HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1991-12-11, Page 19THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11,1991. PAGE 19.
Royal winner
Kate Procter of Belgrave showed the champion hog in the
single barrow class at the Royal Winter Fair last month.
Her entry was from Bodmin Farms which also took the
reserve champion, shown by Am Spivey.
Top hams
Arn and Anne Spivey showed the champion pair of market
gilts at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto last month. The
winners were from Bodmin farms which also had the
reserve champion, shown by Arn Spivey.
Farm
Brussels Livestock report
Prices rebound $4-$5
Sales at Brussels Livestock for
the week ending December 6 were:
slaughter cattle, 940; cows, 280;
veal calves, 135; lambs and goats,
40; stockers, 1150; pigs, 70.
The week's trade was stronger
with prices being $4 - $5 higher
from the previous week.
There were 637 steers on offer
selling from $72.75 to $83.50 to
the high of $92.75. One steer con
signed by Sandy Troup, Holstein
weighed 1340 lbs. sold for $92.75.
One steer consigned by Erika Dick-
ert, Ay ton, weighed 1240 lbs. sold
for $84.
Fifty-seven steers consigned by
W. B. Pletch Co. Ltd., Rockwood
averaging 1281 lbs. sold for an
average of $81.95 to the high of
$87. Fourteen steers consigned by
Wallace Lewis, Holstein averaging
1126 lbs. sold for an average of
$80.30 to the high of $84.50. Three
steers consigned by Wayne
Beimes, Listowel averaging 1063
lbs. sold for an average of $79.65
to the high of $84.50.
Nine steers consigned by Jim
Howatt, Londesborough averaging
1323 lbs. sold for an average of
$79.10 to the high of $81. Thirty-
six steers consigned by Ralph and
Roger Morrison, Lucknow averag
ing 1104 lbs. sold for an average of
$78.50 to the high of $83.50. Ten
steers consigned by Bill Porter,
Goderich averaging 959 lbs. sold
for an average of $78 to the high of
$86.25.
Twenty-four steers consigned by
Cunningham Farms, Lucan averag
ing 1374 lbs. sold for an average of
$77.90 to the high of $80.85.
Twenty-six steers consigned by Bill
Stewart, Mt. Forest averaging 1433
lbs. sold for an average of $77.70
to the high of $87.25. Twelve steers
consigned by Glen Johnston, Blue
vale averaging 1331 lbs. sold for an
average of $77 to the high of $78.
Twenty-eight steers consigned by
Gerald Geisel, Elmira averaging
1385 lbs. sold for an average of $77
to the high of $82.75.
There were 303 heifers on offer
selling from $72.50 to $76.25 to
the high of $85.80.
Ten heifers consigned by Neil
Faulkner, Moorefield averaging
1161 lbs. sold for an average of
$80.50 to the high of $85.80.
Twenty-four heifers consigned by
Skinner Farm, Mitchell averaging
1109 lbs. sold for an average of
$77.45 to the high of $80.10. Thir
teen heifers consigned by Melvin
Warnick, Gadshill averaging 1195
lbs. sold for an average of $77.45
to the high of $80.
Twenty-three heifers consigned
by Maurice Coe, Shelburne, aver
aging 1136 lbs. sold for an average
of $77 to the high of $78.85. Four
teen heifers consigned by Mervin
Lewis, Holstein averaging 1051
lbs. sold for an average of $76.35
to the high of $79.25. Nine heifers
consigned by Larry Plaetzer,
Auburn averaging 1167 lbs. sold
for an average of $76.35 to the high
of $80.
Speaking
of Farming
1
By Jim Fitzgerald
Restructuring of farming
means big changes ahead
What will Huron County look
like in five, ten or 15 years from-
now? Will there still be a strong
agricultural base? And if not, then
what will take the place of the agri
cultural industry that annually
brings hundreds of millions of dol
lars into the local economy?
In fact Huron is considered by
Statistics Canada to be the only
truly agricultural area in Canada,
east of Winnipeg because more
than 20 per cent of our population
is involved in the agricultural econ
omy. So what happens in agricul
ture has a more profound effect to
Huron's economy than any where
else in Ontario.
Lately, nearly every commodity
of agriculture in this area, except
dairy and poultry, has been hit by
depressed prices that, in relative
terms are, the lowest since the
Dirty Thirties. And even those
dairy and poultry producers who
have enjoyed relatively stable
prices (but increases of less than
one-third the inflation rate) in the
past two decades because of supply
Six heifers consigned by Bell
Hackett, Lucknow averaging 1155
lbs. sold for an average of $75.80
to the high of $77. Eleven heifers
consigned by Schultz Bros., Blyth,
averaging 1056 lbs. sold for an
average of $74.45 to the high of
$76.25.
There were 280 cows on offer
selling from $45 to $56.75 to the
high of $64.
One cow consigned by Elgin
Hogg, Wingham weighed 1210 lbs.
sold for $63. Three cows consigned
by Warden and Glen Haney,
Seaforth averaging 1520 lbs. sold
for an average of $61.35 to the high
of $64. One cow consigned by Levi
Yoder, Lucknow weighed 1260 lbs.
sold for $60.75. Three cows con
signed by Dave Bell, Paisley aver
aging 1237 lbs. sold for $57.50 to
the high of $60.
There were 135 veal on offer
selling from $79 to $97.50 to the
high of $110.50. Two veal con
signed by Wm. Husk, Kincardine
averaging 570 lbs. sold for an aver
age of $107.50 to the high of
$110.50. One veal consigned by
Lloyd Diefenbacker, Moorefield
averaging 660 lbs. sold for an aver
age of $107.
Three veal consigned by John
Wassink, Wroxeter averaging 490
lbs. sold for an average of $97.25
to the high of $101. Four veal con
signed by Jack Kuipers, Palmerston
averaging 663 lbs. sold for an aver
age of $91 to the high of $ 106.50.
management, have been worrying
more recently. As the international
trade talks, known as the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) are fast reaching a conclu
sion in Geneva, they too are wor
ried that border controls may be
reduced or eliminated and Canada
will be flooded with heavily subsi
dized American products.
Because of the income that
comes from agriculture into our
economy is so important to the
well-being of our communities -
approximately $175 million in
Huron last year - one doesn't have
to look far to see it's important that
we either have some contingency
plans in place to make up for the
shortfall, or prepare for a massive
immigration from the farms into
the nearby towns and villages and
likely nearby cities. That has
already been happening to a certain
amount in a much slower way, say
the experts, with two trends - one
towards fewer farmers working
larger amounts of land on the one
hand, and small niche farms spe
cializing in producing one product,
such as flowers or maple syrup, on
a few acres. Because of a number
of reasons, including restrictive
land severance laws, the middle-
sized family farm is fast disappear
ing and the loss of those families
not being made up by other fami
lies moving into the area.
Until the latest recession, the
impact of losing those farmers
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wasn't fell as greatly, because many
of them could find jobs in local
industries using the same skills
they learned very well on their farm
and stay in the area. But now,
experts say, hundreds of thousands
of those manufacturing jobs have
been lost forever, so it means that a
substantial part of our labour force
will have to be retrained for a
totally different career, likely in the
service sector in tourism or the
social services.
The consequences are not hard to
see locally. Il leaves us with half-
empty schools, fewer churches, a
declining social structure because
more families need two incomes to
survive, and are too tired after work
to be involved in the community.
And just as important, it leaves us
with a shrinking, less viable retail
sector that forces more and more
people to travel to the cities to get
what they perceive to be better
selection and prices. With smaller
commercial and industrial assess
ments, tax bases are eroding too,
which means local ratepayers are
picking up a larger share of the tax
burden for services such as health
and education, which continue to
grow, seemingly blind to the havoc
going on around them.
What can be done? Right now,
the problems seem like many, and
the solutions few. But sometimes, it
takes a crisis to awaken people to
the real problems, set priorities and
clarify the solutions. There are a
number of diverse groups through
out the area wrestling with the
problems, ranging from the four
economic development areas initi
ated by the county planning and
development department, to the
taxpayers revolt group, to the “line
in the dirt” farm protest movement.
Although they seem to be going to
opposite directions right now, there
is an amazing common thread run
ning through them all - they all
want more local input and more
control of their destiny. We can't
afford to sleepwalk through another
decade. This is the information age
and we must all learn more about
Continued on page 23