The Rural Voice, 1981-11, Page 13!(ttchtuet-W «tctto o Recotb
Jim Romahn
by Sheila Gunby
"A lot of people view me as
a 'disturber'," says Jim
Romahn, farm writer at the
Kitchener -Waterloo Record.
"They think I'm liable to
raise trouble. But I'm not
writing to please, I'm w riting
to inform. I'm not trying to be
right, I'm trying to draw
attention. I report as best I
can and try to get the stories
others don't. 1 don't report
the markets. I don't go to the
openings of new plants others
will be covering that. I'd
rather check to see if a
product is doing what it
claims. I don't want to take
anybody's word for anything I
want to know myself."
Each day there's a foot
high pile of mail on Jim
Romahn's desk. Information
from farm organizations,
commission reports, senate
hearings; enough material to
give him a feel for what's
going on in the agricultural
industry.
As a farm writer, Jim
Romahn has a head start.
He's a farmer's son. His
father, known for his pure-
bred Yorkshire hogs and his
excellent Holstein dairy herd,
stories behind the story
Jim Romahn
still farms to -day about ten
miles west of Kitchener.
"I was interested in
farming, but I didn't want to
be a farmer, Romahn says,
"especially the way I knew
I'd have to farm --seven days a
week --no possibility of hired
help. I used to be envious of
other kids. They'had holidays
and time for sports."
sports."
Getting into journalism
was a "quirky thing," he
says, "I happened to be good
in English in high school but
relatively poor in math. I
didn't want to stay at home;
there was hardly time even to
do homework. I went to
Western in London and they
wrote a letter to my parents
and said it was mandatory I
work on a newspaper. So I
lived at home but started
working for the Kitchener -
Waterloo Record. By 1965, 1
had my honours journalism.
but the Record already had a
good farm reporter. There
was no opportunity for me
there, as a farm reporter, so
after two months 1 quit.
By spring of '68, Romahn
was in Ottawa, working for
the federal agricultural
department, doing a lot of
policy writing. He was also
writing speeches for
agriculture minister, Eugene
Whalen for a period of three
years, a fact few people were
aware of at the time.
Soon he felt unable to
handle the work Toad of two
jobs, but by then, the
Kitchener -Waterloo Record
was looking for a farm writer.
Romahn went back to the
Record in 1974 and since then
has been going through
masses of agriculturally
related material, things like
the "Senate Report on
Marketing". He says he was
happy there was a mail strike
so he could get to the bottom
of the pile.
Romahn says he can do
anything he wants." The
stories 1 like to do are the
stories about the forces
behind 'the story," he says
Investigative stories. I like to
look at the nature of the
industry. I sort of say, 'If
these forces are at play, then
I'll betcha--."
And he's been sued. "A
common hazard in the
newspaper industry," he
says, "But I've never lost
money."
Romahn picks up the
telephone and places call
across Canada. He says
agriculture has to be viewed
nationally. "What's going on
in Quebec, has a major
impact on us."
As far as his job goes,
Romahn says it's
overwhelming -- there are so
many commodities -- so many
reports, but dispite this, he
sums his work up in one word
"exciting".
The name of the game in farming
BY SHEILA GUNBY
Every once in awhile you hear about a
farmer with a real good name - like for
instance - a farmer called Keith Cornfield.
Or John Farrow. Names that let everyone
know they're farmers. Names pertaining
to agriculture and farming.
Like John Holstein.
Checking around, good names came to
light. Norm Bird, a poultry specialist. Bert
Eggert, egg board chairman. Lorne Hurd
on the milk board.
Names pertaining to the land - Art
Field, Robert Goodacre, John Landman
and Bruce Fieldhouse. Lots of farmers
with the last name of Hogg or Hay.
There's a Don Oatman and a Carl Bale.
Interesting names like Norm Binns,
Maurice Bean, Don Loft, Larry Workman
and Lloyd Miller.
Lots of names tied in with the sheep
industry - Keith Woolley, Woody Lamb.
And Wayne Woolfit, a sheep consultant
from Nova Scotia.
G.W. Cattle is a farmer but he happens
to be in grain; Morley Shepherdson
belongs to a cattlemen's association. And
Leonard Burger is a bona -fide beef
farmer.
If you're on the grape board, what could
be better than a name like Tom Green -
sides?
And Larry Wheatley is a perfect name
for a president of a soil and crop
improvement association.
Great to have a name that goes with the
game. But I hope no-one takes offense at
this "name calling" or my name will be
Mud. Given, the time of year, that's a
farmers name too.
THE RURAL VOICE/ NOVEMBER 1981 PG. 11