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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-10-29, Page 26PAGE 6A —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29. 1986 Suncoast Mall Merchants present HALLOWEEN MADNESS Thursday, Friday. & Saturday, October 30, 31 & November 1 On delivery $1.00 Sitting Fee Per Person 8x10* 5x7* Wallets Approximate Measurements. ...ne Offer Per Family Satisfaction Hours: NOVEMBER WED. 5 10-8 THURS. 6 10-8 FRI. 7 10-8 SAT. 8 10-5 1 • I5 .mom„ Your Friendly ' Met 397 Bayfield Rd. Suncoast Mall Goderich, Ontario. Farm The fallof 1' for its record Rain, rain and more rain. The fall of 1986 will go down in the books with its record breaking precipitation. Even systematical- ly tiled land is hard pressed to firm up bet- ween downpours. Harvesting of white beans and corn silage have, in many cases, taken place under less than ideal conditions, resulting in fields being compacted and rut- ted. This in itself is bad enough, but there is a carryover 'effect from this. Research has shown that it takes up to five years for freeze -thaw action to restore compacted soil to its original state. Soil density increases with compaction and pore space in the soil is decreased resulting in impeded root growth of succeeding crops. Water infiltration and. .internal soil drainage are also reduced leading to i:: creased runoff and slower drying following periods of heavy rainfall or high snow melt. Hopefully weather conditions will improve and the remaining harvest and fall tillage can be completed with minimal soil damage. Another thing to look for this fall is ero- sion, especially rill erosion in row crops following these heavy rains. If nothing else, 86 will go in books breaking prcipitation this could bea good time to check these fields for areas of excessive soil loss. In many cases the erosion can be minimiz- ed by altering ones tillage and/or cropping practices. Such things as crop rotation, strip cropping or reduced tillage can often cor- rect minor erosion problems. Crop rota- tions, especially those containting a soil building crop such as winter wheat and legume plow down, give winter cover and add organic matte to the soil. Strip cropping across the slope can greatly reduce downslope erosion, especially if alternating strips can be a grass -legume hay or cereal. Width and number of strips depends on the length and degree of slope. Reduced tillage can mean fewer passes in the spring when preparing a seedbed or modifying your fail tillage program to leave more residue cover over winter. Tillage tools such as mulch tillers or modified prong point plows can be used to leave fifty per cent or more of crop residue on surface of the soil. The more cover the less susceptible the soil is to the ravages of wind and water. Again, cross slope or contour tinge will help hold the sihi1 against the natural flow of water on slopes. If however, the damage due to' erosion is more severe, specialized land management control measures should also be used. Some of the most commonly used are grassed waterways, drop inlet catchbasins and rock chutes. Grassed waterways are broad, shallow, permanently seeded channels used to carry concentrated water flows to a drainage outlet. Drop inlet catchbasins may be used to divert surface water flow underground to a satisfactory outlet. Water flow paths with abrupt changes in grade may require rock chutes in order to stop the formation of gullies. They are particularly useful along ditchbanks or streams to carry concentrated water flows. Soil erosion is a naturally occurring pro- cess that is common to all agricultural land_ The use of good land management will reduce these losses and lead to an increase in long term soil productivity. I have men- tioned only a few of the practices that can be employed to reduce the loss of valuable top- soil. Technical and financial assistance is available through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Weather conditions have compounded fragile economic situation in agriculture HURON. COUNTY - Federal Agriculture Minister John Wise toured rain soaked fields in Huron County, Friday, and gave broad suggestions that he would be prepared to join his provincial counterparts in providing assistance to farmers to help them stay in business in the face of moun- ting crop losses. Mr. Wise flew into the area for a brief tour at the request of an ad hoc committee established by the Huron Federation of Agriculture which told him that "the weather conditions this fall, have com- pounded an already fragile economic situa- tion which has resulted in a total financial disaster to some agricultural sectors." After dinner in Exeter where Mr. Wise and the Huron farmers were joined by four area MPs, the group stopped to examine a, white bean field in Hay Township and then moved on to Soudant Farms where they met behind closed doors for some time before emerging to issue statements to the press.' Mr. Wise, flanked by MPs Murray Car- diff, Terry Clifford, Sid Fraleigh and Harry Brightwell, said that the weather had created a "serious situation" but noted that it would be premature to put any final figures on the amount of crop loss. He said it wonky, 'vresponsible to say thatr;***fart* not deserving Of special-attentiop °. s plained that pro- ' ducers in other priggees had been given financial help in joint federal -provincial programs. Mr. Wise said a "reasonable approach" would be for the province to give the federal government a detailed estimate of the crop losses and a suggestion on how the two governments could work together to provide assistance. It was explained that on every occasion in the past. where that had been done by pro- vincial governments, they had been suc- cessful in getting federal assistance. Mr. Wise also said that the situation in On- tario could even present a larger disaster than what was now apparent and that could trigger a federal -provincial disaster relief program similar to what was undertaken following the tornado in the Barrie area where a $5 million agricultural component was established. However, the federal agricultural minister indicated it would be up to the pro- vincial government to decide on the priority for agriculture and the province's farmers. "We don't act unilaterally," he explained, adding that the initiative would have to come from the Ontario government. Whilenoting that the alternatives ap- peared to be for a spot federal -provincial aid program or using the existing disaster legislation, Wise said he felt the former was "the best route to go". Under joint aid programs undertaken in other provinces, Wise said most had been operated on a 50-50 basis with the federal and provincial governments. Before departing, Mr. Wise said that the best thing that could happen was for the area to be blessed with four weeks of sun- shine "or a damn good frost" that would help farmers harvest some of the cropsstill out in the field. He acknowledged that a turn around in the weather would be of no benefit to some vegetable growers, such as his Soudant Farms .hosts, because their potatoes were already lost. "There's nothing there to harvest," he advised. The Elgin MP explained that the mood of Western Canadian farmers had been the same as that of their Ontario counterparts over recent weather conditions, but he said the west had now been blessed with sunny skies and high temperatures and grain farmers working around the clock were ex- pecting to harvest their largest crop in history if the weather continues to cooperate. Mr.Wise also indicated he would welcome' changes to the crop insurance program to better reflect the needs of farmers. He and Ontario agriculture minister Jack Riddell have already established a joint task force to expedite amendments to bring it up to date so it is more useful. He said changes could almost be made over night, but in response to a question, ad- vised it would be highly unlikely that any changes would be made retroactive. Bev Hill, spokesman for the Huron farm committee, said the presence of Wise in- dicated the latter's concern about the crop situation in the area. "We're confident there will be some benefits to this area," Mr. Hill continued, saying the farm group had not expected the federal agriculture minister to show up with a cheque book for some immediate assistance. Mr. Hill said he felt the response given the farmers was "quite favorable" and he was optimistic that some form of assistance would be forthcoming. "Hopefully it will be provided in time," he added. Mr. Hill said the farm group would definitely be talking with Riddell. The brief presented to Wise indicated that the economic disaster "is of proportions that have never been experienced before" and the need for financial support in some situations "is desperate". "We strongly suggest that disaster relief should be targeted to those farmers that can demonstrate financial need. In the case of vegetable growers, the growing process and cash requirements for the 1987 crop begin as early as December 1986. As we will be able • to show you, the vegetable growers' finan- cial needs are both immediate and desperate. Assistance must come in the form of relief from losses incurred in the 1986 crop and assurance of a supply of operating capital for 1987. 1 124TTc( £AJIftSV91 `Looking Young & In Style" SUNCOAST MALL GODERICH 524-6377 C'PEN MON.-FRI. 1& AM -9 PM, SAT. 9 PM.6 PM i