The Rural Voice, 1979-06, Page 52rations, the purpose of components in a feed, classifying feeds
and the digestive process in farm animals.
Another unit looks at farm production—the principles of
livestock breeding—inbreeding, closed breeding, outbreeding,
and crossbreeding. Under a second heading Pedigrees—
students learn about reproduction, artificial insemination,
diseases, production of beef, pork and dairy.
Students also learn about crops of Perth County and their
requirements such as hybrid strains, looking at growth patterns,
spacing and the principles of crop rotation and selection.
Another unit is on agrinomics—which includes farm accounts,
costs of production, keeping farm records, collection of income
tax, prices of farm credit and transfer of ownership. They also
learn about Co-operatives, markets marketing boards and
marketing services.
And students also learn about the principles of tile drainage,
look at farm water supplies, as well as the operation of diesel
engines, refrigeration, ventilation and the Agricultural Code of
Practice.
And in Mitchell, the agricultural environmental science
course is one that attracts a lot of people because about 60 per
cent of the student body is rural while the rest live in town. For
next near about 36 people have already signed up for the Grade
10 course and 24 have signed up for the Grade 11 course.
Enrolment in the course has been fairly consistent according to
Mr. Gaylor and the school has regularly sent a number of
students to the University of Guelph and specifically to the
Ontario Agricultural College.
Although the course is called environmental science at the
Listowel District Secondary School as well, because the course is
a little broader than just farming, the slant is towards and the
course is really related to farming in the end.
In fact, about 40 to 50 per cent of the course is directly
applicable to the farm, according to George Gracey, head of the
science department there.
The course of study includes the study of farm animals which
broadens out into the study of all animals and their various
influences on the environment.
Also included in the course are the study of pollution controls,,
the disposal of waste, nutrition—comparing plants and animals
as food sources all of which can be related to farm use, in food
production and energy conversion.
The course also studies bacteria and disease control.
Mr. Gracey says that people definitely do use the knowledge
contained within the course either to go back to the farm or on to
an agricultural college.
"That's why it's aimed at just more than the farm. It's also the
economics of farming," Mr. Gracey said.
Agricultural study is contained in the environmental courses in
grades 9, 11 and 12 and it seems to be a popular course there as
80-90 students in the three grades combined took the courses last
year and enrolment is expected to be about the same for next
year.
Mr. Gracey said that as head of the science department he
gets to see the types of courses 'the students take at a place like
Centralia College and can't see how courses like the one they
have in Listowel wouldn't help the students.
In other schools around Huron and Perth Counties agricultural
courses are less prominent as the courses are more in with the
demands of the town students.
In the Goderich District Collegiate Institute, Dave Cloet head
of biology and the Environmental Sciences department said that
when he first started teaching at the school four years ago they
had a greenhouse but they had to get rid of it because it was
costing too much. Now they do a little bit on soils.
At South Huron District Secondary School in Exeter, Casey
Cook the environmental science teacher there said they do teach
about soil ecology and testing the soil for various nutrients.
He said the course would be of some benefit as relating to
agriculture as far as being able to classify soils and how to
improve farmland to make it more productive.
He said they have had some students that have gone on to take
agricultural courses and that they did derive a benifit from this
course which is taught to Grade 11 and Grade 12 students.
There isn't any emphasis on agriculture at Central Huron
• Secondary School in Clinton or the Seaforth District High School
and even in a small town like St. Marys it's not studied much.
Jim Crich, a chemistry teacher at St. Marys District
Collegiate Vocational Institute, said they do spend a lot of time
growing plants and things like that but in terms of agriculture,
the area doesn't really fit in that way.
So it looks like agricultural courses still exist where they
should—in the small rural -oriented towns but have been phased
out of more urban areas where they wouldn'thavemuch of an
enrolment anyway.
HOW IT WORKS:
20" disc. blades, mounted on individual pivots, are
rotated by hydraulic motors to cut bean plants off
below ground surface. Each pivot -mounted section
rests on two depth wheels. Two or three windrows
are produced, depending on the number of blades.
The Smyth Bean Cutter can be mounted on the front
or on the rear of a tractor. This compact machine is
not bothered by mud or trash.
Canada's first rotary bean cutter is a product of the
George Smyth Welding and Machine Shop.
THE FIRST NEW IDEA IN BEAN
PULLING IN 70 YEARS.
SMYTN
Welding and
Machine Shop
RR 2, Auburn, Ontario (519) 529-7212
PG. 50 THE RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1979