The Rural Voice, 2000-07, Page 42AgriTech
Weather, drain sites aid productivity
By Janice Becker
It has been one of those weeks
w hen the wonders of technology
have lost their charm for me.
As with most people. I have limited
time scheduled for certain tasks
including my time allotment to surf
the internet for the information I was
seeking.
With the internet refusing to con-
nect. then shutting down in the mid-
dle of the process. I was even more
frustrated when the sites I was seek-
ing, with the correct address, were
"unavailable".
Remember those commercials
where the gentleman in the office
cubicle responds not so gentlemanly
to his computer. Well, mine was seri-
ously threatened with the same fate.
However, after repeated attempts, I
was able to track down some materi-
al.
My thoughts have been centred
around water a lot recently, both on
the abundance which has fallen from
the sky and the waterlogged fields I
see every day.
After frequent heavy downpours in
southern Ontario, fields were
swamped and crops washed away.
Just as the land was drying and farm-
ers could reseed, more rain came.
These occurrences brought two
things to mind: the need for good
weather forecasting and the benefits
of adequate drainage.
The site I had planned to discuss
regarding weather forecast was one
which seemed to show a lot of
promise. The Weather Network
announced earlier this spring the re-
launch of its zone -specific weather
information for farmers, dubbed
Farmzone.
According to information on the
website at www.theweathernetwork.
com, Farmzone divides Canada into
600 zones then uses topography and
weather -influenced factors to situate
farms for forecasts.
Specific to farms, the site was to
detail quantitative precipitation,
growing degrees days, crop heat
units, drying indexes and hours of
sunshine.
Farmers could also request direct e-
mails about impending severe weath-
er.
38 THE RURAL VOICE
General information regarding long
and short term forecasts, watches and
warnings and satellite imagery could
be accessed.
However, after numerous tries, the
Farmzone connection was not avail-
able. It is unfortunate that a product
is promoted before it is ready for the
market. Let's keep an eye on this one
to see when it goes on-line.
It also seemed obvious the site had
not been updated for some time as it
outlined a cost for the weather ser-
vice while the spring material indi-
cated it would be free.
As for the idea of farm drainage, I
was much more successful, finding
sites from Ohio and Minnesota pro-
moting the latest innovations in tile
installation to ensure the best possi-
ble location and best results.
The laser systems sweep the terrain
to determine the pattern for layout
and grade of the tile.
The sites are found at
www.splp.com/farm.htm and www.
ellingsondrainage.com/Farm
Drainage.htm.
Geologic Computer Systems from
Waterford, MI, www.geologiccom-
putersystems.com/products/tarm_
drainage.htm, creates 3-D maps from
field contour information gathered
from existing files, an ATV mounted
with topographic equipment or data
taken during a previous pipe laying.
Tiger Aeroplane Company,
www.tigerphoto.com/, uses aerial
photographic imaging to locate exist-
ing field tiles or map locations for
new systems.
If interested in types of piping used
tor farm tile as well as other applica-
tions, Plastic Tile has a site detailing
agricultural drainage systems at
http://ptifla.com/agriculture.htm.
For general material on farm drain
studies and how wildlife can be
incorporated into the picture, check
out the federal government site at
http://res2.agr.ca/I ondon/gp/3 w/dra
in.html.
For feedback, input or column sug-
gestions, contact me at becker@
wcl.on.ca.
Janice Becker is a computer enthusi-
ast and journalist living near Walton,
ON.
Advice
Dame's Rocket a new
weed to watch for
By John Benham, Wellington
County Weed Inspector
I have been getting calls about the
beautiful purple flowers that are
showing up along roadsides and
fence bottoms. They are not "Purple
Loosestrife"! They are "Dame's -
rocket", a member of the mustard
family.
Dame's Rocket could be confused
with "F1ox" which has five (5) petal
flowers but Dame's -rocket has four
(4) petals. It came from Europe as an
ornamental, but, has escaped from
the farmsteads and is proliferating in
undisturbed areas at a surprising rate.
It flowers from May to August.
When the flower opens it is almost
purple and slowly fades to mauve to
pink to white.
The seedpods are typical of the
mustard family. It is a perennial and
spreads by seeds forming large
patches in a few years. It grows from
three to four feet tall with hairy stems
and lance -shaped leaves. If a weed is
a plant where you don't want it, then
you decide whether it is a weed or a
flower. It is not on the noxious weed
list.
Another weed I see around quite a
lot now is "Buttercup". I am assum-
ing everyone knows Buttercup but do
you know it is listed with the plants
poisonous to livestock?
I quote: "Buttercups have a bitter
acrid juice which causes severe pain
and inflammation and may be poi-
sonous when grazed by livestock."
Normally livestock avoids grazing
buttercup but may be tempted if
proper feed is scarce. There are sev-
eral members of the Buttercup fami-
ly, but the two most common are
"Tall Buttercup" and "Creeping
Buttercup" both of which are a men-
ace to Iivestock.0
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