The Rural Voice, 2002-03, Page 63R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
RAINY JJ.rTT-J 807-486-3622
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER RAINY RIVER VALLEY -The esti nVme is provided Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
February /3, 2002
Life is never simple. I don't know
which felt worse, the threatened
terrorist attack this week or the
windstorm that outed our power for
five hours on Monday. After living the
July 31 tornado that went through here,
any winds are a reason to tie everything
down. All those trees that are being cut
and sent to the local mills are making
the once scenic bushline look like an
open prairie. That's why we feel the
wind now, like we never did before.
Man has changed this world in more
ways than one and not always for the
best.
"Every piece of the universe, even
the tiniest little snow crystal, matters
somehow. I have a place in the pattern,
and so do you." T. A. Barron, Heartlight.
The RRFA held their February 5
meeting at Emo with Bernice Zimmer-
man chairing, and Angela Halvorsen,
Kelly Teeple, Susan Boersma, James
Gibson, Rudy Sinninghe, KimJo Bliss,
Jason Teeple and Shirley Morrish
attending.
Kimio announced the March 10
skating party and potluck lunch to be
sponsored by the RRFA and the local
4-11 members. It will be at 1:00 p.m. for
the meal and everyone can skate until
4:00 p.m. There's a great time to be had
by all!
The Ag Days sponsor lists are out
now, so if you want to be a part of Ag
Days, call Kimio at 482-2863. Ag Days
have been set for Friday, April 12 and
Saturday, April 13 at the Barwick
Community Centre. There's an
excellent lineup of peakers and the
annual RRFA dinner takes place the
evening of April 12.
Bernie reported that the Dairy
Livestock Medicine Course is on
February 27 and he is hoping that
many, if not all, the dairy producers in
the district will be able to attend. The
Beef Livestock Medicine Course is
scheduled for February 28 and March
1. The first day is full.
4-H had their annual meeting, and
the new president is Wilma Sletmoen.
Vice-president is Ken Fisher; secretary,
Cindy Neilson and treasurer, Carol
Angus. The annual 4-H Awards
Banquet is Friday, March 1 at Stratton
Millennium Hall.
One of our RRFA members was
inquiring on the availability of a
"beeper" which lets you know when
someone drives into your yard. When
he finds out, we hope he gives the rest
of us a call. Some dogs just don't bark!
OCA annual meeting is February
20-21 at the International Plaza Hotel
in Toronto. Attending from the Rainy
River District is new president Tom
Morrish, Provincial Director Archie
Wiersema and Sales Manager Russ
Richards. The next meeting date is set
for March 20. The new vice-president
is Peter Spuzak and the first sale of the
season is scheduled for Saturday, April
27 at the Stratton Sales Barn. Clayton
Teeple, is now the Cattlemen's
representative to the RRFA.
Congratulations to our ringman
Todd Richards and his wife Joanne on
the birth of their new baby son. With a
birthweight of over eight pounds, he
has a great start for his life as another
cowboy.
Dick VanDerByl, OCA President,
gave an excellent presentation at the
annual Rainy River District
Cattlemen's Association meeting at
Stratton. He answered a number of
concerns for the local cattlemen.
President, Tom Morrish was pleased
with the fine attendance of young
farmers from the District. It looks like
another busy year coming up. Jo Bragg
is the secretary/treasurer and she will
take memberships any time during the
year at $5 a year. You can see Jo at the
upstairs sales office, April 27.
For some of us who still use
Bernardin Ltd. snap lids for Gem jars in
canning, a problem has come up. The
company no longer manufacturers snap
lids because they claim that this type
were not very popular. If you disagree
with this, write to the company at 120
The East Mall, Toronto, M8Z 5V5.
There's a new plastic bale feeder out
now. It was created by Corey Dalman
from Oak Creek Industries near Baldur,
south east of Brandon, Manitoba. Our
closest distributor is Ken Fisher. Ken
lives south of the town of Emo, which
is not the Trans -Canada Highway as
some may believe. Emo is situated on
Hwy. 11/71 beside the river which
borders Minnesota and Ontario. This
info is for you folks who live at the
other end of Ontario and who have not
seen the true map of Ontario.
The Rainy River Valley Agricultural
Society (Fairboard) held their first
meeting with the new executive.
President is Joyce Meyers, First Vice is
Bill James, Second Vice is Cecil
Ogden. Directors are Candy Green -
grass, Shirley Teeple, Kelly Teeple,
Allan Teeple, Jason Teeple, Lois Caul,
James Gibson, Jan Halvorsen, Sarah
Halvorsen, Gary Judson, Morris
Judson, Harold Kellar, Delores Romyn,
with ex-officios, Linda Armstrong and
Deb Zimmerman.
OAFE — P.D. Day was held at local
Public Schools. Kristine Carpenter set
up a display at Sturgeon Creek School
and Shirley Morrish set up a display at
Crossroads School. The teachers were
able to visit during their breaks from
the workshop. Many asked questions.
received information, handouts and
educational items that we had available.
We found that a good number of
teachers are interested in teaching about
agriculture, but it always seems to be
the same ones who are passing the
message on from year to year. It comes
down to a personal thing. We just want
to get the message through. "If you ate
today — Thank a Farmer". Plans are
underway for the spring Farmers'
Market Opening Day and the display
booth at the Farm Progress Building for
the annual fall fair in August.
As of July 1, 2002, this year,
National 1.D. will become compulsory.
There will be monetary penalties
against producers who do not comply
with the program. This system of
traceback is to ensure rapid contain-
ment, and the elimination of potentially
devastating reportable diseases.
Removal of approved tags will carry a
more serious charge and violators could
be prosecuted.
In May of this year, all five of the
visible planets will line up and can be
observable to the naked eye. This
happened in 1940 and will not happen
again for 40 years.
The Rainy River Hereford
Association held their annual meeting
with a potluck supper at Stratton. Tom
and 1 were invited because we have the
honour of weighing their "guess the
weight" beef contest at the fair each
fall. It was great! New directors are
KimJo Bliss -Calder, Kristine
Carpenter, Louis Bujold, Aaron
Kuorikoski, Len Kuorikoski, Vicki
Calder, Clarence Bujold, Gordon
Cornell and Jr. Advisor, Kim Cornell.
Their first meeting will be March 19.
Now that calving is well underway,
it's a good idea to have a spare pair of
clean boots when visiting your
neighbouring farm. Farm Safety says
it's a good practice all year round.
"If you had to identify, in one word,
the reason why the human race has not
achieved and never will achieve, it's
full potential, that word would be
'meetings'."0
— Submitted by Shirlw Morrish
MARCH 2002 59
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