The Rural Voice, 2004-02, Page 16J.R. FARMS
EAST FRIESIAN
DAIRY SHEEP
> Breeding Stock and FI crosses
> Milk production records
available
> Closed Flock, Maedi -Visna
OPP -negative
> Economically priced
BILL AND LAURA MCKAY
RR 2 Tavistock. ON
NOB 2R0
(519) 462-1446
e-mail: jrdairysheep@execulink.com
CANADIAN
CO-OPERATIVE
WOOL GROWERS
LIMITED
Now Available
WOOL ADVANCE PAYMENTS
Skirted Fleeces
* Well -Packed Sacks
For more information contact:
WINGHAM
WOOL DEPOT
John Farrell
R.R. 2, Wingham, Ontario
Phone/Fax 519-357-1058
12 THE RURAL VOICE
Mabel's Grill
The
world's
problems
are
solved
daily
'round
the table
at
Mabel's.
"Man, it's hard to imagine that
spring will ever come again," said
Dave Winston one day after
struggling out of his truck, wading
through a newly deposited snowdrift
in front of Mabel's door and then
stripping off three layers of clothing.
"That's why I like to go to crop
meetings this time of the year," said
George MacKenzie. "They get
talking about planting this or that
crop and putting on this herbicide or
that fertilizer and after an hour or so
you can almost forget there's a
blizzard blowing outside. It's about
as close as I'm going to get to a trip
to Florida with cattle prizes being
what they are."
"I wouldn't mind going to those
meetings if some guy wouldn't get
up and tell me how I've got to
`embrace change'," said Cliff
Murray. "Usually it means he wants
to get more money out of my pocket
and leave me with just change."
"I've got nothing against
embracing change," said Dave. "I'd
do it if it wasn't so damn big I can't
get my arms around it."
"Yeh, like all this nutrient
management stuff," said Cliff. "How
in H am I supposed to take on more
expense when I'm going broke with
my sheep now?"
"And don't forget all the folks
who think we should be testing every
steer for BSE," said George. "Who
do you think is going to pay for that?
Certainly not the consumer and
certainly not the packer."
"Have you noticed how the BSE
thing touched off all this scary stuff
everywhere you turn about the
dangers of eating food," said Dave.
"I mean, CBC you expect to be
dumping on farmers all the time but
there was Maclean's magazine
asking if you could trust the food."
"Look, if you want to see real
terrorists, look at the news media,"
said George. "I mean nothing sells
papers like scaring the H out of them
so they're working up everybody
about Mad Cow disease and water
that's going to kill you because of the
E. coli in it. You'd think people were
dropping like flies."
"And don't forget Asian bird flu,"
said Cliff. "I mean the way they've
been playing that up you'd swear
there was an epidemic in Toronto."
"And the real thing that's going to
kill the most people in this country is
getting too fat because they eat too
much because we're giving them
food that's too cheap," said Dave.
"And they're blaming us for it
having too much fat," said George.
"Did you see the study on the Old
Order Amish at Aylmer?" asked
Cliff. "They eat 50 per cent more
calories than people in the regular
population but hardly anybody's
overweight because they get so much
exercise to wear it off."
"And I haven't seen a gym
anywhere in an Old Order
community either," said Dave.
"Yeh, that's a farmer's life alright,
lots of exercise," said George.
"What, did you stop being a
farmer then?" asked Molly Whiteside
looking at his expanding waistline as
she delivered his eggs and sausage.
"Yeh, well, I guess I haven't
plowed with horses for a while," said
George.
"Or thrown bales around by
hand," admitted Cliff.
"Where do they find all the money
for that kind of study anyway?"
wondered Dave.
"Oh there's always money around
for science, even if it's useless
science," grumbled George.
"What did they spend, $800
million to send those two little golf
carts to Mars?" wondered Cliff.
"And that's peanuts compared to
what George Bush is going to spend
to send people up there," said Molly.
"At a time when the U.S. has a
huge deficit too," said George.
"Yeh, well I figure George is
pretty much like most of us farmers
then," said Cliff. "He may be in hock
but he can't resist buying more
land."0