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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-03-16, Page 34Page 18 -Farm Progress '94 MABON MEATS ABATTOIR R.R. #81 Dungannon *Custom Killing *Selling Sides of Beef & Pork *Freezer Orders 529-7601 Former agriculture minister heads.. up Canadian Agra by Ron Wassink A former Saskatchewan agricul- ture minister is the new president of Canadian Agra in Kincardine. Lorne Hepworth moved into the newly created position in January and hasn't looked back. He comes to the Kincardine area from Saskatchewan where he was trained as a veterinarian and then spent almost 10 years in public life as a top profile cabinet minister in Grant Devine's Tory government. . Hepworth was raised on the family farm in south-central Sas- katchewan, took early schooling at the Hepworth School and high school in . Assiniboia. Upon graduation from Regina University, he practised in Lloydminster for a couple of years before opening a veterinary practise in Weyburn. Besides his rural background, Hepworth brings a wealth of political experience to his new position. In government, he was minister of agriculture, education, finance and energy and mines. Hepworth accepted the challen- ging position offered by Canadian Agra, because he says he believes in the co'mpany's approach to agriculture. "It's a very modern approach that's so right for the times; the integrated approach," he says. "It's the way we have to go." Defining that "approach", Hep- worth says it's a value-added con- . • 'cept and diversification. "It's not just stopping and thinking that farming equals' production. But it's the production, then taking , production and adding valine to it through processing, and marketing that production throughout the world." Canadian ,Agra's . head office is north of the Kincardine airport on Highway 21. The company owns large tracts of land in Bruce and Kincardine townships. Much of the 1and,grows alfalfa for its new alfal- fa cubing plant. Local farmers also supply the plant with. alfalfa. Marketing is North American -wide through Canadian Agra's BioCube. It, also owns the. Pelee Island winery, and is a member of a machinery ring cooperative. When he heard of Canadian You Pick the Price! Two Volume Levels .15W40 from $1 •2per litre • Save up to 3Oper litre. SPRING LUBE SAGE EDWARD FUELS -CLINTON-.-GODERICH- 482-7381 524-8386 SALE ENDS NEXT WEEK Friday March 25th -TEESWATER- •SALES AND 392-6100 ' SERVICE Lorne Hepworth Agra's vision, Hepworth says he was "very much in tune" with it: Secondly, he says his .decision to mov.e to Kincardine was made easy because the company was located in a rural setting. on the shores of Lake Huron. "This is the kind of environment my wife and I feel at home in. If it had been Toronto, sorry, I'm not interested. The community itself was a factor. "We ,get to work here! Most people just dream about retiring here. What more can you ask for ... it almost leaves one speechless: 'Questioned about the economy and its effect on. business, Hep-, worth says, "We're not immune from global events relative to the business no. more than anybody else.". But, he says diversification can 'provide some stability, an example Canadian Agra attests to. Borrowing a cliche, he says you. How does your farm pesticide storage area measure up? have to act locally and think global- ly, Look at the world as a marketplace. Hepworth says he's an optimist. ' You have to be in the farming business and he says farming • is "going through one of its most interesting period in terms of .the change its` going to face, and not. change in.the negauve sense." Farming is a very sophisticated business, he says, adding. that a becomes • thoreso as new tech- nologies and information come to light. Though. change can be unsettling, he says a has to be viewed positively. "We're richly .blessed and we sometimes forget that. We can't look inward, we have to look out ward. That's very much part of this global view Canadian Agra has in terms of marketing." About the future of Canadian Agra, he says,' "quite frankly we will continue to grow." Speaking of the trials and tribulations of Ontario Hydro, the area's dominant employer, Hep- worth is careful not to treat Hydro's problems in simplistic terms. But, he, says reality is coping with the world in change and "change is never easy. It can be viewed negatively or positively." Hepworth's advice is to "stand back and look at the larger picture. When one does that and looks at what we're blessed with, there's a lot .of .opportunity. We sometimes foregeC all the resource we• have. It's easy to overlook; e'speciall'y in times of uncertainty. ' To put it another way, Hepworth says if he looks to his children, "I think they have a very bright £uttire ahead of them." - Pesticide storage areas must only be used for pesticides. Warning signs must ,be posted at all, entran- ces, and emergency telephoe num- bers prominently displayed. Storage facilities must be locked and properly ventilated, but may not have floor drains. Protective gear must be close at hand. These pes-, ticide storage guidelines. are legal requirements in the Province of Ontario! (from ' the Farm Safety, Association) ' PERFECT HARMONY Melodie VanderWal Nutritional Symptomatologist Lifestyle Consultant. Food Cravings Stress Hyperactivity Migraines Indigestion Insomnia Chronic Fatigue PMS Constipation These are a few of the number of health problems people try to live with every day. • We can -learn much from symptoms. Symptoms are our body's' way of telling us , something is not as it should be. These same symptoms could also be'a'n alning to Ars of what is to come.. . For over four years, I have been counselling people on nutritional choices that can ' offer them a much healthier Lifestyle. This is a natural approach that can be used in a preventative way to correct deficiencies. Are you suffering from health problems today? Are you concerned about the future of your (and your family's) health and wellbeing? Call today for an appointment for a FREE NUTRITIONAL CONSULTATION. PERFECT HARMONY Melodie V,inderWal R R #3. C 'ion Ont.ir'J, 5'511462 '•'