The Rural Voice, 2006-02, Page 22ENM1L1
SU .L I\'fION
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18 THE RURAL VOICE
for efficient group housing. The calf
feeder has two stations in the pen but
must have a clean, temperature -
controlled environment for the
machine itself. A unit will feed up to
25 calves, though Tamminga
recommends 20, and can feed whole
milk or powdered replacer.
Experience in Europe shows
savings of 45 minutes per day. At the
industrial wage of $19.63 per hour
quoted earlier by Rodenburg,
Tamminga said, a one-hour saving
per day adds up to $4,000 a year. The
unit costs about $15,000.
But one producer using the
system told him that after a
half -year's experience, the
real benefit was not the labour saving
but management advantage,
Tamminga said. The unit can
interface with a computer and within
the nipple is a temperature sensor
that can take and record the
temperature of each calf. Through
this management tool mortality rates
can be cut by allowing faster
response to health problems, he said.
Of course the biggest single
question in the future shape of
Ontario's dairy industry is the
continued existence of the supply
management system. Bruce
Saunders, chair of Dairy Farmers of
Ontario and vice -chair of Dairy
Farmers of Canada reported on the
recent WTO talks in Hong Kong
where he spent close to 10 days.
"To sum up, there doesn't seem to
be a lot of political will to move talks
forward at a quick speed," Saunders
said. Though the talks now move on
to Geneva, those negotiations will
take place between negotiators. If a
deal couldn't be hammered out in
Hong Kong among the politicians
authorized to make decisions, it's
unlikely the trade negotiators will
make better progress.
"I don't think we're looking at a
deal in 2006," Saunders said. "If
there is not something in 2006, there
won't be in 2007." He explained that
U.S. trade officials currently have
fast-track authority to bind the U.S.
to a deal signed but this runs out in
mid -2007, which means any deal
would be approved by Congress.
Also by that time the U.S. will be in
the early stages of the 2008 election
campaign and politicians aren't likely
going to want to get involved in trade
negotiations. Saunders said it's