The Rural Voice, 1991-12, Page 324ifvOr
Best `lashes for�'
the Holiday Season
mid Fomits.
Irma 14x- lilt
YORKSHIRE DUROC HAMPSHIRE
LANDRACE & HYBRIDS
77th
PRODUCTION SALE
Saturday, January 4, 1992
at 1:00 p.m.
At the farm of WARREN STEIN.
Located one mile south and two
miles west of Tavistock.
Vrin " boars and gilts
available privately and through
production sales.
Ontario's largest selection of R.O.P.
tested and veterinary Inspected
boars and gilts. Ranked "Good"
by the Animal Industry Branch.
Richard Stein
R.R. 6, Woodstock, Ont.
519-655-2942
Warren Stein
R.R. 2, Tavistock, Ont.
519-462-2704
PEQUEA
WOODSMAN
250 WOODSAW
Ready to cut cordwood, pulp wood,
firewood. 3 pt hitch enables your
Woodsman saw to go anywhere
your tractor goes.
For full details or name of nearest dealer call:
farm oqulpmant distributors
519-443-8601 WATERFORD, ONT
28 THE RURAL VOICE
to combat that problem by adding
plenty of humus to the soil. He finds
he can achieve that with a good crop
rotation program. "With good soil
texture you can grow crops in a dry
year. Otherwise you have to put a lot
of fertilizer on to get anything. I'd
sooner spend money on grass seed
than on too much chemical fertilizer,"
he says.
Hay fields are planted with 80 per
cent alfalfa, and the remainder in tim-
othy and brome grass. He also uses a
bit of orchard grass if he knows the
field will be used primarily for pas-
ture. The early maturity of the grass is
not suitable for hay.
The Fishers always take two cuts
of hay early enough to ensure a third
crop, even though they may not cut it
for hay or haylage. They prefer to
pasture it, and leave enough stems to
hold the snow for the winter. If a third
cut is taken, Aaron will leave a four
foot swath between every second or
third windrow to hold the snow. This
has prompted puzzled visitors to ask if
a hired man cut the field, or where
they were looking when they cut it.
He opens all the hay fields up by
taking haylage off the first few rounds,
as well as fields that are sheltered by
bush. If he is pressed for time when
the grain crop is coming during se-
cond cut, he opens up the grain fields
too, and mixes green oats with haylage
for the upright silos.
The Fishers always put about
20,000 bales of hay in the barn, but
that number was reduced to 15,000
bales last year when they purchased a
4X4 round baler, and made 250 round
bales. All hay, including the round
bales, is stored inside. They recently
built a hay shed with a capacity of 400
to 500 round bales. Half of the lumber
for the 50' X 60' structure came from
mink buildings in the village of Ayton
which they purchased, dismantled, and
hauled back to the farm. Used planks
were purchased at a demolition yard.
To take advantage of the roof space,
they used four centre posts, and roof
supports forming a Y instead of
trusses. They also put seven doors in
to let air circulate through and keep
the bales from sweating.
The Fishers own a full range of
farm machinery to do all the field
work from seeding through harvesting
the corn themselves, because they feel
that getting work done at the right
time is crucial, and they don't want to
wait on custom operators. Aaron likes
to have spare machinery parts on hand
during the busy season.
Aaron and Ima credit much of the
success of their operation to the help
they received from their children when
they were growing up. Now, when
they return home from university and
college on weekends and during sum-
mer holidays, they still help. "When
they were little, they sat on a barrel on
the wagon when we were picking
stones," Aaron recalls. Now they help
pick a good stone pile every year.
Bonetta, 28, is a secretary in Hanover;
Melanie, 26, is a veterinarian at the
Port Elgin Veterinary Clinic, and is
recently married; Mark, 22, is a fourth
year Business Administration student
at the University of Windsor, and is
also recently married; James, 19,
attends Mohawk College in Hamilton
in architectural construction, and can't
wait to get back home to the farm on
weekends.
While it is likely some of their
children will be involved in farming,
Ima and Aaron, now well established,
recognize the difficulties involved in
getting started and staying afloat.
They believe their decision to rent
their present home farm for five years
before purchasing it in 1966 helped
them feel comfortable with the farm-
ing operations, and ease gradually into
a major financial commitment. Only
the house and barn were on the farm
when they purchased it, but with hard
work and the help of family and
neighbours, they have added many
farm buildings and silos.
Aaron, president of the Normanby
Federation of Agriculture, believes
low commodity prices are only part-
ially to blame for the farm crisis.
"Farmers' prices keep dropping, while
other segments of society are not
satisfied with getting five or six per
cent pay increases. They're driving
the goods and services high, and up
goes the rate of inflation. I think it's
not so much the high cost of living as
the high living that's the problem," he
says. He believes that people are
often in the wrong line of work,