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Times Advocate, 1992-11-04, Page 15ARM UPDATE Tlmes-Advooate, November 4, 1992. ureter discusses ideas By Jayden Russell EXETER - On Monday, October 26, the fourth meeting of Exeter II "Eggs"tra Special Chicks was field again in Melinda Nethercou's nest. Members first discussed ideas for Achievement Day. Melinda demon- strated cutting up whole chicken and two ways of deboning chicken breasts. They talked about cholesterol with suggestions for healthier eat- ing and nutrition in both chicken and eggs. Did you know that only 20 percent of our blood cholesterol comes from -the food we eat? And that the other 80 percent is pro- duced -by our own body? In the kitchen, one group made "Chili Ch«hen" with ground chick- en. The second group made "Parmesan Chicken Fingers" (using our freshly deboned chicken breasts) with "Sweet and Sour Dip- pinig :Sauce." While the chili sim- mored and chicken fingers baked, members played a "Food Word Scramble" game, the "Egg Safe Storage" game and rated three me- nus according to their nutrition. Most were disappointed their fa- vourite double bacon cheeseburger, fries and milkshake rated on the bottom of the list! Then the third group made "Chicken, Almond, Apple Stir -fry" from the other deboned chicken breasts. They got to eat our "finger- lickin' good chicken dishes before adjourning. Watch for two more meetings of "eggs"traordinary reci- pes. Brinsley Chicks test eggs BRINSLEY - On October 20 the third meeting of the Brinsley Chicks started at 7:00 p.m. The club headed to Barb Ross's chicken farm. Some of the information learned there was that they have 4,416 chickens. It would take approxi- mately one hour to three hours to gather the eggs. Some of their feeding methods were automatic watering and triple "A" feed that runs on chains. After that, the leaders brought out eggs, and the group tried to decide which egg was fresh and which egg was old by cracking them. They learned not to judge an egg by its colour but discovered that some eggs have darker and lighter yolks. The darker yolk was caused by more corn in the chicken's diet. The club enjoyed some delicious chicken noodle soup made by Amy Trevithick, Susan George, Carol Amos and Kristen Thompson. Julie Jones, Samantha Comelissen, and Amy Moir decided what they would cook for next week. All agreed that it was very tasty! The meeting was ad- journed at 9:00. Granton Egg -cozies GRANTON - The second meeting of the Granton 4-11 club #1 was held at the home of leader Margaret Bryan on Thursday evening. After opening with the 4H pledge, the group went to the kitchen to watch :Angela McIlhatgey prepare a chialasaiounasting and then helped to make the dressing. While the food was cookie. they answered the roll call and decided that the club name would be Egg - Cozies. Later they retuned to the kitchen and made crepes. By this time the chicken was cooked and everybody enjoyed eat- ing the food they had prepared, along with a drink provided by Mel- anie Beatson. :jilibLzkepting was cigged with the 4ettd 17ttoore and -- Melanie did the cleanup duties. Next meeting is to be held at the Beatson home November 15. k -Conservation offers several options One Foot in the Furrow Bob Trotter First, a bit of explanation: the Ontario Farm Animal Council was famed by farmers to fight the ag- gressive animal rights ideas and organizatiens that are twingingup like mushrooms in both Canada and the United States. Some of these organizations are absolutely necessary in this aocie- ty. Others are just too zealous in thea pursuit of animal equality. One or two have been violent in their so-called equality -for - animals fights. They have abused the law and, in one case in the U.S.A.. suspected of murder. Last spring the Ontario Farm Animal Council -set up what they called a hotline where confidential calls about animal abuse would be taken and investigated. At the time, I felt it was a dupli- cation simply because humane so- cieties are set up to do just that. Animal rights and animal welfare activists, OFAC• felt. would find cases of abuse and run like a mice horse to the press with thea sto- ries. The OFAC hotline would in- tercept this process by dealing with abuse swiftly and quietly sim- ply because city people are abys- mally ignorant about farming. Farmers should be worried, OFAC feels, about city people and animal rights activists getting to the gov- ernment with unnecessary *Liala- -tion, laws that could put some farmers out of business. Well, it has happened in Europe. It has happened to seal huatera and fur trappers. New rales and regula- tions in some European countries such es Sweden have made farm- ing a most precarious occupation. Another reason I felt that OFAC may have been hasty about its hot- line was because I felt that perhaps farmers should not be the only people to decide what is abusive and what is not. in effect, OFAC members could cover up for farm- ers. especially in cases whkh should have been examined by alhe Ontario Humane Society. I know some of the members of the Ontario Farm Animal Council. And I know Leslie Ballantyne, man- ager of OFAC. They are wonderful people. fair-minded and anxious .to prove that the vast majority of farmers in this province are deter- mined to keep their animals happy and contented because happy, con- tenied animals are better producers. 1 also know, though, that publicity can do wonders to get some fringe farmers or even some part-time farmers who may not know any bet- ter, to change thea practices. Some cases of animal abuse that have re- ceived publicity have made me weep when the stories and pictures appeared in print. 1 have learned, though, that calls to the hotline have usually involved the humane society anyway because they are called in to help OFAC of- ficials investigate: It's the same old story: Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. OFAC is making sure that complaints are looked after not only by them but by officials who have some clout if charges are necesary. So. my fears have been allayed. I have supported the Ontario Farm Animal Council since its inception because I punk farmers are more in- terested in the welfare of thea ani- mals than anyone else. 1 know bow fanatical some aminal rights acti- vity can be. Some of them will not rest tmtil all animals are treated like human beings with the same rights and privileges. Everyone will have to be a vegetarian. I was a Ude apprehensive about their hotline. I might have known that Leslie Ballantyne, Jim John- stone, Jim Magee, Ron Douglas and all the other people who have been active with OFAC would be doing the right thing. 1 have heard that the hotline is up for review next month. 1 hope the service is continued. EXETER - With the harvest coming to an end, it is time for another autumn activity: plowing fields in preparation for spring planting. Of the many factors that can hinder successful cropping, erosion as one of the most serious because it affects more than one sea- sons yields continual loss of topsoil by erosion has potential to reduce soil fertility and crop yields tr after year. But it's not a losing battle: soil censer - ion offers several ways to combat erosion, even wnen using the moldboard plow. Robes Traut, Extension Services Advisor - Soil with the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority, suggest five options for farmers who are anxious to fmish up their field -work this fall. "These methods of conserva- tion tillage are a good place to start to control erosion in critical areas," he says. (1) Establish crop cover over low areas and, during plowing, lift the plow and leave the crop residue to slow water movement and prevent further erosion. 'Lift -plow waterways' can be created with the stubble of different crops; some offer more residue, soil stabil- ity and resistance to erosion than others. Spring grain and wheat stubble, for example, are most effective, fol- lowed by corn stalks and soybeans or white beans. (2) "If there isn't much residue in the field, not plow- ing is another option", says Traut. "It's easy to prepare the seedbed in spring with conventional tillage equip- ment like a disc or cultivator. Leave the field over win- ter; then, in spring, cultivate twice to make the seed- bed." (3) Spring plowing can be a wiser alternative to fall plowing under extremely wet conditions, he adds. "It's difficult to make a good seedbed in spring after work- ing wet soil in the fall, when problems with smearing and soil compaction occur. Be selective: if certain are- as of the field drain poorly, it might be better to plow only the well -drained areas this fall and leave the poor- ly -drained areas until spring." Clay loam soils can be especially troublesome but there are two ways to approach the task of plowing next spring: Either try to plow early in sluing when the snow has melted but the soil is still frozen, or tack- le all your fieldwork duties as quickly as possible, and plow, cultivate and plant within a short time. (4) Inspect your plow settings carefully and adjust them to achieve a depth of no more than 6" and a fur- row slice of 16-18" at the most. Both of these steps combine to turn furrows on edge and create narrow channels which allow water to drain more quickly into the subsoil, while retaining beneficial residue near the surface. (5) Alter your direction of plowing on sloped areas. Prevent water from running downhill by plowing across the slope. This way, each channel acts as a bar- rier for water flowing from the upper areas and helps it to drain into the subsoil. It may be necessary to plow a large, sloping field as if it were several smaller ones. "After the drought in 1988, people thought it wouldn't rain again. This year -has proven that it can rain - and it can rain alot. As a result, there are a lot of erosion problems," says Robert Traut. "The time to start practicing erosion control is in the fall when you start to prepare a seedbed for next spring." Pape 15 the beautiful tuelof - Lir &W DID YOU KNOW n " A .single molecule of methane that Teaks into the atmosphere can pro- duce as much as 30 and perhaps 70 times the greenhouse heating as a molecule of carbon diox- ide from heating oil. Methane is the primary component of natural gas." 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