The Rural Voice, 1979-09, Page 5The Family Farm
— varia tions on a theme
Grandfather and Grandson
BY ALICE GIBB
Greg Andrews exchanged the suburbs of
East York for a quieter life in the country
and the city boy turned farmer has no
regrets about his choice.
Mr. Andrews, who has been living on a
farm outside the village of Londesboro
since graduating from Centralia College of
Agricultural Techology (CCAT) in 1977, is
farming with his grandfather, Edwin
Woods in a mixed farming operation.
Greg's mother, Mr. Woods' daughter,
grew up on the farm, and Greg's father
grew up on the Andrews farm closer to
Clinton. Today, Mr. Andrews senior
teaches environmental studies to student
teachers at the University of Toronto, but
Greg's parents still come back to Huron
County every summer to land they own
near Bluevale.
The Woods farm is a traditional mixed
farming operation, but with some interest-
ing variations. There is a five acre woodlot
on the farm, but the remainder of the land
is sowed in mixed grain and hay. Mr.
Andrews said his grandfather has always
practised a system of crop rotation, usually
grows mixed grain on a piece of land for
three years, followed by three years of hay
and then three years of using the land for
pasture.
Mr. Andrews said this system means,
"this land hasn't been abused at all."
Since the farm doesn't have adequate
storage for corn, the two men don't plant
the crop, even though "it's corn all around
us" on neighbouring farms.
Mr. Woods also has 25 to 30 beef cows,
and he raises calves to be sold for
shortkeep or as stockers to area feedlots.
Greg has added seven sows to the
operation and sells the weaners at about 50
pounds to a Blyth feedlot. The addition of
sows to the operation is the major change
since the two men started farming to-
gether. However, with the threat of low
pork prices in the future, Greg has decided
he won't expand this operation any further.
Instead, he plans to buy heifers in the fall
and raise calves for shortkeep.
The two farmers feed their livestock on
their own hay and ground grain, with Greg
buying supplement to add to the mixed
grain that's fed to the pigs.
The young farmer said if one person
were still handling the Woods operation,
the farm would have to get "a lot more
mechanized." With the two men sharing
the workload, major machinery purchases
haven't been as necessary. When the
second cut of hay is off in the fall, Greg
Andrews then works part-time for the
Londesboro seed cleaning plant, owned by
Rob Shaddick, or else helps out on the
Shaddick beef feedlot.
In the winter, when chores are the main
job around the farm, Greg Andrews uses
the extra time to pick up some more
farming expertise in CCAT's short courses.
Last winter, he took both the sow course
and the cow -calf program and would have
taken another one on forage crops, if the
weather hadn't interfered. The weather is
the one real difference Greg notices
between rural and urban living - "you
never can make definite plans around here
(in the winter.)"
Right now the two men have evolved
more of a working arrangement rather than
a formal partnership on the farm, originally
purchased by Edwin Wood's father. Greg
Andrews said he plans to stay on the farm
and gradually purchase from Mr. Woods.
It's obvious from talking to the two men,
that despite the age difference, they've
evolved a relaxed and easy working
relationship. The generation gap for Edwin
Woods and Greg Andrews just isn't a
problem!
Greg Andrews and his grandfather Edwin Waods
THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1979 PG. 3