The Rural Voice, 1999-04, Page 10PlastiTech
Silage Wrap for
Round Bales:
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• Superior Cling - To cc rap
hales tightl�
• L.\cellent puncture.
abrasion and tear resistance
for outdoor storage
• 211 and 3(1 widths
• SPECIAL E.V. stabilizer
to protect from degradation
taus,d h\ sunlight
• White - to pre\ent heat
accumulation and reduction
of nutritional ‘clue
For Technical Information
please call:
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SKIDSTEER LOADERS
Various models - equipment
options include:
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Hourly or Daily Rates
Full line of construction equipment
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Dealer for
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Saws
1
SAUGEEN RENTALS
Durham 369-3082
A.C. SCHENK RENTALS
Mt. Forest 323-3591
6 THE RURAL VOICE
Scrap Book
Omega-3 milk still far from ready
Omega-3 enriched eggs are
already on the market but omega-3
milk will take longer, researchers at
the University of Manitoba say.
Trials at the university prove
feeding flax to cows significantly
boosts the levels of the healthy fatty
acid in milk. But the cow is a
complex animal, explained Ray
Ingalls, senior scholar at the
university, who spent six years
looking at changing the fatty acid
composition of milk.
"We know we can do it, and to
that extent, I guess the question is
trying to find a different method to
protect the fat," Ingalls says.
Flax needs some kind of armor
to shield itself while travelling
through the rumen, the first and
largest of the cow's four stomachs.
Bacteria in the rumen work to
hydrogenate the healthy unsaturated
fats in the flax.
In his research, Ingalls used a
blend of milled flax and soybeans
made by an Australian company
with a patent on the process. But
that process involves formaldehyde,
a chemical associated with
embalming fluid. The amount of
formaldehyde used is small enough
it is nota health concern but it
creates an image problem, he said.
He has examined other types of
treatments such as a heat treatment,
but none had proved practical.
In his trials, Ingalls fed 1.5
kilograms of milled flax per day to
cows on top of their normal mixed
ration. Cows seemed to like the feed
and it did not lower the volume of
milk or protein levels, Ingalls said.
In fact in the last of three trials, milk
protein actually rose.
In the three trials omega-3 fatty
acid levels rose to 3.5 to 6.4 per cent
from control -group readings of .4 to
.8 per cent. An untrained tasting
panel could not detected a differ-
ence in flavour in either the omega-
3 milk or yogurt made from it_
Meanwhilea new Manitoba
company intends to spend S1.4
million to try to tap the emerging
American interest in feeding flax to
animals. Prairie Flax Products hopes
to pay growers premiums for clean,
high quality flax to be sold to the
U.S. feed industry for pets, poultry
and large animals.0
— Source: Western Producer
Corn rootworms will die for watermelon
The juice of a bitter watermelon would gag most people but it tastes Tike a hot
fudge sundae to corn rootworms.
USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists identified the ingred-
ient in the juice that causes the insect to gorge. They developed a process for
extracting the active ingredient along with the juice and combined the solution
with a red dye that's deadly to rootworms but safe for people and animals.
In preliminary field tests last summer, the watermelon -dye combination took
a promising bite out of the costliest insect pest in the U.S. Three days after
application, it had killed 85 per cent of adult rootworms compared to 65-70 per
cent for two other controls — both pesticide -bait combinations.
Researchers at the Beltsville, Maryland Agricultural Research Centre were
looking for a way to control rootworm that would spare the environment and foil
the rootworms from developing insecticide resistance. The watermelon -dye
combination zeros in on the adult stage of the insect which breaks the
reproductive cycle so next year's population is lower.
The lethal ingredient for the worms is the same as D & C Red Dyc No. 28
which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in drugs
and cosmetics. It is now in the registration process, in combination with a
different kind of bait, for controlling fruit flies. ARS entomologist Robert
Schroder and colleagues have applied to a patent for their watermelon juice -red
dye formulation.
Com rootworms cost U.S. farmers $1 billion annually in lost crops and
control mcasures.0
— Source: USDA and Ontario Corn Producer