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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-03-20, Page 244 - The Farm Edition, Week of March 20, 1985. A COMPLETE LINE OF DAIRY FARM EQUIPMENT AND SANITATION PRODUCTS GARY McKNIGHT SALES & SERVICE LTD. R.R. 3, WALKERTON 881-2440 744(44 ae-t 9,adeted & VatTea BEST EVER SALE OF TRUCKS! l i rot 'a t®i DODGE EXCLUSIVE CANADA'S BEST TRUCK WARRANTY r5YR/8o 000 km PROTECTION 1 ENGINE AND POWERTRAIN 2 OUTER PANEI\CORROSION PERFORATION . L r SEE DEALER FOR DETAILS AT NO EXTRA COST AAA, Ar•A,A10.010, waw, AO. A ww• ticAtb. cp.. .. iV GODERJGH PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER LTD. Located 414 Huron Rd. At the Entrance To Goderich 524-7383 FULL SIZE 1985 DODGE 4WD * Cloth Seats * Automatic Transmission * Sure Grip Axle *318 V8 Engine * Dual Low Mount Mirror *Gauge Package * Body Side Moldings, Upper & Lower • "* Rear Step Bumper * Front Bumper Guards * Oversize Fuel Tank `* Aux. Transmission Cooter *Maximum Engine Cooling * Heavy Duty Shocks, Front & Rear * Front Stabilizer Bar * Mud & Snow Tires all around * Transfer Plate Skid Case *6010 Ib. G.V.W.. • Serial No. 508521 IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY Mfgr. Suggested List $15,128.°° Lest "Thank You Canada" Discount $400.°° Less "Goderich & District" Discount $1,888.6° NET SELLING PRICE FREIGHT 12.,'840.°° INCLUDED ''%lse 'cioste cij % 9,teat ZGlrece Se/mice Se&.&¢ 7nuelea The irony of erosion By::Robert Trout "The neighbours are trading soil today," was the comment made by one area resident as Monday; April 30th, 1984, swept past the . province. He stood helplessly and watched his valuable top .soil being ravaged by the forces of nature which were slowly changing the tapography'and productivity °Phis farm Winds from the south east reached 100 km per hour during the day and its influence was felt in many ways. A combination of many factors on that day led to a major wind erosion. event on this farm. Let's take a.look at their influence. Soil texture played an ' important role. Sandy soils have structure consisting of single grains with less sticky clay than loam or clay loam soils. The sand particles can be detached and moved from the soil surface when .dry: Wind speeds must be suriiiaent to carry these particles. Where measures have not been taken to lower wind . speeds, . sand particles will blow. • Residue management can help to lessen wind speeds and protect soils. In their natural state, soils support,plant growth whose vegetation, in returnenrich and protect it. No till planting is aivideal way to maintain this balance, particularly with sandy soils. Ridge till planting is an effective way to maintain cop residue in poorly drained sands or heavier soils. This system involves the formation of ridges in the field during the growing season and planting the following crop on the ridge. Both no till and ridge planting leave maximum ' amounts of crop residue near the surface of the soil. Mouldboard plowing can bury crop residue completely but modifications car, improve •this, Removing cover boards, alter- ing ltering mouldboards and chisel board plow attachments can be used to disturb the soil and leave cmp, residue on the surface. Crop residue also decreases water erosion by absorbing water, opening the soil and stopping water flow. This allows water to infiltrate the.soil,rthus limiting surface runoff. An ' added benefit to crop residue is protection from wind erosion. Wind speed is reduced and soils are less likely to blow dry. Hilltops' are particularly susceptible to winds which drift soils into low 1" areas leaving stones, debris and..subso' beihind. Winds can also be a ed) by the use of windbreaks. With each that is removed and not replaced, trees me adwindling resource which has contri uted to higher winds at ground level. Windbreaks should be carefully planned and planted to give maximum protection to soil. More trees are required than those which protect dwellings and barns. Wind- breaks along fields are required to protect larger acreages. Clay loam soils will also benefit from windbreakswhich protect them from the major wind erosion events which affect them. This situation usuallyoaams when frozen soil, unprotected by snow ower, is subjected to driving winds which catty drifting snow. This snow detaches soil particles and creates snoil, a. combination of snow and soil, which is deposited in drifts along with snow. Erosion is the affect of many -forces in nature. All these factors individually ,must readniaxinhum potential for ari erosion event to occur, but in combination .they can easily turn topage 2t No till necessary to eliminate declining productivhy :Lobb A Clinton area farmer who has been using no tillage conservation practices on his farm since 1981 sees no -till as a necessity to eliminate the declining productive potential of the soil on the steeper slopes on his farm as well as areas where soil types are, not well adapted to no -till. "After all, yields that are sustainable at 90 - 95 per cent of full potential will very shortly be higher than yields on eroding land under' conventional till," observes Don Lobb._ -Why should no -till work for Don Lobb„ when frequently reported results from on farm tillage trials, demonstrations by various government and Ontario research have tended to produce condescending comments at best? In the instances of the farm tillage trial reports and government demonstrations, Lobb says the least familiar tillage systems are disadvantaged because he suspects a predetermined production formula is used, without regard for the needed adaptation process for management and local conditions. .Ib complicate , matters, immediate. yield comparisons are deemed necessary to justify time and dollars spent. Thus a system such as no -till is treated as a curiosity rather than a possible solution to specific problems. "The object as I see it," says Lobb, "should be to determine where and how it can be fitted to local conditions and individual . management. The results of Ontario tillage research produces headlines like, "Fall Flow Offers Tbp Corn Yields", or researchers' convnents like, "Average No -Till corn yields decrease is 12 per cent". Examination of the facts indicates that with few exceptions, tillage research in Ontario has been done in terms of the continuous corn ethic:whidr was popular a decade ago. - "W "We already know that continuous coo is neither good for the soil or our bank accounts," observes Lobb. Long term Elora tillage trials, which include no -till vs conventional till justify some consideration. thepredictable yield reduc- tion associated with obntinuous corn is evident. It is interesting to note that recent no -till yields, in the longest running trial at this, site, are very close to those of conven- tional till. The question raised is, are we seeing the result of biological„adjustment in the soil or improved equipment? Research which indudes other than very recent data may have questionable value as a ' measure of potential for a tillage system, says Lobb. Researchers too must be Iearning as they use a new system. ' "I gather as much information as possible, consider it and then relate it to my situation, with as much objectivity as possible,,, says Lobb. "The sane principle applies to farmer testimonials, magazine articles or whatever. On the positive side, current University of Guelph work, which does not include corn following crops others than corn, has the potential to produce more practical informa- tion and mire useful tillage rea»nmendations in terms of, today's needs. The work of the tillage team at the Guelph university has been limited, Lobb suspects, by the lack of Ontario commitinent to tillage research. The result is that Lobb roust look to the United States for Comprehensive tillage vs soil type vs crop history comparisons. Lobb believes the best is a PUrclue University paper. As with Ontario studies, no -till corn is disadvantaged on fine textured soil when following corn. In all other areas, it suggests good potential. The csonservation tillage yield relationship indicated in this paper is attain- • turn to page s;'