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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-07-25, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1990. PAGE 15. Huron cattlemen tour area farms, feedlots A larger than expected throng of cattlemen tramped through the fields and barns of several north Huron farms Thursday as part of the Huron Cattlemen’s Association farm tour. Nearly 150 farmers, up from the 60-100 that usually attend the tour, visited three farms and a menno- nite sawmill in East and West Wawanosh. Conservation Day held near Carlow Farmers interested in maintain­ ing the long-term productivity of their soil while protecting the environment should plan to attend Conservation Day, Thursday, August 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Feagan Farms, in Colborne Township. This event will feature tours Of Feagan farms, and guest speakers during the lunch hour, including Bob Bedgegood of the Middlesex Federation of Agriculture. The theme of this years event is ‘environmentally responsible agri­ culture’. Guided tours will be run to allow visitors to view a variety of practices including manure man­ agement facilities, conservation tillage demonstrations, crop plots, erosion control measures and woodlot management. Admission to conservation day is free. The Feagan Farms is located 4 kilometres east of Highway 21 on County Road 25, near Carlow. Watch for the conservation tour signs. Farmers first visited the huge feedlot operation of Howatt Brothers at Westfield where the barn wasn’t as full for the summer months as it is in winter but still held 600 head of cattle. The Howatt operation is a slatted-floor barn. DOUG WALKER Cattle pastured in summer. Of unique interest to the visitors was the use of by-products of food manufacturing to feed the cattle. Doug Howatt explained feeding turnips, carrots, potatoes, brewers corn, grains left after the distilling process and other by-products from food processing plants. All these feeds are cheaper than he can grow corn for silage on the farm, he said. Last year they grew only 40 acres of corn for silage to be used in the summer when there aren’t turnips and many of the other by-products. By contrast the Howatts used to carry an inventory from 250 acres of corn to feed the cattle. The operation also uses distress­ ed corn, corn that has gone slightly spoiled. It’s “cooked” again then, mixed with brewers grain. The various foods are fed as they become available so that cattle may .have to switch from carrots to potatoes, etc. Mr. Howatt, who does all the feeding himself, keeps an eye on the supply of each type of feed and if he finds he’s going to be running low he starts mixing various feeds together to wean the cattle off the taste of the one feed and onto the next. If the change is abrupt, he says, the cattle will be off their feed for a couple of days. Asked about health problems with these feeds Mr. Howatt said the more root crops you can feed to cattle the healthier they are The only health problems he’s encoun­ tered were when he ran out of roots. Ontario Wheat Producers We are now ready to receive your 90 Wheat and Barley Crop One problem can be storing the huge amounts of turnip pulp that arrive in season. As much as 25-30 tons of turnip pulp a day may be delivered. It takes only one hour a day to feed the cattle, Mr. Howatt said. The Howatts make use of their own by-product, spreading the manure on their fields to the point they no longer use chemical fertili­ zers. Next farm on the tour was the Belgrave-area farm of Doug Wal­ ker. He and his brother operate 700 acres and, as well as cropping and custom feeding cattle, operate a seed cleaning plant. They started cleaning seed in 1983, doing 50 acres and this year will process 800 acres. Seed cleaning keeps the opera­ tion busy seven months a year, he said. Growing and cleaning seed probably nets an extra $100 an acre, he said, if you have a market for the screenings. They feed the screenings to cattle but because of the weed seeds in the screenings try to make sure the manure will only be spread on pasture land, not crop land. During the summer there are no cattle in the feedlot. The Walkers have found that gain is just as good on the pasture as in the lot. Because of illness in the herd of Tom Black a planned stop to see his Blonde d’Aquitane cattle was can­ celled. The tour then visited Neil Rintoul’s cow-calf and feedlot oper­ ation, toured a Mennonite sawmill, Dairy farmers get increase had lunch at St. Helens, then moved on to Art Helm’s cow-calf operation. DOUG HOWATT Explaining feed alternatives. After more than two years with­ out a price increase, Ontario dairy farmers will receive a 4.6 per cent increase for milk produced for the fluid market, effective September 3. The increase of $2.50 per hecto­ litre to $56.95 per hectolitre in Southern Ontario, is the first increase paid to producers since May 1, 1988. The consumer price index has risen twice as fast, more than 9.6 per cent, over the same period. The fluid milk price refers to the price dairies pay to dairy farmers for milk used for the fluid or table market. The same increase will apply in Northern Ontario. Last year, slightly more than one billion litres of fluid milk products, including two per cent milk, stan­ dard milk and skim milk, were sold in Ontario. Producer efficiency gains avera­ ged 2.5 per cent annually in the 1980s and this has enabled the industry to hold the increase in raw milk prices below the rate of inflation. The fluid price increase only relates directly to the price paid to dairy farmers. The price charged by retailers to consumers is deter­ mined by market forces and is not regulated in Ontario. HENSALL LIVESTOCK SALES LTD. SALES REPORT Themarketon Thursday, J uly 19 met an active and steady demand with choice and fancy steers and heifers selling at a premium. There were 519 steers and heifers on offer. Fifteen steers consigned by Ken Beares averaging 1333 lbs. sold for $92.35 with a top sale of $97.50. Purchased by Starbrand Packers. Seventy-one steers consigned by Arnold McCann, averaging 1286 lbs. sold for $91.45 with a top sale of $95.75. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Fourteen steers consigned by Phil Conlin, averaging 1133 lbs. sold for $91.00 with a top sale of $92.50. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Eleven steers consigned by Gary Steeper, averaging 1214 lbs. soldfor$90.60withatopsaleof $91.00. Purchased by Darling Meat Markets. Twenty steers consigned by J. A. McCann & Sons, averaging 1262 lbs. sold for $90.10 withatop sale of $91.75. Purchased by Starbrand Packers. Twelve steers consigned by Strange Farms, averaging 1158 lbs. sold for $89.15 with a top sale of $92.50. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Twenty-six steers consigned by Jack Miller, averaging 1229 lbs. sold for $88.80 with a top sale of $92.00. Purchased by Starbrand Packers. Sixteen heifers consigned by Trudgen Bros., averaging 1053 lbs. sold for $89.30 with a top sale of $94.25. Purchased by Starbrand Packers. Twenty-eight heifers consigned by Greb Feedlot, averaging 1149 lbs. sold for $89.05 with a top sale of $93.75. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Sixteen heifers consigned by Albert Weernick, averaging 1122 lbs. sold for $88.00 with a top sale of $96.00. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Twenty-eight heifers consigned by McBride Farms, averaging 1149 lbs. sold for $88.60 with a top sale of $91.00. Purchased by Darling Food Markets. Thirty-eight heifers consigned by Powe Farms Ltd., averaging 1132 lbs. sold for $88.50 with a top sale of $92.75. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. Thirty heifers consigned by Goshen Farms, averaging 1104 lbs. sold for $88.05 with a top sale of $92.00. Purchased by Corsetti Meat Packers. 0WNER&MANAGER BARRYMILLER 235-2717 262-2831 SALESREP. JOEZEHR 887-9599 How son & How son are agents for the Ontario Wheat Producers Marketing Board, and we also Buy, Sell and Store Barley ★ Fast Unloading ★ Accurate Probe System ★ Trucking Available I FORWARD CONTRACTING OF CORN AND SOYBEANS I MILLS THowson & Howson ifl Flour & Feed Millers, LTD. Complete Farm Supplies, Grain Elevators 523 9624 BLYTH, ONTARIO 623 4241 Elevator Main Office Elevators 1 % miles east of Blyth on County Rd. 25 then 1/2 mile North