The Rural Voice, 1993-06, Page 3R.V.
Editor: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
John Heard, soils and crop extension
and research, northwestern Ontario
Neil McCutcheon, farmer, Grey Cty.
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor,
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Adrian Vos, Gisele Ireland, Cathy
Laird, Wayne Kelly, Sarah Borowski,
Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton, June
Flath, Ian Wylie-Toal, Susan Glover,
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Darene
Yavorsky, Peter Baltensperger, Sandra
Orr, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal
marketing & advertising sales manager:
Gerry Fortune
production co-ordinator:
Tracey Rising
advertising & editorial production:
Anne Harrison
Dianne Josling
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Behind the Scenes
When the cutbacks start cutting
We all complain about govern-
ment spending and argue it is time to
cut costs but too often when we get
what we want, it turns out to be
exactly what we don't want. In April
when the Ontario government
announced plans to slash spending,
one of the cuts from the agricultural
budget hit close to home. Ontario
Minister of Agriculture Elmer
Buchanan announced his plan to
close Centralia College of Agricult-
ural Technology along with its
associated veterinary lab, as well as
the New Liskeard College and lab.
All this puts supporters of the
colleges in a difficult position: every-
body agrees the government must cut
back, so how do you argue that your
own interest area should go
untouched? But a large group of
Centralia supporters feel the cost of
losing the college and lab will be
higher than the cost of keeping it
open. Some are concerned with the
loss of research and development
programs, particularly in crops that
are the specialty of the region, that
aren't grown widely elsewhere: crops
like white beans. Others are worried
about the loss of the world-class
Centralia Veterinary Laboratory with
its expertise in swine. Still others are
worried that students who now attend
the college may not further their
education if they have to travel all the
way to Ridgetown, Kemptville or
Guelph. It's a formidable group of
individuals who make up The Friends
of Centralia and some of them
explain their concerns this month.
On a happier note, Brian and Barb
Markle feel they're both getting an
education, and giving one, when they
take guests in to their farm home near
Stratford. Farm vacations for them,
are a pleasure as well as a source of
additional farm income.
The Farm Radio Forum played an
important role in drawing rural
communities closer together in the
middle part of this century. This
month some of the people who
helped make those radio shows
possible will hold a reunion, and
you're invited.
June is both Dairy Month and
prime strawberry season, and in the
Rural Living section strawberries and
cream are featured.0
Update
Back in our November issue we told about the Hensall Compost Facility, built
to take weed seeds and other organic matter from the screenings of the three
large farm elevator operations in Hensall and tum this waste into useful compost.
In late April the facility received its 1000th truckload of organic matter. Of the
5300 metric tonnes of waste delivered so far, about half has been processed
through the three -channel indoor composting facility, according to facility
manager Mark Jacob. The plant is being pressed to keep up with the demand but
he expects to catch up with the backlog during the summer months before the
next surge comes with the fall harvest.
As well as screenings from the Hens4ll Co-op, Cook's and W. G. Thompson
elevator complexes, scraps of wood and cardboard from local factories are
ground up and added to the "recipe" for the compost. Other organic material, like
food-processing plant wastes and supermarket leftovers, could also be added to
the recipe, Jacob says.
It takes 12-14 days for the waste to be turned into top -grade, nitrogen -rich
compost but the compost must still cure in a pile outside for several months
before it's ready for use. As a result shipments of compost from the plant have
begun only in recent weeks. It's being sold at $6 to $9 per cubic yard, depending
on quality, to nurseries, landscapers and topsoil companies by bulk loads only.
The Hensall project is a pilot project combining efforts of the three elevator
companies, the Village of Hensall and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
Its success, Jacob predicts, could lead to several more similar projects across the
province, despite the price tag of more than $1 million. The Hensall facility was
designed and manufactured by L. H. Resources Management of Walton.0