The Rural Voice, 1981-07, Page 15Need some information?
Chances are it's available free at your local OMAF office
by Herb Shoveller
Agriculture has not been forgotten
by research and technology, and for a
farmer to be successful in the competitive
market he needs to keep abreast of new
techniques and advice available to the
industry. That means farming becomes
an ongoing education of sorts, and
perhaps the handiest places to study up
are the county offices of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food (OMAF).
The material offered at the Huron
County office in Clinton is representative
of what's available in Stratford (Perth),
Markdale (Grey) and Walkerton (Bruce).
The lobby at the Clinton branch is lined
on two walls with between 200 and 225
books and pamphlets along with hund-
reds of fact sheets. And more agricultural
information is piled along the reception
counter.
There's more. What seems like an
unlimited pool of facts and data on
farming goes beyond just the material on
display. The lobby handouts contain
mainly general information. As the
Associate agricultural representative for Huron, Stan Paquette outlines some of the
material available at your local OMAF office.
questions become more specific, perhaps
as the product of agriculture's steady
advance toward specialization. answers
can be sought from ag. reps. and other
office employees, who have additional
resources at their disposal.
"A lot of it becomes more specific,"
explains associate representative Stan
Paquette. "For example, how many
square feet does a beef animal need in a
feed lot operation.? You have to go
elsewhere."
"Or, for example, if it is about
ventilation in a barn, we refer that to our
engineers. Farming has become more
specialized in the past 20 years. and the
questions and inquiries have become
more specific."
As the volume of information on
technical changes in agriculture has
expanded so, too, have the publications
describing the developments. "This sort
of thing would have been available to
them (farmers) over the years," noted
Paquette while explaining publications
have grown in size rather than number.
"For example, some of the publications
we have today 25 years ago were just
publications like this," he said, flipping
through a small two-page print out. "Just
a dinky, little pamphlet. Now, you've got
an 80 to 100 page book."
Current information prepared by the
provincial ministry touches all concerns
of the agricultural community, and is
organized into a number of categories.
It's interesting to note, as well, that
OMAF material is not exclusively for the
farmer but may in many cases appeal to
the general public as well. So, while there
is much reading on field crops, livestock,
soils and insects and pests, there are also
handbooks on horticulture, homemaking
and foods. And they're free for the
asking.
The material, according to Paquette, is
just an extension of what he perceives as
the role of OMAF. "Our job is in teaching
the farmer how to farm better, and how to
make a profit."
THE RURAL VOICE/JULY 1981 PG. 13