The Rural Voice, 1988-09, Page 27THE PLOWMAN
"The most basic mole plow costs
about $4,000," explains Keith Wires.
"Besides that you need time and a
powerful tractor." A more elaborate
unit which can impose a grade (slope
along the length of the mole run) costs
$13,000.
Wires is studying the system with
researchers Claude Weil and Sultana
Natho-Jina of Alfred College of
Agricultural Technology near Ottawa.
Field trials have been underway at the
college since 1985 using mole plows
imported from England.
Wires' job is to determine the
physical characteristics of soil that
make the investment in mole drainage a
good bet.
"Given the right soil texture and
proper installation techniques, mole
drainage offers farmers a real option.
But it's not the answer for everyone."
The mole plow can only shape a
lasting drainage conduit in clay soil with
specific structural qualities. A clay
content of at least 40 per cent is one
prerequisite. In Eastern Ontario alone,
as many as 100,000 hectares of farm
land may qualify.
In the spring of 1988, two com-
mercial installations were made in the
Alfred Region. Another three will be
made this fall.
Before the trials at Alfred, experts
believed that mole drains, known in
Europe for almost a century, would
collapse on exposure to Canadian frost.
Scientists used a fibre-optic observation
tube to inspect the interior of the
channels over several seasons. After the
first winter, most of the channels were in
fair to good shape, with little evidence
that frost caused damage or deter-
ioration.
The field tests suggest that mole
systems last longer when made at the
right time in the drying cycle, usually in
late May or early June. To date, the mole
channels at Alfred have controlled the
water table effectively for three years.
The Europen experience suggests mole
drains should last an average of 10 to 15
years. Some have been found to con-
tinue working for more than 60 years.
"It has taken the Europeans 200
years of trial and error to discover which
of their farming areas are best suited to
mole drainage," Wires says. "We're
hoping to speed things up a bit here."0
AlommillmnimwmINMEMPIF
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SEPTEMBER 1988 25