The Rural Voice, 2005-12, Page 43AgriTech
Settling in for an Ontario winter
Janice
Becker is a
computer
enthusiast
and
journalist
living near
Walton, ON.
For someone who spent the first
half of her life rarely opening a book
other than those required for
educational purposes, I have, in
recent years, become a voracious
consumer of the written word:
I began simply, with light
romances, easy to read and quickly
completed. Next I moved to the more
complex murder mysteries and spy
intrigues. Then I found my true love,
historical fiction.
These novels, many set in
medieval times, bring to life stories
that no history class ever could.
Though the characters are fictitious,
the turmoil in which they lived is
very real.
I soon began haunting local book
sales for new finds. When I
discovered an author Hiked, I turned
to on-line shopping to find the latest
installment of a trilogy or fill in
missing editions.
That got me thinking about the gift
of reading, a great treasure to give
children and other family members,
particularly at this time of year.
My favourite on-line link is Chapters
at www.chapters.indigo.ca.
The home page is set up quite
nicely with links to recent releases
and award winners. Along the left
side is a column divided into interest
categories, ranging from home and
garden to science fiction. You should
be able to find something for almost
everyone on your Christmas list. And
yes, there is still time to order as most
selections arrive within a few days.
For those seeking reading material
for the farmer in the family, I
checked out "agriculture" in the
keyword search. More than 3,400
titles are available.
The first few listed include
Precision Agriculture and Feeding
the World: An Economic History of
Agriculture, 1800- 2000, as well as In
the Country, a children's book.
By entering "fanning" as the
search word, a slightly different list
appeared.
I soon discovered that you should
pr'obably,13e fairly specific with your
search words. Apparently hogs refer
to motorcycles, as in the Hog Wild on
a Harley Cookbook. I also found
unusual titles such as Hog Music and
A Hog Slaughtering Woman.
Though not a site I frequent,
amazon.ca has a similar set up to that
of Chapters. However, the search
results display not only the books, but
also videos and music options that
match your search.
And of course, aficionados of ebay
will say that it is the place to search,
though I have yet to venture there.
Check out books.listing.ebay. ca.
Agricultural books are listed under
catalogues. Here you will find
vintage offerings not available from
many other sources.
Another website to check out for
materials focused specifically on
agriculture is farmcentre.com/
english/products. Titles include tax
planning and managing multi-
generational farms to marketing
strategies and organic practices.
There are CD and videos as well as
written material. The site is a product
of the Canadian Farm Business
Management Council.
For those with a little less land for
the production of food, listings at
www.cityfarmer.org/booksales. html,
offers suggestions for urban dwellers.
Most organizations and
federations also list a selection of
books and other educational materials
on their websites.
So if you are not one for hitting
the malls or challenging the blustery
winter weather which blows through
Ontario in December, why not try
sitting down to your computer with a
cup of hot chocolate or other
favourite warm beverage and give the
gift of education and entertainment
this season.
Contact me at
jlbecker@wightman.ca or through
The Rural Voice office, with
feedback or topic suggestions.0
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Happy
Holidays from
McGavin's
r
a
[ To All Our Valued Customers:
Thank You! We at McGavin's would like to
thank all our customers for their patronage
in making our 69th year in business a busy
one! Avoid down time next year and take
advantage of our Winter Fix Up program on
now. Call for details. For your farm
equipment needs. check out New Holland's
Winter Programs or winter discounts from
one of our 50 Shortline companies for your
year-end buying. Once again we appreciate
and thank you for all your support and
patronage over the past years and look
forward to many more. From our staff at
McGavin's. we would like to wish you and
your families all the best this holiday season.
Keep Smiling and Happy Holidays!
Book equipment in for our
w RFI
NEW HOLLAND
Ask for Jeff or Chris
C&xiatm.aa gift 9.deaa
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• Toys • Wagons • Snowblowers
• Tractors • Tools • and more
McGavin
Farm Supply &
Farm Equipment Ltd.
WALTON
(519) 887-6365 or (519) 527-0245
Fax (519) 887-6381
iI
email: mcgavin i4`ezlink.ca 8
web page: http://www.mcgavinequip.com • ,c
DECEMBER 2005 39