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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1981-10-21, Page 30Page 14A Times -Advocate, October 21, 1981 Huron farm and home news Chisel plow doesn't necessarily Huron County's First 4-H Beef Show and Sale held Thanksgiving day at Brussels proved to be a great success for the 4-H members. Buyers bid prices up well on the 15 calves sold. The Grand Champion steer owned by Allan Pym of RR 1. Centralia sold to Veal's Meat Market and Abattoir of RR 3 Exeter for El 06'2 per pound. Reserve Grand Champion steer own- ed by Julie Townshend of RR 4 Seaforth sold to Brussels Stockyards Limited at 96t per pound. Alcan Pym's Angus -Limousin cross was top in the under 1050 pound weight class, and Julie Townshend's Limousin topped the 1150 pound and up class Club leaders worked hard at the show and sale and are to be commended. All con- cerned were most pleased to be able to have Brussels Stockyards Limited host the show and sale at their ex- cellent facility. Many thanks to Jim Coultes of Wingham for judging the show and to MPP Jack Riddell who auc- tioned the sale. Jack joking- ly said he felt the buyers were liberal in their bidding. 4-H members and club leaders took forward to mak- ing this Thanksgiving Show and Sale an annual event. S J. Paquette, Associate Agricultural Representative Chisel plow I have just read another article in the farm press that is gung-ho on soil savers. It rehashes a lot of the old points but my own feeling is that the chisel plow or soil saver may have a place. It isn't for everybody. The moldboard plow is still going to be needed on most farms - particularly if you are sharp enough to get, forages work- ed into your rotation. Soil conservation involves many things. The chisel plow may be important for people with very erodable and unstable soils. Research generally favours the mold- board plow on clay soils. In my opinion conservation tillage on level clay soils in- cludes the proper use of a moldboard plow. By this I mean shallow plowing, and leaving some trash showing. Chisel plows tend to get misused in the same manner as moldboard plows. People try to work too much soil. The Perth and Huron clay loams. through this area, have a top soil that is 4 to 8 inches deep. The conven- tional wisdom is that the depth of plowing should be one-half of the furrow width. Big tractors and common furrow widths of 18 to 22 in- ches are a bad combination. You can't create 10 inches of topsoil if you only had 5 originally. That light coloured soil that your plow turns up won't become true topsoil in your lifetime. It will dilute the good topsoil. It may take it more easily eroded. It will probably make your soil more suscep- tible to compaction and crusting. So why plow that deep? Similarly the chisel plow should not be set too deep. There is no documented reason for chisel plowing deeper than 8 inches. The usual reasons for deep plowing are to bury the trash or to make a smoother job. The same thing happens with chisel plows and soil savers. Some fields get chiselled twice - 10 inches deep both times to make them look better. It is not uncommon' to see chisel plows or soil savers dropped in even 12 inches deep. The operator didn't like to see all those corn stalks sticking out of the finished job. The usual goal for good bne foot sn the f1pg1.j,j11 , br� p '9"-je4q0 �+� l.,t.�♦ .r..pp.ec..ted of Boo T,o,,, E W., ncl(Io t Oou N38 2C7 Better I should have stood in bed. Oh. the infinity of possibility: the irony of fate! The day dawned, beautiful. warm, fresh, crisp. The back garden was cleared. ready to cultivate. The strong. autumn sun, full on my back. so I borrow my neighbour's roto -tiller. First. I take the power mower through the corn stalks to provide mulch. All is ready for fall cultivation. I am happily being bucked around the garden by the tiller. My daughter comes riding down the lane on the buckskin mare. I loosen one hand from the tiller and wave at her. The tiller hits an imbedded corn stalk and the loose handle hits me in the ribs. Better I should have quit then. But. no. I get diddled by the diabolical digit of destiny. Finagled try the fickle finger of fate. I get the machine under control. Two more rows done. I notice a couple of dogs in the front field. The five -month-old colt is upset. He is not weaned yet and his mother. the buckskin mare. is beyond his reach. She is loosely tied by the reins to the railing on the stairwell at the back of the house My daughter has forgotten something and is inside the house. The colt is racing through the field as though a warble fly had broken through his side. He is kicking and buck- ing. sliding to a stop. wheel- ing on his rear legs and streaking hack across the field again with those two dogs' snapping at his little switch. The mare now has her tail up and is lunging at her reins Off comes one rein. Off comes one of the railings on stairwell Being the quick thinker that I am I decide I had better do something, fast. I slip the tiller into neutral and go racing across the lawn just in time to save the entire hack verandah from ruin as the mare is still struggling to free herself and get to her colt. The dogs. having created enough havoc. signal to each other the way dogs do. and trot happily down the road, grinning to each other with their tongues hanging out and their tails waving good- bye I get the horse calm just as my daughter comes out the hack door. The mare. still fidgety. decides to drop a two-day load of manure on the outdoor rug at the hack steps. "Dad' .• shouted my daughter "What's with that tiller?" Situation now all fouled up: SNAFU. as they used to say in the navy. Or Ft''BAR: fouled up beyond all Cecil R Squire Sales & Service Repair Shop Equipment 92 Waterloo St. Exeter 235-0465 1 recognition. I should have observed the safety rules and not left that lousy machine running when I went to rescue the back verandah.. it slipped into gear or I had not put it fully into nuetral. The tiller had taken off on its own. through a flower bed. into an aspen, through the electric fence and was tearing up the lawn. When I got to it, after rac- e ing back across the lawn, I foolishly grabbed a handle. But I grabbed the metal part of the handle which was touching the electric fence. Oh, the infinity of possibility. I should have stayed in bed. I finally extricated the machine from the fence. gave it back to my neighbor, walked carefully home, fix- ed the mutilated verandah, went into the house. poured a long. tall cool one and watched the ball game. So much for the fall chores around our house. So much for fresh air and soaking up the last of the warm sun and fresh air. To make matters worse, the Expos lost. Some days aren't worth getting up for. soil saving is to leave at least 30% of the corn stalks on the surface. The rough field surface and trash help to hold snow and reduce wind and water erosion. We often hear of farmers work- ing the soil deep to get through that plow pan. I don't think these farmers know it, but we don't have a plow pan. Plow pans are associated with heavy soils. I have seen a plow pan but It was in heavy soil in Michigan. I have never seen or heard of a true plow pan on Perth or Huron clay loam soils. A reasonable goal with a moldboard plow is to leave 10-15% of the trash on top. To get this result you may have to remove the trash boards or skimmers and plow no more than 5-6" deep. New plows can be equipped with moldboards that do a good job at shallow working depths. A further point is con- nected to what we are trying to do with chisel plows. The theory behind such pieces of equipment as the Glencoe Soil Saver is related to the foot or shank. It is twisted to resemble a miniature mold- board. This foot shears and lifts the soil. The area between the shanks is shattered by the force of machine passing through the soil. When the soil is as wet as it is now, it's like trying to shatter soft butter. The soil . saver and chisel plow are designed for dry soil con- ditions. Wet clay just smears making it harder for water to move through the soil. Wet clay soils can be more safely handled with a moldboard plow than a soil saver or chisel plow. Benefits of shallow plowing Power required to pull a plow is directly related to plowing depth, and may in- crease dramatically when M 4 STORAGE FOR LEASE — NEW BUILDING — 24 FT. DOOR — 15 FT. CLEARANCE CALL JACK TAYLOR 235-1252 AFTER 6:00 229-6472 make a conservationist plowing up subsoil. Shallow plowing may let you pull another furrow or move faster without a change of tractors. Fuel consumption per acre will improve. If you do plow shallower and reduce load on your tractor you will get other bonuses. Some studies show tractors will last longer and need less repairs. Everything from the engine to the tires will run better and last longer. If you plow faster you may find that the furrows are being thrown too far as they come off the . moldboard. The plow share that cuts a couple of inches past the full furrow width will help. The uncut soil at the edge of the furrow will act as a hinge and prevent the furrow slice from being thrown too far. The depth and speed of plow- ing are closely related to plow design and the shape of the moldboard. If you are buying a new plow or rebuilding an old one, get your dealer to help you design your plow for better conservation tillage. Conservation tillage done right is savings in both fuel and repair dollars as you im- prove your soil. The type of implements that you use is not as critical as the way you use them. First result of corn trials Dave Brock from Perth County has sent in the results of the first silage corn trials. The test was planted and harvested by the Gardiners on Highway 83. It was initiated by Pfizer and Pioneer. The top five hybrids In order of maturity, earliest to latest, were Pioneer 3925, Pioneer 3965A, Pioneer 3901, Trojan T950, Warwick W966. The exact ranking of these plus other hybrids in the teat will be in the Soil and Crop Improvement Annual Report. We will have protein and dry matter yields as well. Pat Lynch, Softs & Crops Specialist John Heard, Assistant Agr. Rep. Drainage low I receive many questions relating to Drainage Law. I try to answer these to the best of my ability using the various resources I have at my disposal. Of the many questions I have been asked, two which recur most often are - If I drain my farm, what do I have to do with my outlet water? Also, What can I do about surface water run- ning onto my farm from my neighbour? The following quote from Judge Clunis, former Provincial Drainage Referee, should answer both of these questions. "Surface or percolating water, that is, water not flowing in a defined water- course has no right of drainage. While a lower owner cannot secure the assistance of the Courts in protecting his lands from the flow of water he may dam the water back on the high WINTER WHEAT INSURANCE Featuring: —Winterkill Benefits — Multi Peril Coverage — Buildup Equity during good years — Low Cost (Subsidized by Federal and Provincial Governments) For More Details CaII: Donald Weigand RR 1 Dashwood, Ontario 237-3418 Deadllne ler Winter Wheat Insurance - Oct. 31st lands and actually cause damage. The owner of the high land has no right to damages or other relief. He must accept the flooding. Changes come about If ar- tificial works are con- structed. If the water collected by any means is discharged upon the lands of another, the injured person may select any one of three alternative remedies to protect his rights. He may apply to the Courts for an in- junction before a drop of water has ever reached his land. He may build whatever is necessary upon his land to block the discharges or to block the flow from entering it. Or thirdly, when he sustains damages, he may claim and will be allowed damages to whatever extent he is able to prove." All surface water collected must be taken to a sufficient outlet, such as a stream, private drain, or municipal drain. Sam Bradshaw, Engineering Assistant • McCANN CONST. LTD. REDI-MIX CONCRETE Alt Trios el CUOMO Weft Precast Feed Bunks Precast Slats RR #3 Dashwood Phone 237-3647 Precast Concrete Steps Porches Ornamental Iron Railings Centralia College. presents OPEN HOUSE `81 "Feeding A Hungry World" THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 10:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M. Starting At HURON HALL You are invited to attend this OPEN HOUSE as part of our recognition of World Food Day. Displays and demonstrations of our programs on the theme "Feeding A Hungry World" will be located throughout the campus. Campus tours and tours of College facilities will be provid- ed. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food 03 00 )0n20 ACCOUNTANT -PUBLIC WARD MALLETTE Chartered Accountants 476 Main Street, S., Exeter, Ontario 235-0120 Resident Partner: John 5. McNeilly, C.A. ACCOUNTANT -PUBLIC J SURVEYORS ARCHIBALD, GRAY & McKAY LTD. ONTARIO LAND SURVEYORS 592 Hwy # 4 5. Exeter: 235-0995 (if no answer call) London: 1-800-265-7988 Mailing Address 301 Wellington Rd. S. London, Ont. N6C•4P1 AUCTIONEERS Hugh Tom FILSON and ROBSON AUCTIONEERS 20 yeors' of experience of complete sale service We guarantee you more . ,,EEE,.,, Phone Collect 666.0833 666-1967 NORM WHITING LICENSED AUCTIONEER 8 APPRAISER fn, • of A",“ Y'if sI"f Rf i.. , .. ..,.,,.,r • p. c yirf Rif N( f Phone Collect 235 1964 EXETER GERALD L. MERNER Chartered Accountant BUS. 257 Churchill Dr. EXETER 235-0281 DAVID C. HANN, D.C. Doctor of Chiropractic 105 Main Street, Exeter 235-1535 8y Appom rment Dolly f ren,nq CHIROPRACTORS C. HARRY RODER, D.C. NORMAN L. RODER D.C. DOCTORS OF CHIROPRACTIC 84 Panel lane STRATHROY Telephone 245-1272 By appointment please Gerald A. Webb D.C. Doctor Of Chiroprectk 438 MAIN ST. EXETER By Appointment Phone 235-1680 ICMg71 CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANT r JOSEPH F. DARLING CERTIFIED GENERAL ACCOUNTANT TEL' 619 -Q66 -9111O8 THE OLD TOWN HALL egg MAIN STREET EXETER, ONTARIO NOM ISO J INSURANCE Bev. 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