The Rural Voice, 1982-07, Page 36by Brent Robinson
THE YOUNG FARMER
The Great Round Up
A green half -ton truck rolled into our
yard and eased to a stop. A man stepped
out and asked me if my dad was around. 1
told him he was away and wouldn't be
home for awhile. The man, in his worn-out
dusty, work clothes, told me he thought he
saw our pigs walking back the side road. I
could have cried! They must have gotten
over that....electric fence.
I ran to the house to tell Scott the bad
news. He told me to go to the shed and
start the r.owerful motorbike. Out of the
house he jogged and hopped onto the
motorcycle.
Out of the driveway we roared spinning
gravel off the road. Up to the corner we
buzzed and we whizzed back the sideroad.
When we neared the place where they
were last spotted we slammed on the
brakes. Off the bike we slid and looked
around for pigs.
Then we spotted the mysterious and
suspicious footprints, criss-crossing back
the road. The pigs could be anywhere back
in the "swamp". Scott and I started
following their tracks right away. Their
footprints kept winding down the road
I'M A CHINCHILLA
and you can raise me INVEST NOW for your
family business for fun and lulure' This is all ,t lakes
to start your Career as a Chinchilla Rancher a
love of animals—a garage or spare room such as a
basement which meets the climatic conditions re-
gwrod for chinchilla and a little spare time
Chinchillas are one of the most valuable furbearing
animals in the world in the fastest growing fur
industry. Healthy harmless. odor -free. Chinchillas are
easy to care for indoors and they eat very little
they're vegetarians
r
SENO TODAY TO.
Monarch Fora Inc.,
P.O. Box 1521, Stn."C"
Kitchener, Ont. N2G 4P2
NAME
ADDRESS
CIT/ PH081
AGE OCCUPATION
MARRIED 0 SINGLE 0
Gentlemen I am interested w Chinchilla ranch
mg. Please supply information facts, figures
and potential 01 Chinchilla Ranching to this
aced (ADULTS ONLY PLEASE). I am interested
In ❑ PART TIME RANCHING
❑ FULL TIME RANCHING
uresaru11 wn»aur 0nwerm5
J
PG. 38 THE RURAL VOICE/JULY 1982
getting closer to the "swamp".
Finally they ended but they turned into
somebody's field. We ignored the No
Trespassing sign and drove in. You could
tell that they had been in there, because
everywhere there were little sods dug up.
We simply followed their tracks beside a
fence, through a gully, and through a
boggy thicket. We went through all of this
and finally when we reached the other side
there they were, looking as innocent as
could be.
And they probably were. About twenty
pigs were in the bunch. We headed them
back around the bush this time, but we
still had to wade through the ditch. The
going was easy after that. They trotted out
of the field and onto the road. Along the
road they went, eating both gravel and
grass. Scott and I both thought they were
going a good speed until they started to
slow down.
When pigs get tired they don't like to
move very easily, so when a car came
along they didn't move until they wanted
to. The car waited patiently for the pigs to
get off the road. When they finally did we
found out that the driver was our
neighbour and he was very understand-
ing. At this point we were about
half -a -mile from the barn and you could
see the sun -soaked buildings.
One good thing about being so close to
home was that we didn't have to take them
into the barn. All we had to do was put
them in the field where they were before.
We set the fence up and then we noticed
the tire tracks in the ground. Then we
knew.
Into the house we casually walked and
approached Dad, calm, cool, and collected
Then at the same time we said, "Dad, did
you by any chance accidentally forget to
set the fence up after you were drawing
manure?" His reply was just what we
thought it was.
He said "yes".
Safety: mostly common sense
Living on a farm is fun. but there is a lot
of danger too. Some of the hazards are
these: don't ride with anybody on the
tractor. If you fall off, you could get killed
or your arm or leg taken off.
If you get in a grain wagon make sure
no one has turned it on. If they do you
would be killed.
Never start up any machines if you
don't know how to work it because you
could hurt someone, even yourself.
It's not very safe to go close to any
machine. If you are riding on a wagon,
always hold on, especially if it is bumpy.
Never go up on a hay elevator.
Don't walk on beams or you might fall
and hurt yourself.
If you are picking stones in the field,
then don't go in front of the tractor or you
will get run over.
Never go in a field with a bull or you
will get badly hurt.
Don't go near electric fences or you
might get electrocuted.
Make sure you've shut off the power
when making electrical repairs or you will
get hurt.
Lock the brakes on the tractor before
leaving.
Make sure all steps are kept clear of
debris or you will fall.
Check that there are no people near
before starting up machinery or they
could be sucked up into machinery.
Keep P.T.O. drive shafts carefully
guarded at all times or it will suck in
everything.
A tion'# eld loader is a
STOPlO place co, kidc lb ride./
Never fuel your tractor when it is hot -
always shut tractor off before fueling or
the tractor will start on fire.
Be careful when making turns near
ditches or banks or you may fall off.
Watch out for fences when riding on a
tractor or snowmobile or you will get cut
and hurt very badly.
1 hope you have fun living on a farm,
but play safe!
Debbie Taylor, age 9, Ripley