HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-10-07, Page 23Match attracts record crowd
You're Invited
Mammoth Plowing & Tilling
DEMONSTRATION
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday and Friday
October 14 & 15
(Rain Date - October 16)
at the
4 Corners of our
Seaforth Store_
' I '
See the New '77 Tractors
t;‹
, • •
The DREAM TRACTOR
Becomes a Reality!
See their" Giants
EAT UP THE GROUND
International 800
Flex-Frame Moldboard Plows
Watch the All New
830 141 FORAGE HARVESTER
Eat up Acres of Corn
Remember the Dates
OCTOBER 14 & 15
SEAFORTH 527-0120
Temperatures
Are Falling . . .
Winterize
Your Car, Truck
and
Farm Vehicles ,
Now
Anti-Freeze
'5.95
OF 4 GALLONS $2 1 .25
PER CASE
Now In Stock . . . Full Selection
TOY FARM
IMPLEMENTS
EXETER FORD
Fa* Equipment Sales
Tractors
Equipmert Ltd.
Thames Road East Phone 235-2200
PER
GALLON
411111L
JOHN DEERE LTD.
TRACTOR
BLYTH
519-523-4244
HURON
EXETER
519-235-1115
BIG JOBS
CALL FOR BIG EQUIPMENT
From top to bottom and front to back, 8430 and 8630
4-Wheel-Drive Tractors are all John Deere. They're
farm tractors. They are designed, built, and warranted
for use by farmers, not truckers.
JOHN DEERE DESIGNED? Everywhere you look,
you'll find farm features. Differences that translate into
more acres per day, Some examples? How about:
Quad-Range rm transmission with built-in Hi-Lo that can
be shifted on the go; Perma-Clutchrm the virtually
lifetime wet clutch; unique variable-ratio power steer-
ing; exclusive Sound-Gard ® body; exclusive rack-and-
pinion wheel tread adjustment; 1,000-rpm indepen-
dent PTO; Load-and-Depth Control draft-sensing hitch;
and easy daily servicing, just to name a few.
JOHN DEERE BUILT? Every part, subassembly,
assembly, and major component is John Deere. They're
cut, machined, formed, welded and assembled to work
together. In short, these tractors are built from scratch
to be farmers' machines. They don't become
agricultural tractors just in final assembly.
These Are Not Component Unit 4 Wheal Drives But 100%
INTEREST FREE TO MARCH 1, 1977
It will pay you to see "The Equipment People" for
"Interest Free" on all new and used tractors to March 1,
1977.
A-C PORTABLE POWER PLANT
PLOWING MATCH
CLEAN-UP
Model GP.5.5
3500 Watts, 29.1/14.6 amps, 60 cycle AC
Part No. 9004034
Control panel has two, two-prong polarized, 120-volt fused
receptacles, one, three-prong twist lock 120-volt fused recep-
tacle which provides full 29.1 amps and one, fou'r-prong 240-
volt twist lock receptacle. A separate 12-volt self-tapering DC
circuit for battery charging and six foot battery charging
cables are included, Engine: Briggs & Stratton 8 hp. with 'recoil
starter, Dimensions: L.33.5", W-22", H-18", Weight: 130 lbs,
let us show you...
FARM EQUIPMENT LTD.
JAMES ST. S., ST. MARYS 2843650
The 1976 International Plowing
Match broke all records es-
tablished since the first Match in
1913, Over 200,000 people attend-
ed, a new record, generating the
largest,gate receipts ever.
Weather is so important to
what has been aptly described as
the world's largest outdoor farm
machinery display and plowing
match, This year, with one of the
coolest, wettest Ontario
summers on record, there was
much concern that the week of
the plowing match would also be
cool and wet. During the 2 weeks
prior to the big event the
weather was wet, with the
grounds of the Tented City show-
ing every sign of becoming
another sea of mud, However,
with clearing skies on Sept. 27th,
the bad weather that plagued
farmers for weeks, delayed bean
harvest and wheat planting and
slowing corn ripening just seem-
ed to vanish, Opening Day,
§eptember 28th, was almost
ideal and as the week progressed
with clear, sunny skies the
roadways of the Tented City and
the parking areas dried up to
provide the most ideal 5 days of
weather in the over sixty-year
history of this great event.
The Bruce County local com-
mittee made everyone feel right
at home. Obviously an enormous
amount of work went into plan-
ning. I felt the traffic was moved
as quickly as possible to the
parking areas where tractor-
pulled wagons were in abundant
evidence to take visitors to the
Tented City or to the plowing
areas.
The large class or 16 plow
teams (horses) generated a lot of
interest, as did the judging for
the best "plow team" and for the
best show team. Horse plowing
still attracts attention and brings
back memories of other days
when a team and plowman work-
ed as a unit, I must confess there
was no job on the farm that I lik-
ed as well as plowing with a good
team of horses.
Tented City covered over 110
acres with over 500 different ex-
hibitors of every conceivable
type of farm equipment. This
was by far the largest area ever
used for Tented City with the
largest number of exhibitors
ever. There were over 400 in-
dividual plowing competitors vy-
ing for top plowing honours, It
was good to see so many young
people gaining 'valuable ex-
perience in competition plowing,
There has been some criticism
in the past that competition
plowing is not practical for com-
mercial farming operations.
That may be so, but anyone who
appreciates that all food is
produced either on, or by
produce produced on, the top six
inches of farm land must surely
have a keen appreciation of the
necessity of good plowing in
commercial farming, whether it
be by conventional mold-board
plows, chisel plows or heavY spr-
ing tooth cultivators — it's all a
part of the food production
process. The IPM provides the
opportunity. for all to see plowing
at its best.
Literally thousands of people
come to the International Plow-
ing Match to see and to compare
various types of farm
machinery, new model cars and
the latest in materials handling
equipment. The exhibitors seem-
ed pleased with the contacts they
were able to make which, of
course, is the reason they come
back year after year.
Some years ago there was a
move to establish the IPM in one
central location, While' such a
move,might have been an advan-
tage to Ontario Hydro, Bell
Telephone and some large farm
equipment distributors and
manufacturers, it wouldn't have
continued the sense of communi-
ty interest that moving from
County to County has done. When
one stops to think of it there
aren't many events that bring
everyone together in the County,
as does the IPM. People from all
toyer. Ontario where this magnifi-
cent event has been held have
often remarked how pleasant it
was to get to know others in the
County in working together with
a common purpose for the five
years it takes to plan and carry
out such a colossal event, Moving
about Ontario is a tradition that
the 1PM Executive should con-
tinue,
An interesting feature of the
IPM is the Queen of the Furrow
contest. Young ladies who win at
their local County or District
plowing match have the chance
to compete at the IPM in plow-
ing, public speaking and personal
interviews with a panel of judges
for the title of Queen of the
Furrow. To win is a great
honour, but to lose is no disgrace
in that kind of top quality com-
petition. There were 21 entries
this year with the winner being
Miss Barbara Taylor, from the
Region of Peel and East
Garafraxa (in Dufferin County),
It was great to hear the public
speeches of the 21 highly talented
contestants. Rural Ontario
should be extremely proud of its
rural young people. To my mind
it's time we said so, There are
thousands of fine young people
getting an education, learning
crafts and skillg, and developing
sound character who are a credit
to themselves, their families,
their communities and their
country, Because they are too in-
terested in preparing themselves
to accept the responsibilities of
the future to get into trouble,
they don't attract the news
media's attention of which a few
young people, and older people
too, get all too much.
It's good to know that those
who guide the destiny of the IPM
continue to focus attention on
youth activities,
As one who has been attending
the IPM continuously for many
years I want to offer warmest
congratulations, on behalf of the
thousands of people who attend-
ed this year's events, concluding
on Saturday, October 2nd, to Mr.
John Stephen, of St, Marys, the
1976 President, to his Board of
Directors, the local Bruce ,Coun-
ty Committee who went all out,
and particularly to Mr. Ed Starr,
of the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food, who is
General-Manager of this enor-
mous undertaking. Mr. Starr,
ably assisted by Mr. Art Peppin
and the entire head office staff of
the Agricultural Societies
Branch, along with the local
OMAF Representative, Mr. Art
Bolton, put in endless hours of
hard work to help stage this 1976
record-shattering event. There
must be many very tired people
in Bruce County, and indeed
from all over Ontario, this week
but they can bask in the reflected
glory of having achieved their ul-
timate objective of the greatest
PM ever held to date,
``Nov on to Frontenac County
in 1977!
SHARE YOUR IRESSINOS
74-77rawk4geeifrig
May sue
government
A group of about 50 Ethel area
dairy farmers decided last week
to take legal action against the
Ontario Government,
Represented by Clinton lawyer,
Paul Ross, the group hopes to
force the Ontario Government to
pay compensation to dairy far-
mers for the loss of revenue they
suffered when milk quotas were
cut back 15 percent.
The cutback to industrial milk
producers was ordered by the
federal government last April.
This came after the Ontario
Government had encouraged for
two years greater industrial milk
,production under a special loan
system to dairy farmers.
The meeting in Ethel, on the
farm of Elwood Seili , was called
to see if dairy farmers would
support a suit,
"You tonight are going to be
the jury who decide if we go
ahead," organizer Albert Whiting
told the group,
Mr, Whiting and Clinton lawyer
Paul Ross argued the case that
legal action should be taken,
"It seems the Provincial
government has turned their
backs on us, We have got to take
action," Mr. Whiting said.
"If you agree, we're going to
sue for damages. If one man was
to sue it would cost a lot of
money, but if it's a hell of a lotof
people it won't cost that'much,"
he said.
Mr. Ross in his address to the
meeting emphasized to the
farmers that it was imperative
that people know what is at stake
for the farmer and that a dispute
exists,
"The government must know
we are not looking for welfare, we
are looking for a little justice, We
lived up to our end of the bargain
(by increasing production), we
want to see you (government)
live up to your end," he said.
Most farmers present seemed
to applaud the idea of taking legal
action and about half present
gave $20 each in support of it,
according to Mr. Whiting.
Mr. Whiting said that he was
pleased with the response and
would now go ahead and appeal
for support from all the dairy
farmers.
But several farmers objected
to the idea of suing the govern-
ment.
"We elected the government
and the Milk Marketing Board.
Now we are going to turn around
and sue the people we elected, It
doesn't seem right," said a
farmer.
"We work too darn hard to give
'our money to a lawyer,"
suggested one person. "What the
heck will a law suit do for us,
anyway?"
"This is going to be the first
time anyone has sued the
government for incompetence,"
Mr, Whiting replied. "We're
going to get a hell of a lot of good
publicity and thay'll get a hell of a
lot of bad.
"Which is better, going up to
Ottawa and pelting Eugene
Whelan with milk or taking legal
action?"
Toronto lawyer Aubrey Golden,
who argued successfully that the
province had acted illegally in
closing several hospitals, in-
cluding Clinton, was at the
meeting. He will be working with
Mr, Ross on the farmer's case.
WEATHER INFO — Usborne Central students enjoyed a two day stay at Camp Sylvan and received
valuable information about weather forecasting from Brad Finch of the London Weather Office. From the
left with Mr. Finch are Paul Robinson, Joan Cooper,Scott Rundle and Betty Bax checking a rain gauge and
thermometer. T-A photo
t"