Times-Advocate, 1985-07-03, Page 16Page 4A
Armyworms marching iarea w
He reported it will cost between $14
and $15 an acre to have the aerial
spraying undertaken. A Seaforth firm
will be doing the work as soon as
weather conditions permit.
Times -Advocate, July 3, 1985
• Fanners are being advised this which is located just south of Exeter's feasting on the worms, but aren't
week to keep a daily watch on their Waterloo St. They've also eaten grass making much of a dent in the
fields as a major infestation of army of nearby residential properties in population. ,
worms has been reported in one their march. . "This is the first farm we've heard
wheat field in the Exeter area. McBride plans to spray his crop. about," O'Toole noted, but suggested
"It's probably just the start of but has been hampered in that regard
things," commented Jim O"I'oole of by the weather. The spray needs at
Centralia College. least 12 hours without rain to be effec-
The infestation of army worms was tive and aerial spraying had to be
discovered on Sunday by Stephen cant'elled due to periodic rains over
Township Tarnier Gerald McBride. the past three days.
Ile said there were a few worms spot- McBride isn't able to indicate what
ted in the field on Wednesday. but the damage has been caused to the field.
numbers were m serious proportions but there are several areas where the
by the weekend. army worm population is from nine
The worms have been doing con- to 12 in a square foot section.
siderable damage in the 28 -acre field, Hundreds of birds have been
there was every reason to suspect the
army worms will he in other fields in
the area.
There have been high populations
reported in Kent and Essex counties.
Because the army worms are
basically nocturnal feeders, O'Toole
suggests farmers inspect their fields
around dusk. The worms usually at-
tack cereal crops, but will move into
corn fields and cause problems in that
crop as well.
The worms eat the leaves and chew
through the stalks of wheat. They will
also eat at the heads, but that is not
their preference.
Once weakened, the stalks break off
and the wheat head is either totally
destroyed by drying up or is reduced
considerably in yield.
With a heavy cloud cover on Tues-
day, many worms could be seen on
the stalks of the McBride wheat field.
The area farmer has been keeping
a close eye on other nearby fields, but
no serious problem has been spotted
in them as yet.
He said the wheat field is so badly
infested that it is possible to hear the
worms chewing at night.
Ontario has not had a minister of
agriculture and food dedicated to the
,lob since Bill Stewart Ielt.
Until now, that is
Jack Riddell. a member of the
legislature for 12 years. has been the
Liberal agriculture critic for 10 years.
A farmer, he knows what is needed
out in the boondocks. Ile represents
Huron -Middlesex. an area sprinkled
with just about every type of farm
operation in the province from cash
crops through to hogs and beef.
In a recent interview with Farm
and Country magazine, Riddell said
his first priority as minister will be to
get low-interest financing for farmers
in trouble. His plan would give
farmers who qualified eight percent
interest rates on the first $200,000 of
existing debt.
The plan would be specifically aim-
ed at farmers in financial trouble, not
open to every farmer. The idea is
sound but who decides on who gets the
money" it's a little like deciding who
get thrown out of the overcrowded
lifeboat.
A problem'' Yes. but not insur-
mountable. He envisions a panel or a
commision made up of successful
farmers who would make those sticky
decisions about who would get help.
He feels the financial problems have
reached crisis proportions and
believes he can get the Liberal
Cabinet to agree to his proposals.
Riddell is a columnist, too. His col-
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umn, Jack's -Jottings, -are -carried in
a couple of newspapers in his riding.
1 have perused many of them and 1
would place Jack Riddell on the right
side of the Liberal pendulum, more
conservative than socialist.
However. he can exhibit socialist
tendencies to come up with a
pragmatic solution: "1f people want
to enjoy high-quality food at the
lowest prices in the world, then socie-
ty had better help with the input
costs."
He is also deeply concerned about
foreign ownership of land and
• absentee 'landlordism. Although
statistics indicate less than one per-
cent of Ontario's land is foreign own-
ed, Riddell knows that if that one per
cent is concentrated in one county. it
means trouble. Local businesses go
broke. Absent owners do not shiv a git
about soil erosion. They rent the land
and the renters squeeze every penny
they can from the land. They put
nothing back into it.
- Conservation measures do not
make immediate cash so the tilth is
lost. The land suffers. And we are all
well aware what happens to arable
soil 'when it is neglected. Southern
Ethiopia is a classic example.
Many promises were made during
the last election campaign. The
Liberal party -hada 22 -point program
for agriculture. That's a lot of pro-
mises. Some excellent men have been
in the agriculture portfolio since the
days of Bill Stewart but they either
did not have the Cabinet behind them
or were interested in other areas to
the detriment of farmers.
Liberal farm promises ran the
gamut from rural daycare centres to
protection from urban intrusion. If
Jack Riddell can implement -only half
of them, he will have done more for
agriculture than Dennis Timbrell
ever thought of doing.
I'm inclined to think Jack will dog-
gedly hahg in there until he gets his
own way. He has had the experience
in the last 12 years. Ile certainly has
the ability. And he has the knowledge
because he is a tanner, himself.
Foodland Hydro
opposes lines
The Ontario Foodland Hydro com-
mittee is continuing to make Ontario
Hydro aware of its opposition to a
transmission line corridor through
prime agriculture land in the counties
of Bruce. Huron and \liddlesex
Five representatives of the
foodland group met recently with On-
tario hydro chairman Tom Campbell
and a whole series of hydro stall
"It was a productive meeting... said
foodland committee member '('ony
McQuail of Lucknow
"We wanted to make sure the new
chairman is aware of the long history
and nature of our organization.- said
Mr. McQuail.
He was one of the original founders
of the group in 1981 when Ontario
Hydro was stating environmental
assessment hearings regarding six
proposed transinission 11114. routes
Currently the Inodland committee
has 1,0NI paid up members who are
organized on a township basis
The tentative timeline given by
•. hydro at the meeting calls for the on
vironmental assissment document to
be released on August I with 1h
notice of hearings to he announced at
die end of August Now , it is expected
the hearings will start in November
The foralla rid group is gearing tip
for the hearings by preparing data
11r. McQuail did cornntenl That On
tario Hydro is being co uixermile in
handing out its raw data
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WORMS INVADE — Exeter area farmer, Gerald McBride stands in
his wheat field showing a number of army worms he collected in a
relatively small area. It is the first infestation of the worms in this
area and hos prompted a suggestion that area farmers take a daily
survey of their fields. The worms prefer cereal grains, but will also
invade corn and other crops. They are nocturnal eaters and fields
are best checked at dusk
Conservation day
set for July 9
Tuesday, July 9 beginning at 9:30
a.m. the Huron Soil and Crop Im-
provement Association, Soil and
Water Conservation District will hold
its annual Conservation Day. Ray and
Mildred Hogan. along with many of
their neighbours, will host the event.
To find the Hogan farm take the
sideroad heading northeast off
Highway 21 at Kingsbridge (north of
Goderich i, turn right at the first
crossroads and drive until you see the
crowd i about 2 km ). Signs will be
posted.
The program includes wagon and
bus tours of local conservation efforts
including structural works, as well as
tillage and cropping programs. The
line-up of presentations for the after
noon includes four dynamic speakers.
Carl and Rosemary Eppley faun'
500 acres in a corn -soybean rotation
near Wabash, Indiana. They have
been using the ridge tillage system for
six years. This year they are trying
a small acreage of winter wheat in
their system.
Ben Edmunsden farms 2.000 acres
near Clayton. Indiana. ile is into his
second year using ridge tillage on a
corn -soybean rotation. I)r. Howard
Roster is a professor in the
Economics Department at Purdue
University in Indiana. Ile has exten-
sive experience with several tillage'
systems and has studied the
economics of each.
In addition to the program guests,
several farmers from Ontario, who
have used different conservation
practices will be on hand to act as
resource people. They will be more
than pleased to discuss their ex-
periences with anyone who asks! it
static display of farmer -owned equip-
ment will be on hand too.
Economics and benefits --Dollars
and Sense --will be emphasized during
the day. Registration is $4 and a light
lunch is available. Everyone is
welcome!
Watch for
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It's time
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•
BOB BOGDON, an FBDB representative
will be at the
DEVON BUILDING
in Exeter next Tuesday
Come and meet him. There is no obligation or
cost, and your business con gain a lot from it.
If you're looking for financial aid in
the form ofloans, loan guarantees or
even selling an equity position in
your business, come and discuss it
with us. We have experienced
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course for growth and success for
your business. And we can provide
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For an advance appointment, call:
(519) 271-5650 - Collect
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