The Rural Voice, 1979-06, Page 3Inside this month
Special features
The future in farming P.
Farming in the year 2,000 P.
Why farm children are different. P.
Huron P. 7
Bruce P. 10
Perth P 10
3
6
7
Rural Voice Kids Contest Winners . .
How to keep them down on the farm .
Killer Disease Hits W. Ont. Swine. .
. P. 14
.P. 22
. P. 52
Regular features
Readers write P. 2
Voice of a Farmer P 23
A Matter of Principle P. 24
Keith Roulston P. 25
Rural News in Brief P 27
Advice on Farming P. 35
Rural Family P. 41
Up and Coming P. 43
Gardening P. 45
Young Farmer P 49
Mailbox of the Month P 51
Rural Voice Want Ads P. 54
Bruce Federation P. 55
Huron Federation P 56
Cover by Doug Weishar, R.R.2,
Mildmay
the rural
Voice
Published monthly by McLean Bros. Publishers Ltd., Box 10, Blyth, Ontario,
NOM 1H0. Telephone 523-9646 or 527-0240. Subscription rates: Canada $3;
Single copy 50c. Editorial board: Bev Brown, Sheila Gunby, Alice Gibb, Rhea
Hamilton, Adrian Vos and Susan White. Advertising representative: Barbara
Consitt, Telephone 527-0240. Staff reporter: Debbie Ranney. Authorized as
second class mail by Canada Post Office. Registration number 3560.
Opinion
The future's in good hands
In keeping with the United Nations' declaration of 1979 as the
year of the Child, Rural Voice this month takes a look at farming
through children's eyes, with our kids' contest winners' art and
stories beginning on page 14.
Our cover story in this Rural Voice children's issue is about
farming in the future, a look at the sort of farms our young
people can expect to operate in say, the year 2000.
In conversations with the experts who are quoted in the story
we were amazed at how many things they agreed on. "It's as if
they all got together and knew what I was going to ask before I
asked it", reporter Shelia Gunby quipped.
Our future farmers, or at least their parents, will be pleased to
see that everyone forecast a strong future for the family farm.
These Rural Voice interviewed also predicted a lot of change,
albeit slow and gradual, ahead for the family farms of Bruce,
Huron and Perth.
More intensive cultivation, perhaps of highly specialized
vegetable crops, irrigated by big in -the -field systems sums
upwhat some ofthe experts see on our farms by the year 2000.
Several also said farm machinery has reached its biggest size
now, something that may not be appreicated by many of the
junior artists who entered our kids' contest with detailed
drawings of today's farm machinery and are probably dreaming
of using even bigger equipment on their own farms in the future.
Although the staff at Rural Voice tries to keep in m. nd that
every issue of the magazine is special, this month's children's
issue has been a real pleasure to work on. We've all been
touched by the enthusiasm and creativity of the kids who entered
our contest and those who were interviewed.
Predictions are only educated guesses and all of those
interviewed by Rural Voice for the farming in the future story
counselled against considering their opinions gospel.
But all of us at Rural Voice who've spent extra time with
children while putting this issue together know one thing for
sure. With children like those you'll read about, the future of
farming is in excellent hands.
Got a complaint? Please write
"I was there and that's not what was decided", a voice on the
phone told the Rural Voice receptionist after he read a story
about a seminar on development in Huron County in the May
Rural Voice.
The caller objected especially to the heading on the story, on
page 30 of last month's issue, which said "Keep Huron rural,
seminar decides" He stressed that while the seminar was not in
favour of wholesale industrial development in Huron, most who
attended believed the county needed some more industry,
industry that would be compatible with existing agriculture.
On rereading the story, the Rural Voice editorial board agreed
that the story and the heading did not clearly state that the
seminar did favour attracting some industry to the county.
We apologize for that omission and we'll be careful to be fairer
in future reports.
We appreciate people taking time to call us with comments or
com plaints on what appears in Rural Voice. But we stress that a
letter to the editor will get corrections and other opinions across
to all our readers.