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48 THE RURAL VOICE
university after he helped with the ex-
panding 4-H program in Perth, "en-
joying it so much" that he went back
to Guelph and got his degree in 1963,
working as a summer assistant for
what was then the Department of
Agriculture.
Starting as an assistant ag rep to
Doug Miles in 1963 in Huron, Don
was made ag rep of Huron County in
1968. So he has seen agriculture go
through many changes, and small,
family -based mixed farming opera-
tions become large corporate farms of
thousands of acres. When he started
to work in Huron in the early '60s, he
says, a 100 -acre farm with good build-
ings could be purchased for $25,000
to $30,000 with a five per cent Junior
Farmer loan.
But the price of farm land "took
off after the excellent crop yields and
prices of 1974," Don says, and was
worth 10 times that amount by the late
'70s." There is a distinct difference
between the market value and produc-
tive value of farm land, Don notes,
and while inflation baled people out,
a reversal came in the 1980s. High
interest rates and low commodity
prices forced the government to come
up with loan guarantee programs.
Don has also witnessed the evolu-
tion of farming in Huron as many left
the land and operations were consol-
idated. "I remember in 1965 when the
Ontario Milk Marketing Board was
being formed. More than 1,500 farm-
eis, some with only 10 cows, were
listed as producers. There are fewer
than 400 now producing the same
amount of milk."
Although he doesn't openly lament
the passing of the small mixed farm-
ing operations of his early career — he
says there wouldn't be enough labour
to do the work today because the peo-
ple are no longer there — he says he is
pleased to see the pendulum swinging
away from monoculture — "one of the
worst things that ever happened to this
country" — back towards better
stewardship.
"There's a new consciouness and
again Huron County farmers led the
way through the Huron Soil and Water
Conservation District, and the conser-
vation authorities spearheaded by the
Soil and Crop Improvement Associ-
ation, and farmers like Don Lobb and
Bruce Shillinglaw and a number of
others who could see that all was not
well." With the new emphasis on no -
till and minimum till and the return to
crop rotation and a more sparing use
of pesticides, Don sees a return to
common sense.
Despite all the changds he has
seen in his 27 -year career, Don says
he never lost sight of his goals:
serving his clients as best he could
using the many tools given to him by
Don says he's pleased to see
the pendulum swinging away
from monoculture — "one of the
worst things that ever happened
to this country."
OMAF. He says he is proud of the
hundreds of programs offered by
OMAF over the years, from crop
insurance to stabilization and interest
rate relief.
And even though many farmers are
still caught in the cost -price squeeze,
Don says he "has great confidence" in
the future of farming. He points to the
recently introduced Farm Start Pro-
gram which, together with the just
ending Beginning Farmers Assistance
Program, attracted more than 500 new
farmers in Huron. "Over 500 young
people have confidence that farming is
the way they want to go," Don says.
Although he won't reveal his
plans, Don says with his characteristic
wry smile that he suspects his new
career will continue to take him "up
and down the concession roads."
But as a closet poet, Don says that
if he could come back in another life,
he would be a professor of English
literature.
"Whatever he does," says Jack
Riddell, "he'll be a real asset because
of his knowledge and firm grip on the
agriculture industry."0
Friends and colleagues are
holding an appreciation night
for Don on Friday, June 15 at
the Seaforth Community Centre.
Tickets are available through
the Clinton OMAF office or by
phoning 1-800-265-5170.