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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2006-06-15, Page 6On May 31g, we II all be able to breathe a little easier Smoking is the No.1 preventable cause of death in Ontario today. The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which comes into force on May 315` , is part of a broad effort to improve public health by reducing Ontarians' exposure to and use of tobacco products. The legislation bans smoking in all enclosed workplaces and enclosed public places to protect workers from second-hand smoke. The legislation also strengthens laws on tobacco sales to minors and restricts the display of tobacco products in retail outlets. If you smoke, now is a good time to consider quitting. For help and a plan to quit, call Smokers' Helpline at 1-877-513-5333. Or visit www.smokershelpline.ca for tips, tools and support. For more information on the Smoke Free Ontario Act, contact your Public Health Unit or call 1-866-396-1760. TTY: 1-800-387-5559. Or visit www.ontario.ca/smokefree Ontario Paid for by the Government of Ontario "It's a story you II never forget." EXCUSE US! HERR SCHICKLGRUBER A memoir by H. Clifford Chadderton Follow the harrowing adventures of the young men, some teenagers, who fought alongside Cliff Chadderton, an officer with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles during World War II. This memoir provides insight into the personalities, feelings and hopes of these young men who fought against terrible odds. Their stories are frightening, funny, tragic and miraculous. /\ L 1111\ For more info mation, or to order a copy of this book ($10), please contact The War Amps 1-800-250-3030 www.waramps.ca PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2006. Award-winning farmer talks about success Back to the land? George Procter of Bodmin Farms checks his computer for the most recent ratings of his swine herd. (Carol Burns photo) Bodmin Farms more than 30 years ago. "I wanted the challenge of doing more than raising pigs for the market," Procter states. "In 1973 we began the genetic testing program. When I began, we did all the work here at the farm, and everything was on paper records. But now, everything is computerized, and OSI takes our information and compares it with .other farms By Carol Burns Citizen staff Sitting behind his desk, George Procter looks like almost any other executive of a large corporation. His office is light and airy with a significant computer, and attractive, functional furniture. But Prdcter's office is located on a farm reached by a secondary road in Huron County. Clad in pressed shirt and - jeans rather than a suit, he looks out his window at the river. trees and birds, not high rises. Ile supervises 12 full-time %,orkers. including daughter and manager Phil Smith,who v, oh pan-time workers, care tor the 2.600 swine and 1.000 acres of land on several farms that compose Bodmin Farms. t 'mil recently his wife. Elizabeth did the company bookkeeping. Procter and his family own Bodmin Farms - which has on the Ontario Swine Improvement Award (OSI) of Excellent for the past two years for the quality of their ,se i ne herd. Procter, who grew up on a mixed farm just north of his office, sums up his attitude to larming, "You don't have to keep doing things just because Dad did them. You haxe to be prepared to change. It may not work, but look at y% hat you have done, and see 110W it could be done differently or better.- , "It is important to remember that when things ent wrong you did what you though was right at the time. II y ou never try it again, you horse lost an important opportunity to learn." Procter adds, laughing "I've madel enough mistakes that I think I am-reasonably tolerant about other's mistakes." 1.i)rty-five years ago Procter ated from Ontario .X.21 cultural College at (hlrl ph. then went to work for leis years as an assistant agricultural representative in County. Ile returned to farming at across Canada." Procter says that the key to his success is his willingness to persevere with the swine testing process lor the long- haul. "You have to realize that this is a long-term investment and commitment before it begins to pay off. You have to stick with it, you can't do it for a little while and expect to see any results. It is important to keep up to date and use the best tools available to you." One benefit of pigs over Procter's first kive. of cattle is faster returns. Cows are slower to mature, and usually have only one calf a year. Sows will have two and a third litters of, nine piglets a year. Procter said that most of the things he does and tools he uses were not part of his education. Many had not even been invented. "It is important to be flexible. to be willing to change to conditions and to look at the long .picture. -Farming prices seem to go in four year cyCles._ It• is important in the good years to prepare for the lean years, and to accept that farming works with livestock; weather and people, things that you have no control over." "You have to ppect bad times, sometimes it is- your own fault, sometimes it is Something beyond your control.. But yOu have to learn from what went wrong and keep going." - Procter advises, "Get as broad an education as possible. Then work at something else for awhile. ExplOre other options. If something else takes your interest, go for it." "The most satisfied farmers I know are the ones who chose to be on the farm, not those who feel they were stuck on it. Working elsewhere lets you know that there are problems with jobs elsewhere, as well as those on the farm." "It is_important to make a decision to farm. Once that decision is made, realize that you need to be prepared to meet conditions . as they Change." "We started small and kept looking for ways to do things better. We started with old machinery, and gradually moved up." "If you want it badly enough, you will probably find a way to do it, but you will have to sacrifice. You can't have the biggest tractor and everything. when you start." "Farms have gotten big. It is easy to say that things would be a lot better if farms were small." said Procter, :.But both the agricultural and urban situations are moving to larger volume businesses. We may not like it, but I don't know how to change it." Despite the industrialization of his business, Procter remains rooted in the land. He says that he never worried about not making it. "I wouldn't have liked leaving the farm, but I would not have been afraid of working at something else." "But I like looking out the window and watching the seasons. I like being able to tell the seasons by the smell of the corn. I like taking my Unlike your hair, these shouldn't recede with age. As many as 75% of adults am affected by gum disease. It is possible to prevent gum disease from wreaking havoc on your mouth Book an appointment with your dental hygienst today to learn how. Visit www.cdho.org or call the College at 1-800-268-2346 tor more irdormabon on dental hygiene and oral health.