May 2002
Try a shelterbelt to cut down on odours
Planting trees around pig barns can reduce smells, is more pleasing on the eye and can play a part in good neighbour strategyby DON STONEMAN
Can trees around your pig barn make the neighbours happier? The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) thinks so.Eric Aubin, a CPC hog production analyst, says there are proven benefits to shelterbelts on pork farms, including the reduction of odours. "It takes a while, (when) the trees are growing, but there is a proven dispersion factor," Aubin says. Adds Crystal MacKay, a communications specialist for Ontario Pork, planting trees around pig barns is "part of a good neighbour strategy."
There is already a shelterbelt program on the Prairies. The CPC is working on a shelterbelt program for pig farms that might be funded through the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation program. Development of this program is still in the early stages, says Aubin, and provincial governments are looking at their resources, in terms of tree nurseries.
If you can finance the construction of a $1 million pig barn, says MacKay, you can budget $10,000 for landscaping around it. Barns that are "a little more eye-pleasing" are less likely to draw attention than a structure that sits in the middle of a field. "They see with their eyes and they smell with their eyes," MacKay says. Sometimes new barns draw odour complaints even before the pigs are put into them.
By contrast, there are large barns hidden by trees that never get odour complaints.
We need to make the farm blend into the countryside in various ways so that it doesn't look so stark out there, says Sam Bradshaw, environmental officer with Ontario Pork.
Two years ago Martin and Stephanie Van Den Eynden won $1,000 worth of trees from Ontario Pork in a draw at the Ontario Pork Congress. Last fall, they finally took delivery of the trees and planted them on the farm near Strathroy they were taking over from Martin's parents, Harry and Willy, who recently retired after 35 years raising pork in Ontario.
The younger Van Den Eyndens have converted a 25-year-old farrow-to-finish barn to farrow-to-weaner, expanding breeding female numbers to 300 from 125. The weaners are shipped to Jamie and Sue Looman's farm eight km away, where they are finished in a new 1,200-head barn.
It's an arrangement that particularly plays to the Van Den Eyndens' strengths. They like working with sows and young pigs. "I'm not a finishing man," Martin says. "I hate moving finishing pigs," he says.
Last year, with the plans complete to take over the family farm, they took delivery and planted 115 trees -- sugar maples, Norway maples, green ash, mountain ash, Colorado spruce and blue spruce.
They've upgraded the breeding stock with F1 gilts from Great Lakes Hybrids, not a repopulation but a "replenishing." As of late March, there were 270 second litter females in the barn.
Van Den Eynden describes the operation as "self-reliant." The youngsters, Quintin, 11 and Ashley, 10, work in the barn as well and there is no need for hired help.
Finished pigs are shipped on contract to Maple Leaf in Burlington. The gilts weaned 9.2 pigs with a conception rate of 88 per cent. The F1s are bred 95 per cent to AI and are bred to two Duroc boars. BF
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China offers a niche market for Ontario flax
With European production down and Canada's advantages in genetics breeding and mechanization, Ontario farmers have a chance to revive their once-active flax productionby KEN BENNETT
A March report in Resource magazine says that Canadian and U.S. manufacturers of organic fibre products such as linens and personal care products increased sales by 39 per cent. The finding was from a 2001 Manufacturers' Market Survey by the U.S.-based Organic Trade Association. It projects a further 44 per cent growth in all organic fibre products through to 2005.Production of flax fibre for linen is increasing worldwide according to Gordon Scheifele. As Northwestern Ontario Research Co-ordinator for OMAFRA in Thunder Bay, Scheifele co-authored a report in December that suggests there is a potential niche market for some Ontario farmers. Flax has been grown in Ontario very successfully in the past with linen mills dotting the province, only to disappear when local markets dried up. He hopes some of that farming tradition can be revived.
Last year, 14 flax varieties from Europe were tested at eight Ontario locations. This year, the best will be evaluated further while the two favourites will be replicated over several 10-acre sites. Mike Snobelen Farms Ltd. in Ripley will be one location used, continuing on from their strip trials performed last year. Snobelen Farms was approved for funding last year by the Agricultural Adaptation Council for $24,500. When varietal trials are evaluated after 2003, Snobelen will consider partnerships to establish processing mills. "If things start looking feasible, we'll build a plant in Ontario," says Troy Snobelen. The long term goal of the project is to establish a 30,000-hectare flax industry supported by certified seed production and 15 processing mills in Ontario by 2008.
"There is a market in China right now," says Scheifele. "The Chinese are desperately looking for 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of scutched, long line fibre a year." Having returned from China last September, he assessed the northeastern area where 80 per cent of the flax is grown. "I was actually shocked," he says. "I was anticipating a much higher level of skill and production in the field than they had." Instead of the seven tonnes per hectare of straw that he feels should be the expected yield, the Chinese are in fact producing between two and three. "They have the climate but not the technology," he says.
Besides production mechanization, Scheifele points to the Canadian genetics breeding programs as the advantage for flax production here. "We just take for granted what we have in Canada," he says. "They don't have the infrastructure to get the research from the lab to the field. And if they do get it to the field, they don't have the infrastructure to keep the seed of the varieties pure. As soon as a new variety gets out, they get it to the growers. Everybody keeps their own seed and within a couple of years it's all contaminated and they're back to where they started."
Significant flax production is already coming out of Europe, but Scheifele points to a near crop failure last year that threatens the fibre processing industry there. A shortage of seeds will only permit a modest acreage this season. "They've been dependent upon a very restricted, narrow area of production for this crop and a huge industry counts on it," says Scheifele. "If weather conditions as in the past year in Europe destroyed their crop, at least there is another area in the world where there is a crop. When we can produce the product meeting the quality standards they need, the Europeans may not consider Ontario as a competitor but as a partner, insuring some risk management." BF
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Fibrex plant in Valleyfield needs alternative financing
by KEN BENNETT
For Ontario to create a new flax market, it will need to develop a viable processing infrastructure. How easy could that be? Just ask Al McCulloch, vice-president of Fibrex Canada/Fibrex Québec. But you will have to call him in Vancouver, because the doors are closed at their facility in Valleyfield, Que., about midway between Cornwall and Montreal."We've been effectively shut down since last June, having run out of raw material," says McCulloch. Beginning in 1999, there were high expectations for the Valleyfield plant, but its 1,200-hectare capacity was not sustained. Describing Fibrex as "a pioneer entrepreneur," he insists it has purchase orders representing 2,000 hectares of long flax for exportation. "We had some good momentum and we thought we could move to the next stage," says McCulloch, who complains there is little political will to support their venture.
Recently denied an $800,000 secured mortgage by Farm Credit Canada, a prime lender for Agri-business in Canada, he credits private investors for keeping them in operation this far. "It's a viable crop," he says. "The private sector can't do it all. There's got to be some alternative financing."
An account representative at FCC in Valleyfield said the lender would have no comment about their "long history with this case." BF
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Does it always pay to grow Bt corn?
Even a gain of two or three bushels an acre will pay for the extra cost of Bt genetics, says one researcher, terming it an "insurance policy against Mother Nature"by KEN BENNETT
Now that farmers have recent assurances from researchers at the University of Guelph that Monarch butterflies are not threatened by Bt corn, they can spend a little more time thinking about whether it consistently pays for itself."On average, it clearly does, with a six-year advantage of 8.7 bushels," per year, says Cathy Soanes, who has just completed an Ontario-wide study that looked at European Corn Borer (ECB) damage over six years on 506 strip plot locations in Canada. Soanes, who leads research on behalf of Syngenta, has involved dealers of NK brand seeds in helping determine if Bt hybrids consistently outperform their non-Bt counterparts of the same variety.
But is 8.7 bushels per acre on average enough to pay for the extra cost of the seed? Soanes suggests a gain of between two and three bushels per acre at $3.50 per bushel is enough to pay for the $7-10 extra cost per acre of a variety with the added Bt genetics.
"It's like taking an insurance policy against Mother Nature," she says, "Infestation levels are so directly dependent on weather patterns. You can have very few moths in the area, but if the weather pattern is perfect for egg laying and hatch, you can end up with a huge amount of corn borer at the end. So Bt protects you from what you can't predict."
Dwayne Jeffrey, assistant manager at W. G. Thompson in Ailsa Craig, agrees that it now makes sense for producers to view Bt varieties as at least making up for loss in bad years with no yield drag in good ones "In the early years of Bt," he says, "there was some yield reduction, therefore it didn't offset the benefit. But now those genetics in varieties have improved quite a bit and you haven't got that yield loss, so people are using it basically as insurance." He quotes a difference in cost for Bt at $10 per acre.
Some say the threshold of benefit for using Bt is based on the amount of infestation, such as 30 out of 100 stalks presenting corn borer. "That doesn't tell you enough of a story," Soanes objects. "It's not whether or not it has corn borer, it's the amount of damage that the corn borer is doing in that plant."
In randomly selected fields chosen before ECB presented itself, her scouts take 10 random plants and perform a "crop destruct." "We split it right down the middle, from the tassle to the roots," she says. "The amount of tunnelling directly correlates to yield loss."
Measured by length in centimetres, tunnelling is ranked as severe (over 14.0 cm), moderate (4.1 to 4.0 cm), low (0.51 to 4.0 cm) or very low (0 to 0.5 cm). "You need to do the crop destruct to really assess the level of severity," Soanes emphasizes. "Every plant could have one centimetre and we would call that low because the impact on yield would be low, but it would be 100 per cent infestation. ECB tunnels into the stalks and it cuts off the veins that run up and down throughout the plant. Those veins translocate the sugars/carbohydrates that are being produced in the leaves and move them into the ears. So that's your yield."
Soanes says the percentage infestation is still a good early warning gauge for stalk rot that will impact standability. That is what Brian Doidge, a professor at Ridgetown College, refers to as the hidden benefit to using Bt. "You get a whole lot less mould contamination in a Bt corn normally than you do in a regular corn," says Doidge. "If you're going to leave the corn out, or it's a miserable fall or you can't get at it, you're not dropping cobs and it stands better in tougher conditions because it's a healthier stalk."
Meanwhile, in 2001, Pioneer Hi-Bred published a three-year study of 70 location that says, "stalk tunnelling is the best single indicator of yield loss potential," corresponding with Soane's hypothesis. While recording the total length of tunnels as well, Pioneer preferred using the number of borers per plant to suggest its YieldGard Bt gene "gave a yield advantage of 8.7 per cent for every corn borer cavity" compared with similar genetic varieties without it.
"Even at a very low infestation level, such as 0.5 borers/plant, these hybrids provide a positive economic return," the report concluded. BF
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Extending tractor rims on the farm
Making his own rims yielded some handsome cost savings for this John Deere ownerby KEITH BERGLIND
When Brian Yokomis planted his 2001 crop with the 1994 John Deere 8970 he purchased the previous winter, he didn't expect to see the wheel tracks that were left in the fields. Figuring there was just too much weight for the narrow tires, he soon decided that wider tires were needed. His first choice was a set of eight new Trelleborg tires, but the dry crops in his area just didn't justify that expense.Eventually he located a full set of 710-70 x R38 tires, new take-offs from another farmer's new tractor deal. Brian then traded his full set of 20.8 x R42 tires and rims for the new tires, without rims.
That was the easy part. Now he finds that wide rims (five inches wider) were hard to find. New, they run up to $1,800 for the outer rims and $1,400 for the inners. So it was back to the phone, this time searching for rims. First, he paid a dealer $225 for four new 18" take-off rims (55-series) from a previous deal. Then a salvage dealer offered him four new outer 18" rims for $100, again these being take-offs from a dealer.
But these had to be widened five-inches to 23" and the local wheel and welding shops charge around $400 just to widen a customer's rim. Brian had eight to do, so it was obviously time to set up his own production line. He finally found a small machine shop that produced the five-inch-wide, 1/4-inch thick weld-in spacers, sheared and rolled, for $37 each.
Next, he had to make a few tools for the job. Four trailer spindles and some iron made up the adjustable-width roller device for turning the wheels while they are first cut, then welded. A few pieces of scrap made up the welding soapstone holder for marking the cutting line.
Brian built a set of horseshoe-shaped flat iron jigs that slide over the spacer. With the help of a C-clamp the spacer and the rim are locked in line and tack-welded at several points. Then the rim goes back onto the widened roller jig, and the inside seams are MIG-welded. "For extra strength and neatness, I weld the outer side of the seams, though I see that some welding shops only weld on one side. Also, I bevelled all the edges, and many shops do not. This is one weld I don't want to fail. It doesn't take much to grind all the welds, so I finished all the seams with a hand grinder."
Brian wanted to do a perfect paint job, without the tracks that would be made by the four-roller device, so he found a set of tube canvas rollers from an old swather. This lets the rim turn on its outer rim edge only, for a full paint job with John Deere yellow.
It's not hard to calculate his final savings, which made for a profitable winter works project. BF
Keith Berglind is a licensed heavy-duty mechanic.
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How to avoid spraying problems caused by the plumbing system
Paying attention to your pump size, pressure-regulating valve, hydraulic agitation system and bleed line can pay off in trouble-free sprayingby RALPH WINFIELD
The common boom-type field sprayer has a relatively simple hydraulic system. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how often I have been asked about spraying problems that are clearly the result of shortcomings or oversights in the plumbing system. And, no, they are not limited to the farm-built spraying units.As with any hydraulic system, the pump is the heart of the system. It must be sized and selected for the application. About 20 years ago, diaphragm pumps were promoted as being necessary for all field sprayers. In recent years, we are seeing a trend back to simpler and cheaper centrifugal pumps for many low-pressure sprayers.
My reference point for high- versus low-pressure sprayers is 100 lb/in2 (psi). Vegetable growers often need high-pressure sprayers. Most of us do not need the high pressure for conventional field sprayers, even if we choose to go to the new air induction (AI) nozzles. Some, but not all, require pressures up into the 60-80 psi range.
A number of sprayer owners who have units with centrifugal pumps tell me they cannot get boom pressures up into the 60-80 psi range. If you are among them, have someone go over your sprayer with you, if necessary. Centrifugal pumps will produce 60-80 psi if the plumbing is correct.
Pump sizing. Very few pumps are undersized. But if you suspect yours is, or you are building a sprayer or replacing a pump, here are some guidelines. The pump must produce full flow for the boom, sufficient flow for hydraulic agitation and have some reserve (bypass) capacity to allow for pump wear, etc.
Say you have a 500-gallon tank, a 50-foot boom with 30 nozzles and you have one or more jet-type hydraulic agitators. If you assume that you are never going to exceed a 05 nozzle size (brown), then pump capacity can be determined as follows:
1. Boom flow 30 x 0.50 = 15 US gpm 2. Hydraulic agitation 3% x 500 = 15 US gpm 3. Reserve capacity - add 20% = 6 US gpm Total pump capacity 36 US gpm
The pump must be operated at rated speed, i.e. 540 rpm to obtain rated output and pressure.Plumbing problems. Do check the plumbing between the tank and the pump. The pump must get full flow. Restrictions caused by undersized or kinked hoses, an undersized filter unit or a globe-type shutoff valve are all deadly sins.
Some pump manufacturers and suppliers suggest eliminating the filter between the tank and the pump. I disagree. That large intake filter can eliminate serious pump damage if stones, undissolved chemical packaging or other debris gets into the tank. A shutoff valve between the tank and the intake filter is essential. It should be a ball type (1/4 turn) valve.
The next item that should be checked is the pressure-regulating valve. Some older units with metal parts corroded very badly. In some cases, the seating plunger may be partially gone. This will allow excess bypass flow back to tank, resulting in lack of flow and pressure to the boom (nozzles). Take the valve apart and inspect it or check the bypass flow into the tank. This should be done with water only when the pump is up to speed. Observe the flow when the boom is turned on and off.
Some older sprayers with centrifugal pumps had only a gate valve on the pump output hose to regulate pump flow and delivery pressure. This throttling concept worked well, but maintaining constant pump speed was critical. I speak from experience, having operated one for many years. The valve setting had to be changed if spray nozzle size was changed or the hydraulic agitator was shut off temporarily to prevent foaming during load finishing.
The hydraulic agitation system. Most newer sprayers have hydraulic agitation systems in place to provide continuous agitation. Hydraulic agitators, regardless of type, must be supplied from the pump output line and not from a pressure regulator bypass line. This ensures consistent agitation. Over-agitation is as serious as under-agitation. It will cause excess foaming and can create an "invert emulsion" in the tank.
The use of one or more jet agitators is the most common hydraulic agitation method. Some manufacturers use a sparge tube. Jet agitators are cheap and easily installed. They work just like a jet pump. A high velocity pumped liquid stream draws in tank liquid giving a multiplied flow rate for agitation in the tank.
If jet agitators are too large or do not have flow control nozzles (orifice plates) in place, excessive pump flow can be diverted to agitation. When this occurs, it can cause a lack of pressure at the boom (nozzles). If you have a separate throttling valve in the line to the agitator, close it down part way as a method of testing to determine if the flow to the agitator is too high. If the boom pressure increases, correct the flow rate by changing orifice plates (nozzles) at the agitators. Do not operate the sprayer with restricted flow to the agitator. Jet velocity in the agitator must be high to maintain good agitation.
Bleed lines. Centrifugal pumps should have a small diameter bleed line running from the top pipe plug on the pump directly back into the top of the tank. It will permit easier priming and prevent the pump from being airlocked on start up. If the pump is run, dry seal failure is assured. A quarter-inch diameter line served by an eighth-inch pipe thread fitting does not cause a significant loss of pump capacity. It should be a part of every centrifugal pump installation.
Some new sprayers do not have a bleed line installed. It is a small but worthwhile investment and I have now installed one on two sprayers -- the first to improve performance, the second to avoid repeated seal failure. A new seal kit costs over five times as much as the materials for a bleed line.
To sum up, don't replace or rebuild a sprayer pump until you have established that:
* flow to the pump is unrestricted.
* the pump is operating at rated rpm.
* your pressure gauge is accurate.
* your pressure regulator is in good condition.
* excess pumped liquid is not passing through the jet agitators.If the plumbing system is in order, the impeller or diaphragms might need replacing to restore the output of a used sprayer pump. Every centrifugal sprayer pump should have a bleed line to improve performance and prevent unnecessary pump (seal) repairs. BF
Agricultural engineer Ralph Winfield farms at Belmont in Elgin County.
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