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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-01-29, Page 9Agriculture Wheat to suffer as soybeans increase SIIY DAVID SCOTT .shepogitor Editor • Soybeans.cotttinue to look tike a-Ittarative crop heading sl/to 1997. About 100 local farmers gathered at the Seaforth Agriplex on Friday to hoar Perth County Soil and Crop Advisor Rob Tlmrpleman talk about soybeans and specialty beans at the Huron County Soil and Crop improvement Association s (HCSCIA) Spring Crops Update. Ninety per cent of the soy- bean production in Canada is done here in Ontario and soy- bean acreage has doubled in the last 10 years. "Soybeans are going to get stronger and prices Zook good," said Templeman. Transgenetics and organic markets are changing things for soybean growers. The rel- atively new "Roundup Ready" soybeans, genetically engineered to withstand the herbicide Roundup, are catching on but, he • warned, some buyers don't want these Roundup Ready beans. Between 2.1 million and 2.4 million acresof soybeans are being protected for next •year. But this tnerOase in soy- bean growth will come out of other crops. "Our wheat will suffer. There they he a bit out -of corn." said Templeman. in Ontario, we've gone from an average yield of 18 bushels per acre for soybeans in 1946 to 42 bushels per acre in 1996. The average price per bushel has also risen from $1.25 fitly years ago to over • $8 a bushel. Many Uses of Soybeans Increased use of soybeans for a variety of different mar- kets in Asia . and North America have made the bean a stable crop. "There's buses in the U.S. that run on soy fuel. It's clean. You'll sec more of that. Soy can be used to make adhesives, building matenais and tube oil. There are race cars that run•on soy fuel," said Templeman. "Al the University of Guelph there's a bursary.for students who come up with the best new uses for soy- beans." The food uses for soybeans are many: • tofu • mist) • tempeh • nano • soy milk • soyfour • soy pain • soy sprouts • soy nuts • green vegetable soy White hilum remains a pop- ular bean with natio beans getting stronger, says Templeman. •They're.devel- oping four new varieties of nano." He cautions growers before taking on a speciality. bean that there's often extra cost, extra management and extra risk. "The income per acre has to he more than the com- mercial market Concerns for Growers Thnpleman outlined a num- ber of concerns growers should keep in mind: • Seed size and population. Don't over -plant, seeds sus- ceptible to white mold. • Planting conditions. Monitor *Oil temperature and moisture. • Field Conditions rota- tion, drainage. • Weed Control - What hei- bicide? "You can't have nightshade in any beans.." • Maturity, cold tolerance. • YieldLag. • Harvest - timely. clean fields. No contamination in equipment. "Some Japanese markets test beans for conta- mination:" • -"Honour Thy Contract" - know your buyer, have a trusting relationship. Eleven Londesboro steers sold at Brussels Livestock The sales at Brussels Livestock for the week end- ing January 24. 1997. Fed cattle: 675: cows: 252: veal calves: 426: lambs and goats: 50; stockers: 1076. • Both fed steers and heifers sold on a barely steady trade. -Cows were selling $ I..00- -S2.00 higher. Veal sold $2.00-$5.00 lower with iambs selling on an.activc market for the volume we • had. Good strong active trade on all classes of stockers. There were 382 steers on offer selling from 87.00 to 91.00 to the high of 96.00. Eleven steers consigned bs Jim Howatt, Londesborough averaging 1328 lbs. sold for an average of 93.04 with sales to 98.00. Seventeen steers consigned by Geo. Blake. Brussels aver- aging 1298 lbs. sold for an average of 89.36 with sales to 94.50. Eight steers consigned h Howard Martin. Brussels averaging 1231 lbs. sold for an average of 86.37 with sales to 89.50. There were 279 heifers en offer selling from 87.00 to 91.00.to thc high of 94.25. Ten heifers consigned by Russ Faber, Kippen averag- ing 1271 lbs. sold for an averag•: of 85.35 with sales to 91.00. Eleven heifers consigned by Bev Hamilton, Hensall aver- aging 1090 lbs. sold for an average of 85.32 with sales to 89.50. There were 252 cows on otter selling from 35.00 to 55.00 to the high of 70.50. Two cows consigned by Tony Van Miltenburg. Seaforth averaging 1385 lbs. sold Ivor an average of 56.83 with sales to 64.50. There were 13 bulls on offer •selling from 47.00 to 63.50 to the high of 69.00. There were 426 veal on offer selling from plain hof: 50.00 to 65.00; hol: 75.00 to 90.00; beef: 80.00 to 111.00. Four veal consigned by John • Verburg. Londesborough averaging 666 lbs. sold for an average of 98.20 with sales to 111.00. Lambs: under 50 lbs.: 197.00 to 215.00; 50 to 80 lbs.: 165.00 to 205.00. Sheep: 20.00 to 60.00. Farmers learn how to recognize stress BY DAVID SCOTT Expositor Editor How many psychologists does it take to grease a com- bine? Just one. But you have to run him through'really Slow. While there weren't .many jokes about farmers that Seaforth psychologist Dr. Robert Shepherd could find when he looked on the Internet, there was one atesut a farmer's perspective on • psychologists. But farmers, like everyone else. are susceptible to stress from both their occupation and the society they live in: Dr. Shepherd talked about "Coping with Today's Societal Pressures" to a group of approximately 100 fanners at the Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association's (HSCIA) Spring Crops Update held »on Friday at the Seaforth Agriplex. Fanners have to learn how to recognize early signs of stress and deal with it just like they manage their farm, he said. 'Traditional family struc- tures end roles have changed. Farm women are not lust spouses; many are business partners and help in the man- agement of farming opera- tions. As well, Shepherd says families are tending to have less children. therefore there's less help on the farm later and harder to divide farm assets up when the farmer reaches retirement age. In farming "the risks arc high .and the return is not always great." -says Shepherd. He says there's many things now that change the way farming .was traditionally done. With the computer rev- olution, it's necessary for farmers to upgrade their com- puter skills and that, he -says. can be "a stress in itself." With agriculture becoming more of "a business, it's taken away some of the enjoyable aspects of farming or given them a lower priori- ty, says Shepherd. Farmers are facing a lot more "red tape and regula- tions" on a number of differ- ent agricultural issues. "Wc'vc moved toward a green revolution. The rules meant for urban centres are being applied to farms. Sonic farmers are happy the gov- ernment has been disman- tling some. of these regula- tions." The local psychologist says, "these stresses weren't pre- sent years ago." . "It's a different kind of stress. It's not just the weath- er, disease, soil problems." Recognizing the symptoms of stress and how they show up is.important, he says. "in the city, it shows up as depression, anxiety, medical •disorders. But.I work with people everyday here who are very resilient people. In rural areas there are subtle stress symptoms like increased fatigue that people just blame on working a lot. But farmers can't afford to be tired all the time." Motivation goes down. physical illness can strike and injury rates go up for farmers under stre.,s, says Shepherd. As well, farmers may get testy and irritable and per-. haps have experience sleep- ing disorders. "You need a good night's sleep if you put in a 16 -hour day." Stress can also Iliad to mari- tal conflict, says Shepherd. "Farmers know that neglect of machinery can be costly. Good farmers know the value of preventative care. You wouldn't be here if you didn't know the value of changing and learning." When it comes to human stress, the rules change, said the. local psychologist. 'Doing it yourself' has been the rule. "It's important to recognize the symptoms of stress early. get on it quickly." said Shepherd. "Make sure the methods you use (to deal with stress) are productive. Most people will self -medicate. 1 don't argue to people not to drink or smoke but it you're doing it a lot, it's a sign you're under 'stress. Take action to moderate." Shepherd suggests fostering. social supports, using spous- es as consultants or having somebody to talk over your problems with.. "When farmers have prob- lems with crops or machin- ery. they get,help, talk to experts. If you're experienc- ing personal problems., it doesn't hurt to talk to some- one. You:re not committing to years of counselling. The cost isn't that high." Mid -Huron Landfill Site Wet year results in high leachate :levels BY DAVID SCOTT Expositor Editor .Leachate levels at the Mid - Huron Landfill Site (MHLS) in Holmesville arc at their highest since 1992 because of record rainfall last year, the MHLS board learned at its January 23 meeting. The total .amount of leachate (liquid created by rainfall soaping through garbage at the landfill site) for last year was 1,154,758 gallons, up from.667A57gaI- lons in 1995 but not as high as the 1992 level of 1.405,000 gal. Leachate is pumped monthly from thc landfill site and taken to a holding facility at Parsons Court in Goderich wherait is slowly released into thc Goderich sewage system. Last year Was the wettest year in Canada, according to the Atmospheric Environment Service, in the 49 years since comparative precipitation records started being kept in 1948. Record- breaking levels of rain, hail and snow were recorded across the country. In Huron, however, 1992 was a wetter year. liilenshly Meetings Merman Along with Seaforth's approval of the 1997 MHLS draft budget, the town sent a letter to the seven other mem- ber municipalities of the landfill site (the Townships of Goderich, Tuckersmith and Colborne, Villages of Lucknow and Bayfield and the Towns of Clinton and Goderich) recommending the number of .board meetings be reduced to six per year "in an effort to reduce costs and minimize unnecessary meet- ings for board members and staff." • "Why do we have to meet every month?" asked Seaforth's deputy -reeve Bill Teall. • Board Chair Laurie Cox, Reeve of Goderich Township, said the reason the meetings were originally held on a monthly basis was to deal with any complaints. Anyone: with a concern could come to the board when it met each month, so potential problems wouldn't drag on. "I like to have an avenue open for complaints. I don't want to give people two months to wait," said Cox. Rob McLeod of Tuckersmith said an emer- gency meeting to deal with a complaint ';could always be at the call of the Chair." "i think we're doing less business at meetings," said Teal!. "The current ones arc 45 minutes to one hour. That's my concern. 1 have 10 meetings right now." "The point of the recom- mendation is to reduce cost," said Ron. McKay. Clinton's Deputy -Reeve. "Some (board members) may -be paid (by their municipalities) by the meeting. ,Some do, some don't," said McKay, who doesn't receive a stipend for the landfill meeting. Another concern about holding the meetings every two months was that delin- quent accounts may be harder to monitor if someone slips to 60 more days without pay- ing, Board secretary Larry McCabe of Goderich said each board member has an extra busy schedule and if a monthly meeting isn't held, people may "tend to forget what's going on" with land- fill issues. Another comment was CONTINUED on page 15 SSW SWUM EKPO$lYO , r/uwrry !e, Conservatives most popular party Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party, led -by Premier Mike Harris, had the support of 44 per cent of decided voters surveyed in the middle of December by the Angus Reid Group. The provincial Liberals were sup- ported by 38 per cent and the NDP five per cern. When asked if they felt flat Conservatives were on the right track 57 per cent of espondems said yes, and 40 per cent no. Potatoes most popular vegetable According to Statistics Canada, potatoes were the most popular of five vegeta- bles in terms of psr person consumption in this country in 1994, the most recent yea! for which statistics are -avail- able. The top- five, in kilo- grams per year. were: pota- toes, 54:68; tomatoes, 29.87: carrots, 10.82; lettuce, 8:91; mushrooms, 8.13. Best RSP Rate 5 a'Ap�0 5 yrs as of Jan V/97 � `111- \U 1�t ' •REPAIRS • REBUIIO . • KEYS RECOVEREf OF awe' • DAMPP CHASER= �' • REGULATIII, qr• INV■STMENTS 5242773 0000fkh 1404265450 r • liEtfCHE BRUCE f - pULSIFER f 145.9223 urrmeu. Hibbert Township Athletic Association SNOWMOBILE • POKER RALLY Sunday, February 2/97 Registration: - 11:00 am -2:00 pm . . • • Township Shed .' . Mike Parson's ' - Shack ' , .. .47'. Jack Brrtnell's _' Shack i AWARD WINNING HONEY A FERGUSON APIAR1ES t. vr, '-" CLOVER & BUCKWHEAT _ _ ./ 0 (Liquid & Honey) OPEN:. Saturdays Only (Phone if other *nes are nom) HWY 84 WEST OF UNSEAL 2364979 C DM SERVICE -_ 8 KING ST BCD{ 927 CLUMTQV, ONTNOM ILO DUE or .1[4' D TAXraaisaknotv KADB mica AND EASY. N) IfiA TER WSAT YOUR SITUATIII .*Reasonable Rates *Electronic filing for faster refund • 10% Seniors' _Discount •No GST on our service PHONE (5191.4824927 MX 0191 4814483 CINDY RAIWORD MARY COTE Huron County. Health Unit invites you to attend "Life After Baby" for parent of infants under 1 year FIVE WEEKLY SESSIONS STARTINs, Wednesday, February 5, 1997 out" Huron County Health Unit Health & Library Complex Clinton, Ontario iF YOU ARE. INTf.RESTED OR FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL Huron County Health Unit 482-3416 Ext. 256 or Ext. 234 To Members of Clinton Community Credit Union Ltd. in Clinton and Exeter YOUR CREDIT UNION WILL BE CLOSED Monday Febristify3 To allow your Credit Union Staff •to convert to.a new computer system. For the first lwo.weeks thereafter when you enter the Credit Union you ,will see some unfamiliar faces. They will be staff from Smart Solution Systems assisting the Credit Union staff who will be doing their best to provide you with the same friendly efficient service that you have been accus- tomed to. We ask for your patience for the first few days as the staff becomes more accustomed to oper- ating the new computer system. A,qLu1O. the ATM will be cloat►)d down -on •Wttdaeaday, January aeth .at 7 :P.M., ll 12 MM. • Thureeey January 30th. That*You, Your Credit Union Staff -c�spN 400407 �t. EXETER 235.0640