The Rural Voice, 1987-12, Page 36NEW- L1CS
LIMITED
• Custom Cylinder building & repair
includingTruck Hoists, Fork Lifts, etc.
- Hydraulic Jack repair & service
• General Machining
• Hoses & Fittings
Holiday Greetings to all our customers from the staff at
NEW -LIFT HYDRAULICS Limited
Wallace Ave., N.
Listowel 519-291-4413
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Y AROMAH 1987 f AC10i11
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Bayll•Id Road
CLINTON
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482-3409
34 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
THE CBA LOOKS
AT THE FARMER
In the sea of navy blue suits at the
Agricultural Credit Conference of the
Canadian Bankers' Association last
month, there wasn't much hope for the
thousands of farmers drowning in debt.
For most speakers, the question
wasn't how to keep debt -crippled farm-
ers on the land, but how to help them
leave it. "Agriculture in crisis," it would
seem, has become passe. "Agriculture
in transition" is the new phrase.
That hard-headed stance, however,
was qualified by a probing concern for
the families and communities whose
lives and livelihoods are being changed.
How many are directly involved, how-
ever, remains a matter of speculation.
Harold Baker, Professor of Exten-
sion at the University of Saskatchewan,
was one of the speakers at the plenary
session on farming. "We're probably
faced," he told the audience, "with the
prospect of losing a quarter to a third to
a half of our farm families in certain
regions."
"There is currently," he added, "no
clear picture of how public policy will
deal with the matter."
In a prepared speech, Bakeroutlined
several predictions:
• the number of farms, having de-
clined from 623,000 in 1951 to 315,000
in 1983, will continue to decrease,
Farmers who can be
successful must not be
penalized by subsidy
programs that help the
less able, Baker said.
• family organization on the farm
will be more formal and structured, with
most active family members, male and
female, involved in corporate partner-
ships,
• there will be larger numbers of
part-time farmers and the proportion of
off -farm income to supplement farm
operations will continue to increase.
Baker stressed, however, that today
it is important to make these changes
less painful for the farm community.
(cont'd)