The Rural Voice, 1999-02, Page 54People
Grey couple win Ontario Pasture competition
A Grey County couple are the winners of the 1998
Ontario Pasture Competition and two other western Ontario
families are among the three runners up.
Tim Singbeil and Janice Platt, R.R.2, Annan receive
$750 and a plaque for winning the top prize offered by the
Ontario Cattlemen's Association and Pickseed Canada. The
couple own 260 acres of pasture, grazing all of their land.
They have a cow herd of about 47 and raise 200 stocker
cattle annually. Timed, controlled grazing is crucial to their
management strategy.
"Everything in our management system is used to delay
the regrazing of a grass plant until it has restored its root
reserves and is capable of lush growth after being grazed
again," the couple said in their application.
They work to control the length of time that a herd is in a
specific paddock and then assign it a special duration of
rest. Alt ponds and bush are fenced and water is piped to
each herd. Cattle are watered using moveable troughs.
Last year the couple grazed their herd on seven different
farms all winter long, not feeding hay until March. "As
long as the cows can root through the snow, they will be
grazing."
Runners up included Tim and Donna Prior of Grazing
Meadows Farm, R.R.3, Brussels who rotationally graze
stockers, beef cows and sheep; Andrew MacDonald and
Donna Clarkson, R.R.3, Clifford who pasture cattle all
year round and Alec MacGregor, R.R.1, Jasper, who has
divided 24 acres of pasture into 17 paddocks and rotates
daily.0
Janice Platt and Tim Singbeil (second and third from left)
accept their award from (left to right) Martin Pick,
president, Pickseed Canada, Marlene Werry, OMAFRA
beef specialist and OCA President Bob Dobson.
McGee re-elected at Gay Lea Foods
Tom McGee
Second term as Gay Lea Chairman
Flesherton-area farmer Tom McGee
was re-elected in December as
chairman of the board of directors of
Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited.
McGee and his wife Joan operate a
mixed farm west of Flesherton. He has
served on the co-op's board of
directors since 1986.
Also re-elected to the Board
Executive were Ray Robertson, R.R.2,
Markdale, first vice-chairman and
Stuart Steckle, R.R.2, Zurich, second
vice-chairman. John Hill, R.R.4,
Owen Sound, who served as chairman
of the board from 1994-1997 will also
serve on the executive.
Elected directors at zone meetings
were: zone 1, Eldon Bowman, R.R.1,
Gorrie; zone 2, Ray Robertson. Tom
McGee was re-elected director at the
Gay Lea annual meeting at which it
was announced the co-operative had
sales of $202 million and net earnings
before distributions to members, of
$2.9 million, an increase of 33 per cent
over the previous year.
The directors approved a
membership share and patronage
dividend returning over $1 million to
producer and member shareholders.
The co-op has paid a share dividend
every year since incorporation and a
patronage dividend 22 times since
incorporation in 1958.
The company has plants in three
Ontario locations employing 400
workers.0
AALP members
study governments
Fifty-eight leaders from the
Ontario Advanced Agricultural
Leadership Program and the New
York State Agriculture LEAD
Program recently visited Ottawa as
part of a comparison of the
Canadian and American political
systems.
New York participants were
impressed by the level of people
they met in Canada including
Noble Villeneuve, Ontario Minister
of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs; Bernard Bonin, senior
deputy governor, Bank of Canada
and Robert Marleau, clerk of the
House of Commons.
Western Ontario participants in
the current class seven of AALP
include: Bernard Benoit, R.R.1,
Kirkton; Susan Bird, R.R.2,
Staffa; Ralph Dietrich, R.R.3,
Mildmay; Gord Hastie, R.R.3,
Elmwood; Pat Kuntz, R.R.1 ,
Chepstow; Marina Schmidt,
R.R.1, Stratford; and Tom
Sullivan, R.R.4, Mount Forest.0