The Rural Voice, 1992-08, Page 27the manure on the land, he was going
to lose yields. Now, he says, the soils
seem to be easier to work. Last year
for the first time in five years a
conventional plow was used on the
home farm and he found the soil
much mellower than five years ago.
The soil is going to be in better shape
if a cultivator isn't pounding through
it regularly, he feels.
Fertilization rates have remained
about the same. He does soil tests
every year because he wants to prove
wrong those cynics who told him that
he'd have to use a lot more fertilizer
when he no longer had manure to put
on the land.
No -till cash -cropping is a good
way for a young farmer to get
started without a large outlay
for capital equipment, he feels. Cash -
cropping lets you turn your money
over each year and no -till keeps
investment low. He's been able to
expand his acreage a little bit each
year with the combination.
No -till may be the way of the
future in cropping but Gowland
thinks it will take at least a generation
for the switch to be made on a large
scale. Farmers must start small.
"You've got to build your self-
confidence in the system, doing it a
little bit at a time." If you have a
failure on a small test acreage, it
won't be a big loss, he says. It can be
a slow transition. "To be successful
you've got to spend time. The next
generation after me will likely accept
this as common."
The change, however, requires a
big change in thought and he
can't see it taking less that 15
to 20 years to convince 80 to 90 per
cent of farmers that this is the right
course, unless there is legislation
forcing the change. He doesn't favour
that route. People will make the
system work a lot better if they
change of their own free will, he
says.
He's interested in other
conservation tillage practices such as
ridge -till but feels that at this point
they're not right for his rolling land.
No -till, he says, is right for the
conditions he faces ... and that's the
secret of the system: tailor it to your
own needs. The system is saving
money and soil at the same time.0
Soil and Water
Conservation Day 1992
Conservation Farming
in the 90's
Date: Thursday, August 27, 1992
Place: The Farms of Don & Alison Lobb
— located 1.25 miles west of Clinton on Hwy. 8, then
2.5 miles north on concession 15-16 of Goderich Township
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tours:
Activities include wagon & walking tours
— Drainage & Groundwater Quality
— Windbreaks & Reforestation
— Fisheries Rehabilitation & Wildlife Habitat
— Erosion Control Structures & Conservation Tillage
For Further Information Contact:
— HURON SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT MEMBERS
— Maitland Valley Conservation Authority- (519) 335-3557
— Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority- (519) 235-2610
— OMAF- 1-800-265-5171
— HSCIA members, contact your director
STRATFORD
AUTO AUCTION
Every Wednesday Evening at 6:30
70 - 90 Vehicles on Offer
Repos, Leases and Others
Operated by:
W.C.
& COMPANY INC.
---
AUCTIONEERS & APPRAISERS
Auctioneers:
Bill Dill
Steve Gardiner
John Van Klaveren
Ron Hope
640 Huron Street, Stratford, N5A 6S6
519-393-5477
AUGUST 1992 23