ma- Saintsbury has picnic By MRS. HEBER DAVIS SAINTSBURY Mr's Carol Greenlee, Kimberly. Pam and Steven entertained the Sunday School children and mothers recently to a pot luck lunch meal at noon. This was followed by games by the children and an afternoon in the family pool. The weather was ideal and all reported a good day Hobert Tindall is holiday- ing with his sister Mr. and Mrs Hon ('unningham, Mar. Mr and Mrs. George Carroll and Mr. and Mrs. Ken Carrier and family, Detroit are visiting relatives in the community. Mrs Earl Atkinson, Lucan. Mrs. Raymond Greenlee. Exeter and Mrs. Heber Davis were lunch guests with Mrs. Earl Greenlee. Tuesday. Mr and Mrs. Bob Tindall attended the Tindall family reunion at the Centralia Community Centre, Sunday. jor lessons all of us must learn: The profligate waste of farm land in this country must be curtailed. It may not loom as a huge problem today but in years to come when half the world is literally starving to death, we will look back and blame the farmers, the politicians and the so-called statesmen of today for killing millions of people. Soends today's sermon. - Mingo barley in 1979, and Eavor winter wheat this spr- ing. Accompanying reports by Dr. Keh Mingo Ho and Mrs. Louisa Ho gives details respectively for the barley and wheat breeding programs. which also utilize the Comprehensive Breeding System, as well as specialized techniques. Sophisticated scientific techniques are involved In the production of haploid barley as the basis of the breeding program by Dr. Ho. Mrs. ffo is expanding her wheat program to include other culture for the produc- tion of haploids as well. New discoveries in genetic technique are being assimilated into our genetic improvement programs as soon as feasible. and we are watching the basic research division of our parent com- pany in Switzerland for new developments in genetic engineering. which we may incorporate to strengthen our programs." The media day featured a panel on "Women in agriculture with Michelle Geaffrian. a Ceba-Geigy vire-president as moderator. Panelists included Wind- sor agricultural broadcaster Barbara Peacock, farm business partner - wife Lynne C.ohoe, veterinarian Dr. Barbara Cameron and Louisa Ho. a plant breeder with Ciba-Geigy Seeds Ltd. CO.OP The Place For Stock Up Now To ' id Your Home, Barn or Patio of Those Flying, Crawling Pests * Fly Sprays * Bait Granules * Mosquito Fogging Fuel * Livestock Sprays * Sprayers Be Sure To See The KONK Air -Guard Mister AUTOMATIC INSECT CONTROL SYSTEM The System That Brought Fly Control To Hundreds of Area Residents Last Year EXETER DISTRICT CO-OP 1'-""� �Mq�NI EXETER 235-2081 '� Roundup®. It can be one of your most versatile tools. Wherever you use it, Roundup® herbicide by Monsanto controls tough emerged weeds — right down to the roots — so they can't grow back. Yet Roundup has no carryover. And it won't wash or leach out of treated areas to injure crops or other desirable vegetation. Reach for Roundup as an in - .crop spot treatment for tough weeds like milkweed. 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