Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1978-01-12, Page 16A!)--,THE HtpriON EXPOSIT611, JANVARY 121 1978 Aq. rep. Don predOs int arrrrers will remain valiant.. • . ,77.-79frorrrIr7r7"...-rr r 77 `7,71' 777 4 o, es CLEANING UP -- Members of the Mitchell fire department remove large lens from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Doug Small of Dublin Wednesday in tpe aftermath of a fire that destroyed the home. (ExPositor Photo) ilk study_ Own the forecast will be. A good records system is the best source of values for a forecast," Mr. Dekker says. The Canfarm Cash Flow Fosecaster is a computer assisted service. o Reg Saunders types information for the forecast into a remote computer -terminal in his office in 'Kentville. This is linked by telephone line to the Canfarm computer in Guelph, Ont., 1,500 miles , away. The forecast is transmitted back to Kentville almost immediately. "We run a forecast,, then fine tune it to make it more accurate," Mr. Dekker says. "Then we run it again. We take variables, such as 'prices, into consideration by using several valueln-' the case of a hog operaticin, we may run one forecast with the price at the level of the' stabilization program, and another with the price several dollars a "hundredweight higher, "We, also use the Canfarnt leeliormalatfon basis for, planning cropping programs. A farmer-ritaywant to plan a' cropping program to get a better feeding package for his livestock. The feed formulation service 'tells us what feeds are best suited to his -.particular livestock feeding program. We can then determine the acreages and kinds of crops he might grow, in order to provide these feeds, : "With this information we do some partial budgeting to see if it's feasible and profitable to make changes in the farmer's usual cropping patterns." something new the berg Split Chute A gift suggestion Seaforth 'Women's Institute Is Available O OO OOO • • • THE HURON EXPOSITOR See The cnnnon FARM SHOW The largest indoor farm equipment show in Canada BUS TRIP Friday, February 1st. 1978 From Walton At 8:oo FOR FURTHER INFORMATION -CALL 527-0245 or 887-6365 - This Bus Trip Sponsored By MeGavins Farm pment SEAFORTH Ltd in Walton 527-0245 0 BRUSSELS 887.6365 ithone 62 Stec firth a D-on Lt Forget to FEED THE BIRDS _Keep Your Feathered Friends Happy This Winter With 'TOPNOTCH WILD BIRD SEED We Have- A Good Stock Of BOTH. MIXED and SUNFLOWER SEED TOPNOTCH FEEDS LIMITED 7.7.1111.,Tr 'MP • Crawford has been given respon- sibility over the OFA's four other fieldinen in Southwestern Ontario. He will act as a liaison person for proNerns other fieidmen may have, Mr. CraWfOrcl told the meeting, Formerly one fieldman was given the 'duty for the whole province, but that —to -put -pressnK—on---the-Farm----proved-:---to:---be-----geographically-.; Products Marketing Board to cease the expansion by egg producers intO,:other segments of the poultry industry. Specifically, the Huron- F of A. is concerned about egg producers who lease out their, quotas, then raise pullets in barns that would otherwise , stand' 'empty. Pullet !Producers fear this ',may drive them Out of business. Hein Rooseboom, of Hensalf, who presented the resolution, said an .egg producer with 15,000 hens can lease his quota for 30 months for $45,000. In , the meantime he can raise pu llets, presumably flooding the market and driving prices down. Mr ,Rooseboom pointed out that the raising of pullets is not governed need of con Agriculture and Pood Minister Bill Newman has announced that ' he will commission a study of the benefits and. .the costs to Ontario of the province's partici, pation in' the national milk supply management program. Mr. Newman said, "I ''am concerned about the number of Ontarinmilk producers who have run out of market-share quota long *before the end of the dairy year, We 'seem to have an undesirable situation in Ontario where proces,sors say they can fill orders because theycan't buy enough milk, and producers have, milk but can't sell it because they've-run out of quota." The minister has appointed a committee to draw up terms of reference for the study, with representatiOn from 'the Ontario Milk Commission; the Ontario. Milk Marketing Board, the Ontario Dairy Couitcil and the , Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Factors to be examined include the size of the Optario market and the share filled by Ontario processors; the effects of with- drawing from the.federal program on the producer, the processor and the consumer; and possible alternative arrangements that... could be _made the pres_c_n federal •program. In making the announcement, Mr. Newman said, "I am itt favour of the concept of, supply management for milk_ but the federal government'S approach is not working well in Ontario and it is time we took a very hard look at The federal • supply manage- ment program, of which Ontario is a member, has been operating for seven years. it.: Weather., A lot, of .1wiletent down' the drain." Quality and quantity of pasture was the best in many "years, "We had reports:of hefty gains of cattle out on grass", he said. The ag rep said Huron farmers are showing more awareness to soil erosion. More sod crops are being used-to Welp soirStruetur-e-S, especially on' heavy' lands ' The year 1977 will be remembered as the year of phasing out. can-shipping for dairymen. On the subject of dairy Mr. Pullen said, '-'There will likely, be some frustrations when some run out of quotas by the end of the year." - The beef cattle situation which has .been "not so goOd7for the past three years is' expected to take another three years to recover. Mr, Pullen said the poultry industry in Huron was 'stable" with broilers much better than several years ago. Some' forecasters are suggest- ing hog prices may be a bit easier in 1978 because of , higher production in other areas. The Huron Ag. rep,. said some Huron hog operators' are con- solidating their operations to include -farrowing to finishing. Bad years like 1977 point up the changing. role of the agricultural . office. Credit counselling and farm management advice is a bigger part of the ag. rep's 4nd • three associate ag. rep's jdbs when an average 100 acre farm may have an investment of a quarter of a million dollars. Mr.-Pullen,says farm_people this county are very innovative and some of , the best farm Managers ip North America are, right here in H uron. "They are not afraid of risk." Farmers have made more gains in productivity than any other sector of, society "but they ai4 fairly quiet, about it" and get animosity from consumers when prices go up. "It's one of the agricultural ministry's jobs to make the' cities understand-what a small percen- tage of , the, increase goes to farmers; " says Mr. Pullen. lie • are' Uphill battle since farmers are • only about six percent of the popula- •tion, and most MPP's represent urban ridings, but, OMAF is, trying". The four men who work at farm management counselling in Huron, 'Don Pullen, Stan Paquette, Dennis. Martin and Paper can build Mike 'Miller are always available when a farmer looking at a major new investment wants , to ' try something new. , They can help with cash flows and debt - planning that can be crucial lit a year like this. Short farm management •courses are offered at Centralia College; and there.is more and more demand for intensive, one-to one counsel- ling since each farm family has its own goals and objectives. Don Ptill-en and his' staff are always Updating their manage- ment knowledge and , he says "fremexposure to farmers I'd say We often learn more from them than vice-versa." _ , ,Laud costs and huge in-. vestments in farming make this year's extreme weather conditions a lot more significant. The ag office is worried about the young farmer who has been in the business only three-or four years and has the highest costs. More established farmers can usually wait out a bad year. " The big change in Huron •from mixed farming • to cash, cropping • also makes a year ,of.bad weather more serious. Mixed farmers could hope to "tread water" during a bad year. Right now, the ag.' rep.' suggests, "Huron's economy is like a car in neutral. The big effect of 1977's disastrous weather and commodity prices will hit when the debt comes due. The pain will be more excrucia. ting next spring." But with reasonahle plans .and documentation, -re says farmers should get -a-Sympathetic ear from the Farm .Creit Corporation and other lending agencies'. And he' and his staff will make time to help Huron farmers do this type of planning. „ Tit' takes a. special kind of person •to cope with the stress and un- certainty of farming these days and Mr. Pullen says he is amazed ' at the optimism and resourceful- ness of 'farmers who' are facing big reverses' this 'year: There will be more stresses in the future with more people looking for. off-farm !employ: ment in a job market that's tight, even in Huron. Mr. Pullen says he has heard some predictgions of land prices doubling in the next 10 years. He added, "Some established farmers see the purchase of another farm as a ; -good investment." P1001bIng First EquIpnleit CR:4i ]Phone 4.2734 Egg Producers who lease out their quotas should be compelled to leave-their barns empty for the duration of that lease, the Huron F. of A. feels. The opinion was contained in a resolution endorsedby the organization at a, meeting in Clinton. Thursday. The repolution,cells on the OFA by an agency or marketing board, He said pullet producers, need some protection frote,thislind of expansion' by egg producers if they are to survive. Egg producer Jim McIntosh pointed out that most producers raise only• replacement hens , for their block,' and felt there 'was no• way this could be controlled. He also said it would be _difficul t for an egg producer to 'switch to pullet production,, sipce, the' size of the cages and other equipment is different for hens than it is for very young pullets. Nevertheless members of the Huron F. of A. felt the practice as Mr. Reosehoetn,describeLis,waS.. unfair,.and endorsed ' the ;resolution which will be sent of the OFA for further considera- tion. In other business, fieldman Bill impossible, and the OFA has now split, The province into three sections with a fieldman in charge of each, Mr; Crawford said. A second HFA office will, be opened in the CIAG building in Goderich in the near future, Mr. Crawford reported. The office in Vanastra will continue to operate. Hours for tfi-e' new office will be announced later the fieldman said. A revised -petition calling for studies that may lead to the formation , of a corn producers marketing .board was also, circu- lated at the meeting. The petition calls for research into the formation of a board with "low level function's" which would act as a spokesman for Ontario corn producers. The bend would have no control dyer prices or acreage grown. An , earlier -petition on the matter, was revised to allow greWers who sold Corti fain-I-16 farm 'to vote, as well as those who sold to ..elevators and other commercial ..concerns. Sohn flke;-a,-member -of Kthe OF.A's grain committee; said 2600. signatures - are - required from bona fide corn producers before. the Ontario Farm Products MarketingRoard will consider the proposal. A bona' fide corn producer for OFPMB purppses is one who has sold 400 bushels of corn either commercially or farm to farm, in any of the, last three - crop years, Mr. Oke said. • -Once the required number of signatures are ,obtained, the. OFPMB will draft a proposal for *the board. The proposal will then .go back to the ,cron growers' for approval,• and once that is obtained- the OFPMB will be responsible to set the corn board up and decide how it shoulaThe financed, Mr. Oite said. • . Despite a trying year during 19771-luron's Agricultural Repre- sentative --Don Pullen predicts county fairness- will "remain valiant and unshaken". Mr. Pullen said he was told by one farmer who failed to harvest 200 acres of, white beatiS and did not have crop insurance, "well, it's my first crop, failure in 16 years." The ag rep added, "Most of our farmers are eternal optimists like - myself or they wouldn't be associated with an industry where there are so many risks which include weather and variable , • market conditions," The very wet fall weather cut Huron's white bean production by more than '50 percent. Despite this Mr. Pullen says, think this will have any appreciable effect on the 'amount of bean acres to- be planted this year. We hope thts-was a once in a lifetime situation." . He continued, "The weather this spring will dictate whether more corn or beans will be. planted to make up for the drastic cut in fall wheat , planted, last fall." Talking about the White bean crop Mr. Pullen said, weather certainly tweed ne problem into another. At a crops day at . Ceetralia early in August eyeryone was wondering what would be done-with all the beans from an 'xpected bumper crop. Germination was the best ever and the beans came,on very even. That is, until the rains came." Next to 1975 Mr. Pullen said past-yearlseornerep was the beSt on record. He continued, "With' the' exception of some acreage to the north most of our corn was harvested with the help of some late Indian summer weather." "Ironically, silage corn yields were great but when field condit- ions became so wet, the silage became too dry. Corn prices have now risen to about $1.90, but ; this is still below the - cost of production of. about $2.20", he added. Some farmers especially in the northern portion of- the , county wbp specialiie In livestock are finding a shortage of hay and straw:, About hay, Mr'. Pullen said, "quality _of the first cut was dandy, but due to dry weather ' was not enough. There was 'an abundance of second and third cuttings but they couldn't be'' harVested because of the The most secure farm fotindaticiiiis built first on paper. A ' least that's the' opinion of many °Nova Scotia farmers. Last year 150 Nova Scotia farmers --used cash flovir forecast's fren•L Cantarm, the -federal provincial farm • records service. Canfarm forecasts allowed 'the fernier§ to test their plans on paper. before putting them into practice. • "CaSh flow forecasts are of real- value for prospective farmers, as well as farmers who are expanding their business;" says Peter . Dekker,. a farm - management specialists with Nova Scotia's agriculture •department in Kentville, N.S. "They provide a detailed picture showing • what the farmer can expect for up to five yens, into the future. They show him how much money he needs to carry out hiS plans. They 'also provide' a document he can take to the bank manager to substantiate a loan application." Mr. Dekker and-technician Reg Saunders prepared cash flow forecasts for 60 farms last year.' One of these was for Maple Lane Farms Ltd.. of Newport N.S. Last Mar& 'a fire struck Maple Lane Farms, destroying a sow barn and 150 sows. "We heard about the Canfarm cash flow forecasting service-ft-dm off- county ag rep, and had a forecast prepared when we started rebuilding the °pealed,' says Ken 'Canavan, secretary treasurer of the farm., "The forecast projected' our sow '=numbers could be back at full, Strength within a year, through normal breeding. "I've been watching the projection carefully to see how close it's been," Mr.• Canavan says. "I'm interested in the increase in theoumber of sows, iiidre than the cash picture. So fate it's been pretty close." the preparation of a cash flow projection his seVeral steps. "We have- to ,gather the ' inforinatielt -first' Naturally, the troareaccetate this is, the better 'e• WALDO IEVAIRYTHINal ottticor 'POP. WARNS Firm Farm. Foundation The most important forward step in durable, efficient Vern cleaning since the leVelopment of the barn "cleaner itself. By eliminating reverse curve and one corner wheel it ted'uees wear, te'nsibn and - adjustment problerni and gives you more dependable performance. The return chute is full ,width for greatest cleaning efficiency. The Berg Split Chute, as Well as the Berg Cenventional Chute, can be used With any manure stacker or thrower. The new Berg-3-inch fides Move, a third More liquid and reduce rollback -problems. Write or Phone for Were ,details about this excedtkinal new equipment Jarnesway parts available It Wilton