The Rural Voice, 1994-02, Page 24Mery Erb
Brucefield
Mery Erb became
one of Ontario's first
crop advisers by
listening and reading.
In 1981 he was
running a fertilizer plant
in Bruceficld when he
read an article in a U.S.
farm magazine about a
new breed of farm
advisers, crop consult-
ants. At the same time
he noticed that farmers coming to the
fertilizer plant were asking him for
more and more advice. They wanted
more than just over-the-counter
advice. "They wanted you to go to
the field and give eyeball -to -eyeball
advice."
He also read about integrated pest
management research going on at the
University of Iowa and he and his
wife drove down to see what was
happening, stopping to visit a crop
consultant along the way who
showed him what is involved in
helping farmers.
That winter when he held
information meetings for farmers, he
farm
asked who would be
interested in getting more
crops management advice
and five farmers signed up
for his service. By 1988 he
went into crop consulting on
a full-time basis.
Today he advises
farmers from Lake Huron to
Wellesley, overseeing
12,500 acres in all. Many of
his customers are livestock
producers for whom crops
are "that other thing" on the
and feel they need professional
advice. Farmers, he says, are trying
to reduce their costs as much as
possible and want advice on how to
do it.
Mary McIntosh
Avondale
The farm and family come first
ahead of industry and community
work, Mary McIntosh says, but she
still manages to get involved in an
unusually large number of off -farm
activities.
She and her husband John and
their children operate a 150 -acre farm
with a 30 -cow dairy herd near
Yorkshire
Landrace
Duroc
Hampshire
Boars Priced
From $300.00
Delivery available
Farm 6 miles west
of Brussels on
County Rd. #16
Farm
Paul Fear
MONOWAYANE FEAR^S '
& SONS
R.R. #4 BRUSSELS, ONT.
NOG 1 HO
ROP Tested
EBVS
Good Health Status
Closed Herd
F1 York x Landrace
F1 Hamp x Duroc Boars
TOP DUROC BOAR
NOV. '93 SALE
TATTOO 35805C
IND. 114, B.F. 14.6 0.7,
DAYS 136 - 7.4
ADG 1.08, F.C.2.42
(519) 887-6477 - Wayne Fear Res. (519) 887-9190
Res. (519) 887-6477 • Rep. Don Ruttan (519) 887-9884
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20 THE RURAL VOICE
Avondale in Perth County, the fourth
generation of Mclntoshes to farm the
land. As well as helping in the barn
and doing the bookwork for the farm
she also finds time to be the Ontario
Agricultural Training Institute
(OATI) co-ordinator for Perth. She is
second vice-president of the Perth
County Federation of Agriculture and
is Ontario Federation of Agriculture
regional director from South Perth.
She is retir-
ing after being
the educational
co-ordinator
for the Perth
Milk Commi-
ttee where she
carried out an
education
program for
fifth grade
classes. She's
also involved
in Ag in the
Classroom for
the county.
She has served with the Stratford -
Perth United Way, an experience that
helped her learn a lot about health,
and recognize there are differences in
insight between people who make
their living in farming and those who
are just rural residents. She is also a
member of the Ontario Farm
Women's Network.
Ken Furlong
Durham
From his segment of the farming
industry (dairy) to his local township,
Ken Furlong gets involved.
He has served as chairman of the
Grey County Committee of the Dairy
Herd Improvement Corporation for
two terms on one hand, and was the
president of the Residents
Association of Egremont township
on the other. The latter group
attempts to involve residents more in
the operation of their township, from
getting more information about what
happens at council meetings to