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Times Advocate, 1984-08-22, Page 29August 22, Page 15A BRIAN'S SERVICE CENTRE Repairs to cars, trucks, chainsaws, snowmobiles and motorcycles (Pioneer 8 Husgvarna Chainsaw Sales & Service BRIAN KIPFER Dashwood, Ont. Phone 237-3322 Poly Glaze The Shine that Protects, and Lasts without Waxing .75•• DOBBS MOTORS LTD. 235-1800 Retirement Garage Sale Sat. Aug. 25 & Sun. Aug. 26 9-5 Materials, household items, some furniture. 1 mile west on Huron Park Rd. //21 (Rain or Shine) 1 Professional Car Clean Up Peggy Hay Auto Rund Main St. N., Exeter 235-1100 ******* BOOK EARLY! AUGUST SPECIAL $40 Pro -Car Clean C Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food heron farm and home news Give alfalfa fields a holiday Fall management of alfalfa is one area in which what we do now over the next several weeks will affect next year's yield and persistance of alfalfa. It has been well established that alfalfa and all perennial forages must store reserve foods in their roots during the fall in order to survive the winter. This stored food acts like an antifreeze, making the root and crown resistant to low freezing temperatures. Stored food is also necessary for regrowth the following spring. So how do we build up root food reserves? To build up root reserves, we must give alfalfa a rest period during which we do not harvest it, to accumulate top growth and build food reserves. Following cutting of alfalfa, stored food in the roots is used for the first 3 weeks (up to 12") to generate top growth. By 5-6 weeks following cutting or at full bloom, the food reserves have been replenished. The rest period we must give alfalfa in the fall has been established for each area of the province. The rest period or critical harvest period, as it is called, in Huron is divided into two areas. South of Highway 8, and including the townships of Colborne and most of Ashfield, the rest period is from September 1 to October 10. North of Highway 8, the rest period is from August 20 to October 1. If we harvest during this period, we may not give the alfalfa plants enough time to regrow before a killing frost to build up root reserves. The result will be more winter kill and plants entering next spring in a weakened state. Research at Guelph showed that cutting alfalfa during the critical harvest period reduc- ed succeeding June yields by as much as 3100 lbs./acre. Potash fertilizer is also known to play an important role in persistance of alfalfa through the winter, although it's rela- tionship has not been as clear- ly established as that of the critical harvest period. i felt guilty the other day, watching the rain fall in tor- rents. i wish there was some way i could package it up and send it to Saskatchewan. i was in Western Canada in early August and everyone there is very concerned about the drought. The situation is becoming so desperate that things are happening that were previously unheard of in far- ming communities. One farmer in a beef operation area near the Saskatchewan - Alberta border had a small hay held along a river in a coulee. The ground was fair- ly moist there and the hay was doing relatively well. The field was in a remote part of his farm, and he only visited it occasionally. Ile checked it one day, and decided that he'd come hack in two or three days to mow the hay. Two days later when he returned, he found the field cleared the hay had been cut , baled and trucked away. his entire crop stolen. "i guess somebody's cows are hungrier than mine," he said with a shrug Another farmer f visited had 145() of his 900 acres ir- rigated. Ile has been pumping water non-stop since the first of ,lune from Leake Diefen- baker. But the lake level was so low, he was living in cons- tant fear of having to shut off his pivot irrigation systems This farmer was looking for wheat yields of about 60 bushels per acre on his ir- rigated land, while he said he'd be lucky if the rest of his land produced 15 bushels per acre By the way, irrigation is still very much a novelty in the west, so that gives you some idea of the type of crop the majority of farmers can expect. Announcements were being Alfalfa is a heavy mineral feeder, with calcium, phosphorus and particularly potassium playing leading roles. A 4-5 ton alfalfa yield will remove 150-200 lbs. of potassium annually. Low potassium level in the soil is a major factor in the loss of alfalfa from a stand. Clay soils have much better potassium supplying power than loam or sandy soils. Ade- quate potassium levels are necessary to build up root food reserves. Forage stands should be soil sampled regularly to determine fertilizer re- quirements. For a field testing medium in potash, 70 kg/ha (651bs./acre) of potash would be required. If muriate of potash is to be used, 120 kg/ha (105 lbs./acre) would _lie needed. Next week, we will discuss fall harvesting of alfalfa and its effects on succeeding yields. Brian Hall, Farm Management Specialist Financial summaries Financial summaries are now available at our local agricultural office for cash crop, swine, beef, and dairy enterprises. These sum- maries are a useful tool that can help assess overall management and identify strengths and weaknesses in your operation. Information such as a breakdown of farm income and expenses, production levels, feed costs, debt load, interest paid and equity in the farm business are just some of the important facts available from the Ontario farm management analysis project. Many farmers are making good use of farm business records and performance analysis such as financial summaries. If you would like to use these summaries for a com- parison of your farm business feel free to contact our office. Many factors can affect pro- fit. Financial summaries are just one more way to help evaluate the performance of your farm business. Dennis Martin, Farm Management Specialist Mary's musings By Mary Alderson made frequently on the radio telling farmers not to plow down crops that they weren't going to bother harvesting. They were being encouraged to leave the crops standing so that snow would be trapped for moisture. While in Saskatoon I attend- ed a convention of fertilizer and chemical dealers. Naturally these people are very concerned about the weather. Because of the drought, plants cannot use the fertilizer which was applied in the spring. That means that fertilizer won't he needed for next year's crop, and sales this fall and next spring will he way down. One of the speakers at the convention was a meteor- ologist who spoke on weather patterns - a timely topic. Ile had some very disturbing comments Through historical research, he has devetbped the theory that the dry conditions experienced this year are actually the norm for the Prairies. Ile says that the dust bowl of the thirties was the natural desert -like prairie condition. The good wheat -growing weather experienced for the past 40 years is. in fact. an unusual condition, and not to expect such wet weather again. Ile warned that farmers and those in agricultural industry had bet- ter prepare for dry conditions. Ilewent on to say that farmers should be pressuring government for better weather research. Ile pointed out that right now all weather research is geared to air travel for the benefit of the airlines As an example, he cited cloud seeding_ ('loud seeding to promote rain has proven successful and he urged farmers to call on govern- ment for more work in that area. Unfortunately, one fer- tilizer dealer pointed out that to do cloud seeding, you need clouds to seed. The sky over Saskatchewan has been bright blue all summer - not a cloud to be found. POSTERS TELL IT — Members of the Grand Bend Concert Association detailed their program with the use of colorful posters in the Sandcastle Day parade at the resort. Bountiful year if weather continues cooperation Farmers keep fingers crossed If the weather cooperates, farmers in Huron County can expect to mark 1984 as a year of bountiful grain harvests. The lush first art of hay has been one of the best ever, and Will honor fire fighter The Hay Mutual Fire In- surance Company in conjunc- tion with the other member mutual companies of the On- tario Mutual Insurance Association is sponsoring a joint program with the Fire Fighter's Association of Ontario. It is the feeling of the mutual insurance companies that too little credit is being given to the men who risk their lives to protect life and property of people of the Pro- vince of Ontario. The two organizations are located in the Province of On- tario. The Ontario Mutual In- surance Association is com- prised of farm and cash mutuals. The Fire Fighter's Association of Ontario is com- posed of most of the rural fire fighters in the province. The two organizations wish to honour an Ontario fire fighter for an act of meritorious service for the previous year. The suggestion for the award may be made by anyone by filing a nomination with the Fire Fighter's Association of Ontario by March 1st of the year of presentation. A committee will be chosen from the Ontario Mutual in- surance Association, the On- tario Fire Fighter's Associa- tion and . the Ontario Fire Marshal's office. Suggestions for the medal can be made by filing a nomination with any member of the Ontario Mutual In- surance Association or the Hay Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Programs available Programs for the Turning Point Conference are now available. The Conference for rural women who are leaders or potential leaders in their communities will be held November 16-18, 1984 at Geneva Park Conference Centre near Orillia. The three day residential Conference is intended to pro- vide rural women with the skills necessary to establish and maintain self-help groups. The Conference pro- gram has been designed so participants may -"....learn to do by doing." Other Conference activities include theme speakers, discussion groups and a con- cert with singer -songwriter (and rural woman) Heather Bishop. Turning Point Conference programs and further details are available from Betty Stephens, RIt 5, Owen Sound, Ontario. N4K 5N7; telephone: 1-519-371-4350. 'Garages Sale Exeter United Church Sat., Aug. 25 9 a.m. - 12 noon In the primary room (Entrance off parking lot) Ra1n or shine the second cut is also excellent. Records have been set in various areas of Huron as farmers harvested a bumper crop of high-quality winter wheat. Up to 110 bushels per acre have been taken off in some sections according to Brian Hall, a farm manage- ment specialist with the Clin- ton OMAF office. The average has h" cn between 70 and 80 bushels. The quality and quantity of barley is average to good, with some exceptional yields of more than 100 bushels in the northern end of the county. The spring grain harvest is still in progress, but record yields are expected in some areas. Corn and all varieties of white beans are at a critical stage in their development right now. Weather in the next two weeks will deter- mine the yield at harvest time. The bean crop is expected to be only average. However, Michigan is experiencing similar problems and expects its crop, too, will be just average. Hall advises bean pro - The readers write August 15th, 1984 Dear sir: Thus far in this election campaign very little has been said by the major parties about an issue of national political morality - fully in- dexed pensions for MPs. Candidates elected September 4 will face grave problems. The worst of them are our huge and continuing budgetary deficits and the na- tional debt. To deal with them, our MPs must be seen to be above reproach. Some painful cuts must be made. How can these MPs show the necessary moral leader- ship, however, while they have their pensions fully in- dexed to inflation? This full indexing is paid for almost completely by the or- dinary taxpayer but he can't afford a similar one himself. A study hag just been done for the National Citizens' Coalition by a top actuary. It shows that, based on only five percent inflation, the follow- ing former Liberal MPs or their widows will receive these fully indexed pension payments during their lifetimes: John Munro - $5,077,(K)0, Mark MacGuigan - $4,899.000: Eugene Whelan - $3,589,000 and Bud Cullen - $2,554,000. These former MYs' pen- sions will remain rock solid during the coming years of in- flation while the value of the pensions of millions of or- dinary Canadians will be relentlessly eaten away. The PC Party's policy is that "on principle, Members of Parliament and Senators should reject indexed pen- sions and work harder to bring down the rate of infla- tion". But that's in "princi- ple" - what about practice? The NDP Party's policy, which is totally unrealistic, is that everyone should have ful- ly indexed pensions sufficient to provide for retirement. The Liberal Party has no policy on fully indexed pensions. The National Citizens' Coalition has so far inden- tified 84 candidates of the ma- jor parties who oppose fully indexed pensions for MPs. We congratulate them for their stands. Canada needs new, moral leadership. A first step in this direction would be for our new MPs to pledge on the first day of the next Parliament to end fully indexed pensions for themselves and for federal civil servants. • Yours sincerely. Colin Brown President, National Citizens' Coalition i Larry Fulton Plumbing & Electric Rural, Residential, Commercial Plumbing and Electric General Backhoe work, Septic tank and weeping bed installation R.R. 3 Phone Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S0 229-6289 Program Contact your lender or send in the coupon below, for a free booklet and application form, or call this toll free number: 1.800.267.4140 IA,Canada Mortgage Socleta canadienne and Housing Corporation d'hypotheques et de Iogament Your opprxturity to purchase protection again=' extraorcinary increases in mortgage Interest rates C.1natri Or complete this coupon and mail to: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation P.O. Box 9975 Ottawa, Ontario K 1 G 9Z9 Please send me a copy of your free booklet and application form. Name Ati-lress City Province Postal code ETA ducers to check their fields for leaf hopper and Mexican bean beetle. Crops don't need any more stress, and Hall ad- vises spraying for these pests if no rain has been received in the last two weeks. Soil and crops specialist Pat Lynch says the incidence of corn borer in Huron is the lowest in years, but the coun- ty is experiencing the worst infestation of corn rootworm he has seen in the 12 growing years he has been working out of the Stratford OMAF office. Some growers are facing a decreased yield of 20 to 40 bushels per acre. Corn planting began early this year, and the cold condi- tions in May delayed the eggs from hatching until later, when the insecticides applied with the seed corn had begun to break down. . First year corn is not af- fected, and Lynch notes that second year corn is more in- fested than third or fourth year. Lynch concludes farmers would be advised to plant first year corn first without insecticide, andcon- tinuous corn later, with insec- ticide. The grower thus gains two weeks of insecticide con- trol before breakdown makes it less effective. Hybrids with 2,650 heat units or less with a "so-so" root system seem to be more vulnerable to the pest than hybrids with 2,850 units or more. Lynch observed. The results of field test plots will be very important this year. Lynch said there appears to be a difference in insecticides. -Thirteen failures have been confirmed to date. If any grower is using two brands of insecticide side be side, or has experienced insecticide failure, Lynch suggests the situation be reported to either the Stratford OMAF office or to directors of the soil and crop improvement associa- tion. The data will be includ- ed in the soil and crop report which will he released later this year. Lynch says prevention is the best cure for corn root - worm, and advocates crop rotation as one of the most simple, effectual and suc- cessful countermeasures a corn producer can take. New service set for cancer patients A new Home Support Ser- vice for cancer patients will be implemented on October 1, 1964, David Hill, President of the Ontario Division of the Canadian Cancer Society an- nounced today. The new Home Support Ser- vice for cancer patients in On- tario will provide payment for homemaking or other non- professional services for cancer patients in financial need, to a maximum of 80 hours. Hill said the new service is designed to provide tem- porary relief to families car- ing for cancer patients at home. "As an organization of volunteers we feel we can pro- vide voluntary and r lid non- professional support to sup- plement existing medical care programs and help to relieve the burden which this disease so often places on cancer patients and their families," said Hill. The new policy replaces two existing policies of the Canadian Cancer Society in Ontario: The Home Nursing Service gave emergency or tem- porary assistance for cancer patients in financial need by providing a paid nurse for up to 336 hours. The Housekeeping Services provided housekeeping assistance to a maximum of 224 hours. Both policies remain in ef- fect until October 1, 1984 when they will be replaeed by the new Home Support Services. The Canadian Cancer Society is a voluntary organization dedicated to raising funds to support Daily Renta Is Example Chevy Celebrity, oir conditioned Only 24.95 per day they. aids. exeter Budget Rent A Car Low daily and weekly rates Special weekend rate Friday 6 p.m. to Monday 10 a.m. $59.95 including 200 free km's. Hensall Motors Ltd. 262-3331 Lane Gravel Sand fill - Crushed A Gravel - Washed Cement Gravel - Rich Top Soil 3/8" and 3/4" Washed Stone McCann Redi-Mix Inc. RR 3, Dashwood 237-3647 235-0338 exmoommismer- BEST RATES GUARANTEED TO =60,000. 12 3/4% 13% 1 YEAR S YEARS No foes - Rates Subloct To Change Contact ABC ANNUITIES 53 WEST ST., GODERICH CALL 524.2773 (Collect) Huron County Board of Education Requires A TEACHER AIDE at Exeter Public School , effective September 4, 1984 The successful candldato will be required to work 35 hours per week assisting a physically handicapped Grade 1 student with dressing, tolietting etc. Written applications stating age, experience and phone number should be sent to the undersigned prlor to Aug. 29, 1984. P. Gryseels Huron County Board of Education 103 Albert St., Clinton, Ont. NOM '11.0 R.B. Alien E. Frayne Director Chairman cancer research, patient aer- vices and public education concerning cancer. Ongoing patient services provided by the Ontario Divi- sion of the Canadian Cancer Society include the provision of dressings, prostheses and pain killing drugs and per- sonal services such as driving patients to clinics for periodic ' treatments or checkups, home visiting, emotional sup- port and mastectomy visiting. Giant Garage Sale Fri. & Sat. Aug. 24 & 25 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Crediton 2nd house east of Stardust Restaurant Bad Rad? Radiators Repaired, Recored or New Canadian Tire 233-0160 ranaaian 11111 Elizabeth Court Apartments 1 & 2 bedroom available Features appliances, carpet throughout, laundry facilities, all utilities included. Located at 176 Oxford St. Hensall, Ontario PH: 262-2846 Dashwood Auto Sales Now taking appointments for • Oil undercoating $35.00 • Grease and graphite 585.00 • under the hood • inside the fender • inside door, • inside quarter panels • inside trunk • under trunk lid • under floor Phone Gene Hartman 237-3250 anytime Dashwood Let Jack Do It All types of plumbing;,!,, & heating ,z r}_. Jack's Plumbing & Heating (Jack Mayer) 246 William St., Exeter 235.0581 Filter Queen "IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN VARNA" 482-7103 PEACHES • Apples •Plums • Pears • Blueberries • Frozen Cherries • Frozen Blueberries •Frozen Raspberries •Frult Products OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK ROCK GLEN FRUIT FARMS LTD. Arkona Ont. 828-3644 1