The Rural Voice, 1978-06, Page 40NEWSLETTER
1
Huron County Federation
of Agriculture
Area Office. Venastra, 6o■ 429 Ciin•en, One
0
Huron County Ploughing Match Committee: [back row, left to
right] Mickie Nott, Bill Pullen, John Hazlitt, Walter Elliott;
[front row, left to right] Gerry Fortune, Brenda McIntosh, Men
Smith, Gordon Hill [Chairman].
THE HURON COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
PLOWING MATCH COMMITTEE
BY GERRY FORTUNE
Plans are now under way tor visitors to the Federation of
,\griculture booth at the '78 Plowing Match to receive a warm
welcome
Chairman. Gordon Hill and members of the Huron County
Federation ot Agriculture Plowing Match Committee have received
support and advice from OFA Staff, surrounding County Federations
and the Ontario Farm Machinery Agency which has a display in the
same structure as the Federation.
At the present time, organizers are concerned that a tent may have
to be used to house both displays It is hoped that in the time left
before the match, a person interested in constructing a building can
be found
Besides arranging for such obvious things as informational
literature, tables and refuse facilities, the Federation is faced with
recruiting a large amount of manpower to erect and staff the booth
At least eighteen persons per day (in 3 hr shifts) are required to
dispense information and refreshments This is not viewed as a
problem, since Federation members from surrounding counties have
traditionally joined with members of the Plowing Match County in
host duties Two of the Township Federations near the Match site
will be providing the necessary labour to see that facilities are
erected and dismantled properly
The matter of a float is being given consideration Time, labour,
material and storage space will all be factors in deciding whether this
idea is feasible.
The Committee is now working at arranging for visitors to enjoy a
refreshing glass of Huron County milk when they drop in to the
booth.
Whether you plan to meet a lot, of fellow farmers and urban
visitors in a short time by working in the booth, or just dropping
in for a short visit, the Huron County Federation Plowing Match
Committee hopes to see you at the 1978 International Plowing
Match.
PG. 40. THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1978.
HURON COUNTY FEDERATION
OF AGRICULTURE
Monthly Membership Meeting
Thursday, June 1, 1978
8:30 p.m. sharp
PROGRAM:
HOWARD DATARS and ROY SCOTCHMER
showing slides on past ploughing matches as well as telling
you how you can be inNok ed in the Internation Ploughing
Match.
SEAFORTH PUBLIC SCHOOL, SEAFORTH
Plan to attend!!
Members of the Plowing Match Committee are Gordon Hill,
Chairman, Bill Pullen, Walter Elliott. John Hazlitt. Mickey Nott,
Brenda McIntosh, Mery Smith, Gerry Fortune
THE FARMER PRICE INDEX FOR APRIL 1978 WAS 182.6, AN
INCREASE OF 1.4 PERCENT FROM THE MONTH BEFORE, AND
A TWELVE MONTH INCREASE OF 11.5 PERCENT.
Over the past tour weeks the farm -gate price ot beet went up
10 1°0 This was'partly balanced by a decline of 5 790 in hog prices.
Other major price changes at the farm -gate level were Poultry --up
2 2°o, Eggs --up 1 1"0
Over the oast twelve months the major price movement has been
in the meat sector, especially in beef Prices for slaughter cattle had
been at depressed levels through much of 1975 and throughout 1976.
This was caused by the down -turn in the beef cycle, when females
were being slaughtered in large numbers rather than bred. That
abnormal price trough. together with expected declines in beef
production, more than anything else have made the rise in price so
steep In the first four months North American cattle slaughter was
down by about 1 3 percent from a year earlier --194,000 head
including estimated non-commercial kill
The main consumer complaint of the past few weeks, however, has
been the high price of lettuce The going price in the Toronto
wholesale market for U S - grown lettuce was indeed over a dollar a
head, suggesting that retail mark-ups were not very large Not so the
markups on some other items ---particularly storable prcduce that we
can grow in Canada and keep over the winter During March -April,
retail mark-ups in Toronto were as follows
Average Average Retail
Wholesale Value Price Mark-up
P E I Potatoes. 10 lb bag 49.6c 98 tk 9890
P E I Potatoes, 5 Ib bag 24 8c 68 Sc 176%
Ontario Cooking Onions. 2 Ib bag 11 8c 43 5c 269%
Ontario carrots. 2 Ib cello pack 30 4c 66 4c 118%
There is reason to believe that repacking costs. from bulk to small
bags, are quite small We also have reason to believe that the
Toronto wholesale market is reasonably price competitive
But. one must question how such large retail margins are being
sustained Is the competition between the retail chains working in
the best interests of the public? And if indeed the average mark-up
on produce is 33°0 as claimed by the Canadian Grocer magazine, is
then the price of domestic produce being jacked up in order to 'keep
down" the price ot more expensive imports?
-There is no cheap machinery policy, there is no cheap fertilizer
policy, there is no cheap labor policy How then can anyone expect
farmers to accept a cheap food policy < Peter Hannam, president,
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
CONTINUED ON PAGE 36.