The Rural Voice, 1983-06, Page 62Clark Weppler, 12
ONE MAN'S OPINION
.64;t Keeping one
step ahead
by Adrian Vos
On our farm there is a drive on for more
efficiency. Many farmers resent being
told they will have to be more efficient if
they want to survive. This is understand-
able when we realize how much more
every farmer produces than his father
did. And Dad produced more than
Grand -dad. So we can go back to the
middle ages when a hundred farm
families were needed to supply the clergy
and the nobility in their county with food.
The question then is are we justified to
resent the admonition (be more effi-
cient). To some extent we are. Farmer's
ingenuity and willingness to take a
gamble on just about everything, from
weather and markets to floating interest
rates, have provided Canadians with the
cheapest food in the world, with the
exception of the Americans.
But unless we keep improving our
man/acre/animal productivity we will fall
behind and lose even more than we have
in the economic crises of the past few
years.
Canada Commerce, a publication from
the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Com-
merce (I.T. & C), speaking to industry
could as well have been speaking to agri-
culture. The article said:
« If the economy is booming,
managers are too busy running
their production lines and meet-
ing orders to be concerned with
the rather lofty concept of pro-
ductivity; and if, on the other
hand, the economy is weak,
they become too preoccupied
with their immediate survival to
spend time worrying about their
productivity. "
As we look at low prices for most
commodities, and coming low prices for
others, we have little choice but to listen
to the demand for more efficiency.
I always considered our farm relatively
efficient. But when I heeded the call for
better recordkeeping I found that my
average pig crop wasn't much better than
the Ontario average, and that is nothing
to write home about.
So we sat down to find where improve-
ments were needed. We found several
inefficiencies and I expect we will detect
more.
If we can produce four more pigs per
sow per year, it won't cost us anything
extra for the sow, the boar or the
housing. It will save on heating cost and
the only extra cost is feed from creep to
market, say $60. That's a tidy extra
income of $240 per sow. Not bad for a bit
of efficiency.
May be we shouldn't be so resentful if
we are told to be as efficient as anyone
else in the world.
It is my understanding that beef
cow/calf producers also have a low
average conception rate. The relatively
small number of cows makes every
barren cow count heavily. Efficiency
means hard work. Especially when
animals are involved. It means checking
and checking again, until the producer is
sure the animal is bred.
In field crops it means soil tests and
weed control. The latter, if done properly,
will force the farmer to walk his fields
until he knows which weeds are his
problem. Only then will he know which
herbicide to apply the next year.
No, there's nothing wrong with trying
to improve on efficiency. ❑
Adrian Vos, a regular columnist with
The Rural Voice is a freelance writer
from Huron county.
PATZ
Sales & Service
OVER 15 YEARS EXPERIENCE
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Evenings
367-2163 881-2680
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ALFRED KNECHTEL
Spray Painting Ltd.
Specializing in Farm Buildings
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R.R. 2 Wallensteln, Ont. NOB 2S0
(519) 669-2638
McCann
Redi-Mix Inc.
DASHWOOD
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MANGERS
SLATS
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Dashwood
237-3647
Exeter
235-0338
THE RURAL VOICE, JUNE 1983 PG. 61