Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-12-06, Page 9The Huron Expositor • December 6, 2006 Page 9 generation Jeff Heuchert Ronald MacGregor has been har- vesting the same piece of farmland for the past 75 years. He is 87 years old. And, he has no intention of retir- ing anytime soon. I know a lot of farmers my age that are done harvesting," notes MacGregor, "but I still want to keep farming." "I guess I'm just a crazy old goat," he adds jokingly. The truth however, just might be that farming is what he knows best. MacGregor has been harvesting the land at RR 2 Kippen since he was a young boy. He grew up in the same small. farmhouse he owns today. His father William was the previous landowner. The MacGregors have been attached to the property much before then however. • "I'm a fourth generation farmer here. This land was settled by the MacGregors in 1851," he recalls. MacGregor lives on the farm with his wife Mildred. Together they have three sons and one daughter. MacGregor first got involved with farming by helping his father after school, and he still recalls a num- ber of memories from those years. Like one harvest in the late '308, when they had crows and pigeons eating the kernels off their stock, or the time in 'the late '40s when they planted a "double crop," mixing turnip seeds with their corn fertiliz- er, just in case there was a crop fail- ure. "The turnips weren't too bad and it- didn't interfere with the corn too Much," he says. He remembers when they bought their first corn picker in the '40s and when he turned the new machine too quickly, tipping it over. Or, when they had to buy a cater- pillar tractor to work the wet fields during the harvest of 1954, when Hurricane Hazel hit the east coast. MacGregor also remembers the harder times, especially during the depression in the '30s. "It got so tough farmers were on the edge of bankruptcy," he says, noting a bushel of corn during those times sold for only around 70 cents. "There was just no money. But armer, 8 REATER SEAFO RTH AREA celebrates his 75th harvest Ronald MacGregor stands in front of his combine during this year's harvest. then the (Second World) War came and things picked up," he adds. And for the most part, farmers were able to make a comfortable liv- ing as a cash -crop farmer. -% That was until more recently, when low commodity prices and subsidized corn from foreign mar- kets, have threatened many Canadian farmers' livelihoods. MacGregor says he is saddened to see the difficulties today's cash -crop farmers are facing, especially the younger ones still supporting chil- dren. "A lot of farmers are having to take off -farm jobs. I never had to do that," he says, adding he expects at least 75 per cent of the employees at the new ethanol plant in Hensall will be farmers who need a second income. "It's too bad, because we're supply- ing the food for this country. But, an American farmer gets $150 (in sub- sidies) before they even turn a wheel - and that's what we have to compete against." "I don't know what the future holds. If someone is going to start today (farming), they've got quite a battle to keep going," he adds. Huron County Federation of. Agriculture president Steve Thompson says the average age of farmers has gone up in recent years to around 57-58. "And it doesn't surprise me at all," he adds. "I kid with people that soon to get a list of current farmers we'll just have to look at the senior citizens list." Thompson says since farming has become less profitable, many will not just find off -farm jobs, but forget. about farming all together for a number of years. "Some say, `I'm going to work 30 years off the farm. Then once I'm at a retirement age, I'll spend my time farming,'" he says. Thompson also attributes the increasing age of active farmers to better health care. And while commodity prices have recently increased slightly, Thompson says they're sure to drop- again, ropagain, and farmers will be facing the same problem since the govern- ment is yet to level the playing field with other subsidized markets. "It's a convenient dodge,". he says of the recent rise in prices. "They have no intension of doing anything and we'll be back with the same problems." Since MacGregor is no longer sup- porting his entire family, the money he does make from his crop each harvest is enough. In fact, he might even be planning a trip to Australia. But, come the spring, he'll be out planting his crop. Come the fall, he'll be taking it off. As for when he plans to retire, he's already got that figured out. "When I'm not able to drive a com- bine or tractor, _that's when I'll retire. But, at 87 years old, you can't plan that far ahead." WIit3ey-RibTner4Tijijje'Wh A Family Owned Business Since 1975 1 87 Goderkrh St. W., Seafort i 19-527-1390 oet.Ross W. Ribey -Funeral Director www.whitneyribeyfuneralhome.com ORIALS LTD.