The Rural Voice, 2004-04, Page 58AgriTech
The ultimate source of rural links
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton. ON.
Several months ago. I mentioned
briefly in this column a website 1 had
discovered while researching another
topic and vowed to myself to go back
for a better look.
Having done so recently, a tour of
Rural Living Canada at
www.rurallivingcanada.com, proved
to be a very worthwhile endeavour
and one that truly could take an entire
afternoon to seriously review all it
has to offer.
Rural Living in and of itself. is not
a website filled with information for
rural residents, but is an amazing
collection of "non -urban resources
and websites". It is the link to
everything rural and when I say,
everything. with more than 8,500
connections to other sites, there are
few topics left untouched. Not only
does it contain resources of interest to
life-long farmers such as the market
reports and. agricultural news updates,
but also hosts links for recently -
converted urbanites who continue to
move away from the frenzy of city
life either during childrearing years
or for retirement.
So packed with information is the
homepage that it may at first be over-
whelming. My suggestion, if just
generally checking out the site, is to
start at the top and work your way
down.
Under the Agri News Updates,
surfers can read the top 10 weather
stories from 2001, or look at the
current and future weather forecasts
for western grain farmers. This link
can also be made through www.can-
adiangrain.com/weathertec/index.html.
For the stargazers among you,
there's information on space weather
and astrological features. There are
links to a bevy of Canadian and
international weather sites, even
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
SPECIALIZING IN:
• Farm Drainage
• Municipal Drainage
• Backhoe Work
• Excavator Work
• Dozer Work
• Erosion Control
WE OFFER:
■ FREE ESTIMATES
• Personal evaluation of your project
■ Detailed plans and design work
■ State-of-the-art equipment
• Qualified and experienced personnel
■ Guaranteed workmanship & customer service
For that personal touch, pride in workmanship,
experience and FREE ESTIMATES call
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
R.R. #3, Palmerston, Ontario
1-888-534-0393
OFFICE 343-3233 HOME 338-2373
STEVE CRONSBERRY (Owner)
54 THE RURAL VOICE
something for hurricane watchers.
Agri News is a link to regional,
national, international and wire
service reports. The regional link
connects to a long list of local
newspapers including The Citizen
covering North Huron, the Hanover
Saugeen City News and the Fergus -
Elora Express, just to name a few.
Market links cover Keady to
Kingston and Carson Farms as well
as national auctions.
However, what first drew me to
this site was the listing for interests,
outdoor lifestyles and communities.
Not only are there the obvious links
to retail outlets providing the sought
after service, but connections to sites
such as "Ask the Builder", and
though it is an American site, I'm
sure the instruction for repairing a
toilet would still apply.
Under Outdoor Lifestyles can be
found information, fishing charters in
British Columbia or snowmobile
clubs in Northern Ontario.
The Communities section is a
good portal to small-town Canada.
Divided by province, all the
communities listed are under 10,000
people and have websites to advertise
their attributes. Some of the locals
mentioned included Ingersoll,
Flesherton and Goderich. Unfortun-
ately, at the time of my last search,
some sites were down.
From there, visitors can plan farm
vacations or stops at fall fairs.
There are also links to numerous
publications such as Mother Earth
News, www.motherearthnews.com
and the Old Farmer's almanac,
www.almanac.com/index.php.
As usual, some links are of more
interest and of better design than
others, however, there are plenty to
search through as I have only touched
on a small portion of what Rural
Living has to offer.
The one downfall of this site,
which probably only applies to us
poor users still on dial-up, is the
speed, or lack thereof, for the
downloading of some of the pages
heavily weighted with graphics.
Patience is definitely a prerequisite
for a visit, but well, worth the wait.
Contact me at jlbecker@wightman.ca
or through The Rural Voice office,
with feedback or topic suggestions.0