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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1976-01-22, Page 6Huron County farmers are very efficient now and with continuing cost increases 'they need more income, according to Huron County ag rep Den Pullen. Corn prices are much lower than previous years right now., Mr. Pullen said but farmers have been ttbaled out by their excellent corn yields," averaging 100 bushels to the acre across the barley were planted with a yield of average quality but slightly below normal. White beans were planted on about 62,000 acres, resulting in average production of good quality beans. , The agricultural representative Pointed to high hog prices as a "bright spot" ih the county's agricultural picture last year. he estimated that slightly fewer than province in cattle marketing with 80,Q00 head sold. Huron was third in • the -province in milk production but figures on the amount prodTd were not available.' The year'S turnip crop, grown primarily in the Exeter and Blyth areas, was reported well above average, While wheat, mixed grain and forage crops were about county, These yields, which local the 1974 total of 266,000 hogs average. farmers get because they are were marketed' in the year, efficient, have helped. making Huron the third-largest Fair weather through September, October and late early compensate for the low prices, seller of the animals in 1975. November meant farmers were Mr. Pullen said. The county was second in -t5e able to do more fall plowing than Farmers, in order to survive, e aim-late has awful= you wed, Let's face it, you don't need a hank to tell you how to plan your future. That's your business. And we respect it. But lett5s say you've got your plans all sorted ouelAnd your plans are going to need money, come to us. We'd like to help you. We're the Bank of Commerce. We cantustom tailor an entire credit package specifically for your farm. The package includes short term credit to cover your Month to month and season to season operations and longer range financing of items such as machin- ery, grain storage or additional land. We can lend you the money you need now. And the nice thing is that you can arrange repayment specifically to suit your cash flow. If you wish we can also arrange low-cost credit life insurance. Whatever your credit needs, the person to talk to is your local Commerce manager. So if you're a fanner who has future plans that - includerney, come talkto us. 4 • CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE •••,,,,,,,,orookrovonrawm,,,...v., 41,M144, to wOr basic constitutional hts. You don't go abdicating basic consti- tutional responsibilities, legal, or otherwise We area legislature, and we demand our right to legislate." See you next week. No other agency; governMent or otherwise, duplicates the services of the Ontario March .of Dimes, Please, give generously when a Marching Mother calls on you. -Summer camping holidays for the 'physically disabled? Ito Ontario March Of Dimes makes it happen! Support the Match. of DimeS in your area. jet, They have to be, ag rep says Huron _far:rners efficient Letters are appreciated by Bob Trotter. Eldaie Rd . Elmira. bet N3B 2C7 a Renew Your Counters All WALLPAPER 15 %off ARMSTRON RUBBER BACKED CARPET Adventurer Prtnt Acrylic Fibre by MOONSW/.. 9 E Rego' $14..gy sd: N 1 color °tits/ *AP. 9 ...A.. CU$H1ONED VINYL 444 FLOORING di* HUSH FLOOR $3*°9 SOFTRED$4'95 S yd. 12' widths., sq. yd. ARMSTRONG SUNDIAL -$5.95 ' 6' ' 1 color - sci• Y' ARMSTRONG CORAIR $A so 6' width'1 color only —F . sq. Yd. a .00 Ii F.RANKLIN HEATERS. (BRITISH STYLE) Cast. Iron Hearth, Top & Front Reg, s299 .89 "'NOW have had to become more 4 efficient Mr. Pullen said and "cewrcOnsumers realize how high their food bills would be without this efficiency." Mr, Pullen said 'that expensive labour saving devices and technological advances are the only way that farmers can cope with a lack of faint labour. Farm expenses continue to increase. One Seaforth area farmer found a tractor part had increased in price from $18 to $50 in only two years. Mr. Pullen said farmers will have to get'higher prices for their products in order to break even next year. One of the problems plaguing farmers is the dramatic increase in the price of land. It has more than doubled in the past two or three years. Mr. Pullen said some farms that would have sold for about $40,000 in 1973' are now selling for more than $80,000. increasing acreage • is one method used by farmers to increase yields in the face of steadily rising equipment costs. The same trend is apparent in rental costs for land in the past several years, the' agricultural representative said. While figures are not yet complete, it appears that agricultural production in Huron increased during 1975, he said, Salei s of agricultural goods during the year are estimated at $135 million — up from $120 millin in' 1974. Of that, $115 million was generated by livestock sales and the remaining $20 million by cash crop sales. Of the County's 840,000 acres; 611,30.8 acres are improved farmland, making Huron County .the largest in Ontario in. terms of agricultural acreage. .• In 1975. "Huron continued t6 :lead all other counties in -the production of barley and white beans.' About .40,000 acres of Catching up on correspondence after the strike of inside mail workers has been quite a chore. That old adage is true. about the closer they are to the top of the ladder, theeasier they are to contact. ' Some readers may remember a lengthy quotation in a December column from Executive magazine featuring an 'interview with John H. Graflund, president of John Deere Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deere and Company of Illinois, the world's largest supplier of farm equipment. Mr. Graflund said he wanted to "preach —once a month on the world food situation. This corner has been preach- inglhe same sermon for five years, too, and it was refresh-, inglo have a man of Mr. Graflund's stature saying the same things In a letter-received late in December, Mr. Graflund said he was glad to, hear another voice preaehing to all-too-often- deaf ears the importance of the world food problem today and in the future. . "I totally agree with your statement that the growls of. an empty belly incite a man to desperation. And a des- perate man is a dangerous man. Wars have been fought in the past over rather trivial things. Is it possible that World War III will some day be fought for just the privi- lege of eating? We hope and pray this will not be so," said Mr Graflund. A couple of readers — yes, Mr. Editor, there are a-couple — have chastized me gently for harping on this world food problem to the point of nausea. They said they were get- ting sick of being reminded that most of the world is under- nounshed and some people are even now starving to death. I have been preaC.hilig' Onee „a, month on ,the -topic-and I can understand the feeling that.'perhaps some people are getting sick of it, especially during the festive season when most of us ate too much and drank too much. Butt believe it is the most important area. of discussion in the world today. With the news in early December that the-Russian grain harvest last year Was the most disastrous in a decade, food around the world is becoming politicized. What galls me is that 'we, in: the free world, do not really know if that Russian grain harvest was as' much of a disaster as we are led to believe. Russia has never been hesitant about stretching, the truth over the years if it was to her advantage' Eugene. Whelan and Earl Butz. have been., trying to get authentic figures on grain production from the USSR for a decade. , • How do we in Nerd!' AntWrica know that Russia is in need of grain? . Is the USSR buying grain here and in the U.S. at reason- able prices and then, re-selling it to other needy1nations in the guise of food aid from MOther Russia? Again, I don't want to sound like I'm parroting Lubor J. Zink, the columnist in the Toronto Sun, who finds a Com- munist under every blade of grass and just recently sound- ed off about errors in his column. He intimated that may- be the reds were influencing pryofreaders 'on the Sun to Make his column read' ridiculously. I cannot go that far. I do think that Canada and the U.S, should be might careful about long-term commitments to Russia, . The States has just signed alive-year contract to supply Russia with at least 6 million tons of grain an- nually. The guaranteed sales to the Soviet Union could mean that the poor nations will have to take the brunt of any world crop,shortfall in the next five years. So, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. What can be done? Why', keep farmers on the land and keep them producing even if. it means bigger and better deals for farmers. Help them get a reasonable return on -their labor and investment. Keep the agricultural sector viable and this nation will come through any recession. 'depression, inflation or deflation 'stronger, healthier and happier: • I cannot help but wonder, too, just what multi-national. corporations like Deere and Company, besides improving their technology, are doing to alleviate world food_problerns. Any comment'! in other years, meaning they should have a head start when it comes time to 'plant crops this spring, Mr. Pullen said. While. farmers appear to have had a profitable ' year, the agricultural representative warned that additional cost- cutting measures are required. "In spite of the increased gross inconte figures," he warned, "there are' considerably higher'' input costs and it is hoped prices for farm goods in 1976 will remain at high levels to help operators turn a profit.-. ED TAO SALE ON -SELECTED- -WOOD PANELLING By Canada's Top Manufacturers % off While Stock Lasts. GOOD SELECTION OF PANELLING IN STOCK AT GOOD SAVINGS SEE OUR SELECTION OF VANITIgS ,MARBLE TOPS* HARDWARE FIXTURES iv.eI & FFATP WELL ONTARIO .1.1'.1.111111.4 (13.jack Riddell, M.pe P.) The Ont 'ado Legislature has, of • course, been recalled to debate emergency 'legislation to end the strike of Metrdpolitan "Toronto Secondary School Teachers which began on' November 12th. • Last week the teachers voted to- reject the latest offer of the sehoeql boards which would have. raised minimum salaries from $7,800'to $12,000 153.8''0. and maximum salaries from $18.400 to $24,100 . or 30.9"le The Gevernment • introcit.teed legislation ' which would force, teachers to return to . work on Monday, 19th January, or face daily fines of up• to $500 each. Under the legislation, an arbin'ator is to be appointed who will set teachers' salaries June 1972, retroactive to fast September 1st:The, artbitrator's _ruling .will come by February 14th ; and teachers are riot to. receive any interim pay increase. If teachers %..i.';'ork' to rule or refuse extra-curricular duties when they return to the Classroomthis would also be interpreted as a • strike under .the bargaining legislation. Professional development days, taken by teachers in the last two weeks' of June to mark exam papers and evaluate students are to be cancelled, Amend N.D.P. Leader Stephen Lewis proposed an amendment to the legislation making the most recent Metro Board wage offer of an ,average 24.6%. increase the " floor'' for,. co y' an, the influential Ontario Teachers Federation have urged all three parties to establish. such a -floor to provide for. continued k . negotiations. However, the Liberal Party did not support this amendment because there seemed little merit in • tying the arbitrator to a predetermined baSe. Bob.,Nixon, probably_ making his last 'major speech in the Legislature as the Leadet of the Liberal Party, said his' party, would vote to get the schools. open, believing that compulsory arbitration is the only way to bring about a settlement. H owever, he expressed his reservations , about the government provision for a two- year.settlement, because this may not be necessary if Ontario public sector employees are to be under the jurisdiction of the Anti- Inflation goard. He also, criticized the Government's attitude toward the Ontario Education Relations Commission, as agency created last year Akten teachers were given the legs :-'Wght to strike. The Commission was established to supervise teacher collective barbaining and advise Cabinet When it beli eves continuation of a strike jeopardizes completion of courses, and it hasn't been taken by the Govennment in Bob Nixon's opinion "it is not having enough support from the Government". He cited .the ' Government's failure to appoint all five members of 'the commission until after the Metro strike began. Without O.K. ' While the Liberal Party supported the back-to-work legislation because of concern about the affected students, they • were very critical of. the government's decigion to sign a federal-provincial agreeztVent on the anti-inflation programme without bringing it before the legislature prior to signature. Ignes ;13ullbrook, liberal • Ioe,,SarniaTointeci out that no matter what the arbitrator ,, may say, the final decision will `that. with the federal- Inflation Board, because the Government of. Ontario , has, without legislative approval, signed' an agreement which will have tht effect, which is in direct . Jack's Jottings Toronto teachers back contravention of Sections 92 and 93 of the British North America Act. "I believe the agreement to be illegal", said Mr. Bullbrook. "The best they can hope for is to reply on the peace; order and good government clause and a section. of the British North America Act to legalize in the Most ' peripheral, fashion the signing of this agreenient ... You can't delegate your authority ... the Province of Ontario cannot give their authority to the federal government e. This happens to. be a parliamentary • democracy and we, as a legislature, are 'part of a parliament" system. You don't go around surrendering