The Rural Voice, 1981-07, Page 10PERTH COUNTY OMAF OFFICE
Al Scott and his dedicated crew
by Dean Robinson
When they're not on the fields (nearly 400,000
acres in the county as a whole) the farmers of Perth
are marketing hogs and beef, or producing milk or
poultry. At night they might be found helping with
the largest 4 -I -I program in the province, or attending
junior farmer or association meetings.
Sitting in the midst of all of this is Al Scott, the
county's agricultural representative, and his Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food staff. "It's a
dynamic area," says Scott. "Farming is king here.
This area is what farming is all about. I have a
tremendous respect for the guys I'm working with.
Before I came here I heard that Perth was the
sleeping giant. I don't agree with the 'sleeping'
part."
Scott and his people are well-trained and
well -seasoned. They all have a solid grounding in
what concerns farmers today, but they also have
expertise in two or three specific areas. It's designed
that way, says Scott, because the regional specialists
working out of his office are spread thinly and they
are not always easy to find by their phones or at their
desks. When they are not available then county
people are, and in most cases can handle the
inquiries and lend assistance.
Scott and the rest of his staff are profiled here
individually.
4 ..
ALAN SCOTT
Ag. Rep.
Quarterback of the Strat-
ford team of specialists and
co-ordinators is Al Scott, who
has been the Perth County
agricultural representative
for four years. He has been
with the Ontario Ministry of
Food and Agriculture since
he graduated from the Univ-
versity of Guelph with a
BSCA in 1961. (He has since
added a MSCA). He was
assistant ag rep in Lambton
County (Petrolia) from 1961-
64, and associate ag rep and
ag rep in North Simcoe
(Barrie) from 1964 to 1977
before coming to the Festival
City and the county he calls
"The last bastion of pure
agriculture." Scott admini-
sters the Perth office, serves
as its chief public relations
officer, and co-ordinates
county programs and pro-
gram development. As a
specialist in farm business
management he also coun-
sels farmers on financing,
debt repayment. transfers
and agreements. Scott sees
his role as one that must
change as the farm scene
changes. "There are always
new challenges and things to
PG. 8 THE RURAL VOICE /JULY 1981
learn." But digging up in-
formation to solve some-
body's problem is part of
what Scott says makes the
job interesting for him. That
involves interacting "with so
many fine people."
DR. TED ROTHMEL
Associate Ag. Rep.
Associate ag rep Ted Roth -
mel has been in Stratford for
10 years, after working in
Toronto for the department
of health. Before that it was
private veterinary practice
out of Orangeville (DVM.
University of Guelph). Dr.
Rothmel specializes in dairy
production or, more accu-
rately, the problems con-
nected with dairy production.
He works closely with pro-
ducers, vets and artificial
insemination units. Aims are
to increase milk production.
reduce metabolic diseases,
decrease the calving interval,
cut the mortality rate among
calves, and maintain the
butter fat levels in milk. A
herd in trouble creates a lot
of anxiety and tension for the
producer and his family, and
Dr. Rothmel says there is a
lot of personal satisfaction
when he can help eliminate
that trouble. Having a pro-
ducer say "thank you"
makes it all worthwhile.
ART LAWSON
Associate Ag. Rep.
After graduating from the
University of Guelph with a
BSC in 1969 and a MSc in
1970, Art Lawson was named
an associate ag rep in Well-
ington County. a position he
held until 1973. But in that
year it was back to the land
and he farmed in the Milton
area until 1980 when he
returned to OMAF as an
associate rep in Perth County.
Lawson is a crop, swine and
farm management specialist
and he thrives on the variety
in his job. With ever-chang-
ing technology there is
always a challenge to im-
prove farm productivity and
financial performance.
Lawson enjoys seeing
people succeed with new
endeavors or modifications
that work, and he feels he
can help in that regard by
being a problem -solver and a
person who can make avail-
able the information required
to get a farm operation to
show more profits.
RICHARD SMELSKI
Swine Specialist
A native of Manitoba,
swine specialist Richard
Smelski has been working
out of Stratford for eight
years, serving the counties of
Perth, Huron, Oxford and
Norfolk. He has a bachelor's.
degree in agriculture and a
master's in swine n"trition,
and he works directly and
solely with pork production.
That includes relaying breed-