The Peru Gazette

Helicopter from Mansfield Heliflight in Milton, Vt. lands to load seed

Bruce Dimock checks Winter Rye seed.

Peru is a very busy little community this time of year, especially for our farmers. This morning trucks traveled our highways filled with a bountiful apple and corn harvest.  At the same time, aerial seeding was taking place on the Dimock Farm. Bruce Dimock watched as Winter Rye seed was loaded onto a helicopter which was landing adjacent to the Brand Hollow Rd. Dimock Farms is participating in a USDA sponsored program to determine the feasibility of planting Winter Rye as a cover crop in this region. Historically our cold climate has discouraged local farmers from planting cover crops. USDA believes that the Winter Rye will provide good silage, enrich soil and reduce nutrient runoff into our lakes and streams. Bruce Dimock planted the rye along the Brand Hollow Road last fall. This morning he said he was satisfied with the results. Myra Lawyer, an Environmental Analyst for the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, said that 1,620 acres of Winter Rye will be aerial seeded in Clinton County this fall. Bruce Dimock was seeding 80 acres today. Click here for some exciting photos of today’s seeding. Click here for our previous story which gives more detail on this agricultural development.