5. 



Changes in production which are suggested for contaminated land are: 

 (1) Substitute low Ca for high Ca crops, (2) substitute deep-rooted for shallow- 

 rooted crops (leaving the 8trontiuin-90 as near the surface as possible), 

 (3) substitute meat for milk production, and (4) substitute non-food for food or 

 feed crops. The substitutions would not need to be tested in the field, but 

 accurate information is needed about the strontium-90 contents of different crops 

 in relation to strontium-90 and calcium contents in the soil. 



Removal of surface contamination is nearly complete if sod, thick straw 

 mulch, or surface soil is removed. Only about 1/3 of applied contamination has 

 been removed by harvesting standing crops of half -grown soybeans and sudan grass. 

 The dependence of this type of removal on completeness of ground cover needs to 

 be investigated. We are also attempting to measure the surface roughness of 

 soils and to relate it to the depth of soil removal required to attain 90 per 

 cent of higher removal of applied surface contamination. 



The conditions favoring fixation of strontium-90 need further laboratory 

 study before trials of such methods can be made in the field. One field possi- 

 bility might be to apply soluble strontium salts (about 100 pounds of Sr per acre 

 is needed) and precipitate them with larger applications of sulfates or phosphates. 

 Difficulties might be encountered in obtaining intimate contact between 

 strontium-90 in the field and the applied strontium, and in maintaining an excess 

 of sulfate or phosphate to repress the solubility of the precipitate. 



Deep plowing and application of amendments are ready for the field testing 

 stage. The usefulness of such practices for repressing strontium-90 uptake needs 

 to be tested on various soil types and with many crops, paying special attention 

 to their rooting depths. 



I I I I I I I I I I I I I I u 



JUST CALL HE "ELFAC" 



The Northeastern States Cooperative E:Ktension Services are sponsoring an 

 accounting service available to farmers with all the New England States, New York, 

 Delaware and Pennsylvania having indicated that they will provide the service. 



The operation is quite simple. All the farmer does is jot down on the same 

 pad of paper what's coming in and what's going out. Once a week these are stuffed 

 in an envelope and mailed to ELFAC. 



Receipts and expenses are listed. No sorting or totaling is necessary and 

 the machine does the rest. 



Records are provided of receipts and expenses, payments on debts, records of 

 capital purchases and social security and labor records. 



Cost will depend on the size of the farm. A fifty cow farm will cost about 

 $1 per cow for the year or a 10,000 hen poultry farm will cost about $5 per 

 month. A AO-acre orchard records would cost $6.0 annually. Family records of 

 groceries, clothing, and the like are for free if the dairy or poultry or other 

 major enterprise is included. 



How long does it take to keep the information needed for ELFAC? 



