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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-05-19, Page 14DEAN SPEAKS TO COLLEGE GRADS — The guest speaker at Friday's graduation at Centralia College of Agricultural Technology was Dean Clay Switzer of the University of Guelph. Chatting with Dr. Switzer at the left are CCAT principal Doug -Jamieson, staff member Vic Hodgins and Director. of Student Affairs Don Orth. The three were on staff when the College was established in 1967.#01,\L T.A photo �r t' bne foot in the) 1urrow'!ti7Izi byope, Loners are appreuated by Bob Trona, Wale Rd Etmua Ont N3o 2C7 They are eggheads. They are the experts from The only siding with the steel -plus -vinyl difference! Take steel; add layers of zinc, chemicals and a thick polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating. You've got Stelco Ultragard Siding. Siding supreme! There's never been a siding like new Stelco Ultragard Siding. It's the per- fect protection to put between your home and the weather! NEW STELCO ULTRAGARD SIDING A product of Stelco Inc Fpr a free. no -obligation estimate contact JIM BEC1ER CONSTRUCTION the higher halls of learning, the universities, who stand back and survey their chosen field of expertise from the out- side looking M. They have had a great many. good ideas and a‘ few disasters. Farmers, as a general rule, pooh-pooh their theories because most of them have never spent much time in the barn. K.A. (Sandy) Worley, an agricultural economist from the University of Guelph, is an egghead. But Sandy Worley is not your ordinary egghead. He should be listened to. A cou- ple of years ago, I heard him at a marketing conference in Hespeler where he suggested, logically and forcibly, that the price of quotas will eventual- ly level off if themarketplace is not tampered with. He recently suggested that governments should revoke the pricing powers from the egg, chicken and turkey marketing boards because he feels those boards are using their powers to reduce produ- ctiontoofar and setting pnces too high. Dr. Worley is concerned -- and he is probably astep or two ahead of the boards involved -- that the. ick rroord of a few marketing boards could ruin the image of all the rest of the marketing boards. And he frankly added that marketing boards are 'a • useful tool for farmers and .the rest of the nation, too. In other words, marketing boards are good for us all un- til those boards go beyond working in a free marketplace. He thinks that surveys of production costs should be done by the public, not by farmers. He thinks the Na- tional Farm Products. Marketing Council, the agen- cy that supervises marketing boards,' hould have more in- fluence e.g. more power - and membership on the coun- cil -should be drawn from the general public. Right now, legislation says that there should be more farmers on the council than others and the chairman or vice chair- man must be a farmer. He suggests a need for moderate reform within the present marketing legisla- tion, not wholesale change or revolution. Well, I like Prof. Worley. He is really a mild-mannered, unassuming chap whose words of wisdom make a great deal of sense...sometimes. I suggest that the eggheads, though, take a look at their own house of cards before jumping on their anti - marketing board horse. Marketing boards were originally set up to give farmers some parity within the food system. To take pot shots at these boards without a full-scale investigation into the entire food industry is a dreadful mistake. Too many economists are guilty of such unfair criticism. They zero in on one sector and completely ignore the rest of the ques- tions begging an answer. Farmers would never have pressed for marketing boards if they did not need them, Farmers are fiercely in- dependent people. They no more want to be bound by the rules and regulations than they want 20 inches of rain in MIt as the rest of the food in- dustry that forced them into the position of needing marketing boards. The so- called free market system, out there beyond, the farm gate, was killing agriculture. Farmers could not compete. And the concentration of power is, getting greater. Four or five big buying units are surfacing in Canada right now. In a few years, perhaps even months, that concentration of power may be so great that marketing boards will be considered a blessing rather than a flight. Economists like Dr. Worley have directed too much flak at marketing boards and not enough at the rest of the system so that farmers come through looking like bad guys when all they are trying to do is remain viable. FORMER MINISTER ATTENDS — Former Ontario Minister of Agriculture Bill Stewart 237-3526 and his wife Edith were guests at Friday's graduation at Centalia College of Agricultural Technology. Above, the Stewarts chat with Bill and Sylvia Thirlwall. The Thirlwalls received a plaque for their contribution to the College by assisting •students with on-farm activities. T -A photo BUY, AN NEW FORD LAWN & GARDEN TRACTOR, GET YOUR CHOICE OF A FAArear,r J�Por COSS a fa° W1,1 FREE 42" mounted Ford rotary mower or grass catcher with any new Ford Lown and Gorden Tractor! Tractors Equipment FREE 34" mounted Ford rotary mower or grass catcher with any new Ford town Tractor! FREE grass catcher or mower with any new Ford Rider Mower Tractor! ACT NOW. OFFER ENDS JUNE 30, 1982 Better Farming Starts At EXETER FORD Equipment Sales Ltd EXETER 235-i00 • b Forgot about agriculture Barrie donouncos budgot "Our provincial politicians have been paying lip service to agriculture. r The budget was their opportunity their money where their mouths are, and theyblew it," Ralph Barrie, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said this week. The budget allocated an ad- ditional 111 million in new money to agriculture, 16 million for tile drainage and 15 million for farmstead improvement. "The budget passed by agriculture with barelya nod of recognition," Barrie said. ;`The politicians either don't believe there is a problem, or they simply don't care." Barrie said the 16 minion for. tile drainage could have been attractive under present circumstances because of changes in'the tile drainage program. The loan rate has risen two percent to 10 per- cent. Governments used to subsidize up to 75 percent of the loan, but now subsidize just 60 percent, forcing farmers to borrow the other 40 at current interest rates.. The farmstead improve- ment program will just give farms a "facelift", Barrie said. "It's purely cosmetic, and won't do anything to. make a farm more economically viable. Something more than a make- . work program is needed, con- sidering there have already been farm bankruptcies in Ontario this year." Barrie said the increases in Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan premiums are also going to have a negative effect on the farm community. Over 70 A SPECIAL AWARD — Kirkton area farmer Dave Mar- shall was one a number of area farmers and businesses receiving recognition at Friday's graduation at Centralia College for their off -college assistance to. students. Making the presentation at the right is Ontario Minister of Agriculture and Food Dennis Timbrell. T -A photo Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food huron farm and home news Lamb stabilization payment D. Pullen Agricultural Representative Ontaro Sheep producers who sold lambs for slaughter in 1981 will be eligible for a Federal Stabilization Pay- ment of. ;5.14.per lamb. Pro- ducers must provide evidence of sale for slaughter. Application forms are being sent directly from Ottawa to sheep producers. Forms will also be available at Agriculture Canada stockyard offices and at the department's livestock and poultry division offices. Junior agriculturalist program 1982 Don Dietrich Junior Agriculturalist The Junior Agricultural program is now starting for another year. This is the 10th season for the Junior Agricultural Program. (Jr. Ag. ) • What is Jr. Ag.? The Junior Agriculturalist Progam is designed to provide practical learning in Agriculture for students from a none - agricultural background. These students also ex- perience rural life and are en- couraged to "participate in community programs 'with their host families. The student must be 16 or 17 years old as of January 1st, 1962, to be eligible for the pro- gram. The student is required to work on the host farm from June 21 to August 20, with every other week -end off. As well, the student receives a training allowance of 116. per day of which the host farmer pays one-half. There is still lots of room for farmers interested in hosting a student for the sum- mer. For farmers in Huron and Perth Counties, informa- tion 'and applications for hosting a student are 5 available by contacting Don Dietrich, at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, 413 Hibernia Street, Stratford, NSA 5W2, or by phoning 271-0801. Agricrew '82 Rob Black Agricrew Coordinator Agricrew is being offered in Ontario for its fifth year. Agricrew is jointly sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Youth Secretariat. In the past, this program has been of great value as it pro- vides a wide variety of challenging employment for youth across the province. The Huron . region will be serviced by two crews this year. Each crew consists of four people - one foreperson and three crew members. Agricrew employees are usually high school students with rural work experience. The objective of the agricrew program is to aid farmers and Agricultural i Societies in completing tasks that never seem to get done during the busy summer months. In previous years Agricrews have worked at painting, fencing, haying, picking stones, piling wood and general clean-up just to mention a few. The two crews in Huron wijl begin work on June 21 work eight weeks finishing on August 13. The crews will be providing their own transpor- tation and working on various farms throughout the sum- . mer. Crews may be hired by a farmer for a maximum of five days. To hire an Agricrew or for more information, contact Robert Black, Huron Co- ordinator at Zenith 7-3040 for long distance or Clinton 482-3428. MILONNIA ONTRACTORS Ltd. Kirkton, Ontario -, and Stud Farm BUILDINGS imAmmv I1 _; IItflhIIIJ111111011 111►7 John Mills 229-6704 • Roofing and Siding • Renovations of all kinds Phone 229-6704 Terra Steel Buildings taro—R.sid rtirl—C.i .nclsl Light indestry Build Yourself Or Hire Us percent of private and public employees have their OHIP paid for them. One hundred percent of farmers pay their own. That win cost farm families an additional 196 dollars a year." Barrie said the OFA would continue to put pressure on the provincial and federal government to deal with the two major farm problems: lack of affordable credit and the absence of programs to help farmers achieve price and income security. • Centralia College of Agricultural Technology CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS Summer 1982 * Food Processor Cookery ($10.00) Tuesday. June 22, Middlesex Hall * Food Preservation ($5.00) Thursday, June 24, Middlesex Hall * Stretching Your Textile Dollar ($5.00) Monday, June 28, Middlesex Hall * Microwave Cooking (;10.00) Tuesday, June 29, Middlesex Hall * Conference for Rural women (20.00) August 27-28, Huron Hall TO REGISTER FOR THESE PROGRAMS PHONE: Continuing Education, Centralia College (S 19) 228-6691 After phone registration you must submit your cheque, payable to Centralia College, to hold your spot._ REGISTER EARLY PROGRAM SPACE IS LIMITED MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE Ontario AND FOOD 1 pont Need To Advertise: You're Right... There Is A Time NOT To Advertise When... 1 - You have all the business in town! 2 - Everybody loves you sp much they just can't trade elsewhere! 3 - Children stop being born! 4 - You have more business than you can handle! 5 - There are no new people moving to your area! 6 -The economy is so healthy, anybody could make money in business! 7 - You want to keep your large inventpry! 8 - You have no competition! 9 - You aon't really want to work very hard an jhow! 10 - You have netted your first million (after taxes) 11 - You have to hire more help to handle business! The Time TeiTART A dvertisg Is When.... 1 - You do not agree with all of the above statement! The Place to START Is With.... 1 - The media that will get your message to most families in your customer area! 2 - The media that is most reasonable in cost! Advertise In The Media That Meets All The Qualiflcations,,,The,,, Imes - dvocate ~ Mr.. VA" a♦5.4144 ,!3 YmOwssw .IMA loorM.•Uwe WI 1 • e • r