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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-01-15, Page 18r 414* t�. F ff i V`Z •. PROJECT WINNER — The Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association project award was won by Hill and Hill Farms. Above, Walter Mcilwain presents the award to employee Bill Chipchase and owner Bev Hill. T -A photo SOIL AND CROP GUESTS — Chatting prior to Friday's awards night of the Huron Soil and Crop Associa- tion were Centralia College principal Doug Jamieson, Anita Riddell, Ontario Agriculture Minister Jack Riddell and Huron's Ag Rep Don Pullen. T -A photo One of the best programs for farmers in recent years is the Farmers in Transition program. Announced in November by the pro- vince, the idea is designed to help farmers in the transition from one type of agricultural operation to another or -- and most important -- to help farmers who are being forced out Qf farming to get,into another line of work. Whether we want to see the writing on the wall or not, a great many farmers will be forced off the land in the next decade. It has been going on for centuries, this more from rural to urban. A hundred years ago, Canada was an agrarian nation. Almost everyone was connected directly with agriculture. • That has changed so drastically, especially since 1950, that few people today have any idea of what farming is all about. Just ask a farmer trying to explain his job to city people. Farmers now make up less than five percent of the population. And that percentage will continue to drop. Adrian Vos, a former student of mine and now one of the best - informed farm writers in this pro- vince, wrote to me in November to state that Ontario has far too many hog producers. "The fact is that a 100 -sow herd tur- ning out 16 pigs per sow per year or 1600 pigs, is a family -sized operation. This means that 3,000 such farms can supply Ontario with all its pork needs plus the present export level. But we still have some 15,000 pork producers in Ontario. Most of them are part- time pork producers who most likely also have field crops, cattle, chickens, etc. "As specialization continues, more hog farmers will have to switch to something else, that something else is likety'ter be other than farming. It may be regretable, but it is inevitable." Adrian -suggests that milk produc- tion, for instance, will increase dramatically in the next few years forcing more dairy farmers out of business. "Also a hog going to market in 120 days from birth will be in our barns by 1990. Cereal production will double as soon as suitable varieties for inten- sive management are developed. Europe has this already. "What will happen to the surplus land, surplus dairy and hog barns is anybody's guess." I repeat Adrian's next statement: "It may be regrettable, but it is inevitable." When shoe factory workers are be- ing laid off, when refinery workers are being laid off and many other sec- tors of the economy are suffering layoffs, agriculture should not take the attitude that farmers are im- mune. However, farmers are different. WINS AUTHORITY AWARD — The Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority on.ival conservation award was won by Stephen township farmer Wayne Woods. From the left are authority vice-chairman Don Lithgow, winner Wayne Woods and chairman Gordon Johnson. • , WINS ALEXANDER TROPHY -- Gordon Lobb was the winner of the Norm Alexander conservation award sponsored by the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Associotion. He receives the award at the left from Alexander. T -A photo Farming is definitely a way of life. For some people, it means changing a vocation that has been part of the family for generations. It is not just another job. It is not just a place to collect a pay cheque and take off on a Friday night. It is so much more than those things that the government is to be commended for introducing a program to help farmers and farm families in trailsitit5n. - ' , .' >i The big problem is that many farmers are excellent tradespeople but they do not have a piece of paper attesting to that fact. They have had to become welders, metalworkers, blacksmiths, mechanics, book- keepers, carpenters, you -name -it. For some, the transition to finding another job may not be easy. The trauma of leaving the land may be greater than finding another job. I have tried for years to explain why farmers are different from any other sector of the economy but it is difficult to explain. They are different and the Farmers in Transition pro- gram will have to be more than just another half-assed idea born in .a bureaucrat's bungling brain. It will have to help families find their place in the mainstream from a wonderful way of life that will be sore- ly missed. 0 tl Tim's -Advocate, January 15, 1986 Poge 1/ Plaques Banded out for conservation work Director of the Huron Soil and Crop Imwovement Association were told Friday night to put forth a good Im- age, by Ken Knox, Ontario's director of farts products management. Knox, speaking at the annual awards banquet in Seaforth, said,"Farmers need to be dynamic, progressive and aggressive in order to tell the story to the 93.6 per cent of Ontario consumers not connected with agriculture." He continued,"We must have a good story to tell. Don't let it rest there. Continue to improve. Keep get- ting new ideas, we don't need to enter- tain the old boys' network." Ontario's Minister of Agriculture, Jack Riddell, spoke briefly, and said,"It's not the time for farmers to be discouraged. Sharpen your pencils. Good management is a key factor. We know there will be some financial failures because of low commodity prices." On the subject of free trade, Riddell said,"I hope we can keep agriculture away from it, at least until we can filed out what it really eafpils." Ile told attending farmers that the deadline for application to the recent- ly listed OFFIRR program was quickly approaching. Riddell con- tinued, "I urge you to make use of thisprogram. Themaximum amount available is $14,000 per farm family. The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority joined with the soil and crop in making special award presentations. Ausable Bayfield chairman, Gor- don Johnson, was in charge of han- ding out the trophies. The individual conservation plaque went to Stephen Township farmer, Wayne Woods, while the Claybird Gun Club took the group award. Ac- cepting the plaque were Charles Din- ney and Jody Mosurinjohn. - The Norman Alexander Conserva- tion Award given annually by the Soil and Crop Association went to Gordon Lobb. Other nominees were David Kilgour, Wayne Woods and Fred and Ken Philips. Grand Bend man plans unique taxi Prior to the meeting on January 6, Bayfield council thought they had merely received a request to run a taxi service in town. At the meeting, however, they soon discovered the re- quest was a horse of different color. Patrick Van Kerrebruek of Grand Bend attended the meeting to discuss with council the possibility of operating a horse-drawn carriage taxi service in the village during the summer months. The taxi service would consist of a six passenger surrey and a nine passenger surrey which would operate during business hours within the town limits. The horse-drawn car- riage would take passengers on a tour of the town or take them to local hotels or to the harbor"just like a regular taxi service," said Mr. Van Kerrebrueck. "It would be a novelty taxi which would cater to the tourist industry and the boating people," said Mr. Van Kerrebrueck in describing the taxi service to council. He asked council if there were any bylaws prohibiting the stabling of livestock within the town limits: He also inquired into the possibility of sitting up a taxi stand at Clan Gregor Square where the horses can be fed and watered and relief horses can be kept. In response, Reeve DaveJohnston said he assumed the village's bylaws have "something against stabling in town". However, council, because of the unique nature of the requests, couldn't be more specific in defining what bylaws may pertain the the taxi business. "You've raised a number of ques- tions which I'm sure we'll have to look into," Reeve Johnston told Mr. Kerrebrueck. In answering some of council's con- cerns about the service, Mr. Ker- rebrueck, who has worked for a similar taxi service in Victoria, replied horse-drawn vehicles can be licenced to travel on the highway - the same way the old order Menonnites are allowed to use horse-drawn vehicles on the road. He is also will- ing to provide liability insurance. He went on to say that he is prepared to clean up after the horses on an "as it happens" basis. The horses would be run for a maximum of four hours at a time before relief horses are used. The proposed hours of operation would be 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to approximately 1 a.m. on Friday through Sunday. "I think the taxi service will accent the town quite well," said Mr. Kerrebrueck. Reeve Johnston said council was unprepared for this kind of taxi ser- vice request and will report back to Mr. Kerrebrueck on any bylaws which may prohibit the service by the February 3 meeting. Milk price staying put The Ontarion Milk Marketing Board has announced that the price paid to Ontario dairy farmers for the portion of raw milk they produce for table use (fluid milk) will not be in- creased over the next several months. The Board made the announcement because there has been some specula- tion regarding what was happening with milk prices. The last producer price increase was in December, 1984. The'Board sets the fluid milk price to producers using an economic for- mula as a guide. Board Chairman, Ken McKinnon, noted that lower feed costs and stabilized interest rates are two of the major factors helping to maintain farm costs at current levels. The Board will continue to monitor on-farm costs during 1986 but is hopeful that a producer increase will not be necessary for several months. The current farm price for fluid raw milk in SouthernOntario is 52.51 cents per litre; in Northern Ontario 53.80 cents per litre; and in the Kenora-Rainy River area 55.80 cents per litre. Waiter Mcllwain presented the pro- ject award to Bev Hill of Hllland Hill Farms. Another nominee was Larry Rate of Stephen Township. Ontario Farm Conservation awards were presented to Francis Hogan, Ray Hogan, Lawrence Hogan and Steven Howard by director .Wayne Cantelon. President Jim Ross handed out booster awards to Joe Gibson, Neil McGavin, Pat Lynch, Bruce Shill- inglaw, Norman Alexander and Bruce Tile. Mrs. Emma Farquhar of Chelsey Park, Oxford, in London, and former- ly of Hensall will celebrate her 95th birthday on January 17. O1 1 11 11� -(It ()l 1 bl(( l l 1 A STORE FULL OF BEAUTIFUL FURNITURE On the Main Street of Dublin 345-2250 Free Deliver y J11111uu'aI11illliillllllillinillillililllntll W 1I11111L' Just Arrived 5. 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