The Rural Voice, 2005-09, Page 3About this issue
When farming goes on show
September has always been a big time for agriculture to
put on a show and it just keeps getting busier.
In days before long-distance travel became the norm,
the local fall fair, held in nearly every town and village
across the province, brought farmers into town to show off
their best livestock and produce to other farmers and folks
from town. Local farm dealers and merchants also took
advantage of the gathering to pitch their products to people
from the farms.
Later, the International Plowing Match became a mega
attraction, drawing farmers from far greater distances to
see a huge selection of machinery displays and consumer
goods as well as competitors in plowing. Because it moves
to a different part of the province each year, having the
IPM in your immediate area is special. This year, for the
second year in a row, midwestern Ontario hosts the event
with Perth County welcoming visitors from across the
province.
Janice Becker spoke with many of the volunteer leaders
who have been working so hard with their committees to
make the 2005 IPM at Listowel, September 20-24, a
memorable event. We have several stories.
For a dozen years Canada's Outdoor Farm Show at
Woodstock has added to the flurry of fall activity for
farmers. The show is famous for demonstrations of farm
machinery and onsite crop plots more than static displays.
We have a story on what you can see at this year's show
September 13-15.
September is also traditionally our issue that focuses on
beef. For the last couple of years the crisis caused by the
loss of foreign markets because of BSE has been the
dominant story in beef, but it has been a moving target,
difficult to deal with in a monthly magazine. Now that the
border has reopened we spoke with industry leaders about
what the cost has been of more than two years of lost
markets, and what lessons have been learned and how they
see the industry adapting as we move ahead.
Late summer is a great time for those with a garden with
a bountiful harvest meaning there are lots of possibilities to
try new recipes. Bonnie Gropp looks at ways make use of
that flood of tomatoes from your tomato plants.
Patti Robertson's decorating column proposes ways to
decorate for a class reunion.°
Update
A new health hazard
Our March issue included an article about diseases that
can spread between pigs and humans, based on information
from several speakers at the Centralia Swine Research
Update in Kirkton. Add another to the list.
A new deadly strain of Streptococcus suis has recently
been discovered and is blamed for the deaths of 27 people
in China.
Marcelo Gottschalk of the University of Montreal
expressed concern over what is happening in China. "We
would like to have the strain to identify," he said.
The World Health Organization and the United Nation's
Food and Agriculture Organization want to find out
whether this strain of Strep suis arose from a combination
with another disease of bacteria.
Strep suis is common among Canadian pigs but it has not
been a deadly threat to farmers or packing plant workers.
The deaths that have occurred in China have been among
farmers or people butchering pigs. Cases have been
reported from 75 villages and 40 towns in Sichuan province.
Strep suis typically spreads from pigs to humans through
hand wounds or cuts. Canadian farmers are urged to wear
gloves to handle sick pigs and wash their hands with soap
and water before moving to healthy pigs.°
'Rural Voice
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Bonnie Gropp, Carol Riemer, Ralph
Pearce, Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Sandra
Orr, Janice Becker, Larry Drew
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