The Rural Voice, 1981-08, Page 9GREY OMAF OFFICE
A formidable array
of staff and resources
by Susan Glover
Planning to renovate your barn? Stymied by weeds in your corn? Need a ration for a 2 -pound gain on a
600 -pound steer? Perhaps your dill pickles are soggy? Whatever the difficulty, chances are you'll find the
answer at the Grey County Office of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF). A formidable array
of staff and resources can be found in the modest brick building on Toronto Street in Markdale. The visitor is
greeted with an entrance laden with brochures, pamphlets, bulletins, and posters covering almost every aspect
of rural living, and the four women in the front office are kept busy with an unending stream of telephone calls
and inquiries.
This regional office is home base to 18 employees, including four specialists whose territories extend far
beyond Grey County. Without exception they value working with the farming community, enjoy living in the
south Grey area, and are intimately knowledgeable about agricultural practices and problems here --with the
exception of the new staff, the employees average over ten years with the Grey County office. The tired cliches
about the civil service certainly don't apply here; the atmosphere is one of harmonious but intense activity, and
since many of the staff themselves are farming, they are able to speak from daily experience. And what
motivates them? Over and over the comment was made, "I want to be able to help, to make farming more
profitable and efficient." "Knowing you've been of some benefit, even when you don't see the results right
away
Here are the people working for you in Grey County.
Not everyone is moving west these
days. and as proof, BOB BERRY recently
joined the staff as the Dairy Cattle
Specialist. His family has operated a
well-known dairy farm near Langley.
B.C. since 1910, and after graduating
from UBC, Bob worked as an ag. rep. in
Alberta and B.C.
As dairy specialist Bob covers Bruce,
Grey. Dufferin, Simcoe, Huron, Mus-
koka. Parry Sound, Sudbury. Manitoulin
and Algoma. His first priority is to get to
know dairy farmers and practices in the
area, and he hopes to be of assistance
both through education and trouble-
shooting. For example, the morning of
the interview Bob was on his way to visit
a producer near Bognor who had been
troubled with a high incidence of milk
fever and placenta retention in his herd,
to discuss the results of a feed analysis
with him.
Bob has bought a farm near Holland
Centre, with his wife Lisa. a specialist in
food processing. and their two young
children. A newcomer to Ontario, his first
glimpse of Markdale came with the job,
and he is eager to get to know his new
home. He's pleased with what he's seen
so far. but adds ruefully, "There's more
rocks than 1 anticipated!"
The Junior Agriculturalist Program.
hich places students from non-farm
backgrounds on Ontario farms for the
summer, is again underway this year,
under the able coordination of JOHN
COUTTS. John, who has finished his first
year in accounting at Sheridan College, is
no stranger to farming. His parents run a
dairy and beef farm near Melancthon,
and he has 27 4-H projects and an active
membership in Junior Farmers to his
credit. The Junior Agriculturalist Pro-
gram is in its ninth year. a testimony to
its success, and John has placed 25
students with farmers in Grey, Bruce.
and Dufferin Counties. He will be
monitoring the program throughout the
summer. and is planning a recreation
evening at the mid -way point for students
and host families to get together.
According to John, farmers are very
enthusiastic about the plan, and the
students often return year after year to
visit the families they meet.
Grey -Bruce is an important beef area in
Ontario. and DOUG DICKIE, the Beef
Cattle Specialist, is a valuable resource to
producers. Before coming to Grey seven
years ago. Doug graduated from the
University of Guelph with a M.Sc. in
Ruminant Nutrition and Biochemistry.
then did research for the federal govern-
ment and spent some time in Corner -
brook, Nfld. as an ag. rep. The responsi-
bilities of a large territory limit his time
for what he most enjoys, working directly
with producers. With close to 15,000 in
his area, he manages to keep in touch via
a series of meetings throughout the year.
Profitability is a key word right now,
and Doug sees a growing spread between
established producers and those operat-
ing on borrowed money. He also expects
the economic squeeze will bring a change
in credit management, with people
becoming more conservative in their
approach to credit and more efficient in
their use of both energy and money.
1f DAVE DIXON is representative of
the people who safeguard the quality of
milk, then consumers have nothing to
worry about. Dave, whose official title
runs to "Regional Supervisor, Milk
Industry Section, Farm Products Quality
Branch" supervises the field staff who
regularly check with producers and
transporters for quality control. His staff
constantly monitors farm premises,
equipment, milk samples. and transport-
ing equipment, and routine unannounced
visits are made to farms "to help keep
producers out of trouble." He chuckles
and adds that at times farmers may think
they are over -protective, but the pro-
ducers are usually pretty cooperative. It's
a very active branch. making more visits
to farms than all other OMAF branches
combined. but as Dave proudly notes. it
THE RURAI VOICE/AUGUST 1981 PG. 7