The Rural Voice, 1998-06, Page 62feature unique to their program is
that the cost of the initial vaccination
and tag is supplied by the co-
ordinating bodies, and the remaining
costs including the veterinarian will
be covered by them until the AD-
VAL calves are sold. Veterinarians
or AD-VAL staff ensure the
requirements are met.
With industry taking the lead in
developing marketing opportunities it
is up to the cow/calf operator to meet
the specs. Ontario calves will be in
demand as fall movement from the
West reached an all time low of
54,000 head in 1997. A major
decline since 1980 when fall
movement peaked at 434,000 head.°
Take the time to
clean your sprayer
By Keith Reid
OMAFRA Soil Fertility Specialist
In the past few years, a number of
new herbicides have come on the
market. These products have great
environmental safety, and are
tremendously effective at low use
rates.
Problems can happen, though, if
you don't get all of the residues out
of your sprayer before moving onto
another crop. A few grams of leftover
herbicide can damage acres of the
next crop you spray.
Adding to the risk are the
surfactants used with many of the
new herbicides. These oils can
dissolve pesticide residues out of odd
corners in the sprayer system, or strip
residues out of the plastic itself. A
simple "rinse and a promise"
cleaning won't be enough to keep
unwanted herbicides out of the next
crop.
The herbicide label will have
specific instructions for cleaning the
sprayer after use, but the common
factor in every program is to use lots
of water. This means filling the
sprayer completely with clean water,
and circulating this water through all
of the lines and hoses on the sprayer.
This should be done immediately
after spraying, before the residues
have had a chance to dry.
Following the clean water rinse,
58 THE RURAL VOICE
Advice
refill the spraycr and add the cleaner
recommended on the herbicide label.
This may be household ammonia, a
soap or surfactant, or a detergent.
These cleaners are not
interchangeable, so follow label
instructions carefully.
Cleaning the sprayer is a thankless
job, but the alternative is risking
damage to your crops. Take the time
to do it right!°
The rules for summer
job hiring
By Dael Bierworth
OMAFRA Business
Management Advisor
A sure sign that summer is
approaching is the flurry of activity
around the countryside as folk
prepare for the busy summer season.
Farmers are tilling, planting,
fencing and preparing for upcoming
haying and harvest. Tourist
businesses are preparing their
facilities for the upcoming influx of
clients. Construction companies are
starting what appears like a busy
season. Small businesses everywhere
are making ready the goods and
services they provide for the summer
season.
The Ontario Government is again
offering an assistance to businesses
that hire students between the ages of
15 and 24 who will be returning to
school this fall, provided the student
is not related to the business owner.
The assistance is $2 per hour for part
and full time employees to a
maximum of 44 hours per week for
up to 16 weeks. The employer must
have coverage under the Workplace
Safety and Insurance Act and have
third party liability coverage. The
program is in effect from April 15 to
September 30. Students must be paid
the minimum wage. Applications are
available and are approved onsite at
the nearest OMAFRA office. For
more information call the OMAFRA
office, 1-800-387-5656 or visit one
of the following web sites.
http://www.gov.on.ca/omafra
http://www.youthjobs.gov.on.ca
http://www.EDU.gov.on.ca
To date more than 800 rural youth
have been assured of employment.
The program has been designed to
assist 3000 youth with average
assistance of 51120.
So you have decided to hire a
student
The Ontario Ministry of Labour is
responsible for enforcing the
"Employment Standards Act" which
contains the basic regulations
concerning hiring.
Minimum Wage
This is the lowest hourly wage
rate that an employer can pay. Both
full-time and part-time workers are
covered. Effective January 1, 1995
the amounts arc as follows:
General minimum wage 56.85
Liquor server $5.95
Student (part time) $6.40
Harvest worker $6.85
Home worker 57.54
Allowable deductions for
accommodation and meals
private room $31.70
non -private room $15.85
meals/per meal $2.25
meals/per week $53.55
room and board/private $85.25
room and board/non private 569.50
Call in
If an employee is called to work
for less than three hours they must be
paid for three hours at minimum
wage or regular wage whichever is
greater. This call in does not apply
to students.
Overtime pay
The act states that after a person
has worked over 44 hours in a work
week of seven days they must be
paid overtime at 1.5 times the regular
hourly rate. The act does not rule on
daily overtime pay. The Ministry of
Labour and OMAFRA have fact
sheets on exceptions to the overtime
provisions.
/lours of Work
The act is quite explicit on the
hours of work, namely eight hours
per day and 48 hours per week,
breaks and overtime as mentioned
above. For the three exemptions call
for a fact sheet.
Vacation pay and Vacation with pay
The act states that if you are
eligible you must get a minimum of
two weeks per year time off with pay
or four per ccnt of your total earnings
instead of time off. The fact sheet on
this topic explains the exemptions.