The Rural Voice, 1981-01, Page 17RURAL NEWS IN BRIEF
Federal ultimatum a blow to Canfarm
"Canfarm is in the final stages of a
marketing plan that would have carried it
through to its goal of financial indepen-
denced in the very near future. These
efforts have been dealt a severe blow by a
recent decision of the Minister of
Agriculture, the Honourable Eugene
Whelan, not to extend further finances to
Canfarm to allow it to reach this goal,"
said Canfarm President, Peter Hannam.
"Prospects have never looked better
for Canfarm," he said. "More than 300
accounting firms and bookkeepers have
joined our agency program and they are
counting on moving a large number of
their farmer clients onto the Canfarm
Service in 1981. There are strong
indications that our operation in Quebec
could be expanded by the addition of
several thousand farmers as clients
through the U.P.A. We are negotiating
international licensing arrangements for
use of Canfarm programs in other
countries."
During the last year and a half of this
co-operative's two year operation of
Canfarm, directors and management
have regularly pointed out to the Minister
that the original estimate of the capital
requirement would not be enough to
carry it through to self-sufficiency.
Edwin Plohr is stongly opposed to
further aid by the taxpayer. Plohr, who is
general manager of the competing
Farmfax Management Systems Ltd., said
recently in a letter to the minister that his
firm can provide all services Cantarm
provides now, and do it better and at '/. to
'/J of the cost and without any help from
governm ent.
On November 13, Mr. Whelan notified
Canfarm that his goverment would not
extend further support and that this
co-operative should take immediate steps
to either sell the operation or find another
source of finances. The deadline given for
this final step was December 31. 1980.
In light of this decision, Canfarm is
now developing a proposal to devote the
funds the government has set aside for
close -down to establishing an independ-
ent and completely self-sufficient operat-
ion. This plan will be presented to Mr.
Whelan in the next few weeks.
"But we will do everything we can to
assure Canadian farmers that they will
have a continuing Canfarm service," said
Hannam. "This modern technological
advance in farm management and record
keeping is essential if Canadian farms are
going to compete on the world market.
All other developed countries are heavily
subsidizing these services to make them
available to their farmers. We cannot
afford to let our farmers drop behind."
John Hazlitt gets first soil conservation award
John Hazlitt of R.R 4, Goderich, is the
first recipient of a new Huron County soil
co,nservation award, named in honour of
Norm Alexander Londesboro.
Hazlitt was presented with the award
at the annual meeting of the Huron Soil
and Crop Improvement Association, in
recognition of his project of planting trees
on odd shaped areas on his farm and
practising conservation tillage.
Association members passed a
resolution at their meeting asking the
Plant Products Branch to control seed
companies in guaranteeing seed quality
and to amend crop insurance regulations
to cover grower loss due to poor seed.
A second resolution approved at the
meeting asked for greater funding for
extension services in the Ontario Ministry
of Agriculture and Food budget.
Jim O'Toole, of Centralia College,
reported on proso millet, a weed which
has been spreading rapidly in Huron
County in the past two years. O'Toole
indicated two other weeds are also
becoming more common in the county -
poison hemlock which appears in alfafa
seeded in 1979 and Indian hemp, which
resembles milkweed.
4
Thames Bend Lady
1979 Pork Congress
Bred Yorkshire Gilt
Back Fat 10.5 m.m.
CI
2126K
Champion
161 Days 136 index
sEAsoivk
osSETIAlcs)d
Thank you
to those who attended our Open House
Boars, open gilts, bred gilts of
Yorkshire, Hampshire, Duroc, Landrace and
hybrid breeding. Government R.O.P. tested
and health approved.
THAMES BEND FARMS LTD.
R.R.6, Woodstock, Ontario N48 7W1
519-655-2942 or 462-2704
RICHARD AND WARREN STEIN
THE RURAL VOICE/JANUARY 1981 PG. 17