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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1994-05-18, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 18,1994. Flying up Members of the Belgrave Brownies held a Fly-up Ceremony at the annual banquet on Thursday evening, May 11 in the Belgrave arena. Moving to Guides are, from left: Jenni Hopf, Michelle Nixon, Kerri Meier, Courtney Bakker. U.S. expects ave. corn yield By Brian Hall Business Management Advisor for Huron County The U.S. is expecting an average corn and soybean crop this year according to Dr. Elwyn Taylor, Agricultural Climatologist at Iowa Slate University. Dr. Taylor recently made those comments while addressing a group of marketing clubs in Huron County. According to Dr. Taylor com and soybean planting is proceeding at a near record place with most com planting now completed and soybeans 30 per cent complete. At this point, the only thing that would delay planting would be heavy rains because many fields are still saturated from last year's record rainfall and snowfall. Weather events in the midwest com belt are important to Ontario producers in terms of influencing potential rallies in the grain markets. If Dr. Taylor is correct, market price increases may be limited. Beef heifer dev. meeting set By John Bancroft Swine Advisor for Huron County Development of replacement heifers for the breeding herd is an important segment of a beef cow­ calf business. Since December, 22 heifers have been fed on the Huron County Replacement Heifer Development Project. The heifers have just completed a 112-day test period. A barn meeting to view the heifers and to discuss the program will be held on Wednesday, May 25 at Hank Van Dorp's farm at RR 3, Auburn. The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. Brian Pogue, Wellington County beef advisor, will discuss the test results and the Heifer Development Program in Ontario. Nutritional aspects of raising replacement heifers will be dealt with by John Pickering, Huron County beef advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 4-H groups plan fun day Two hundred 10 - 12-year-old 4- H members will enjoy a full day of fun activities on June 4. 4-H volunteers from Grey, Bruce and Huron Counties have planned a day that these young 4-H members will never forget. The purpose of this program is to provide the young 4-H members with an introduction Continued on page 19 Purchasing a vehicle is a big decision! Let us help you make the right one! GARRY WOODCOCK Quality Cars & Trucks We Can Save You Money Drive A Little - Save A Lot Jj^j^ONTGOMERYl LUCKN O W 528-2813 ■■Uiapnnsli Q One interesting weather event Dr. Taylor discussed was the date of occurrence of a killing freeze. It has been noted that for more than 22 years, from 1950 to 1973, the corn belt did not experience any widespread "early" frost conditions. During this time period, farmers for the most part realized greater return for full season crop varieties and the planting of normal and short season varieties diminished. Since 1974 there has been a substantial change, in that there has not been an extended growing season; killing frost has arrived at or before the normal date. During the same period 1950 - 1973, com yields were much more stable than the time since 1973. From 1974 to present, producers have experienced much greater year to year variation in yields. Long term weather forecasting is difficult and risky at best, and no one has identified a reliable early indication of weather conditions to come later in the season. Weather which occurs during the spring is Each heifer was weighed every 28 days, and had a hip height, structure score, chute score and frame score taken at the beginning and the ending of the test. Also, the backfat and pelvic area were measured at the end of the test. not a reliable indicator of weather conditions to come during a later season. However, crucial North Ameri­ can weather patterns for July and August’ are often expressed in late June. Certain weather patterns establish themselves then giving us the temperatures and rainfall for the remainder of the summer. The two most important weather patterns during late June to occur are the Bermuda High and Alaska Low pressure cell. The former moves into the Florida Coast area and brings warm moist air to the midwest. The latter comes off the west coast of B.C. and Alaska, then moves east over the Rockies on a a regular basis. When meeting up with the warm air from the Bermuda High, it produces summer rains in the midwest. Failure of these two systems to develop in late June resulted in the drought of 1988 and the cold summer of 1992. Weather maps will allow us to- watch for the development of these two weather systems in late June. These results will be available at the meeting. All interested beef producers are invited to attend. For directions, please contact the OMAFRA office in Clinton at 482-3428 or 1-800- 265-5170. Wage help available for rural youth employers By Robert A. Humphries, P.Agr Agricultural Representative for Huron County The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will be offering an enhanced Summer Assistance Wage Assistance Program for youths between the ages of 15 and 24. Last year, the program was only available to tobacco and edible horticulture producers. This year it is open to ALL farm sectors. To be eligible for the 1994 program, the farmer must have had gross farm production of at least $7,000 in 1993. The program offers eligible producers a wage assistance of $3 per hour to create new jobs for youth in agriculture. An eligible employer must employ a youth for a minimum of six continuous weeks, with a minimum of 30 hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours per week. The maximum period of employ­ ment cannot exceed eight weeks. Employers must provide at least the Ontario minimum hourly wage which is $6.70 per hour for employees over 18 years of age and $6.25 per hour for employees under the age of 18 years. Employers must pay all employment costs and deductions including Workers' Compensation Board coverage, Employer Health Tax premiums, and liability ' insurance for not less than $1 million on the summer employee. A youth being hired must be a resident of Ontario and must be eligible to work in Canada. He/she must be between the ages of 15 and 24 on the first day of the work term. The youth cannot be an immediate farnily member and cannot have been in the farmer's employ since March 31. Applicants must apply to the program through the Agricultural Employment Services office. For Huron County producers, the AES office is in Walkerton and the manager is Mr. Brian Damm. He can be reached at 881-3671 or 1-800-361-0115. Application forms and complete program details are available from the MAFRA Field Office in Clinton. The telephone numbers are 482-3428 or 1-800-265-5170. HEALTH ON THE HILL A review of activities at SEAFORTH COMMUNITY HOSPITAL Hospital Highlights: “Nurses Make the Difference” - Nurses Week was May 9 - May 15, 1994. We saluted our terrific nurses at Seaforth Community Hospital by recalling the occasion when they made a difference in some way or action which was truly appreciated and stands out in our minds. All departments made submissions. Don’t forget to tell your nurse that you appreciate her care today! Seaforth Hospital wishes to congratulate Frances Teatero on her appointment to chair the Hospital Auxiliary Association of Ontario. Mrs. Teatero is a cook in the Dietary Department and contributes many hours of volunteer time to the Seaforth Hospital Auxiliary in various capacities. We are proud of you Frances!