The Rural Voice, 1988-03, Page 46THE GREAT STEEL PLACE
A complete inventory of
angles, pipe, tubing, flat bars,
plate, beams & channel
Elma Steel
and Equipment Ltd.
3 m. E. and 2 m. S. of
Listowel
519-291-1388
•
TO S H 1 BA
WE MEAN BUSINESS
The Compact,
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No matter how big or small your office,there's
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corrpact, put -h -where -you -need -h
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And it's much more
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It has Edge -to -Edge
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See them at:
AP
mimazizaztzsialacx
Bluewater
OFFICE EQUIPMENT LTD.
56 East Street, Goderich
519-524-9863
44 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
STUDY MEASURES
LOSS OF TOPSOIL
A recent study published in Nature
(Vol. 330, p. 370) has shown that a
conventional farm lost four times as
much topsoil during a 37 -year span than
an organic farm beside
The authors, John Reganold of
Washington State University, Lloyd
Elliot of the U.S. Department of Agri-
culture, and Yvonne Unger of the Uni-
versity of Maine, looked at two adjacent
farms in Washington State. While both
farms grew similar crops, one farmer
used "green manure," crop rotation, and
no fertilizers while the other farmed
conventionally with inorganic fertiliz-
ers and limited crop rotation.
When the topsoil lost on the two
farms was measured over 37 years, it
was found that the organic farm lost 5
centimetres of topsoil while the conven-
tional farm lost 21 centimetres.
Most of the topsoil was washed
away through water erosion, and the
authors point out three main ways in
which the organic method reduces ero-
sion.
The organic farmer tilled the fields
less often during the growing season,
preserving topsoil structure.
He also added organic matter to
increase the humus in the soil. Humus
keeps the soil porous so water percolates
into it rather than running over the sur-
face.
Third, humus holds the soil together
in larger particles, making it more diffi-
cult for water to wash it away.
The authors also calculated that at
the observed rates of loss the conven-
tional farm lost topsoil faster than could
be replaced naturally, and would run out
of topsoil in 50 years. The topsoil loss
on the organic farm was below the natu-
ral replacement limit.0
/an Wylie-Toal
CERTIFIED
SEED
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March is Good Seed Month