The Rural Voice, 1977-11, Page 17s
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best calf.
/- The new competition will involve beef
k heifer calves and will parallel a similar
e existing program for dairy heifer calves
e
baits during the early stages of the
program.
Mr. Johnston has been working on the
problem of rabies for 15 years studying
what animals transmit it, how and what
time of the year. Foxes are hardest hit by
the disease, he says, accounting for 50 per
cent of all cases. Skunks make up about 15
per cent of the cases while raccoons make
up only one per cent.
The bait problem has led the researchers
to try many possibilities such as limburger, _
gorgonzola and roquefort cheeses, hot
dogs, sausages, liver, eggs, fish oil and
tripe but they've settled on hamburger
patties that can be easily produced are
effective and cheap.
While the present trial involved only
Tetracycline. the researchers hope to use
an oral anti -rabies vaccine in the future if
the present test proves that the baits are
effective in reaching a large part of the
animal population. An effective oral
vaccine has been developed by Connaught
Laboritories in Toronto but still must under
go tests to prove it is harmless to all
animals that might have access to the
baits. The first field tests will likely be
carried out on islands. then be moved to a
Huron county test site, there researchers
can continue to monitor the animals
population.
Eventually, if successful the oral vaccine
baits (which originated from an idea put
forward by the World Health Organization
of the United Nations) will be spot dropped
in areas of southwestern Ontario where
rabies outbreaks are expected. The
outbreaks can usually be predicted by an
build-up of the fox population which
signals a new disease cycle.
Success of the program would mean
easing of a constant worry for Western
Ontario's rural families for the past 20
years.
United Breeders
sponsors
4-H competition
4Hers in 15 southwestern -Ontario
counties will have a new competition to
take part in sponsored by United Breeders
Inc.
The competition will be known as the 4H
silver dollar competition and will begin in
1978. The prizes will be silver dollars: 75
for the Grand Champion, SO for the
Reserve Champion and 25 for honourable
mention with all winners getting engraved
silver trays.
There will be winners in four divisions
for 25 dollars for best answered senior level
quiz: best essay on a challenging topic of
beef interest: for best showman and for
sponsored by the company. Dr. C.R.
Reeds, general manager and beef
specialist with the company explained the
philosophy behind the competition: "Since
there are already many opportunities for
4Hers to enter steer shows, we feel it is
logical for United to sponsor a competition
involving breeding animals which may
become for the 4Her an ongoing project.
We want to challenge the irherent abilities
of these 4Hers, and do everything we can
to encourage and reward them."
Beef comes off well
as energy efficient food
Beef may last longer on Canadian menus
than chicken if energy for food production
ever has to be rationed. And carrots would
outlast cucumbers and asparagus if farm
energy consumption became critical.
A University of Guelph study funded by
Agriculture Canada ranks farm products by
the amount of energy they consume in
relation to the amount of food energy they
return for human consumption. The
energy -consumption to energy -obtained
ration indicates the efficiency of producing
a plant or animal product.
Professor P.H. Southwell, who is
conducting the two-year study under a
$44,000 contract with the federal govern-
ment. has calculated the total amount of
energy needed to produce each item of
food, up to the farm gate. He has included
not just the amount of fuel required for
machinery to grow, harvest, and store a
crop, but also the energy needed to make
steel for tractors, cement for barns,
fertilizers for plant nutrition and pesticides
for insect and disease control. Food
processing and cooking costs were not
considered in the study.
Beef production is a more efficient user
of energy than broiler chicken raising. Beef
returns 115 units of energy for every 100
units used in production, providing the
energy value of the manure as fertilizer is
counted as an output. Broiler chickens cost
energy to produce, returning only about 25
units of energy for every 100 units
consumed in their production.
Eggs return almost 50 units for every 100
units used in production, pork 60 units, and
milk 94 units.
On the other hand, many field crops are
energy producers. For instance, Ontario
soybeans return 540 units of energy for
every 100 units expended in production
and carrots return 380. But asparagus
returns only seven units of nutritional
energy and cucumbers 76.
Among fruits, peaches are at the
break-even point, giving back the same
amount of energy for nutrition as is used in
their production. Apples return 207 units
for every 100 they require; raspberries are
the (east efficient fruit, returning only 34
units.
Using peaches as one example.
Professor Southwell has also calculated the
energy costs of imported food in relation to
Ontario -grown food. Trucking fresh peach-
es in from the United States uses three
times as much energy as is required to
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THE RURAL VOICE/NOVEMBER 1977. PG. 1'