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THE HERALD Wednesday August a 1989 Page Downpours have left farmers facing drought conditions Five charged with impaired driving By DONNA KELL Herald Staff The combines roll through the fields of hay grinding their blades against lengthy stalks Its August in Halton Hills and harvesting of crops is an ongoing process But this year even without the severe drought conditions of the summer of farmers are looking at disappointing yields As farmers were really at the mercy of the weather said val farmer and president of the Halton Federation of Agriculture Harry Brander The weather this year brought 141 mm of precipitation in June unlike last year where the entire month was dry But the June rain has fallen too hard and too fast to help crops This year the ground was bak ed like a rock said Tenth Line cash crop farmer Bill Brander Overall weve had more rain this year because it was so wet in June But it was heavy downpours Thats why the corn is growing so uneven said Harry Brander Corn winter wheat barley and oats have all been affected by this years rain pattern Heavy rains for a short period of time dont penetrate the soil It just rolls off the soil into the creeks and ponds Bill said Cattle have been turning up their noses at the poor quality of hay harvested recently Ministry of Agriculture and Food represen tative Phyllis MacMaster said there are concerns that the hay does not contain enough nutrition for the livestock Im having quite a job getting my cattle to accept it said Bill Branders son Harry who owns a farm on Winston Churchill Boulevard He said cattle that usually eat five round bales of hay each week are down to only two bales The livestock are also fed corn silage Hay usually produces three cut tings a season This year is better than last year because there will be two cuttings for most farmers and there could be three cuttings for some But Bill second cut ting of hay produced only half the yield of a normal cutting The rain in June kept farmers from combin ing their hay crops The later harvesting of a first crop meant a late harvesting of a second cutting Limehouse fanner Frank An thony said last years second hay cuttings produced as little as 25 per cent of a regular harvest Corn cobs will be smaller this year and the stalks are all of dif ferent lengths More rain this month could help them said Mrs but the crucial time for corn crops has already passed The corn was coming out and in the last two weeks said Harry Brander Its going to be lighter Especially in the laterplanted corn Some fanners were held back from planting in June because of wet fields And the variable rain caused the different sizes of corn stalks Stalks on Bill farm range from two to five feet in height Winter wheat isnt yielding as much as it was a year ago Bill said His son agreed The wheat looked good this year but the yields have really been variable The barley crop this year was excellent he said but the weight is lower than it should be Normally about to pounds per bushel barley is weighing in at a paltry 38 pounds It seems to be the same pro blem with the oats Harry Brander added Some are coming in at pounds per bushel when they should weigh about pounds per bushel The oats are pretty well a disaster added the Tenth Line farmer Soybean crops suffered this year because farmers couldnt get out to plant them in the wet fields said Harry Brander On the surface it seemed this years rain would have helped the harvests The yields look good from what weve heard Mrs said And the yields were excellent she added but the quality just wasnt there The precipitation in June didnt stop at just rain One day a hail storm ripped at the corn fields on Harry farm damaging the leaves The same hail pellets destroyed the apple orchard of a neighbor on Winston Churchill Boulevard It just looked like someone took a lead bullet and shot it into the ap ples seven or eight times Mr said The weather unpredictable at a drier to 100 mm in July hasnt helped Halton Hills crops much he said In a way its not really any bet ter than last year The rain has been all downpours and all at the wrong times Immunization clinic The Halton Regional Health Department is holding immuniza tion clinics on the second Tuesday of each month alternating between the Georgetown office at Main St S in Georgetown and the Milton office at Main St For more information call 8772238 Halton Regional Police arrested five people on impaired driving charges in Halton Hills last week and warned another two drivers to sober up before getting back into their cars this long weekend Police stopped a Quebec man 37 at a Guelph Street spot check around 30 pm last Wednesday The man allegedly failed a road side breathalyzer test and under went furhter testing at the local He will appear in court on impaired dring charges Sept A man police say allegedly tried to avoid a Guelph Street spot check location was arrested and charged with impaired driving early Satur day morning Police stopped the Quebec man at am He will appear for a bail hearing August 8th Police charged two men in Acton with impaired driving after one had allegedly passed out at the wheel The second man was trying to help him when police arrived on the scene ttiey say The two cars driven by an Acton man and a Georgetown man 50 were parked on Mill Street around am Saturday The Georgetown man will attend a bail hearing Aug The Acton man will appear in court Sept A Huttonville man was charged with impaired driving Aug 6 police say The man 36 was pulled over at a Guelph Street spot check He faces charges of refusing to take a breath test and of impaired driving He will appear in court Sept Police handed out two 12hour suspensions Aug 6 at a spot check location One was given at am A second suspension was issued at pm Under a 12- hour suspension the driver blows a warn on the ALERT Alcohol Level Evaluation Road Tester issued by police is not charged with impaired driving but cannot drive a car for the next hours Town Hall meetings start next week If you have something to say about the federal governments policies youll have your chance three times in the coming weeks Peel MP Garth Turner has scheduled a series of town hall meetings throughout the riding and three are scheduled for Halton Hills The first takes place at the Acton Town Hall on Aug The second will be held at the Terra Cotta Town Hall on Aug 29 and the third will be held at the Elks Lodge Hall in on Sept All three meetings start at 30 pm Mr Turner has also scheduled meetings for Burl ington Terra Cotta and Belfountain Youll be able to participate in an open question and answer ses sion where you can ask me any question you want Mr Turner said in announcing the meetings Your might not agree with what I have to say but you will know where I stand and more important ly Ill know what you have to say RECYCLING only work il we 111 do our Please Remember to Recycle This Newspaper Ladies BLOUSES s Reg Ladies ROMPERS Assorted Reg I CREW NECK TOPS Pink Blue Reg 899 Ladies TSHIRTS Ladies Ladies Crew Neck Short Sleeve 19 97 Reg ROMPERS Jersey Striped 13 Reg 1899 TANK TOPS 2 Patterns g Reg SALS ENDS AUG 12 ACTON STEDMANS ONLY While Supplies Last Stedmans STORE HOURS Fn 9 9 Sat Mill Street East Acton 8532741