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The Rural Voice, 1987-01, Page 12CHALLENGE '87 One can't help but suspect that farmers, per capita, have more intensely committed representatives than any other group. The proof is in their responses ... I've thought about the profile of the farmer of the future. He'll have to be market- oriented, he'll not continue in the business just because it's a family tradition — that won't be good enough. He'll be an entrepreneur and have excellent financial manage- ment and production skills, he'll be a good steward of soil and water, less dependent on agricultural chemicals, and will provide humane treatment of animals. — Doug Jamieson, Principal Centralia College of Agricultural Technology There is no "mortgage - lifter" for 1987. No one crop is going to be the answer, with the possible exception of hard red wheat, but you're going to have to know the rules of the game. Small things are important • precision herbicides and fertilizer applications, not just specific to each farm, but to a field, • timely weed control so you can cut back on a herbicide or use a cheaper herbicide, or use inter -row cultivation, • negotiate hard on land leases, and re- negotiate longer-term leases. There will be free rent in 1987 and in some cases that's exactly what it's worth. If you're planting spring grain or red clover, the rent has to be reasonable if not free. If you're renting from older retired farmers, then in return for lower rent, barter — make land improve- ments, cut trees ... • sell off redundant equipment — old cultivators — and repair equipment to last three or four more years • try sharing equipment or trading work. Maybe you can do custom tillage and your neighbour can do planting. Don't get caught up in an attitude probem where you think you'll do a better job than he will in return. Labour-intensive things make the difference — even growers that hoe. You can buy wood tree -tops for $6 a face cord or you can buy wood already cut for $50 a face cord — the only difference is $42 and the labour. Pat Lynch Consulting Agronomist Cyanamid Canada Inc. In life your outlook is often your outcome as long as it is realistic. — John Player Playerdise Farms R. R. 2, Gadshill CONCERNED FARM WOMEN: We're still going to be focusing on the economic situation on the farm, and unfortunately we're having to also look at off -farm employment — that's a forced issue. I know that our group is getting very, very tired of the lack of action on the part of the political people, and we see that we have to get more people on our side, namely the consumers. We have developed a video that we are go- ing to take out into the urban commu- nities to promote agriculture and tell them our concerns and to make them more aware what it means if farmers are all going to be hobby farmers or part-time farmers, and what that's go- ing to do to our rural communities and the very fabric of our country. We're going to try to get the urban people to understand why we can't go on like this, to understand the high cost of producing food, to understand the whole business of agriculture. Beth Slumskie, Bruce County President Concerned Farm Women ... AND FROM THE CONSUMERS' ASSOCIATION OF CANADA — A high priority on the consumer list as far as agriculture is concerned will be getting to know more about agricultural chemicals and whether we really need them, how much we need them and whether they're good for people. I think another thing as far as our association is concemed is plant breed- ers' rights. We're going to be doing more on that, and on the seed bank. We're concerned that there is a good gene bank with plenty of gene plasm stored so that we don't get into monoculture. One thing that was brought up this fall and that we're going to be looking at in 1987 is the depletion of agricul- tural land in every way possible, not only with the building and highways and industry, but also by erosion.0 Bernice McLean, Chairman Food Committee Consumers' Association From an economics viewpoint, it seems to me that 1987 is going to be very much a continuation of the situation that we've seen in the last half of 1986 — in other words, pretty flat prices in the grains and the oilseeds. I don't see 10 THE RURAL VOICE