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The Rural Voice, 1996-10, Page 3R.T. Editor: Keith Roulston editorial advisory committee: Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County John Heard, soils and crop extension and research, northwestern Ontario Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty. George Penfold, associate professor, University of Guelph Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty. contributing writers: 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 On, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal marketing & advertising sales manager: Gerry Fortune advertising representative: Merle Gunby production co-ordinator: Joan Caldwell advertising & editorial production: Dianne Josling Anne Harrison laserset: with the Macintosh Classic printed & mailed by: Signal -Star Publishing, Goderich, Ontario subscriptions: $16.05 (12 issues) (includes 7% GST) Back copies $2.75 each For U.S. rates, add $5 per year Changes of address, orders for subscrip- tions and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Rural Voice at the address listed below. Canadian Magazine Publishers Association All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self- addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. The opinions expressed here- in are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial content may be reproduced only by permission of the publisher. Published monthly by The Rural Voice, Box 429, Blyth, Ontario, NOM 1H0, 519-523-4311 (fax 523-9140). Publication mail registration No. 3560 held by North Huron Publishing Co. Inc. at Goderich, Ontario. The Rural Voice makes every effort to see that advertising copy is correct. However, should an error occur, please notify The Rural Voice office within 30 days of invoicing in order to obtain a billing adjustment. Behind the Scenes There'll be some changes made This month's special section on woodlot management is an example of a number of changes readers will see in The Rural Voice in the coming months as we attempt to serve readers better. We'll be starting a number of special sections which will bring readers up-to-date information on various areas of farm management. This month, as fall approaches and farmers with woodlots on their farms prepare to use some of their off- season for cropping to harvest wood for firewood or saw lumber, we present information on where to turn for woodlot management information now that government cutbacks have struck the Ministry of Natural Resources. In the months to come we'll have other special sections dealing with other areas of farm management, everything from pork production to farm buildings. Speaking of farm buildings, at a time when the beef cycle is in a downturn, one of the region's largest beef producers is expanding. In August, Bennett Farms near Gorrie opened a new beef finishing barn capable of handling 3,000 head a year (900 at a time). The huge barn has all the latest in technology for beef production, what builder Jack Schenk of Landmark Builders calls a beef "factory" capable of turning out 4,000 pounds of beef per day. The Bennetts plan to be ready when the beef cycle turns around. John Greig was there for the opening. When someone like Ron MacGregor says last year was the best year in history for crop farmers, perhaps it's wise to listen. The Kippen-area farmer has seen a lot of years on the farm since he started helping his father at age 13 with the cash cropping and custom harvesting operation. He plans to keep farming. "They'll have to carry me off." Sandra Orr provides this story that gives a little badly -needed, long-term perspective to farming. The "My Town" feature this month comes from Grey County's pretty village of Priceville. In her gardening column, Rhea Hamilton Seeger writes wistfully about wisteria. Patti Robertson tells how imagination can take the place of a big budget in giving a new, co- ordinated look to a home. In her recipe column, Bonnie Gropp gets in the spirit of the season with some recipes to help celebrate Oktoberfest.0 Update Talking turkey — the wild variety What better time than Thanksgiving to talk about turkeys. Back in April 1992 we carried a story on the release of wild turkeys in northern Huron County. Since then we've had updates on other releases of the birds. Now Ontario Out Of Doors magazine estimates there are 14,000 wild turkeys in Ontario. Despite the bad winter last year (and we think it was tough on us!) there are no indications of widespread mortality, the Ministry of Natural Resources reports. "We had a bad winter like this one a few years ago, and we were not able to detect major losses then," the magazine reports John Harcus of MNR. "It was the same situation this year. We don't think the population was hit hard by the bad winter." Despite the cutbacks at MNR, the program to reintroduce wild turkeys across the province continues, supported by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. Last year about 100 turkeys were trapped in areas of high population and relocated to areas that provide good potential for turkeys to naturalize. In a few areas the population has become high enough to allow hunting. "Hunter interest continues to grow, and we now sell about 4,000 hunting licences each spring," Harcus told the magazine. "The harvest is getting close to 700 gobblers."0