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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-04-27, Page 26• Page 1iA April 27, 1983 Being sold bill of goods Farmers have been sold a bill of goods by the chemical industry according to biologist, Uko Zylstra from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Zylstra was in Ontario on a speaking tour organized by the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario in ear- ly April. He spokein fivecoun- tries across the province: Hastings, Durham, Well- ington. Middlesex and Niagara. Dr. Zylstra said that agriculture has gotten itself onto a pesticide tread -mill that is resulting in the use of more and stronger pesticides and rising costs while the pro- blems with pests are getting worse. He reported on U.S. statistics which showed that in 1942 corn crop losses in the U.S. due to pests were 4 per- cent. In 1982 they were 12 per- cent. The use of pesticides on corn in the same time period increased by 1000 percent. He. urged CFFO members to give leadership in finding a way out of the present dilemma. "It's my conviction", Dr. Zylstra said, "that the CFFO members have a perspective about this world that will give them the motivation to deal with this problem.- it's God's creation". "A pest problem is first of all a biological problem - it is not a chemical problem," Dr. Zylstra pointed out. "Get an understanding of the foodland ecosystem" he urged the farmers. "Pests should be treated as biological problems". He recommended the use of integrated pest management systems that involve the use of chemicals if alternative methods such as crop rotation or natural predators are not totally successful. The importance of decay organisms in the soil was one of Dr. Zylstra's concerns. These organisms make soil nutrients available to plants. but this micro -life is being destroyed by the constant use of chemicals. The CFFO at its Annual Convention in 1982 adopted a resolution calling for "much greater government support for programs such as In- tegrated Pest Management ' HARPING -- Theresa Glavin (left) and Martina Glavin, Crediton, are shown how to replace a lamp harp by engineer Sam Bradshaw. The workshop, organized by the Clinton OMAF office, was held in the Hensall United Church basement. ane foot in the crow' "au.7� Statistics can be inter- preted many ways. They can be used to prove a point of view and, sometimes; when interpreted mistakenly, they can be used to prove an opposite point of view. A few weeks ago, I quoted statistics in this column from the Canadian Grocer. I said tood prices in this country in- creased 8.3 percent last year. Not so, says a spokesman for the Canadian Grocer magazine. Food sales --not food prices- -increased by 8.3 percent. And there is a difference. It was dollars through the cash register that increased by that amount. . The original column was deploring the fact that Cana- dians sit idly watching as a group of five conglomerates capture all the buying clout in the ' food 'chain. Canada Safeway and IGA signed a deal this year to become a SAVE TIME SAVE MONEY OPERATE A MORE EFFICIENT SILO WITH... FIBER FUNNEL Labour Saving, Lightweight, Directional Funnel, The answer to thousands of Farmers' Silo Problems! VERSATILE Fiber -Funnel is adaptable to any conventional silo chute (steel, fibreglass or concrete). Fiber -Funnel is easily removed from the base connector to allow access to the silo chute for servicing. DURABLE Fiber -Funnel's fibreglass construction is strong. lightweight and totally non -corrosive. No rust — no rot no moving parts to wear out or seize. EFFICIENT The patented Fiber -Funnel system is available in two discharge angles (20° and 40°) to accommodate any silo requirement, and can be adjusted to any length by simply cutting the optional 9" extension pipe. The unique design of the Fiber -Funnel stops silo chute updrafts. Fiber -Funnel is easily mounted with simple tools and an electric drill or have your local dealer arrange the installation. —Your sales rep George Glendinning R.R. 8 Parkhill (519)294-6574 GLENDINNING FARM EQUIPMENT LTD. RR #2 LUCAN, ONTARIO, NOM 2J0 PHONE (519) 227-4593 or lot(... ... ,pp/.00.d 0, 100 I,oa., 1I0.N d (..n.. Om N311 ICI single buying group. Domi- nion Stores and Steinberg merged more than a year ago for buying purposes. They call it Volume One. The Weston empire. joined Pro- vigo for the same reason. This buying power could be manipulated to the detriment of the consumer. But George Condon, editor of Canadian Grocer magazine, says the surveys in the magazine do not reveal any evidence that such a thing is happening and "any assumptions that our surveys do reveal it are untrue." In fact, he suggested that the crunch these days in- dicates there are no real bad guys in the food chain. They are all out there in a highly -competitive market and are still trying to pass on savings to the buying public by giving the best deals they can. Food stores work on a net profit of one percent. Grass margins in the food chains 10 years ago hovered around 26 percent. That gross margin has dropped to around 20 percent. Only by cost-cutting has the one per- cent profit margin been maintained. "There is no indication that' the buying power of the chains has increased prices to consumers," he said. He is quite right. But there is no indication that the buy- ing power has decreased prices, either. I am quite prepared to ac- cept Canadian Grocer's assumption that there are no real bad guys in the food chain and that food in this country is still a bargain. But I am not prepared to accept that the power in the hands of a few could be used to the detriment of the buying public. Perhaps it has not reached that stage. Maybe it won't. But the history of cor- porate rip-offs in this country would suggest the worst. If I mis-used Canadian Grocer's statistics to prove a point, I apologize. But the point I was trying to prove is this: That much power should not be in the hands of a few companies. Canadians should force the government topass legislatior against such obvious power. And again, let me repeat: there is no evidence that this power has been abused. The fact remains that it could be abused. The presentanti- combines act and fair business prac- tices act are in dire need of revision. It is legislation that is next to useless. Farm Credit Corp. gets another .boost • Another $100 million in loan funds is being earmarked for farmers in serious financial difficulty, along with an addi- tional $8 million for rebates," announced Agriculture Minister Eugene. Whelan after the federal hudget speech. The previous hudget of June 28, 1982 had allocated $200 million in loan funds and $16 'million in rebates to the Special Farm Financial Assistance Program over two years. During 1982-83. $133 million was approved leaving $67 million for 1983-84. "Demand has been so strong that our government has decided to increase the level of assistance to help as many farmers as possible who ha ye no other reasonable financing alternatives," add- ed Mr. Whelan. The program offers a four percent.rebate on interest for two years. With FCC's cur- rent lending rate set at 12::, percent, this lowers, the bor- rowers' rale to 831 percent for two years. These loans continue to be specifically for farmers in financial distress. This in- cludes those who require the loan and the associated in - Now there is a completely new plan to meet all the insurance needs of today's farm owner. With the Farm -Guard policy from The Co-operators you Insure your home, contents, outbuildings, machinery, livestock, produce and supplies. Liability is also included. 0 the co -o per tots viNSl1RANCE SERVICES. Call: v Call today for information about the many coverages available with Farm -Guard protection. erns Gingerich 374 Main St., Exeter Clinton Community Credit Union Office Residence 235-1109 Business LIFE •HOME •AUTO • COMMERCIAL • FARM • TRAVEL 1 terest rebate for the farm business to survive in the short term. These borrowers will be expected to have 'sill - Relent income after two years to be able to meet their regular commitments," said Mr. Whelan. An acceptable recovery plan prepared in consultation with FCC officers will be re- quired. The borrower must accept counselling from FCC staff for at least two years and provide whatever infor- mation may be required to monitor the progress of the recovery. Seaforth man board rep Bill Scott of Seaforth is On- tario's new representative at the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. The Ontario Egg Pro- ducers' Marketing Board, of which Mr. Scott is the Direc- tor for Huron County, elected him as their representative on the C.E.M.A. Board of Direc- tors at their April meeting. Ile replaces Stan Steen of Ariss, who served on the C.E.M.A. Board for six years. The C.E.M.A. Board of Directors consists of one representative for each pro- vince, plus 'a federally - appointed chairman and member -at -large. The agency is responsible for national activities such as central pricing and the alloca- tion of total, or global quota, while the provincial Egg Boards are responsible for dividing their share of the global quota allocation among producers, and for collecting levy monies from producers. A director of the Ontario Egg Board for six years, Scott operates a 15,000 -bird egg lay- ing operation, which includes a custom hatchery. Ile holds a Master of Applied Science degree in Aeonautical Engineering from the Univer- sity of Toronto. ch a lollin9.1 Throne Speech termed 'vacuous' By Jack Riddell MPP With traditional pomp and ceremony, the Ontario Legislature opened on the 18th April. Following are some highlights of the Speech from the Throne,• outlining proposed government policy. A "senior minister" is to be named to be responsible for women's issues. Unspecified "measures to assist young people entering agriculture for the first time, to get a fair start". Improved support services and related programs which will enable elderly citizens to continue to live.independent- ly in the community." Unspecified programs "designed to stimulate hous- ing construction to meet the needs of home -owners and tenants and to provide employment in the construc- tion industry." The Public 'Service Superannuation Act to be amended to "eliminate the ' unfair practice of discontinu- ing a survivor's pension upon remarriage." Building and fire code regulations to be reformed and streamlined, as well as the Mining Act. Legislation to ensure that' Ontario law is "fully consis- tent" with the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Human Rights Code. Next month's budget to be the keystone of a recovery program which will stress jobs, fiscal management and "other measures". However, the Government has laid the main responsibility for economic recovery on the business community. Ottawa is to be pressured to restrict the number of impor- ted cars. The Speech from the Throne also outlined previously announced plans to amend the Education Act to ensure that all French- speaking students can get an education in French and a White Paper on Ontario trust companies. Opposition Response Both Opposition Leaders have condemned the Govern- ment's Throne Speech as a "vacuous" document that doesn't tackle the province's economic problems. Liberal Leader David Peterson dismissed the speech as "pap" which demonstrated that the Government "had ab- dicated its responsibilities for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth in this pro- vince." He accused the Government of taking . a "stand-pat....whistling-in-the- dark approach, and attacked the speech for failing to pro- pose specific programs for health care, energy conserva- tion and the environment. He stated that the speech was "lacking in vision and vitali- ty, full of well-worn platitudes and re -hashed promises, ac- cused the government of ig- noring any new programs aimed at youth unemploy- ment "this most distressing of all our current economic problems." . In addition, he stated that the real waste of public funds in Ontario comes from "On- tario Hydro's overly expand- ed capital projects, Ontario Energy Corporation's invest- ment in Suncor, the Ontario Land Corporation's land bank holdings and the govern- tnent's excessive advertising and polling programs." Medicare Last month the Minister of Health, Larry Grossman, ad- vised Ontario doctors to pro- pose voluntarily to accept a fee rollback and said if they refused to do this there was a `chance the province would act. Now, it seems, the On- tario Government has decid- ed not to touch doctors' 8.75 percent April fee schedule in- crease. Liberal Leader David Peterson called the Cabinet's decision spineless, saying they "decided to fight restraint on the backs of the orderlies and nurses but not on the highest paid group." On the question of possible OHIP fee increases, Mr. Peterson said "It's ' the Ministry's own legal opinion that these fees cannot be in - The Grade I teacher asked her pupils to write a composi- tion on the subject: "A Wed- ding". One little girls wrote, "I have noticed that the bride always changes her mind. She comes into the church with an older man, but she always goes out with a much younger one." REDI•MIX CONCRETE MTC Approved ALL TYPES OF CONCRETE WORK. REDI-MIX CONCRETE - a FORMWORK PRECAST PRODUCTS DEALER . McCann Redi-Mix Inc. MANGERS STEPS Dashwood, 237.3647 SLATS CURBS Exeter 235-0338 creased beyond the 5 percent level. If the Minister attempts to increase OHIP fees beyond 5 percent, 1 will take the Government to court on the question. The Liberal Opposi- tion will fight any increase in premiums." Wonien's Minister The announcement in the Throne Speech that the government is to appoint a minister to be in charge of "women's issues" drew mix- ed reactions. -Sally Barnes. President of the Ontario Status of Women Council said the most important part of the announcement was that the post would be filled by a :senior cabinet minister. David Peterson said appoin- ting a minister in charge of women's issues isn't as dif- ficult or worthy as actually tackling new policy direc- tions. "Why doesn't he (the Premier) say we're going tc institute equal pay for equal value? This gives the impres- sion of doing something without having to do anything." Drainage pays off in soil aeration Good drainage aerates the soil, providing several benefits. Release of nitrogen from organic matter is accelerated and soil worms up foster since heat is not required for surface evaporation. A test in Ohio once showed a 12 degree difference - between drained and undrained land ort one April day And when a warm rain fell, there was a 20 degree difference between the temperature of the rain and the tile discharge' Soil temperatures make a vast difference to planting schedules. roth drainage IMITED FARM DRAINAGE SYSTEMS Gads Hill, Ontario NOK 1J0 er (519) 656-2818 L_ Mr. Farmer: This spring let Thompson's supply your 1983 Crop Inputs. Expert advice by a qualified staff to assist you in your planning, Backed by 60 years of serving the agriculture Sector. We offer: - Complete soil and tissue analysis - Computerized reports, including micro nutrients and are easily understood Each plant has the most modern, fast custom fertilizer blending units in the area, back- ed by 10 floater units for custom spreading - Numerous delivery units and pull type spreaders. We are the main distributors for most farm chemicals and custom apply 28% nitrogen solutions for your weed and feed program. /Re\ Plant Thompson's Hyland Brand Seeds for top yields and quality products • `CForageheck outSeeourdsincGranuludinglarTruSoybeanmpeter InocuAlfalant prices ' • lfa • We can supply, deliver or apply We encourage you to book early FAST FRIENDLY SERVICE at all 4 locations 1 0 r1 Pt. Albert 529-7901 Mitchell 348-8433, Hensall 262-2527, Granton, 225-2360 J •