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The Rural Voice, 2000-10, Page 33family who wanted to continue dairying. Now, raising replacement heifers, they've turned most of the farm over to pasture and hay crops, with only a small amount of grain. Most of the land near the stream is now in permanent pasture with a buffer strip to help protect water quality. With all the trees the Cooks have planted over the Years, close to one-quarter of the 200 -acre farm is now in woodlot. Though this is reversing a trend that many farmers follow of finding more and more land for crops, Roger feels the long-term value of wooded land is high. "The value of a properly managed woodlot is every bit as financially viable as traditional field crops," he says. Sometimes a woodlot can even be managed to provide a steady income. A neighbour selectively harvests a truckload or so a year of logs from his farm "and he has a woodlot that puts this one to shame," Roger says. Roger's interest in wood is now imparted to others. He has a large travelling display which he takes to public events to show people how to identify trees by their leaves, bark and nuts. He's also on the executive of the Huron Perth Woodlot Owners Association. And ironically, he says, all this might not have happened without that botched logging operation more than 20 years ago. "If it hadn't happened in that manner we might not have gotten all that interested," Roger says.0 Newest addition to the woodlot is a plantation of American chestnut trees planted last year. DAVID E. GREIN LOGGING Buyer of Standing & Felled Hardwood Timber & Bush Lots • Competitive Pricing • Quality Workmanship • 20 Years Experience R.R.#1 Neustadt (519) 799-5997 WINGHAM FORESTRY SERVICE R.R. #1, Wingham Ontario NOG 2W0 TREE MARKING FOR TIMBER SALES OR FUEL WOOD CALL (519) 335-6768 MURRAY HALL - FORESTRY TECHNICIAN Logging & Timber Appraisals / Forest Management Consulting FORUM SERVICE LTD. Telephone 519-655-2703 Mobile 519-748-7422 BRUCE KROPF R.R. 1, Shakespeare, Ontario NOB 2P0 "Always Buying Standing Timber and Cut Logs" MISUTZWEIFLE Q) iv -o T U draulic •ump Hoses Bearings Hydraulic Pumps Cylinders VOC)LWLITTSAS3 Rugged - Convenient 3 pt. hitch & engine powered models from 5.5 - 9 h.p. with Honda engines B BARFOOT'S w 0 m co WELDING AND MACHINE INC. 517 Brown St., Wiarton (519) 534-1200 1-800-265.6224 OCTOBER 2000 29