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The Rural Voice, 1983-01, Page 12Peebles Farms Purebred Yorkshire & Hampshire Boars Yorkshire/Hampshire Hybrid Gilts R.O.P. Tested DOUG PEEBLES R.R. 2, Atwood 356-2369 Anytime 356-2230 After 6 p.m. V-111 silage distributor-unloader by BUTLER Cuts evenly BUTLER: Huron Dairy Equipment Ltd., Ken Jackson Seaforth 519-527-1935 1-800-265-7027 PG. 12 THE RURAL VOICE, JANUARY 1983 variety of traditional soil conservation practices, his name's particularly sy- nonymous with minimum tillage and more recently, with windbreaks. Minimum tillage, he defines very simply as the least number of times over a field to get maximum profit. It makes good sense, he points out, not only from an erosion -control standpoint. but from a fuel conservation and labour-saving standpoint as well. As he's often said in the past, farmers too often plow simply out of "boredom" - they have time on their hands, so they use it to go over a field one more time. Don't, the soil scientist says emphatically - "If you have time on your hands. it's better to get a can of worms and go fishing." One form of minimum tillage Baldwin advocates is conservation tillage, using a mulch plow. which means leaving up to half last year's crop residue on the soil surface over the winter months to protect against wind and rain erosion. He recommends leaving residues at or as near to the surface as possible, with as rough surface soil as possible, and then to delay plowing as late as possible in the spring. The phrase he often uses when lecturing on the benefits of minimum tillage and crop residues is "unless you're a groundhog, putting in a fence post. or building a house, stay out of the subsoil." Two years ago, faced with questions from farmers about the cost of land taken out of production in order to plant wind- breaks. Baldwin realized there was little information available on the effects of windbreaks on common southwestern Ontario crops. To overcome this lack of data. he conducted a series of field trials in 1980 and 1981 with corn and soybeans to prove windbreaks can benefit crop growth and yields. Results of the corn research trials showed that the average yield increase obtained on windbreak -protected fields was about seven per cent above the average yield of an unprotected field. This yield should compensate the farmer for land taken out of protection. The results with soybean crops were even more dramatic. Maximum yield increases occurred at a distance of three to five times the height out from the shelter (between 60-100 feet with a 20 foot high wind- break.) In this range, yields were 50 per cent higher than the yield average of an unprotected field." Baldwin assumes if he verified this kind of result with corn "I would like to think there'd be even more spectacular results with other crops." Also, not only do windbreaks increase crop yields, they also minimize winter whiteouts and blowing soils. Starting this spring, Charles Baldwin's going to be promoting soil conservation even more seriously with future farmers. Ridgetown has become the first agricul- tural school in the province to implement a mandatory soil conservation course for students. The groundwork will be laid in Baldwin's lectures ---"the practical work will hopefully come on their own farms after graduation." Other agricultural schools will hope- fully follow suit, since the Ontario Institute of Agrologists have recom- mended that soil conservation practices become a mandatory part of agricultural school curriculums. Someday Baldwin hopes to put all his soil management knowledge to work on a farm of his own, but that will be "a few years down the road." His son, now working in the Alberta oil fields, is also intrigued by the challenge of someday trying his hand at farming. In the meantime, what keeps Charlie Baldwin running? Simply the fact he loves what he's doing, combining his teaching duties with preaching the soil management message at conferences and extension meeting both locally and across Canada. He believes the effort's worthwhile "both to the students here and to the countryside. I know Ridgetown is a small college. but you don't have to live in an ivory tower to make a contribution." The farmlands of southwestern Ontario are already a healthier, more fertile place thanks to the efforts of Dr. Baldwin to spread the conservation message. And if keeping busy can indeed by equated with happiness, then latter-day prophet Char- lie Baldwin should be very happy. Baldwin combines his teaching duties with preaching the soil management message at conferences and meetings across Canada.