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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2015-09-02, Page 44 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, September 2, 2015 www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com lion Expositor PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 P.O. Box 69, 8 Main Street Seaforth Ontario NOK 1 WO phone: 519-527-0240 fax: 519-527-2858 www.seaforthhuronexpositor �p] POSTMEDIA met NEIL CLIFFORD Advertising Director neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca SHAUN GREGORY Multimedia Journalist shaun.gregory@sunmedia.ca DIANNE MCGRATH Front Office seaforth.classifieds@sunmedia.ca NANCY DEGANS Advertising Rep. nancy.degans@sunmedia.ca MARIE DAVID Group Advertising Director Grey Bruce Huron Division 519 376-2250 ext. 514301 or 510 364-2001 ext. 531024 SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2 YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT P.O. Box 69 Seaforth ON NOK 1 WO For any non -deliveries or delivery concerns: phone: 519-527-0240 Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada The future of agriculture. "Where have all the farmers gone?" There are very few kinds of people in society more impor- tant than the farmer. The unsung heroes of the land are responsible for every thing we eat, so it's hard to imagine our society surviv- ing without them. If you look at the statistics how- ever that's exactly where we're heading. A report from Statistics Canada last year showed a 35% decline in the number of farms in Canada from 1991-2011. In those 20 years the average size of farms went from 80 hectares to 350, and the average age of the farmers working those fields is now over 55. This seems to indi- cate the number of new farmers is decreasing and middle-aged farmers are farming more land to compensate. So the big question is, why are agricultural careers on the downturn? The main answer lies in the price of land and the risk of starting a career. Farming is tradi- tionally a career passed down in families. Older Column Matt Recker farmers who have paid off their land and equipment retire and help their chil- dren get started by handing down land and equipment. It's this passing down of resources and support that allows new farmers to get started with their career, but when someone doesn't have this safety net to fall back on the risks of starting a farm are severe. The price of an acre of land in South- western Ontario can run $25,000 or more, when 10 years ago $3000 was the asking price. Add to that the cost of living, labor, equip- ment like combines, trac- tors, wagons and more, it's common to see a new farmer taking a loan of over a million dollars to start their career. Once you have this financial commitment you're locked in. If 5 years down the road you decide farming isn't for you after all, you're stuck. This is a scary commitment that not everyone is prepared to make. In order to get more peo- ple into the profession we would need to take some of the risk out of it. Govern- ment tax breaks or some sort of incentive program might help, but short of con- trolling the price of land (a road we don't want to go down) there isn't much that can be done on the federal level. There is something to be said about the job secu- rity since we will always need farmers, and though you spend much of your career in debt most farmers retire very comfortably so there's light at the end of the tunnel. I grew up on a farm. My father has been farming for 30 years and neither me nor my brother are prepared to take up the plow. With the world becoming more tech- nological, more fast -paced with more opportunities it's no surprise to me that fewer young people want the hard work, sacrifice and risk of becoming a farmer. But with- out people planting, raising animals, milking and har- vesting where would we be? There is no easy answer to the problem, and the prob- lem is getting worse. If more and more young people break away from their farm- ing roots we could be headed for disaster. How can we help support our friendly neighborhood farmers? Come election time take time to consider any agricultural platforms in the candidates, try to find out what they're going to do to help out the strug- gling farmer. When you're going grocery -shopping look for the "Product of Ontario" label on your fruits and vegetables, avoid buying tomatoes and cucumbers from Mexico if possible. It may not be much, but every little bit helps. Because y ou Love MedicAlert®.The bracelet with an emergency hotline linked to your child's medical record Call 1-866-734-9425 or visit wwwmedicalert.ca MedicAlert Lets You Live Life. 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