HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-3-20, Page 471.
-The Parnik iia -Wof March. 20 '1
Ashfield farmers fmd cow -c
By Sharma !Dietz
One Huron County farmer believes a case
can be made for incorporating a cow -calf herd
on a cash cop ffami.
"Net only can marginal /and, which moat
farms have, be put to its best use as pasture,
but the better soils on the farm and the crops
on those soils can benefit from the cows,
particularly if conservation tillage practices
on those soils are made easier by the removal
of hop residues for cattle feed and bedding, "
says. Ray Hogan of Ashfield 'Township. Ray,
his father and brothers run a moss -bred
. cow -calf herd of 120 cattle and produce wan,
white beans, kidney beans and winter wheat
on their combined 2,000 acres.
The Hogans and Howards have always had
beef cows on their farm and Ray remembers
as a young boy just about everyone else had
either beef or dairy cows. He also remembers
that roost of Ashfield Township, like the rest
of raid -western Ontario was hay, pasture and
small grains. Since that time, most of the cow
herds have gone and along with them, most of
the pasture fields.
Like many others the Hogans and Howards
Aihave converted most of their pastures to cop
land. Ulike many others they have kept the
cows.
The Hogans and Howards didn't keep their
cows because they were smarter or stupider
than others, says Ray, but because all of their
land is not suitable for cash crops. A creek
crosses the back of the farm and the adjoining
meek flats and hillsides are suitable only for
pasture. "And I guess we kept the cows
because, despite the poor returns in some
years, we have always liked working with
cattle," Ray adds.
The Hogans and Howards were forced to
f herd will work with cash crop
f-74!
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Cow -calf herd can be incorporated with cash crop
develop a different appmoadr to their
cow -calf and cash crop operation during the
years they were converting pastures to com
fields. They found two major problems
developing.
Since they had less pasture aces available
than previously, and they were trying to
maintain or increase their cow herd to match
their stable and feeding facilities, which were
mostly in place before they began to convert
to cash crop, they found they often ran short
of pasture late in the season, despite
increased applications of fertilizer to the
pastures.
The second problem was- more serious,
says Ray. They quickly found as other cash
croppers were, as they converted pasture
fields to cornfields they began to experience,
for the first time on their farm, very,serious
wind and water erosion, compaction, weed
control problems, rootwonn infestation and
mnany other problems associated with conven-
tional tillage monoculture. the Hogans and
Howards also found as fuel, machinery,
labour and other crop production oasts
increased and as crop prices- became More
volatile, the returns from conventional tillage
cash cropping diminished.
cow-eptf profits low et l ip
feed and caah Li° ip „i rt IOW
because of agnallomic
with monoculture or poor
high costs of conventional ,tillage:
ivity and profits on the H an
farms were being threatened IT, sn ^i
increasing soil
The Hogans and • Howards long realized
they had an abundant source of leap food
available in the fornaof crop residue including
C0111 stalks, wheat straw and under seeded
red lover growth. Fbr navy years they used
these sources to some extent, ho*ever since
they were practising' conventional tillage fall
moldboard plowing, they were often not able
to fully take advantage of these cheap feed
sources.
"It is pretty hard to graze corn fields for
very long following harvest if you are fall
plowing," Ray observes.
The Hogans and Howards also realized
high cash cop production costs and the soil
erosion problems were mostly the results of
fall moldboard plowing and poor crop
rotation. They decided the way to improve
profits and reduce erosion on their farm was
to plow less and improve the cop rotations,
providing they could maintain yields. Five
years ago they started experimenting with
conservation tillage, as well its including
more beans and wheat and less corn in their
rotations. Since the Hogans and Howards
were not fall plowing all the corn fields and
wheat stubble, they were able to use more for
late fall - early winter winter grazing or in the
case of corn stalks they had more time to bale
them for winter feed: They also found by fall
grazing or baling some of the crop residue, it
was much easier to make reduced tillage work
turn to page 21
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