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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-09-15, Page 18aT� Pas 18 Times -Advocate, September 15,1982 Huron farm and home news -- It's fall. fair time again The Fair season in Huron County is now in full swing. Clinton, Zurich. Dungannon and Bayfield fall fairs were held :during June, July and August. Other area fairs con- tinue during September. Blyth-Belgrave School Fair led the list, on Tuesday, September 14. Lucknow Fall Fair is Saturday, September 18. Brussels Fall Fair is scheduled for Wednesday, September 22, followed that week by Seaforth Fair on Fri- day, September 24 and Exeter Fair on Saturday, September 25. The final Huron County fair is Howick Fair on Satur- day, October 2. The volunteer directorates of the Agricultural Societies behind these fairs draw most of their strength from the - rural population. Agricultural fairs and ex- hibitions attract people from miles around. They also ap- Best Interest *16% We represent many Trust Companies. We are often able to ar- range for the highest interest being of- fered on Guaranteed Investment Certificates. *subject to change GaisersKneale Insurance Brokers Inc. EXETER 235-2420 GRAND BEND 238-8484 CLINTON GODERICH 482-9747 524-2118 peal to those who have left the farm and want to return to see the Fair. They attract others who have never seen a farm - people who bring their children to the showing of light and heavy horses, dairy and beef cattle, swine, sheep and poultry and to watch the judging. Many fairs have entertain- ment by local talent. The various exhibits and classes in 4-11, sewing, quilts, arts and crafts, home baking, flowers, fruit and vegetables round out a visit to the agricultural fairs. We do hope that everyone with an interest will set aside time to attend and support the fair in your community. Benefits of silage additives Silage Innoculant cuts seepage? Pat Lynch, Soil & Crop • Specialist John Heard, Assistant Agr. Representative This is just one claim being made in a recent color adver- tisement promoting a silage - innocurant. It further Stated that this innoculant cuts spoilage and heat losses. I read the company literature that I had on this project, and then phoned several other professionals. Harvey Wright, the Soils and Crops Specialist for Ox- ford County, wonders about the need for any silage in- ' noculant in our northern climate. He suggested that there are very few problems in making good silage in On- tario if you use good techni- ques. This means cut silage at around 65 percent moisture 'and fill the silo last. Cut the silage short and use a good silo. Silage additives will not substitute for poor. manage- ment. If* you have a poor pack, cracks in the silo or too much air getting at the silage, you will still have spoilage. University of Georgia nutritionist Marshall McCullough emphasizes ad- ditives are not a substitute for poor silage management. Furthermore, McCullough believes you can expect greater results using an ad- ditive if you operate in the southern half of the United States. This means that trials .done in the southern United States should show a greater response using innoculants. When you read results of silage additive trials, check to . see where they were done. I talked to Dr. J.G. Buchanan -Smith of the Animal Science Department of the University of Guelph. He has tested the product in question and found no advan- tage to feeding treated corn silage vs. feeding silage made the conventional way. ( Perhaps the difference is due to our more northern climate). Dr. Buchanan - Smith stated that his research showed this innoculant had no affect on the pH, lactic acid production, acetic acid, butyric acid or the gross energy of treated silage. The whole area of feed silage innoculants, additives etc. is still one of the very gray areas of. farming. Itis one of the few areas where a company •can sell a product without government research tz back these claims. You cer- tainly can not buy pesticides without government proof that they are both beneficial if used correctly and safe to the handler. They must also be safe to the consumer of the final products. Silage ad- ditives and innoculants do not have to pass•these tests. So why are we writing this article? I guess it is on point of principle. You cannot assume anything about silage additives. For instance, if Pioneer sells you good corn hybrids this does not mean their silage innoculant is of value to you on you farm. You have to look at the proof they offer to show their in- noculants benefit. These benefits must be worth the cost, especially in tough economic times. Corn hybrids are tested in government licencing and performance trials. They are further tested by extensive in- dustry and Soil and Crop Im- provements on farm testing programs. But silage in- noculants are not as thoroughly tested. In fact, the Ontario researchers can find no consistent benefit to using any silage innoculant now be- ing sold. And there are no on- farm tests to show any value to these products. I mentioned these points to the company in question and Do You Live On A Century Farm? Contact South Huron Junior Farmers Bob Pavkeje 235-0818 Cliff Hicks 228-0312 Gerald Johns 229-6184 For Your Century Farm Sign •• • • • N •• • • • • • • • • • Join the human out running in the park. af 4 .- PaRrruParnon race. We're all they state they have their own farm tests from the United States. I checked their results and you be the judge. I have a summary of numerous tests. I point out some par- ticulars of two of these summaries. In one test, each ton of silage that was treated with one pound of additive (cost about $1.25 per pound) return- ed approximately 1.4 pounds extra beef. Is that enough to pay for the cost? In another test involving haylage, the control group of 25 cows produced 47.4 pounds of milk per day. The 25 cows receiving the treated feed. averaged 49.9 pounds of milk per day. That is a difference of 2.5 pounds of milk per cow. I suggest that if you take two. groups of ,25 cows and feed themthe same thing there will be a difference of at least 2.5 pounds of milk per day between the two groups. Another point about in- noculants. It is very hard to run a test on silage in- noculants because of the cost involved. The test must use a large number of livestock over a long period of time. There appears to oe some hope for silage innoeulants in the future. According to researchers at Michigan State, some of the newer in- noculants, including some new strains show some merit. At least in the lab. Whether they work on the farm will be difficult to prove: We hope this article will bring some good discussion and maybe some answers. New plan A new income, stabilization program for five important cash crops has been announc- ed by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. This plan has been developed by the Farm In- come Stabilization Commis- sion to cover the three crop years .1982, 1983, and 1984. Crops included are corn, soy- beans, white beans, winter wheat, and barley. This pro- gram will assist Ontario growers to stabilize their income. An account will be set up for each crop a producer applies for and the fees he pays will enter this account. In- any year when the average crop price dips below the 95 per- cent level of the past "5 year average" a payment will be made to producers. One third of this payout will come from fees in the producer's account and two thirds will come from the provincial government. ,The program is designed to pay the difference between the 95 percent level of the • "five year average" and the current average price or the 90 percent level of the five year average (whichever is the lesser). All these price levels are adjusted for the change in the cost of production. Producers must enrol at the start of the program and re- main in it for all three years or face a penalty. There is no penalty for those starting in- to production and those retir: ing during the course of the ® program. At the end of the program all the money left in the pro- ducers account plus accrued interest will be paid back to the producer. Deadline date for enrolling in this program is October 1, 1982. Information and ap- plications are available at the county office of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. THE GOOD TIMES ARE HERE! WESTERN FAIR • SEPT.10-19 n ' N_ _ � ^ / iracl A r MORE FUN FOR YOU ALL THESE ATT FREE! GRANDSTAND SHOWS! FREE! MARCO POLO THEATRE! FREE! AGRICULTURAL DISPLAYS & LIVESTOCK JUDGING, Ito ...MORE •FREE FOR YOU. RACTIONS AT NO EXTRA CHARGE FREE! HORSE SHOWS! FREE! GATE PRIZES! FREE! STAGE TEN! FREE! KIODYLAND STAGE! FREE! AROUND THE GROUNDS! FREE! COLOURFUL PARADES! FREE! COMMERCIAL & GOVERNMENT EXHIBITS! .t LONDON SEPT. 10-19 GENERAL ADMISSION S3 00 Weekdays (Mon to Fri ) until 4 P M S4 00 Weekdays after 4 P M and all day Saturday and Sunday CHILDREN All days. ages 5 lo 12 S1 25 Under 5 Free ••••• ••••• •••• •••• •• 't! Don Pullen Agricultural Representative . �..; au.N, . • • 1 BE AWARE OF DEADLY GASES — The Huron Farm Safety Association is currently in the midst of a campaign to provide signs warning of deadly gases in silos and manure storage tanks. The South Huron Junior Formers are assisting in putting up the signs.. Shown above with one of the signs are Junior Farmers Bob Pavkeje and Cliff Hicks. T -A photo If Canadian farmers had any doubts about the clout of Eugene Whelan in the Liberal cabinet, those doubts have been dispelled this month. Whelan has been promising for weeks to meet with his provincial counterparts to discuss farm price supports across the country. But Eugene's stalling tactics may have pushed the meeting in- to oblivion. Remember when Whelan led the attack on the Tories clean across Canada. when he delivered a dozen or more rural seats after barnstorm- ing from coast to coast? He was Trudeau's white-haired, green-Stetsoned boy in those days. His down-to-earth speeches impressed more than just farmers. But when Pierre announced his retirement, Eugene jumped into the leadership race. That was enough to put a dent in Trudeau's ar- rogance. Since then, Whelan has had ' a Jess -than - impressive cabinet presence. To put it bitmtly, he has had great problems getting anything for farmers. In Halifax in July, Whelan promised he would attend a meeting with provincial agministers in August to discuss stabilization plans for all the major agricultural pro- ducts marketed in Canada. At the meeting, he fretted and fumed and stalled any talks on stabilization until late in the day. His excuses included a delay in getting his papers on the subject from Ottawa. In the afternoon, .he hedged again by saying he needed more time to make copies of those papers when they did arrive. When a discussion was held, a document only three or four pages long was tabled and a couple of ministers - in- cluding Dennis Timbrelt of Ontario - said the paper tabl- ed was nothing but a rehash of old stuff: Whelan admitted he had no mandate from the federal cabinet to make any commitments. This is not the old, flam- boyant, shdot-from-the-hip Whelan who dominated the farm scene for six or seven years. This is not the same man who said he may not be the best agricultural minister in Canada's history but he sure was the ugliest. He no longer pokes fun at himself and, by so doing, gets people on his side. tonin thel lurrow' � bri 0 l,ur.. or WO,r<•,trd er !oD Lou.' Ud41 Rd (tm.y On, 7175 2 V It is certainly an indication that Trudeau wants no strong men in his cabinet who might threaten his survival. It is ob- vious that Eugene Whelan posed a leadership threat and his popularity had to be prun- ed by Pierre and his pundits. Farmers are in desperate need of a plan to prevent the devastating highs and lows of the open marketplace. They need protection to remain in business to which the high in- cidence of bankruptcies can attest. A record-breaking grain harvest is underway now in the United States, a huge surplus which will have tremendous effects on all ma- jor agricultural products. The entire agricultural economy will feel the effects. The surplus of grain will show up in a year as surplus • meat. Forecasters are already say- ing that the extraordinary, pork prices of the last few months will drop to a loss by Christmas and turn to disaster by Easter. Any kind of stabilization plan to protect farmers must be implemented as soon as possible for all the major pro- ducts. Unfortunately, there are differences among the provinces on how to imple- ment the program. One reason Mr. Whelan is having trouble getting a federal plan in place is because of the dif- ferences in generosity for the plans now in place in the pro- vinces. He has been asking the other agministers to put an end to this proliferation. But he has been unable to get any commitment from the, federal cabinet. Which only underlines the fact that his clout has diminished to that of a backbencher. HY— EST READY MIX LTD. . Ready Mix Concrete .:omplote concrete forming, concrete driveways A concrete finishing Exeter 235-0833 Forest and Clinton LEGIWI WEEK 1, Bruce Shaw, Mayor of Exeter, hereby proclaim the week of September 19 as LEGION WEEK and request all dtirens of the Corporation of Exeter to honor the occasion. SF AM11SS EAVESTROUGH °""'"°SIDING Ask About Our SAVINGS • Stoico Shutter - • The energy window • Aluminum Storm . roll shutters system Doors i Windows • Renovations General • Aluminum Awnings Construction FREE ESTIMATES JIM BECK CONSTRUCTION DASHWOOD 237-3526 Let Dinneys Treat You To A Weekend- At Benmiller 42 charming guest rooms with modern conveniences. Lunch and dinner served in an intimate Dining Room overlooking Creek and garden patio. Excellent food. • Heated indoor swimming pool • Sauna • Whirlpool • Jogging Track • Table Tennis • Billiards • Darts • Outdoor Tennis Courts • Fishing • Ski/Hiking Trails • Lounge Patio Bar • licensed Dining Room • Two Licensed Lounges with Fireplaces If you're thinking of buying furniture you 'can buy it at Dinneys and go to Benmiller or you can buy it somewhere else and go home. For every room grouping of furniture you buy we will include a room, breakfast and dinner with wine (for two) at the popular Benmiller Inn. (Value up to $150). Don't forget, you'll still receive our guaranteed prices, service and satisfaction. "A perfect opportunity y for newlyweds. Visit Dinneys for further details CRIPPLED KIDS BENEFIT — Products that made up an excellent display of the cross section of Middlesex County agricultural bounty were sold by public auction during Thursday's media day at the International Plow- ing Match site at Lucan. Above, Middlesex committee treasurer BrianHughespresents a cheque for $4,018 to. Tanya Bell, who is London's Tommy. • IJCY�V�� S Fine Furniture 467 Main 8L, Ex lsr, Ont., NOM 180 (519) 236-0173