Clinton News-Record, 1977-12-01, Page 16PAGE 16----CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1977
Corn board research okayed
Area corn growers agreed Thursday
night that the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture should continue research
that may lead to the formation of a corn
producers marketing board; but they
were adamant that such a board should
have no control over pricing, and that
membership in it should be voluntary.
The growers met in Clinton with John
Oke, a member of the OFA's grain
committee, to discuss a proposal which
will be tabled at the OFA's annual
meeting in Toronto this week.
Mr. Oke assured the 40 corn growers
present that the `OFA proposes only a
negotiating board withwhat it terms
"low level functions" rather than an
agency type board with buying, selling
and pricing powers. Since some 40
percent of the corn grown in the province
is used for feed, an agency board would
not work for corn, the OFA proposal
stresses.
Seven points are outlined in the
proposal, which Mr. Oke offered to the
corn growers for comment.
The proposed board's first function
would be to act as a spokesman for co-
rn growers, informing the public and
producers of developments- in corn
production. "Corn growers today really
have no one to represent them" Mr. Oke
said. There are currently 11 men on the
governments grain council, but only
three of them are' farmers, he noted.
United through a board, corn growers
could lobby for terminal storage needs,
transportation subsidies, tariff and
trade equity, and research into cheaper
drying methods, the OFA feels.
The boards second function would be
to negotiate and administer advance
payments. Producer organizations
handle advance payments for other
crops, and the OFA says corn growers
could become ineligible for such
payments without a board to negotiate
and administer the plan.
The proposed board would also be
changed with the responsibility of
negotiating stabilization payments for
corn. At present "we're left at the mercy
of the government to stabilize as they
see fit, 'with no input from producers
whatsoever" Mr. Oke said.
Handling and drying charges, which
Mr. Oke termed a "hot subject" among
corn growers, would also be negotiated
by the board, Main area.of contention for
corn growers is moisture content.
Currently, there are "no regulations on
moisture content testing", Mr. Oke said,
and some elevators have been using
moisture charts from the U.S. which are
not appropriate for Ontario corn. It is
also felt by some that drying and han-
dling charges are excessive, and the
OFA proposes negotiating a maximum
charge each year as protection for
growers.
A fifth function of the board would be
to negotiate payments for premium
grades of corn. "Corn with as much as 40
or 50 percent moisture is going into some
elevators" Mr. Oke said, "but those who
bring in low moisture corn get no bonus
on it". Extra money for premium grades
often goes to the elevator rather than the
producer, the O1 -'A maintained.
The OFA also sees a corn marketing
board supplying trade information
which ;would aid producers in selling
their crop at the best time,'and working
to promote export opportunities.
Discussion at the meeting often dealt
with specific points of interest to in-
dividual farmers, but Huron F of A
president Alan Walper stressed that the
growers were being asked only if they
were in favour of some kind of group to
act as spokesman, and that details would
be worked out at future meetings,
Mr. Oke said before the board could -be
formed, a proposal would have to be put
before the federal Farm Products
Marketing Board and a plebiscite held.
The signatures of 2,200 corn producers
would be needed before the Board would
allow a plebiscite on the matter, Mr. Oke
said, a process which could take two
years.
Huron F of A vice-president Merle
Gunby, responding to the obvious
reluctance of some of those present to
commit themselvesto endorsing the
OFA proposal, said "farmers would be
silly not to look into it a little further. It
can't do us anything but good." He
pointed out that there would be time in
the future to decide if producers really
want a corn board and to work out
details of the powers it would have.
A show of hands indicated that the'
majority of the growers on hand agreed
with Mr. Gunby, and the OFA was given
the Huron F of A's approval to continue
studying the matter.
Local
graduate
Shirley Joyce Norman
daughter of Mr. and Mrs
Wm. Norman of RR3 Clintor.
graduated October 39 from
Wilfrid Laurier University.
Ms. Norman received her
bachelor of arts degree
majoring in sociology. She is
employed with the Waterloo
County Board of Education.
Silo heating widespreadthis year
Heating problems in silos
are more widespread this
year because of the late corn
harvest, says Dr., R.
McLaughlin, crop scler4ist at
the Ontario Agricultural
College, Guelph.
Corn silage is nor ally
harveted"sat between and
65 percent moisture, says Dr.
McLaughlin, but belcause
fields were so wet this year, a
considerable part of th0 corn
crop was harvested at too -dry
a stage (about 50 petcent)
and it is beginning to heat.
Heating is due to the con-
tinued presence of air In the
silage mass. To effectively
reduce heating, the silo must
be resealed.
Farmers who notice a
reduction in feed con-
sumption by livestock or who
suspect improper sealing
should act now to prevent
further heat damage and
potential silo fires.
"If an adequate job was
done the first time leave the
silo alone. Tampering may
break the seal that is already
there."
To reseal a horizontal silo,
uncover and completely
news fa r m news .1
repack the material. Because
the material may be greasier
now, particles may adhere to
one another better.
('There should be less
springback after packing
and, hopefully, good com-
paction will result. After
packing, completely cover
the silage surface with
plastic, weighting it down
thoroughly to prevent air
from getting underneath. Be
sure all of the silage surface
is covered."
Resealing a vertical silo is
tricky and requires extreme
caution, says Dr.
McLaughlin. If the silo has
been filled within the last
three weeks, silo gases may
be present in the silo, chutes,
and buildings located at the
silo base.
Producers should aerate
the silo thoroughly by running
the blower for 20 minutes or
more before entering.
If the silage has been
heating for some time, there
will be little if any oxygen, so
aeration is also necessary.
When entering the silo, it is
important to have a lifeline
attached and a buddy ready
to pull you out in case of
emergency.
Silos heating for two or
three months may have a
burned -out cavity in the
Lake pollution and erosion problems concern Huron County farmers
By Henry Hess
Farmers in Huron County
are vitally concerned , with
problems of pollution and
erosion and want to see them
brought under control. They
are equally concerned,
however, that the proposed
solutions not %make the
business of agriculture any
less viable.
These interlocking
positions form the core of the
Huron Federation of
Agriculture's (HFA) brief to
PLUARG (Pollution from
Land Use Activities
Reference Group), a group
studying - problems of
pollution in the Great Lakes
basin.
'PLUARG, a subgroup of
the International Joint
Commission
(IJC)
established by the United
States sand Canada to
legislate pollution controls in
the basin, was set up in 1972 to
make recommendations to
the IJC. It will be disbanded
next year after presenting its
findings to the commission,
which will then pass new
legislation controlling lake
pollution. Farming is being
blamed for sediment and
phosphorous reaching the
lakes.
Farmers are eager to find
ways to lessen pollution from
their operations, the brief
says. •It notes they derive
their livelihood directly from
the enrivonment and con-
sequently have a "very
special interest" in any
pollution in the region.
"As agriculturalists we are
vitally interested in
preventing the loss of. prime
agricultural land for any
reason," it adds urging im-
mediate research into
feasible ways to minimize soil
erosion and pollution of
foodlands.
The brief warns against
proposed solutions that might
add greatly to a farmer's
. production costs. "Farmers
seem to find themselves in a
perennial cost -price
squeeze," it notes. Con-
sequently the public sector
must be prepared to shoulder
at least part of the cost of any
proposals requiring major
cost of production. increases
or large capital expenditures,
"If our capacity to produce
food in Canada is crippled,
whether from pollution,
erosion or unreasonably
restrictive regulations aimed
at curbing these, we will soon
find ourselves at the mercy of
foreign food sellers," it
cautions, noting 40 percent of
the gross national produce is
,related to agriculture.
Neither do farmers want to
be saddled with all the blame
for problems that are shared
,with others. "Pollution from
non-farm sources must be
given equal attention," the
brief urges.
Industrial fallout includes
such toxic substances as
PCBs, sulphur dioxides and
ozone which eventually. find
their way into the food chain,
it notes, and points but that
the new Ontario Hydro plant
at Nanticoke, one of the
world's largest power
stations, •has no
desulphurizing equipment.
It also points out
agriculture is not the only
human activity causing
erosion. Other causes include
road construction, cottage
and subdivision development,
gravel pits, mining, forestry
operations and intensive
recreation. Road salt, it adds,
is becoming a major con-
taminant in this region.
The federation makes a
number of suggestions on
steps to be taken to reduce
erosion and pollution. These
include: making one ministry
or department responsible for
looking after soil erosion
problems; introducing
courses in soil erosion and
conservation into universities
and colleges; conducting
research into reclaiming and
purifying sewage for use as
fertilizer; developing new
crops and cropping practices
suitable for Ontario growing
conditions; and retaining
forest cover and swamplands
through a program of in-
centives or prohibitions.
'It urges"new• ideas be in-
troduced with a minimum of
regulations and maximum
use of education and ex-
tension programs.
At a meeting in Brucefield
early in November Dick
Franks, a researcher with the
Ontario ministry of
agriculture and food at the
University of Guelph,
recommended the federation
look into the proposed IJC
agreement.
"Some people may try to
push things into it that may
be difficult for you to live
with," he warned.
PLUARG will be
presenting its final report to
the IJC about mid-July next
year anie suggested the
federatiQr be represented
there.
The group that Franks
addressed included, Norman
Alexander of Londesboro,
James McIntas"h of
Tuckersmith Township and
Goderich Councillor Don
Wheeler, all three of whom
are sitting on panels set up by
PLUARG to allow nublic
input. The panels have been
meeting in various centres
throughout the Ontario
portion of the Great Lakes
basin to hear briefs and
conduct dicussions.
Also present were Mr. and
Mrs. Merle Gungy, Mr. and
Mrs. George Underwood and
Bev Brown of the HFA and
Ron Fleming, an agricultural
engineer with the ministry of
agriculture and food:
Franks described the
research being done into
pollution in the Great. Lakes
and the purposes of the panels
and commissions.
Pollution and sedimen-
tation in the Great Lakes is
pretty well documented, he
said. Ships have collected
samples in a grid pattern
across the lakes and the in-
formation is all available.
PLUARG's purpose now is to
come up with a "balance
sheet" showing where
everything is coming from.
He added that in his opinion
the public meetings are
premature since: "We don't
have everything nailed down
yet and won't until next year;
maybe not even then." It is
difficult to hammer out ways
to curb pollution until one
knows just where it is coming
from and in what quantities,
he explained.
He said the pollution
problem in the Great Lakes is
not so bad as in the
Mediterranean, which has no
flow into the major oceans.
The flow from the lakes does
eventually reach the Atlantic
but water that starts out at
Thunder Bay may take 100
years to reach Halifax, he
said; it picks up a lot of
ppllutants along the way.
Sedimentation and
phosphorus pollution are two
of the problems being looked
at, that relate closely, to
agriculture.
Sampling is going on in
every stream delivering
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more than 0.5 percent of the
total volume of water from
the Canadian side --a total of
150-200 streams, Franks said,
and though details on
sediment in the Grand and
Maitland rivers are not yet
available they will be shortly.
Although PLUARG is only
interested in soil entering the
lakes, sedimentation there is
just the tip of the iceberg, he
noted. The soil in the streams
represents 10 percent or less
of the soil moving around on
the farms, he claimed. Soil is
coining off the high ground
and being deposited in the
valleys with the consequence
that arable land is being, lost.
The major issue, he em-
phasized, is trying to keep the
soil in the fields to maintain
production for coming
generations; sediment in the
lakes is a minor issue by
comparison.
Phosphorus pollution is
related to erosion since clays,
the finest particles `which are
the first to erode, are also the
richest in phosphorus, This
selective erosion results in
river sediment that is far
richer in phosphorus than the
fields were, he said.
It's not clear that
phosphorus is actually
causing the problems in the
lakes, he added, though it is
'adding to problems already
there. Lake Erie, for in-
stance, is. a rich lake; it just
needed phosphorus to really
"to to town". It now produces
more fish than ever but they
are "coarse" fish rather than.
the lake trout people are
looking tor.
Although the coarse fish
are actually higher in protein
than the "better quality" fish,
people want the lake to revert
to its previous condition.
"Their objective is to turn
the clock back to the 1930s
and I don't think we can
practically accomplish it,"
Franks saki,
He said the majority of the
phosphorus entering the lakes
is considered to be coming
from 'agricultural activities,
mostly from manure,' with
some coming from fertilizers.
This' is one area that will
undoubtedly come under IJC
scrutiny in framing new
regulations and farmers
Soil course popular
The first home study course
developed for farmers by the
Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food at the
University of Guelph is very
popular.
Professor Gary Hutchison,
of the Office of Continuing
Education, says that during
the past 12 years more than
1,300 farmers have taken the
course called Principles and
Practices of Soil Science.
"Most farmers know how
to grow a crop, but they admit
they do not always know 'why
things happen as they do."
Th course is designed to
provide the student with a
layman's understanding of
the hidden physical and
chemical changes taking
place in soils.
Revised this year by
Professor Jim Smith of the
Department of Land
Resource Science, the course
includes discussion of how
soils develop and their dif-
ferences for, farming pur-
poses.
Soil -water relationships ,
make up a significant part of
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the, course since the larmer
has some control over
drainage and the water -
holding capacity of soils.
"An understanding of how
water moves in the various
soil types and structures is
essential for good crop
management."
Discussion of commercial
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the break -down of soil and
rock particles is also included
in the course.
"Because of the thorough
discussion of fertilization,
liming and manures, the
course is a down-to-earth
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Hutchison.
For more information
write: Independent Study,
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2W1. Cost of the course is $60
for Ontario residents and $75
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should be
charges
noted:
looking into the
against them, he
silage that may sink or cave-
in, says Dr. McLaughlin.
Lifelines and buddy systems
are musts. ,
To reseal the upright silo
either retramp it, wet it down
and tramp it, or blow freshly
cut green chop on top for
added weight and pack. It is
important that a plastic seal
weighted with boards or tires
be used.
If the silo is leaking air at
the doors or through cracks in
the walls, then resealing the
top will have only limited
success. Little can be done
without an extensive patch
job.
Smile
Etc.: a sign used to make
others believe you know more
than you do.
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