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Clinton News-Record, 1980-05-08, Page 12PA E f2 THE QLINTON S'E'WS -RECORD,. THURSDAY, MAY 8 , 1690 eam alterations con by Rhea Hamilton "There are no muskrat now and we don't hear the bull frogs anymore At Thursday's Huron F of A meeting, Stan . Johns told Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) representatives that since the Seaforth.sewage lagoon was implemented, the .drainage from the ` a lagoon . had altered the productivity of the Bayfield River. It was new information ;to the ministry and they were as 'concerned as the farmer about changing the situation. The discussion was part of ,—th-e-program "Coldwater streams an endangered habitat," that the ministry held at the Huron teederation of - Agriculture's monthly meeting. Mr. Johns farms along the Bayfield river in Tuckersmith township and has lived his whole life near the river. The lagoon was first built in 1971 and he says treated effluent is dumped into the river twice yearly. Mr. Johns pointed out that treatment procedure delays the dumping so late in the spring that the river is low and the trout have already started to spawn when the lagoon1s' emptied. The effluent smothers the eggs and they don't hatch and the trout that escape travel back downstream. • The Ministry of the Environment has been notified_.e-v..ery.._spring ..by Mr. Johns and Bruce Bowland of the London office told Mr. Johns in a convention earlier Thursday that the study the ministry did in 1978 of the Seaforth lagoon will be released later this spring. "In .this part of the country it is cold six months of the year and the lagoons cannot properly operate," said Mr. Johns. "The lagoon is iced over in the winter and there is no aeration or evaporation essential for lagoons." "It irritates me that both government agencies. (ministries of natural resources and environment) leave each other alone in a situation like this," said Mr. Johns. "They know it's not just the farmers polluting the steams. This massive discharge twice a year is the last straw to break the camel's back as far as the ecology of the river is concerned." Mr. Johns pointed out. Physically, the river looks the same and the farming practises haven't changed Mr. Johns points out, but the productivity of the river has declined and he would like to see more action taken. -A short film illustrated what unrestricted cattle access to streams and bulldozing and stripping of creeks and streams can do to the land around the streams and to the natural life irf the creeks. John Dobell, district For Big Per Acre Profits DEHAIB Has Your number XL6, XL11 Call today Don Buchanan R.R. 1 LOndesboro 482-3201 Tom Sowerby R.R. 2 Goderich 524-7006 DEPEND ON DEKALB "DEKALaII" is a RAgtst.red tradorriark biologist for the Ministry, of Natural . Resources„l Wingham,followed with slides of the area showing where common sense and better water managementhelp prevent erosion and: improve. the quality of water. Areas that have been spot cleaned . in. cooperation with the land owner were shown before and after ' the • -work had been done. Rock, piles from the land around the banks were used to shore' up the stream sides along areas of the Belgrave Creek. Mr. Dobell showed Sharp's Creek as an example of a good coldwater stream. 1 1 1 . program, Doug Dodge, Superintendent of the Fisheries Branch, Toronto, outlined the federal fisheries act ,and pointed out that anything concernedwith. water had to be looked at by° the • agency. Fisheries: is a federal matter but the 'provinces - were offered the job of managing and, enforcing the lav in ,1967: only Onta.rio., ,British Columbia, ; Quebec and • Alberta chose to accept the jurisdiction. Art Carr, from Ministry of Natural Resources,, Wingham, covered the act from the province's point of view. He admitted to a bone of contention in the act concerning the definition of the word dam. Irhig"that idr�a k water or diverts it in- cluding bypass ponds, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food huron farm and home news Herbicide Recommendation Update- The present edition of Publication 75 "Guide to Chemical Weed Control" has some major deficiencies. Some of these are misprints, some are new registrations that have been issued since the book was published. I will try to clarify these points: Nutsedge in corn - Sutan, Eradicane and Dual p.p.i. all have an equal rating for nutsedge. They are all rated as giving better control than Lasso Corti- "re Emerge - Bladex- -1 r -Dual' and Dual Dicamba (Banvel) are two new tank mixes that have received registration. Morgard is a new - combination being promoted by' Niagara that can be used pre emerge on corn. Morgard contains- -26.6 percent technical Atrazine; 26.6 percent technical Prometryne and 26.6 percent technical Terbutryn. Post Emerge on corn - Laddok is a com- bination' of Basagran and Atrazine that can be applied post emergent in corn. Bindweed Control in Corn - Publication 75 rates Kilmore as Good - this rating should be Excellent. White Beans - Hoegrass is not registered for use on White Beans. Misapplication of pesticides cost $1 billion A survey was done in Nebraska to study the accuracy of herbicide application. One of the engineers involved was quoted as saying, "We have met the enemy - he is us:" The mistakes in over and under application were conservatively estimated to be worth about $8• on average for every crop acre in excess herbicide used or in weed problems due to low rates. On the acreage involved in the U.S. and Canada, the total cost would be over a billion dollars. The survey did a detailed study of 133 her- bicide applicators. Of these only 40 percent were applying close to ,;their estimated rate of chemicals (close being plus or minus 10 per- cent) ; 35. percent were applying rates too low and 25 percent were well over the required rates. Part of the problem was traced to poorly prepared and maintained equipment. Most of the errors were just poor calibration and mistakes in mixing of chemicals. The resulting misapplication hurts in two - ways ; woways; one is crop damage either from the escaped weeds or the chemical overdose. The other is the dollar wastage on chemicals applied but not delivering the desired results. For farmers applying large acreages of herbicide, recently introduced electronic con- trols and monitoring systems would be a wise investment. For smaller acreages a $2.06. calibration jar and measuring tape could earn a man $500 per hour or more for time spent on calibration. Clearly the agricultural chemical age is beyong storing the sprayer in the fence row and measuring the chemicals by the number of "glugs" from the jug. Staff from this office will assist farmers with sprayer calibration on a first-come, first-served basis as time permits. Vaillunrie-Bett® cattle feeder by BUTLER® d�Y (Simply better Designed with fast, quiet, dependable—and low cost—feeding in mind. Volume -Belt cattle feeder is simple ... has no cables, no chaih, no traveling electrical motors or parts. Belts out big -capacity feeding on a weather -protected belt. For single lot, multi -lot or, in -barn set-ups, . See us for systems and service that help make the good life better. GLENDINNING FARMEQUIPMENT LTD. 519-22'7.4593 Ken Glondinriing S19-294.574 George Glendinning 319.345.2123 Jim Young R.R. 2 Lucon, Ont. Phone: cern HFA. diversions and municipal drains can be classed as a darn. This causes con- fusion And there is a procedure, underway to have a better definition implemented. - There are several acts related to activities M- N/diving lakes and rivers. '('hey include the Lakes and Rivers Improvement Act, the Beach Protection Act, the Public Lands Act and the Fisheries Act. There are also statutes in four other federal and provincial acts. The Fisheries act says "no person shall carry on any work or undertaking that results in the har- mful alteration, disruption or destruction ...a...sy!•.s:..... of fish habitat." Habitat here not .only includes the. water but the surroun- dings in Which plants and other life forms interact to .make fish life possible. QUESTIONS Questions from the floor were answered by the three speakers and Norm Richards, district manager. for .the Wingham office of the M.N.R. A primary concern of; farmers was the cost ` of° making changes.. to the streams to accommodate the ministry. At present an agreement is negotiated withthe landowner where in some cases land can be leased by the ministry to Turn to page 13 • news farm news n, uron s popular soil and_ncrop speeia' lst, cnVliller, left, was honored by fellow employees at the Clinton office of the ministryof agriculture and food on Monday. `Mike, who is leaving the county after 10 years, received a magazine rack, and a couple of `popular" magazines to put in it. Dennis Martin made the presentation. (News -Record photo) Mike Miller takes to the land in new venture By Jim Fitzgerald A well-known and highly respected member of Huron County's agricultural scene is leaving his post after a decade of work. Mike Miller, associate agricultural represen- tative for Huron County for the ministry of agricultural and food, who works out of the Clintora,office, retired this week. The popular soils and crop specialist wants to farm his 250 acres near Ridgetown. and do some travelling in North America. "I don't want to be too tied down," he said in an interview. Mike as he was know in area farrping circles, came to Huron in October of 1969 and liked the location and job so much he stayed on and made the Clinton office unlike some in other counties which have a high tur- nover rate. As well as looking after the soils and crops in The farmer was scolding his hired man for carrying a lighted lantern to call on his girlfriend. "The very idea!" he said. "When I was Courtin', I never used to carry no lantern; I went in the dark." "Yes, said the hired -man, sadly, "and look what you got." Sandwiches are different ...- Huron, Mike was- also secretary of the Huron Soil and Crop Association for the last 10 years and enjoyed his involvment when Huron hosted the International Plowing Match in 1978. "It's very difficult to leave such an excellent office staff and the associations in the county," Mike admitted. "This is a good county to work in. It (farming) is very, p ogressive here and Huron has always been in the vanguard in innovating- new techniques. The jab was always a challenge," he explained. Over the past decade he has seen many changes in farming, including the introduction of slated livestock barns, modern milking parlors, large poultry operations and the large scale cash cropping units. But with the increased size also comes stress, and according•to Mike the ultimate size of an operation is based only on the farmer's ability to manage it and handle the stress. Although he is op- timistic about the future of farming, despite the current cost pinch and low prices, he said he was not "starry-eyed" about the future the way some experts are. "I've seen three ring- outs (downturns) since I've been connected with -farm i•ng-; one- irr the. mid - 60's, another again in 1969 to '71, and now this one in 1980. We'll just have to plan for them," he said. "What's really un- fortunate is some 'far- mers have been caught in the timing squeeze and were in the . wrong place at the wrong time, but there were some in trouble bef ere the high interest rates -hit," Mike noted,. He thinks that cash cropping will be carried out on rented land more and more in the future, as there is a trend away from owner -operator units. He explained, "Land values are under value if compared to gold, but over valued if compared to commodity prices." Don Pullen, the ag rep who runs the Clinton 1 office, said Mike would be missed, "He'll be a very hard man to replace." The ministry's Toronto head office is currently looking for a replacement. A small party was held. by the staff on . Monday, and ' Mike received several presents. ANNUAL STOCKERSA 1E Robertson Farms 460 Choice Western Calves 600 750 LBS. Sold by weight in graded lots of 15-30 head with an overnight stand and pencil shrink. Hereford -Hereford Cross, Shar-Cross over. wintered in our feed lots. Selling May 14 - 6:30 p.m. at our Sales Corral Six miles east of Goderich on county rd. 25 Surface application or shallow incorporation. It's your choice with Lasso®. there's a super difference in feeds, too! For better returns, the super difference is called Supersweet. The difference that sets Supersweet apart is careful attention to the differences that set your operation apart. • Pork Cycle: Precise enough to meet -exact needs during each stage of growth and finishing. Yet flexible enough to do it your way. • Systems III An individualized dairy program based upon your mughages, your cows. and your goals • MatchMaker A beef program planned to.match your cattle, your available feedstuffs, and the way ytm want to feed The Supersweet difference will make a great difference in your HUMMEL'S FEED MILL 35 Mary St., Clinton 482-9792 OPEN: MONDAY -FRIDAY 8 A.M. - 6 P.M. SATURDAY 8A.M.-12NOON 8 /.' r FEEDS rAir-Air......---A. oMU :TwooDS4 Surface application Shallow incorporation Lasso ' herbicide by Monsanto is usually surface applied before the crop emerges. Some farmers, however, prefer to incorporate their herbicides, and Lasso fits the bill. "Shallow" is the key word. Lasso should be shallowly incorpo- rated, prior to planting corn or soybeans. First, broadcast Lasso; then thoroughly incorporate it into the top two inches of soil To make sure the incorporation is shallow, set your d-isc or cultivator to work the soil to a maximum depth of four inches. Shallow incorporation of Lasso plus atrazine suppresses yellow nutsedge in corn. To suppress yellow nutsedge for six to eight weeks, shallowly incorporate Lasso plus atrazine (mixed at -new labelled rates) before planting. Suppressing yellow nutsedge with Lasso plus atrazine gives your corn the chance to become established without nutsedge competition that can hurt your yield. Whether you surface apply or shallowly incorporate, you get outstanding grass control with Lasso. Lasso consistently controls annual grasses in corn.and soybeans. With excellent crop safety: And no carryover. And you can surface apply Lasso or shallowly incorporate it. Because it's your choice, with Lasso. Lasso Monsanto Monsanto Monsanto Canada Inc. Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Vancouver. Always read acid follow the label directions for Lasso. Lasso" is a registered trademark of Monsanto Company. cMonsanto Company, 1980. LN -IN -4/80 Ship your livestock with FRANK VOO+GEL. DASHWOOD Shipper To United Co-operatives Of Oratorio Livestock Department, Toronto Monday is shippi'g day from Varna Stockyards -CALL DASH'WOOD • 238«2707' OR BAYFIELD. ,565,2536. by 7:30 A.M..For Prompt Service Also Western Stockers & Feeders Availabte Exeter and area's headquarters for BOLT & NUT SUPPLIES Zinc Plated Grade 5 Buy what you want by the Ib. no mini mum package sizes to purchase. 129 I Ib. HIGH- PRESSURE WASHER Clean up quick with this compact new washer. Ws right for dozens of tough jobs around the home 500-550 psi of nozzl pressure, make short work of normally - tedious jobs. PRICED FROM '469 We have John Deere Hose in 50 foot lengths. Ideal for hooking up your pressure washer. Made of good quality rubber. 5/e' inch diameter. If you're looking for a tool chest or tool cabinet see our selection. We have 10 and 12 drawer chests and 3 and 9 drawer cabinets on special. John Deere chests and cabinets are fast becoming the first choice by many mechanics. BROOMS Check out our spring clean-up special on brooms. $101 5 • 9 Shop, barn and out- door type, 16" and 18" sizes. Open till 4 On Sat. TIMOR EXETER BOOR