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The Rural Voice, 1990-01, Page 8100% COTTON DIAPERS Reusable Velcro Closures Fully Adjustable Jocelyn deBoer LUCKNOW 519-528-3223 I3la ewa.tcr OFFICE EQUIPMENT LTD. •011Vettl •TOSHIBA • commodore Plain Paper Copiers Word Processing Systems Facsimile Electronic Typewriters and Calculators Computer Systems and Supplies Computer & Typewriter Ribbons Stationery Supplies 65 Ilamilton St., Goderich 524-9863 524-4905 1-800-265-1722 Josephine St., Wingham 357-1554 � G(iliddaugIis Col led ides Jessica $89.00 SEE US FOR ASHTON-DRAKE DOLLS • Little Red Riding Hood & Goldilocks • Meagan & Shelley • Mary Had/Lamb, Little Jack Horner & Little Miss Muffet • Chen & Natasha • Little Sherlock, etc. Specializing in all Bradford 'E cAartge Collector Plates, Correctible Dods, Plau Trams and Much Afore! Clinton Open: Monday to Saturday 10 - 5:30 Goderich: Closed Mondays Jan & Feb. 45 Albert St., Clinton 482-5211 \ 6A Newgate, Goderich 524-5540 6 THE RURAL VOICE INNOVATIONS FOR THE 1990s When the hugging, toasting, and merriment is all over, we're faced with tearing into a brand new decade. That's going to prove to be quite a challenge for farmers. Those of us who limped through the '80s and managed to remain in the oldest profession in the world are secretly wondering how we're going to keep farming in the '90s. Government is planning to make it easier for us. The weaning process from those bad old subsidies is going to escalate so that we can play with the rest of the world in the market- place. I don't know about you, but when I weaned my children from breast or bottle, I had something equally nourishing and sustaining waiting for them. Maybe they've got some surprise under wraps that they don't want to get us all excited about. Any products we do manage painstakingly to grind out are having a tougher time, on a daily basis, of finding a place to get processed. The packing plants are closing and moving west, the vegetable and fruit pro- cessors are thinking of folding up their tents and vacating, and we'll be left to play "let's make a deal" with the stars and stripes. All is not lost, though! Women and men in agriculture have shown the world what kind of fortitude they possess. Both are willing to work off the farm so they can continue altru- istically feeding the rest of the country at a loss. If need be, I'm sure the women will once again pick up the reins and pull the plow themselves if they have to. They've had to do worse. Infrequent communication with relatives in Europe convinces me that they arc not willing to be at the mercy of the world marketplace for their next meal. It's an odd government that consciously trades away the means to feed a country in the hope that someone else will do it, and more cheaply at that! During the next decade, we'll have to examine closely our motives for staying in farming. Profits aren't going to be one of them. Ecology and the preservation of both land and what it can sustain will be our guiding factor. Consumers will soon be in throes of rapture if they spot a live worm in an apple. That means it is "natural." Caterpillars on broccoli and cauli- flower add protein to the dish and prove that nothing interfered with the food's natural growth pattern. "Tying on the feed bag" could be back in vogue at the rate oats and oat bran are being lauded as health food. There are some diversification ideas I've come up with which Super Wrench agrees have merit. We can make our 100 -foot silo into a minia- ture CN Tower. You can see for miles from it. The sightseers, as an added thrill, can climb up the outside ladder if they dare. For those less adventurous, we'll install the hog loading chute and pro- pel them up there. The entire farm could become an impressive trailer camp. As an added attraction, the lagoon will be filled with water and we'll hire out little yellow paddle boats. The new decade will definitely be a challenge and that's good. It will make us innovative. The positives aren't always obvious, but they are there. You just have to look harder. We made it through the last decade — surely this one won't be as rough? Happy New Year!O Gisele Ireland, from Bruce County, began her series of humorous columns with The Rural Voice. Her most recent book, Brace Yourself, is available for $7 from Bumps Books, Teeswater, Ontario, NOG 2S0.