The Rural Voice, 1996-02, Page 14LESLIE
HAWKEN & SON
Custom Manufacturing
LIVESTOCK & FARM EQUIPMENT
• Calf Creeps
• Self Standing Yard Dividers
• Cattle Panels
• Headgates & Chutes
• Portable Loading Chutes
• Big Bale Wagons
• Bale throwing racks
• Feed Panels
• Self locking feed mangers
Loading Chute
For the best quality and service — Call
Jim Hawken
Rural Route Three
Markdale 519-986-2507
KELLY PORTABLE
SEED CLEANING
Grain, Beans and Forages
Bag or Bulk
Convenient and
Economical
Serving Mid -Western
Ontario
Kincardine, Ontario
N2Z 2X4
396-4559
10 THE RURAL VOICE
The World from Mabel's Grill
"I would have thought," said
Mabel , "that since you're all usually
in here bitching about the low prices
of com and soybeans, you'd all be
cheerful and stop bitching but here
you are still griping."
She'd been
listening to the
moaning and
groaning
coming from
Jerry Coles
about how
much the feed
for his broilers
was costing.
"You'd be
complaining
too if the cost
of your raw
product went
up the rate
mine is," Jerry
told her.
"Around here I can't win," said
Mabel. "I have to listen to you
people complain about low prices for
pigs or cows but if the price goes up
and I have to raise my prices, I have
to listen to you bellyache about my
bacon and eggs or hamburgers
costing too much."
"I heard the other day that the
price of corn was the highest it had
been since the 1970s so somebody
must be making money in farming,"
said Wayne Bruce from down at the
shoe store.
"That always makes me laugh,"
said George McKenzie. "If some
farm commodity goes up to where it
was 20 years ago, everybody thinks
we're getting rich. Would you sell
shoes at the price you did 20 years
ago?"
"Would the guys on TV who talk
about soaring farm prices work for
what they got 20 years ago?" Dave
Winston put in.
"You ever notice when they talk
about the price of wheat going up
they say it will increase the cost of
bread? If the price of corn goes up
the price of corn flakes is supposed
to go up. How come, if the price of
corn is finally as high as it was 20
years ago, the cost of corn flakes
isn't the same as it was back then?"
"Come on fellas," Wayne put in,
"the guys who work on the assembly
The world's
problems are
solved daily
'round the table
at Mabel's
line at the corn flakes plant are
getting more money than they did 20
years ago. Didn't I hear someplace
that the corn only made up three
cents of the price of cornflakes or
something like that?"
"Exactly," said George, "so how
come it's always our fault when the
price of corn flakes goes up because
we finally got a corn price we were
getting 20 years ago?"
"It's kind of like Michael
McCain," said Dave. "He says he
can't afford to pay us pork producers
the same amount our hogs would be
worth if they were in the States
because he pays his packing plant
workers more than the American
plants do and he couldn't be
competitive if he paid us what we
should get for our pigs. So we're
supposed to take less than
Americans so the guys in the
packing plant can get more than
Americans."
"You guys on main street should
be glad about the price of crops,"
George told Wayne. "When farmers
have got money, they spend it."
"You'd never know it from the
tips around here," said waitress
Molly Whiteside as she refilled the
coffee cups for the third time.
"The only way I'll really gain,"
said Wayne, "is if all you guys wear
out your shoes running to your
accountants trying to keep from
giving any money to the government. "
"With beef prices the way they are
the price of leather should almost be
coming down enough for me to
afford a new pair of shoes," George
said.
"You know," said Dave, "I've
always supported the idea that
farmers should be more diversified —
you know, have your fingers in a
number of pies in case one of them
goes bad? I'm starting to wonder
now, though. I figure I'm taking all
the profit I made from my corn and
soybeans and I'm losing it having to
pay more to feed the pigs."
"You know," said Molly, "I heard
a joke the other day that covers you
guys perfectly. 'What's the
difference between a farmer and his
dog out in the rain? When you open
the door and let them in, the dog
stops whining."0