The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 63RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
416
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
,/,.. • The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA.
July 17, /999
Time is flying and summer is
supposed to be half over. It's a most
unusual season with rainfall at an all-time
record. For the farmers who did not get
their grain in the ground, it's even more
discouraging with the haying weather to
be just as uncontrollable. But, time will
tell and the work shall be done.
We just returned from weighing steers
and heifers for the 4-H kids at their annual
FunDay at the Emo Fairgrounds. There
were some terrific weights with "Fella"
topping the scales at 1,450 lbs. Fair time
is August 20 to 21 and "Fella" has "Cody"
following at 1400 lbs. Once again the 4-H
members have some great beef producers
in the District.
The 4-H leaders' meeting will take
place Monday evening at Barwick. The 4-
H exchange trip with Olds, Alberta will be
reported on. Ten members have returned,
tired but full of stories and now awaiting
the arrival Monday for their exchange
hosts to return the hospitality. A bus trip
to Moms, Manitoba for the Stampede and
other events is scheduled for July 22. 4-H
members ages 10 - 21, are invited to go.
Then on July 25, the Hereford Association
will hold their annual potluck lunch at
Caliper Lake Park. Everyone is invited to
attend and meet the 4-H'ers from Alberta.
Looking ahead to the fair, adults are
needed to help with the cooking in the 4-
H food booth. Even if you have a couple
of hours to spare, we can sure use the
extra hands. Call Vicki Calder at 274-
7433 to be placed on the list.
There was no RRFA meeting this
month as you can already tell. Everyone
was supposed to be very busy in their
hayfields; but, because of the excessive
moisture, there are plenty of other jobs to
be completed. Fencework is getting
caught up!
Rainy River District Cattlemen's
Association have the yearling date set for
Saturday, August 28; the calf sale is
Saturday, October 2 and for further
information call Russ at 487-2472. Russ is
the manager and with Tony and Renees
wedding celebrations winding down, he'll
be available to answer your calls.
The sales take place at the Stratton
Sales Barn. Their next regular meeting is
Wednesday, July 21 at the Stratton Sales
office.
CFA — Canadian Federation of
Agriculture, along with Canadian Farm
Business Management Council, have
produced a booklet of information for
farmers to help them prepare for the year
2000. It's called Time to Act and is
available by calling 613-236-3633.
The Rainy River Hereford Association
will be holding a "Top of the Line"
Female Sale (cattle) on Saturday, October
23 at 11:00 a.m. in the Stratton Salesbarn.
They will be offering only the very best
cattle, not culls. There will be a variety of
calves, bred yearlings and cow/calf pairs.
The three districts of Rainy River, Kenora
and Thunder Bay are welcome to call
KimJo Calder at 807-482-2863 for more
details.
It was great to see Dean Hodgson in
the area again for a while. Dean and John
drove up from Brigden, Ontario to renew
old friendships. Dean used to farm the old
Cooper place on Hwy. 11/71 where Tim
Shortreed now farms. Dean reported that
they sure don't have the wet fields like we
have. Despite their different climate and
growing time, he still enjoys the Rainy
River District.
After a phone conversation from
Sackville, Nova Scotia, it was discovered
that they are very much in need of
moisture. It's too bad we can't share some
of ours. Our fields of dreams have become
nightmares.
It was unusual to hear about Toronto
having no phone communication last
Friday. But, it may now give them a better
understanding of some of the problems
that their rural neighbours occasionally
endure.
Security depends not so much on what
you have, but on what you can do without.
Ontario Agri -Food Education has 20
new sets of resource materials to fit into
the new curriculum. The new kit prepared
for the Fertilizer Institute of Ontario
includes packets of seeds, soil and
nitrogen testing equipment. Any teacher
who needs information on what is
available, call Kristine Carpenter at 807-
488-5510. Our group will once again be
setting up a colourful display in the Farm
Progress Building at this year's Emo Fall
Fair. The cornmeal sandbox and table
with children's activities will be there to
entertain the kids. We're situated at the
north entrance.
Did you hear about the latest: spider
silk produced from pig semen, which is to
be mixed with polymers to produce ultra
strong and feather light fabric, according
to a Laval University scientist. In the lab
at the University, DNA cloned from a
spider will be injected into a pig embryo.
The pig then synthesizes the silk as it
matures and starts to produce semen. 1
don't know about this; sort of sounds like
a lot of "hogwash" to me.
This is about as exciting as the adding
of cherries to hamburger meat to retard
spoilage. This comes from the Fruit
Growers and Michigan State University
who claim that the cherry burgers are a
big hit with the students. They are
available in 16 cafeteria school menus in
the American States.
By now, everyone should have
received their copy of the revised edition
of OFA Policy Handbook — May 1999,
and an update on OFA's recent
accomplishments. OFA has provided
grassroots assistance to 10.500 member
farm families.
• Introduced Nutrient Management
Plans
• Pushed for and achieved Farming &
Food Production Protection Act
• Mobilized farm recovery and relief
for Ice Storm '98
• Retained $500,000 Lifetime Capital
Gains exemption
• Developed Baseline Testing Program
for ground water
• Represented OFA Members at more
than 20 hearings on government bills
• Worked with Bell Canada to upgrade
rural telephone service
If you ever need questions answered or
need assistance in some agricultural way,
call Betty at 807-3556-0014 of fax 486-0014.
There's some really neat Beef Breeds
Posters available. They feature 20
different beef bulls, size 24" x 32". Cost is
$2.50 laminated, or $I.50 unlaminated.
Call Kelly Daynard at Ontario Cattlemen's
Association 519-824-0334 or fax 519-
824-9101. Got one hanging in our barn,
and the school kids love it!
In Manitoba, they've released a new
weevil called Hylobius transversovittatus
from Cornell University. The larvae of
this large, brown weevil attacks the root
systems of the purple loosestrife while the
adults, which are nocturnal, attack the
leaves and stems. They cost $10 per
weevil. It is hoped that the weevil will
control the spread of this European
perennial that was accidentally introduced
in the early 1900s, and as early as 1896 in
the Neepawa area. It's a beautiful flower,
but a real problem in the wet areas and
small creek beds. They follow the low
damp areas and spread rapidly, growing
very dense.
It's a tough year and easy to get down.
Getting down isn't so bad, it's not being
able to get up again, that's really bad.
Hold a yelling day when your kids
can be as loud as they want in the house.
It's a great way to relieve the tension of
being cooped up on a rainy or extra hot
day.
As Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
said, "If you would not be forgotten as
soon as you are dead, either write things
worth reading or do things worth
writing."0
– By Shirley Morrish
AUGUST 1999 59