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Times-Advocate, July 7, 1966 .P0911. 7
Earl Neil (right) with his rutabaga crew
Men adjusting
field sprayer
Ready Mix
CONCRETE
Plant 235.0833
Residence 220-6961
C.A.McDOWELLud.
FARMERS!
CUSTOM SPRAYING
OF ALL FARM CROPS
Interlake Chemical Services Limited
Operations and Warehouse:
KIPPEN VIEW FARMS
KIPPEN, ONTARIO Phone 262-5058
4minismomemiii
By MRS. M. H. ELSTON
Mr. & Mrs. John Dickey and
family held a picnic dinner Sun-
day at Maitland Falls. Miss Linda
Dickey of the Bell Telephone,
London, spent the weekend with
her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Dickey.
Mr, & Mrs. Chas. Atkinson
were guests of Mr. & Mrs. Jas.
Eagleson Sunday.
Thursday evening visitors with
Mr. & Mrs. Bob Blair were the
latter's parents, Mr. & Mrs.
Clark Fisher, Exeter, also a
cousin Mrs. Grace Downing of
Chilliwak, B.C.
Mr. & Mrs. John Dickey had
an enjoyable trip to the 1000
Islands where they spent a few
days returning by Peterborough
where they visited the latter's
sister, Mr. & Mrs. Ken Adams.
Mr. & Mrs. Sam Skinner and
family attended the Pym picnic
held Sunday at Riverview Park.
Mrs. M. H. Elston and Sheila
spent Thursday in Woodstock with
MrS. I. J. Bruce and Mrs. Ray-
mond Glaves also with their cou-
sins, Mr. & Mrs. H. A, Mullins,
Thamesford.
David Elston passed his grade
II Theory a t the Western Con-
servatory of Music with 87%. Ile
is a pupil of Mr. Alex Clark,
music Instructor of Medway High
School. lie also passed his third
year in music there with 81%
in ,Medway 1110 School.
Mr. & Mrs. Karl Weiberg were
at the Needham funeral parlors
Sunday where the body of their
nephew, the late Alvin Fischer
rested. They also called to visit
Mrs. Fred Cunnington, a patient
in St. Joseph's Hospital.
VICTORIA and GREY TRUST
EXETER
235-0530
GUARANTEED
INVESTMENTS
CERTIFICATES
INTEREST
PAYABLE 1/2 YEARLY
OR
MAY BE LEFT TO ACCUMULATE
AND COMPOUND YEARLY
SELF-
PROPELLED COMBINES
HURON TRACTOR
AND EQUIPMENT COMPANY
3 high-performance
self.propelleds
each is o modern "factory on wheels"
Step up to speedier, more efficient harvesting this year. Stop
up to cleaner grain. Step up to more dependability plus real
comfort and convenience. Step up in style by choosing a John
Deere 55, 95, or 105 Self-Propelled Combine.
VICTORIA and
GREY TRUST
By OE0. L. ELLIS
6,700,000 turnips!
Or, if you prefer, rutabagas.
But no matter which you call
them, that makes a lot of turnips!
And they are all either grown,
purchased from other farmers
and processed in one season at
the farm of Earl W. Neil, RR 1
Exeter.
While there are numerous big
growers of turnips in this area
the title of "Huron County's Ruta-
baga King" probably belongs
rightfully to Earl Nell if not,
indeed, the title of "Ontario's
Rutabaga King."
On one of his three farms, he
devotes a total of 120 acres
alone to the growing of rutabagas.
This produces a total of about
2,000,000 of them. On top of
this he handles 4,700,000 ruta-
bagas brought in by other farmers
for processing to make a total of
6,700,000 in a season,
Of this vast crop, 95 percent
of it is exported to the United
States. They go to all of the South-
ern, Southeastern andSouthwest-
ern states, including the Caro-
linas, Florida, Alabama, Ken-
tucky and Mississippi.
On them are labels proclaim-
ing they are from the Quality
Produce Farm at Exeter, Can-
ada. As a result of this, one
woman from near Woodstock,
Ontario, recently wrote in a let-
ter. She stated she had bought
one of the turnips in Florida,
had eaten half of it there and
then brought the remaining half
back home to Ontario to use.
She expressed amazement that
even the half brought back to
Ontario had remained in excel-
lent shape.
One of the reasons for this
fine state of preservation is the
fact that each turnip is care-
fully processed, including the
covering of it by wax. This par-
ticular process in the past quart-
er of a century has done much
to raise the once lowly status
of the turnip and glorify it to the
position of an ever increasingly
popular vegetable, especially
south of the border in the water-
melon, orange and cotton belts.
In processing his rutabagas last
season, Mr. Neil used a total
of 83,847 pounds or 42 tons—
of wax.
Some 25 years ago waxing
of turnips was done by Exeter
area farmers by simply putting
them into an old gravel box
and using a brush to wash them,
after which they were placed
In wire baskets and dipped into
a pot of hot wax. Today, how-
ever, the whole process is me-
chanized and a conveyer belt
carries them into a machine
which does the job fast and even-
ly.
At the peak of the season there
is a total of 26 employees en-
gaged in the harvesting and pro-
cessing, of rutabagas by Mr. Neil.
Down a big chute into the cellar
goes all the turnips where they
are washed by a large revolving
drum Inside a big tank of water.
An elevator then carries them to
the bins where they are next
graded as to size. Following this
they go to the trimming bins.
They are next waxed, weighed
and placed in corrugated con-
tainers or bags for their long
journey to distant markets.
Mr. Earl W. Neil was born
and raised on a farm in McGil-
livray Township. He farmed there
for two years after he was mar-
ried, then moved to Exeter in
1948 where he was employed.
In 1951, he purchased his pre-
sent farm in Stephen Township,
known as Circle E Farms. By
1955 he purchased a second farm,
just across the road, now known
as Quality Produce, where the
processing of the turnips is done.
A third farm was purchased by
him in 1963, to give him a total
of 250 acres. He also grows,
corn and wheat in rotation on his
farms.
Rutabagas have been grown in
the Exeter area for at least
half a century.
Shipment of rutabagas to USA
from Canada has been dropping
off in recent years, according to
statistics of the Department of
Agriculture. However, this does
not apply to the Exeter area from
which shipments are on the in-
crease.
This is reflected on the Qual-
ity Produce farm of Mr. Neil.
For some time now he has had
a storage plant there capable
of holding 40,000 bushels of har-
vested turnips. This space is
now insufficient. So men are now
busily engaged in erecting a sec-
ond storage plant which, when
completed, will be able to handle
an additional 50,000 bushels.
It's big business, locally and
it's getting bigger every year.
Ontario s rutabaga. king?
Ships over 6 mt
•-urnips to U on