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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Rural Voice, 2004-08, Page 3About this issue The role of leadership in rural communities often forgotten While much has been written and discussed about the declining rural population and influence, an issue often overlooked is the loss of the instruments that created rural leaders. That topic comes to mind this month with the 60th anniversary alumni reunion of the Junior Farmers Association of Ontario. Once with more than 10,000 members across Ontario, the Junior Farmers played a huge role in building the farm leadership of today. Many of those who head farm groups learned their leadership skills from JFAO. But cutbacks in government funding and changing trends among rural young people have badly hurt the Junior Farmer movement and today there are barely more Junior Farmers members in the entire province then there were in Huron County alone at the height of the group's membership. We take a look back and ahead at Junior Farmers. While the loss of leaders is a problem, irreplaceable farmland is also being lost to urban sprawl. How do you preserve farmland in the face of the ever-expanding cities of southern Ontario? Alternatives were explored at the Farmland Preservation Conference at the University of Guelph in late June by a group of rural thinkers. Jeffrey Carter was there and has a report. For George Taylor, looking forward meant looking back to his family's history in cheese making. Wanting to make a full-time living on his St. Marys -area farm, he turned to the family tradition that goes back hundreds of years and created an on-farm cheese factory, processing milk from his dairy goat herd. Making it through the red tape was a huge struggle, but he's beaten a path which others are following in creating small, quality cheese operations of the kind that are common elsewhere in the world. Rick and Margaret Steele are also looking for niches in their sheep farm near Auburn. The couple bases their operation on the use of pasture and adding value not only by selling lamb directly to customers but by having their wool processed and selling lamb's wool blankets and sweater kits. Growing up on a Huron County farm, Ted Johns didn't decide to farm himself but he has been telling stories for and about farmers for nearly 30 years. His latest play, Cricket and Claudette, debuts at the Blyth Festival this month. We spoke to him about his work and the play.0 Update Thanks to Robert Mercer This month marks the last column by long-time Rural Voice contributor Robert Mercer. Searching our records, we think Bob first began providing regular columns in August or September of 1990, taking up from Gord Wainman who had gone on to other things. Back in those days Bob was the editor of the Broadwater Market Letter from Markham. By the time Rural Voice celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1995, he had moved to Goodwood, northeast of Toronto. By the next year he was no longer editing the Broadwater Market Letter but continued to contribute to it. For the last several years he had been contributing from his retirement home on Vancouver Island, bringing readers a perspective on a very different kind of farming at the western end of Canada. Now he has decided it's time to call it "30" as we say for "the end" in journalism. Readers will miss his insight into agriculture and the contribution he has made, not just to this magazine, but to agriculture in general. Thanks Bob.O ""Rural Voice Published monthly by: The Rural Voice, Box 429, Blyth, Ontario, NOM 1H0 Telephone: 519-523-4311 (fax 523-9140). e-mail: norhuron@scsinternet.com Subscriptions: $17.12 (12 issues) (includes 7% GST) Back copies $2.75 each For U.S. rates, add $5 per year Changes of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Rural Voice at the address listed above. A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Editor & Publisher: Keith Roulston Editorial advisory committee: Bev Hill, farmer, Huron Cty; Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.; Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty. Contributing writers: Bonnie Gropp, Carol Riemer, Ralph Pearce, Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Sandra Orr, Janice Becker, Larry Drew Marketing & Advertising sales manager: Gerry Fortune Advertising representative: Allen Hughes Production co-ordinator: Joan Caldwell Advertising & editorial production: Dianne Josling Printed & mailed by: Signal -Star Publishing, Goderich, Ontario PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40037593 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 429 BLYTH ON NOM 1H0 email: norhuron@scsinternet.com All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. 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