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The Rural Voice, 2000-04, Page 10err Attention: SHEEP FARMERS Atlas Tanning is accepting Wool as usual Custom Tanning Available Call 519-523-4595 Atlas Tanning 1 mi. south of Blyth on Hwy. 4 behind The Old Mill Leather & Woolen Specialist Spring Is Just Around The Corner! Custom Seed Cleaning Service By Appointment WE ARE A LOCAL SEED SUPPLIER FOR: • Grain • Corn • Soybeans • Forages • Lawn Seed • SPECIAL FORAGE MIXTURES TO MEET YOUR OWN REQUIREMENTS • ATC SEED APPLICATION AVAILABLE For all of your bird's needs Black oil sunflower seed Custom made bird mix Niger seed Peanuts Sunflower heads Bird feeders ;•, LONDESBORO w `..:'� SEED PLANT - .:: ill CUSTOM SEED CLEANING GRAINS - BEANS - FORAGE SEEDS Phone: 519-523-4399 or 523-4279 P.O. Box 272, Londesboro, Ont. NOM 2H0 BOB SZUSZ. PROPRIETOR 6 THE RURAL VOICE Keith Roulston Science must make big splash It's truly remarkable that in just a couple of year's availability, farmers have accepted the new science of genetically altered crops like bt corn and Roundup Ready soybeans to the point that they made up 35 per cent of all corn planted last year. Why then are farmers so slow to pick up on other scientific discoveries? I got thinking about that after receiving a press release from the Ontario Environ- mental Farm Plan with a new column offered by noted gardening author Mark Cullen. In the column Cullen urges urban gardeners to learn from farmers about the value of trees and windbreaks. Yeh right, I thought. Yes there are leading farmers who have been out planting -trees to prevent wind erosion and to increase yields of crops but they're few and far between. The science is there to show that there's money to be made by planting trees. Ontario research shows a 10 per cent yield increase for corn and 20 per cent in soybeans in an area within 10-15 times times the height of a windbreak. That's comparable to the yield gains from biotech varieties yet very few farmers are taking advantage of this natural way to increase yields. It's a hard sell to get farmers to look at natural science, even though they're dependent on it. Despite demonstrated gains from reduced tillage, it took years for the new tech- nology to'spread. Only when farmers realized they could plant more acres of crops in the same amount of time did no -till gain acceptance. After years of advice from conser- vation authorities and OMAFRA extension workers not to spread manure on frozen ground, you could still take an hour's drive in western Ontario almost any day this past winter and see several farmers taking advantage of low snow levels in fields to spread manure. Researchers can show that you're wasting prec- ious nutrients by putting manure on frozen ground where the nitrogen will evaporate into the air and cause odour problems for neighbours. There is also lots of scientific proof to suggest it's harmful to the environment when the manure runs off the field into drains and streams when the snow melts. Farm leaders defend their profession saying farmers care about the environment because they make a living from it, yet there are people who will deny they're causing a problem. Perhaps it's just human nature. Farmers are like everybody else — they want a magic bullet and biotech seems to offer one. How many billions do North Americans spend every year in miracle diets because they can't face the hard work of getting more exercise and controlling their diet? How many stop -smoking gadgets are sold to people who don't have the willpower to give up cigarettes? Herbal supplements have become a growth industry as people look for a miracle cure for aging. Much of human progress has been due to small incremental changes, yet we remain fascinated by the big, shiny breakthroughs we think will revolutionize our lives. In the 1950s we fell in love with the lure of end- less amounts of virtually free elect- ricity through nuclear generation. That "free" electricity virtually bank- rupted Ontario Hydro and led to its breakup by the Ontario government. Meanwhile there is a potential to use a truly free energy source, wind power, but it seems too small and insignificant and we just can't accept it, even though many others in the world have. Maybe if some company came along with a project to build a 5,000 -foot -high windmill that would generate a giga-watt of electricity we could get excited. Ironically, anyone can take advantage of the big innovations. It's those who pick up on the less publicized improvements who have the edge in the long run.0 Keith Roulston is editor and publisher of The Rural Voice. He lives near Blyth, ON.