HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-03-22, Page 30Time gone by
Marg and Graham Work look out at the land that has been in the family for four generations.
Having sold the farm in 1992, though they still reside there, they have graciously accepted
that the legacy has ended for this farm family.
IDEAL FOR BULK SEED &
FERTILIZER
KRAUSE PRO-System No-Till Grain Drill
3 YEARS • 3,000 HOURS • NO DEDUCTIBLE
Now's the time to take advantage of special savings on new hay and
forage equipment and lawn and garden tractors you'll be needing soon.
It's Winter Buyer's Dividend...the pre-season sale that's going on right
now!
Come on in and make your best deal by March 31. Then, get a big
New Holland Winter Buyer's Dividend to apply toward the purchase of:
• Square Balers
• Bale Wagons
• Forage Boxes/Blowers/Wagons
• Mower-Conditioners
• Rakes/Mowers/Tedders/Inverters
• LS Yard Tractors
• Round Balers
• Bale Throwers
• PT Forage Harvester/Headers
• Crop Choppers
• SP Windrowers
• GT Lawn and Garden Tractors
Kill Bros 390 Split Box
McGAVIN FARM EQUIPMENT
Watton, Ontario
(519) 887-6365 (519) 527-0245
Also d•si•r for:
WIIRIch, Kongsklld• & Glencoe Cultivators
Hardt, Agratrend, Blumhardt Sprayers
*Your Short-line specialists•
Established in 1936
Great dividends are available whether you pay cash or take advantage
of the waiver of finance charges to 9/1/95'. Stop in for details. But
you'd better hurry...Winter Buyer's Dividend ends March 31.
• Offer available to qualified buyers through Ford New Holland Credit.
SERVICE WITH A
SAME NEW HOLLAND
PAGE A10. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1995.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + A GRICULTURE 95
For farm families leaving not easy move
By Bonnie Gropp
Farming is, for many, more than
the way to make a living, it is a way
of life. Over decades it has been a
tradition handed down from gener-
ation to generation, as first father,
then son root themselves in the
land they have lived on, worked on
and loved.
In recent years, the face of farm-
ing appears to be changing with an
increase in the number of young
people leaving. However, while
some family farms have seen the
end of an era, there are many still
where the legacy continues into the
next generation.
It was with bittersweet feelings
that Graham and Marg Work of
Brussels sold their farm in May of
1992.
Growing up on the land that had
been settled by his great-grandfa-
ther, Graham said there was never
any question he would someday
take it over. "I was the only son and
farming was all I had ever known."
Graham and Marg decided to get
married in 1949 and rented the
farm from his parents. "That was
actually in his proposal to me. Did I
think we could afford to pay that
$500?" Marg says.
In addition to raising beef, pigs
and chickens, as well as growing
cash crops, the Works added 100
turkeys after taking over for added
income "We made a whole $75 that
year and bought Graham a new
overcoat," his wife recalls.
When the couple decided after 10
years that they should buy the farm,
they met with an agricultural repre-
sentative for advice. "He told us
that by the time our four children
were in high school, to keep farm-
ing 100 acres we were going to
have to both have off farm jobs or
expand," Graham said.
They bought the farm, then, tak-
ing into consideration the building
codes and restrictions, the Works
decided that building expansion
was not worth the headache. Gra-
ham supplemented the farm income
doing custom work and working at
the sales barn part-time.
The farm was always a family
' operation with the four children
helping out when they were young.
"We all worked as a family," said
Marg.
That they might not be prepared
to take over the heritage was never
an issue, however. "We didn't care
if our kids decided to farm or not,
but we did stress that we wanted
them to have an education first
before they decided," Marg says.
Despite both saying that they
never really felt any concern that
the tradition might not continue
into the next generation, Marg did
admit that something has stirred
some sentimentality — a letter
written in 1956 by Graham's' great-
aunt to his mother.
"Your son on the farm has a nice
little family and I hope one of his
sons will stay on the farm when he
is a man, so the farm will belong to
the Works as it always has since it
was first taken up... generations
ago," Marg reads, adding,
"Remembering how she felt has
bothered me a bit. I think this was
always in the back of my mind,
even though I realize it was not a
possibility."
As is often the case it was practi-
cality that kept the younger Works
from maintaining the farm. "When
we decided it was time to retire, we
needed the money from the sale of
the farm to support us, and our kids
couldn't afford to buy it," said Gra-
ham.
It is an issue not uncommon
today. According to a a statement
from Changing Perspectives, a
report on the changes in agricul-
ture, parents must plan for their
future, basing their decisions on
fact rather than emotion. They can't
give away their retirement and their
kids can't always afford to be sad-
dled with a huge financial burden
because of 11 per cent lending rates
and inflation of one to two per cent.
"We gave the kids a chance to
buy, but we needed the money to
live on and we just had to be practi-
cal," said Graham.
Easing the transition for the cou-
ple, however, was the fact that they
received an offer that allowed them
to stay in the farmhouse until they
were ready to move out. "It helped
not having to give up everything at
once," said Marg.
"A lot of people have asked us
how we could do it," said Graham.
"But if you think about it, it's got to
come and you know it's got to,
come."
"Things don't stand still," said
Marg.
It was in 1856 that Dennis Halla-
han brought his five children to Lot
40, Conc. 5 in East Wawanosh,
land he purchased from the Crown
for $200. Today, the fifth genera-
tion of Hallahans to live on this
land is preparing to pass the legacy
on.
Frank Hallahan was born over a
half century ago on the farm first
settled by his great-great grandfa-
ther. For six years when they
moved to Belgrave where his father
Dan, managed a feed mill, the
buildings were rented out and the
farm land was put in grass. They
mvoed back in 1951.
Though he loved the land he
grew up on, Frank wasn't certain he
wanted to farm when he got older.
He was employed for 15 years as a
truck driver and also worked in
construction. "I was almost 30
years old before I made up my
mind to stay (on the farm)," he
recalls. Married in 1969 to his wife
Marian, a farm girl from the
Auburn area, Frank says he "didn't
Continued from All
TILT TABLE
For Hoof Trimming
• USES TRACTOR HYDRAULICS
• HEAVY DUTY CONSTRUCTION
Spring Special $1,500.
We rebuild & paint forage
boxes to look just like new..
FORTRESS FEEDERS
& EQUIPMENT
Blyth, Ontario
519-523-4555