The Rural Voice, 1998-03, Page 70People
Perth Pork Producers present awards
Perth County Pork Producers presented their Producer of the Year Award to
Jack and Francine DeGroot of Sebringville during the association's annual
meeting in Mitchell, January 29. John Nyenhuis (left in photo above left)
presents the award to the couple. The Promotion Award went to Walnut Hill
Farm run by John and Earl Koch. The sixth -generation abattoir has worked
closely with the Perth Pork Producers in trying to develop new products. Fred
De Marlines (left in photo at right) presented the award to John and Julia Koch.
Local people participate in AALP's Class 7
Three Perth County residents are
among the 30 people enrolled in Class
7 of the Advanced Agricultural
Leadership Program (AALP).
The course, which focuses on
creating awareness of local, regional
and global issues pertinent to the
industry and to developing the
leadership skills of the participants,
will include Susan Bird of Mitchell,
Bernard Benoit of R.R.1, Kirkton and
Marina Schmidt of R.R.1, Stratford.
Class 7 will focus on gaining a
better understanding of the principles
of decision making from the
perspectives of local government,
individual entrepreneurs and
corporations. 0
Jack and Marg Kroes win award
Jack and Marg Kroes of Clinton
were named winners of the Producer
of the Year award by the Huron
County Pork Producers at their
annual meeting in Varna, January 22.
The couple run a farrow -to -finish
operation near Clinton (featured in
The Rural Voice in January) and are
very involved in the community. Jack
is a former director of the Huron Pork
Producers. Presenting the award to
Jack (left) were president John
VanderBurgt and Paul Klopp.0
Jim Wheeler named Asst. Deputy Minister
Huron County native Jim Wheeler has been named Assistant Deputy Minister
of the Agriculture and Rural Division of OMAFRA.
A native of the Brussels area, Wheeler has been with OMAFRA for 20 years,
most recently as chair of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission. He
attended Brussels Public School, F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham and
the University of Guelph.
He and his wife Diane, an educational assistant, live in Guelph. His parents,
Lloyd and Helen Wheeler, now live in Brussels.0
Perth man wins
national farm
safety award
A Perth County man has won an
award as Canada's top farm safety
innovator for 1997.
Robert Fleischauer of Gadshill
won the award and $1,000 for
inventing a simple safety clip used to
secure a draw bolt on the hitching
assembly between the tractor and
implements. The Canadian
Federation of Agriculture presented
the award in its Farm Safety
Innovations Contest.
"The use of your innovation will
substantially reduce the risk of losing
a drawpin and therefore the risk of an
implement detaching from a tractor
when being pulled," said Jennifer
Higginson, farm safety co-ordinator
for the Canadian Federation of
Agriculture. "Such a small and
simple innovation can make a very
large contribution to improving farm
safety."
The clip replaces a linchpin
commonly used on the drawbolt.
Linchpins can often pop out or break
but Fleischauer says his coiled,
spring-like, stainless steel clip will
not. If a linchpin breaks or falls out, a
good bump in the field can jar the
drawbolt out. In the field this is an
inconvenience but on the highway
the vehicle can be turned loose to
pose a danger to other traffic.
Fleischauer tested the clip while
doing 500 acres of work this fall.
About 30 other Perth County farmers
also tested the clip with no
complaints, Fleischauer said.
The 38 -year-old Fleischauer, who
runs a small hog operation and a
custom -combining business, is
making the clip in his workshop on
the farm he shares with his wife
Dianne, and daughters Sherie, Julie
and Rachel. He worked on various
prototypes of the clip for almost five
years as he tried to perfect the right
balance between strength and
tension.
Over 300 entries were submitted
to the contest, now in its second
year.0