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The Citizen, 1997-09-17, Page 24PAGE 24. THE Cl IIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1997. Pig farmers get point across By Gregor Campbell Expositor Staff Pig farmers aren't used to being high profile. They feel they are unfairly being painted as enemies of the environment in the press these days. The idea that others think they are responsible for "Lake Urine" gets them going. All the buzz at the Sept. 5 afternoon's workshop on liquid manure application in McKillop Twp. was about a producers meeting the night before and a big article in that morning's edition of The London Free Press on Joe Terpstra, whose Acre T farms is building a 3,400 hog barn in Ashfield Twp., only one of 12 production sites, the others of which are scattered across Grey and McKillop. "It was one of the most interesting meetings I've ever been to," one pig farmer was overheard to comment on the night before's producer's get-together. The McKillop workshop was packed, "Bring Your Own Bale" (to sit on), as one speaker quipped. Terpstra's Ashfield facility would be one of the bigger (a producer in southwestern Oxford has a 6,000- hog bam) in Ontario and seems to have become a focus for public debate. It has some critics up in arms, who say it will further aggravate an E. coli sewage bacteria problem along the Lake Huron shoreline. At one point, Evert Ridder, of the Huron Stewardship Council, who put on Friday’s workshop in an attempt "to do something positive to address the issue," had to remind the many in attendance that "application is what we're talking about today." PROACTIVE Host farmer John Arts said pork producers are-"front row, centre" for the environmentally conscious in the press and other media at present. He suggested that with farmers making up five per cent of the population but controlling 95 per cent of the land this was to be expected, but it might be wise for pork producers to be "proactive" before governments bring down legislation. Don Hilborn, by-product and waste management specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said "agriculture has always been the original recycler." In the context of agricultural practises in other areas of the world, for instance China, agricul­ ture in Ontario looks pretty good, he said. We have lots of manure but lots of land base to spread it on, which isn't the case in even more highly agricultural developed countries such as Holland, which just doesn't have enough land. A nutrient management approach, in which highly controlled manure application is used to partly supplement chemical fertilizers, produces better crops, better soil and less pollution, along with profits for pork producers. He said it is a win-win situation for these producers and the rest of society. Hilborn said such nutrient management plans have become more and more common amongst area pork producers in the past five or six years. PROPER PROFITS Manure management systems and technology decreases the cost of fertilizer and maintains proper profits, although some farmers still have doubts about manure as a chemical replacement, the OMAFRA waste specialist commented. And, there is still a fair amount of difference in farming practises here in Huron. A reliable way of monitoring manure spills and shutting them down, is needed, he said. More than 40 per cent of manure spillage in Ontario is related to irrigation. Gary Roberts, an agronomist with Stratford Agri Analysis, reinforced much of what Hilborn had to say. Both stressed soil management and, that farm equipment manu­ facturers are on the cutting edge of technology, with today's manure spreaders. Manufacturers are working together with producers and the farming industry to solve problems. Nutrient management plans are a "basic, logical thing we do," Roberts said The agronomist demonstrated how manure maps are made with the help of global positioning systems, which when used in conjunction with high tech spreaders allow farmers to pinpoint application to a field's require­ ments, varying with the land's chemical needs and the crop to be grown, among many factors. HIGHLY TECHNICAL Computers allow more preci­ sion," Roberts said. "GPS technology gives the ability to get back to a spot." With these cutting edge systems and equipment, the problems are basically calculations. Both main speakers gave examples of how more conven­ tional systems are now being modified to prevent particular problems with manure manage­ ment. Unpleasant odours, for instance, are lessened by manure being applied closer to the ground. In a similar vein, excess runoff that might lead to more manure getting into the watershed, can be controlled and cut down by, for instance, cultivation before application, or application at very specific times. Much of both main speakers' presentations was similarly highly technical. The larger the volume of manure from an operation, the larger the equipment that is required to handle it and the more manpower required to control it, Hilborn commented. Getting manure from point A to point B, from beast to bam land, Man dies A Howick Twp. man is dead following a farm accident on Sunday. According to OPP, Larry Edward Wilson of Gorrie was working on the farm, when the tractor he was operating went down an embankment and flipped over pinning him underneath. He was freed by the Gorrie firefighters, then taken to Wingham hospital where he was pronounced dead. The OPP and the Farm Safety Board have concluded their investigation into the accident. The coroner also attended the scene and all agencies are in agreement that in this particular case roll bars and a seatbelt would have saved his life. As of May 1990 a provincial law took effect stating that all brand new farm tractors sold must be equipped with roll bars. The problem, according to the Farm Safety Board is to convince farmers to keep the roll bars on the tractors and wear seatbelts while driving. There were no charges laid in this matter. using conventional trucks and storage tanks, subject to varying municipal rules, gets more compli­ cated the larger the operation, the OMAFRA waste specialist said. Some larger operations elsewhere are going to pipelines these days. 'UGLY DUCKLINGS' Representatives from equipment manufacturers, Husky and Nuhn Industries, then took to the Arts fields al Lot 21, Cone. 4 to demonstrate various particulars of what the speakers were talking about. "It's all starting to come together," Hilborn said earlier. "This is the message we have to get out there." In short, if pig farmers are being painted in the media these days as an unconcerned lot bent simply on bigger profits - the environment be dammed, anyone in attendance at Friday's workshop in McKillop could readily come to the conclusion that this is not the case. Pig farmers are as concerned with the land and Lake Huron as anybody else. "We are an ugly duckling and what we do is not that pretty," as one of the afternoon's equipment representatives summed up tersely. Farm Hiker Tour set for Oct. 5 It will be a day of fun, education and good food for the participants of the 1997 Huron Farm Hiker Tour in south Huron, Oct. 5. The afternoon adventure in the country will take visitors to various agricultural operations such as pork, dairy, turkey, an apiary, apple orchard, riding stable, bean han­ dling facility and ratite. 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