The Rural Voice, 2000-03, Page 53RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
411*
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
RAINY RIVER VALLEY • The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
February 10, 2000
It's a beautiful time of the year. A
Northern February that brings the silent
season of winter for all to gather and
take time to visit with family and
neighbours before the busy days of
spring begin.
But, some of the gatherings these
days have been sad ones again. The
sudden passing of one of our local
cattlemen shocked the community when
Russell Richards senior died. Russ was a
man with a dream and a drive. He was a
man who never minced words — if he
disagreed with you, he let you know and
if he agreed, it was a triumph for all.
Russell was a cattleman who survived
many hardships, but overcame them with
determination. He worked hard and
spoke often of his son, Russ glr. and the
grandsons, who have managed the
Stratton Salesyards. He was, so very
proud.of their work and what they have
accomplished. We will miss him. I will
miss his stories of adversity and
blessings. Our condolences to Joan, Russ
Jr. and Carol and all the family. His
memory will live on through them.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario are dealing
with the issue of soft drink vending
machines in schools. A team of DFO
staff will meet with school officials to
seek continued endorsement of the milk
programs. Congratulations to Donald
Young School at Emo and Sturgeon
Creek School at Barwick for being on
this milk program for more than 10
years. They are two of 398 schools in
Ontario to be receiving a plaque from
Dairy Farmers of Ontario for running the
program 10 years or more.
Tim Horton's, Canada's fastest
growing fast food chain, is introducing
premium desserts in all 1,500 outlets
across Canada. Black Forest and
Chocolate Mousse cakes will be made
with real cream and will feature the
"Made with Real Cream" label. This is a
major breakthrough for the dairy
industry.
The elk have been released at
Cameron Lake near Nestor Falls. There
are 34 cows, one bull and 13 calves.
Another 12 - 15 bulls will be brought in
later. This has been done by the
Northwestern Elk Restoration Coalition
bringing the elk in from Elk Island
National Park in Alberta.
For you "later -on" calvers, the tattoo
letter for 2000 is "K".
National I.D. tags are on the way to
some of the farm supply stores, but too
late for the cattlemen already tagging the
calves born in January. This means re-
tagging if they keep the yearlings over.
To date, tags that have been approved for
acceptance in the program are Allflex,
Duflex, Reyflex and Zee tags. The
colours white, yellow and pink have
been approved for readability, and lime
green is still being tested as well as other
favoured colours. Brochures and
information will be available at your
local office. Call 1-800-373-2253 for
details.
A Grower Pesticide Safety Course
and Exam will be held on Monday,
March 6, 2000, at the Emo Inn from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Cost is $65. Pre -
register by March 2 at OMAFRA.
Rainy River District Community
Pasture is now accepting applications for
the year 2000 grazing season. Deadline
date to register is March 15. Call Wally
Hunsperger at 807-482-2581 for further
details.
(BIC) the Beef Information Centre
has a new promotional kit out for
restaurants, free of charge, which
supplies necessary information for
promotions on Valentine's Day, Father's
Day, winter comfort food and western
barbecue promotions. It will assist
independent restaurant operators in
promoting Canadian Beef. BIO is a
division of the Canadian Cattlemen's
Association.
The salesyard at Stratton is having a
new facelift as well as the new electronic
scales that the cattlemen have just set in
the ring. The seating will be closer to the
ring scales allowing buyers and viewers
a clearer perspective of the animals
offered for sale. The office is being
relocated to accommodate the whole
floor plan. The first sale of 2000 will be
Saturday, April 15 and then again in late
August. There will be a number of
changes, but all for the best. A big
THANKS to all the cattlemen who have
worked to make this possible.
The annual Ontario Cattlemen's
meeting is being held in Toronto the
week of February 22 and our Sales
Manager Russell Richards Jr., President
Peter Spuzak, and Vice -President Tom
Morrish, will be attending.
Rainy River Ag Days and Trade
Show will take place ,at Barwick Rec
Centre on March 31 and April 1. Exhibit
time is from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The
Rainy River Federation of Agriculture
will be holding their annual Spring
Dinner and Dance on the evening of
March 31 and exhibits may be viewed
during that time as well. Tickets for the
dinner and dance may be purchased from
any one of the directors.
There is a secret thrill in being the
first to leave footprints in freshly fallen
snow.
The Rainy River Stock Dog Club is
planning this year's activities. They are
holding a Fun Day April 29 and a Stock
Dog demo clinic on the evening of May
26 and on into the .weekend at Barwick.
A guest trainer will be coming in from
the west to demonstrate and teach
training skills to members. The training
will be of great benefit to the stock dog
owners in the district. Interest is
increasing at each meeting. The next get-
together will be March 21 and you can
call Trish Neilson, secretary -treasurer, of
the club for further information, or the
President, Elaine Aveyard at 486-3348.
Rainy River District Agricultural
Awareness Committee will be 'setting up
an informational display at one of the
Fort Frances schools on March 6 and 7.
This is to give the teachers in the district
the opportunity to view the information
and material that we have available for
all stools in the area. The teachers have
onlyto let us know what they need.
Farm Safety — Be prepared for a
farm emergency. Canadian Federation of
Agriculture has developed a resource to
help farmers handle emergencies. It's a
brochure with directions to the farm,
emergency contacts and dispatchers
needed, location of first aid kits, fire
extinguishers and self-contained
breathing apparatus. The brochure can be
hung by the phone on every farm. This
joint project effort was brought about by
CFA along with Pioneer Hi -Bred Ltd.,
the Crop Protection Institution of
Canada, the Canada Coalition for
Agricultural Safety and Rural Health and
Agriculture and Agri -food Canada. For a
copy, call your local Farm Safety or
CFA at 613-236-3633.
There is an old Dakota Indian
proverb that says. "We will be known by
the tracks we leave behind." It's
something to think about.
Happy Chinese New Year. It's the
year of the DRAGON.O
– Submitted by Shirley Morrish
MARCH 2000 51
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