HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-12-18, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1990.
Farm Brussels Livestock report
Cattle prices $2-$3 higher
Only best cows will do,
breeder tells dairymen
As dairy farmers move toward
larger herds for greater efficiency
they can’t afford to have problem
cows, Bobcageon dairy breeder
Lloyd Wicks told the Huron County
Dairy Day at the Blyth and District
Community Centre Dec. 12.
Mr. Wicks, who farms 550 acres
with 35 milking cows and sells his
Grasshill dairy cattle around the
world, said that a farmer with 25 or
30 cows can afford to keep a cow
that causes problems if she’s a
good milker but when someone has
to milk 50 head, he can’t afford any
nonsense.
He said he breeds for strength,
will-to-work and aggressiveness in
his breeding program. Animals
that are aggressive in getting to
their feed will do better in a
free-stall system, he said. “In most
cases the ones that want to eat will
get the job done,” he said. He also
said he looks for cows that chew
their cud at a rapid rate. Rapid
chewing rate is the only indication
of the efficiency the cow metabo
lizes its food, he said. It also
reduces stomach*problems.
“If we’re going to get out of bed
in the morning when it’s cold we
might as well do it for a cow that’s
going to make money,” he said. He
tries for a milk income of $5,000 per
cow milked in his herd. About 40
per cent of farm income comes
from selling milk and 60 per cent
from embryo and cattle sales.
He criticized dairy organizations
which he said weren’t giving
farmers the right performance
information. If they were “there’d
be a lot better cows in the barn.”
On the industry itself he said the
biggesi problem is negative atti
tude. “J don’t think things are as
black as people say. “We spent a
TVew dairy products developed
New technologies will bring new
foods from dairy products in the
next few years, a food researcher
from the University of Guelph told
the Huron County Dairy Day at the
Blyth and District Community
Centre Dec. 12.
Dr. Arthur Hill said one of the
areas of concentration in research
and development in the years
ahead will be in dairy products as
ingredients in foods he predicted.
But there are possible trade draw
backs to finding new markets for
dairy products as ingredients. He
agreed with Morris township farm
er Bruce Schmidt who said that if
dairy products are used more as
ingredients it will be difficult to
keep American dairy products out
of Canada. While supply manage
ment legislation prevents the im
porting of basic dairy products,
ingredients such as cheese on
pizzas is not restricted.
Regardless of the outcome of
GATT and Free Trade, he said,
competitiveness is the key word.
Dairy farmers will have to compete
with entirely different commodities
such as soybeans and vegetable
fats.
He said calcium supplements are
being added to drinking milk in the
United States. While he was dubi
ous about the nutritional value of
the supplements it is a way of
promoting milk, to those concerned
with getting extra calcium.
lot of money this year remodelling
our barn” he said of evidence of his
confidence.
He predicted the ‘igreen move
ment” would help keep the family
farm in business. Things like
higher energy costs help make crop
rotation and other organic farming
practices more economical and
work against factory farms with
high energy inputs. High energy
costs would also help push up
prices of imports from Australia
and New Zealand, making Cana
dian prices more competitive. The
water shortages in the western
U.S. will curtail a lot of the huge
dairy herds that have grown up on
the west coast, meaning more
midwest dairy products will have to
flow west to meet market needs.
The balanced family farm' is a
rational system that works, he said.
Changes in eastern Europe will
also likely lead to a higher standard
of living as when people have a
higher standard of living they turn
to better foods, meaning they’ll use
more dairy products.
As for Free Trade and GATT, he
said, if worse comes to worse and
Canadian farmers lose their supply
management system, the fluid milk
market will likely be unaffected by
imports and only industrial milk
will be hurt. Quebec, he said, is the
ace in the whole because it is so
much larger a producer of indus
trial milk than Ontario and has so
much more political clout that it
will try to protect that sector.
He predicted the economy would
become more community-based
with a reversal in the philosophy
that now sees milk from bis area
trucked all the way to Toronto for
processing, then the finished milk
trucked back to markets in the
Bobcageon area.
X
to
is
of
He predicted there would be
buyer resistence to milk processed
at high temperatures so it can be
stored for long periods of time on
store shelves. The milk has a
slightly “cooked” flavour that has
never been popular in areas where
regular milk is easily available
although it has found markets in
areas of the north where it’s an
alternative to powdered skim milk.
He predicted the market for such
products would be confined
coffee creamers.
v
What may have more future
extended life milk that, instead
being given minimum pasteuriza
tion, is given a higher heat treat
ment that extends shelf-life. The
milk is sterilized but can still be
used in regular packaging. It has
been selling to institutional users
like McDonald’s restaurants.
He predicted products like Sim-
plesse, touted as a replacement to
dairy fat for things like ice cream
will not drive dairy-based products
off the market. Simplesse is very,
very unstable, he said and a
manufacturer who wants to use it
must manufacture it right at the
plant, buying the rights to produce
it and buying the expensive ma
chinery needed. In addition while it
can be used in stronger flavoured
ice creams like chocolate, vanilla
which makes up the lion-share of
the market, is not strong enough to
mask the flavour of the synthetic
The market at Brussels Livestock
Inc. Friday sold $2 to $3 higher.
There were 322 slaughter cattle
and 157 pigs on offer.
Good to choice steers sold from
$89 to $97 to the high of $100.
Sixteen steers consigned by Bob
Blackwell, Sr., RR 1, Ripley aver
aged 1171 lbs. sold for $95. One
steer consigned by Neil Weppler,
RR 2, Ayton weighed 1270 lbs. sold
for $95. Twenty-five steers con
signed by Jim Hayden, RR 3,
Goderich averaged 1410
for $94.12.
lbs. sold
One steer consigned
Weppler, RR 2, Ayton
1150 lbs. sold for $91.75.
steers consigned by Bruce Bros.,
RR 1, Belgrave averaged 1363 lbs.
sold for $91.55. Nine steers con
signed by Stam Farms, RR 4,
Kincardine averaged 1174 lbs. sold
for $91.13. Eleven steers consigned
by George, Paul and Mark Penn
ington, RR 2, Mildmay averaged
1145 lbs. sold for $90.08.
Leaders study planning
Shirley Hazlitt, RR 4, Goderich,
was one of thirty participants in
Class 3 of the Advanced Agricul-
Gas refund
by Dale
weighed
Thirteen
program
ends Dec. 31
BY BRIAN HALL
FARM MANAGEMENT
SPECIALIST FOR
HURON COUNTY
The Federal Excise Gasoline Tax
Refund Program will expire on
December 31, 1990 for most busi
nesses.
Claims for refunds must be filed
within two years from the date the
gasoline was purchased.
Application forms are available
in post offices, local excise offices
and at the OMAF office in Clinton.
The federal excise tax is proposed
to be replaced by GST on Fuel
purchases.
product.
He said he didn’t see much
danger from low-fat ice cream
because premium ice creams, those
with the richest in butterfat, is
selling very, very well. “When
people go to buy a treat they tend
to forget their diet,” he said.
Similarly low-fat dairy spreads
aren’t making much progress be
cause they break down when
heated. Current regulations make
it difficult to make a quality low-fat
spread, he said.
Low-fat, low-salt cheese are hav
ing problems with poor curing.
“Skim milk cheddar is so hard you
can’t cut it with an axe.”
Although he said there still isn’t
anything difinitive on the role of
cholesterol researchers are looking
into ways of removing it from dairy
products by breaking down the
chemical combinations and remov
ing the cholesterol. One of
problems is cost because of
extensive procedure needed,
don’t think there’s a hope
heaven these (methods) will be an
economical way of removing chol
esterol.”
What does hold more hope is a
method being studied in Quebec
which uses a culture to attack the
cholesterol and is cheap and effec
tive. Although there may be no
danger from cholesterol the con
sumer thinks it’s a bad thing for a
cheap way to remove it could be a
significant development, he said.
Five steers consigned by Cliff
Eedy, RR 4, Walton averaged 1069
lbs. sold for $90.05. One" steer
consigned by Noah Weppler, RR 1,
Neustadt weighed 1460 lbs. sold for
$90. Five steers consigned by
Elmer Scott, RR 3, Teeswater
averaged 1088 lbs. sold for $89.70.
Good to choice heifers sold from
$89 to $93. Two heifers consigned
by Bob Blackwell, Sr., RR 1, Ripley
averaged 1255 lbs*, sold for $93.
One heifer consigned by Noah
Weppler, RR 1, Neustadt, weighed
1160 lbs. sold for $91.75. One
heifer consigned by Bill Butson,
Seaforth weighed 1360 lbs. sold for
$91.50.
Two heifers consigned by John
Brown, RR 3, Walton averaged
1130 lbs. sold for $91.35. Four
heifers consigned by Llloyd Wep
pler, RR 2, Ayton averaged 1160
lbs. sold for $90.05. Four heifers
consigned by Harold Zettler, RR 3,
Teeswater averaged 1040 lbs. sold
for $89.46. Five heifers consigned
by George, Paul and Mark Penn-
tural Leadership Program (AALP)
in Owen Sound October 29 - 31,
1990 to study “Strategic Issue
Management”.
The case study used was “Land
Use in Grey County” a very
controversial and complex pro
blem. On October 29, Alex Leith,
Rural Organization Specialist,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and
Food, presented an overview of
Grey County. Director of Planning
and Economic Development, Jan
ice MacDonald, explained the cur
rent Official Plan for the county.
They provided a good base of
information for a panel discussion
featuring four citizens involved in
the many sides of this <4ssue -
George McLean, wildlife artist; Bill
Murdock, MPP, Grey; Michael
Valpy, Globe and Mail columnist;
Charlie Watson Sr., farmer and
developer.
NOBODY COMPETES
LIKE YOUR JEEP
EAGLE DEALER
IN LISTOWEL
OPEN WEEKDAYS -A QR||’TIL 9 P.M.; SAT. ’TIL 5 P.M. I “WWW
ington, RR 2, Mildmay averaged
1012 lbs. sold for $89.
There were 183 cows on offer. DI
and D2 cows sold from $56 to $62;
D3 and D4 cows, $52 to $55.
Two cows consigned by John
Dietrich, 66 Victoria St., Mitchell
averaged 1295 lbs. sold for $60.
Two cows consigned by Neil
Wilton, RR 3, Durham averaged
1335 lbs. sold for $58. Three cows
consigned by Donna Marks, RR 1,
Belgrave, averaged 1390 lbs. sold
for $57.59. One cow consigned by
Isaac Stutzman, RR 3, Lucknow
weighed 1410 lbs. sold for $57. One
cow consigned by Lome Mann, RR
1, Wroxeter weighed 1440 lbs. sold
for $56.25.
Three cows consigned by John
Rutherford, RR 2, Wingham aver
aged 1237 lbs. sold for $56.15. Two
cows consigned by Carl Dinsmore,
RR 1, Gorrie, weighed 1360 lbs.
sold for $55.77. Two cows consign
ed by Henry Sloetjes, RR 7,
Lucknow averaged 1375 lbs. sold
for $55.10. One cow consigned by
Frank Nigh, RR 4, Seaforth weigh
ed 1370 lbs. sold for $55. One cow
consigned by Ed. Pervis, RR 1,
Lucknow weighed 1500 lbs. sold for
$55.
Pigs under 50 lbs. sold at
$111.58; 50 - 70 lbs., $96.10; over
70 lbs., $86.23.
There will be no sale on Decem
ber 21, 1990. Next sale will be
December 28, 1990.
Specializing in made to order
GIFT BASKETS
A great idea for your staff -
complete Baskets priced from
$10.95
Open:
Mon.-Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 10p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
TODAY'S VARIETY
& GENERAL STORE
Londesboro 523-9790