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Times-Advocate, 1987-02-11, Page 18Page 6A Times -Advocate. February 11, 1987 v To point out need for graduates Centralia CoIIege seeks to increase visibility The Centralia College of Agricultural Technology has been tur- ning out skilled graduates for the farm, food and agribusiness sectors of Ontario agriculture since Canada's centennial year: One of the ways Centralia is going to mark this milestone will be to in- crease its visibility in the communties it serves. "The message.we want to deliver,' says interim principal Dr. Violet Cur- rie, "is the agriculture and food system has a constant need and a place for bright and interested young people "Thew is a great scope of employ- ment opportunities available for those with the proper training. This is a ` point we Want to emphasize and. frankly. a very strong selling point for us in trying to interest potential students." . New materials.such as videos, are making ('entralia's recruitment ef- forts more effective at about 130 high schools in southwestern Ontario to promote the benefits of a career in agriculture or food. Greater profile should be achieved through college participation in many rural events, such as the upcoming Simcoe Farmer's Week and the Western Fair Farm Show. Centralia will help organize leadership and human relations seminars. A new. updated academic calendar has also been prepared for the college. Strong traditions What the students can anticipate in their two-year courses of study is to be steeped in a tradition that has developed at Centralia College over -the past 20 years. The on -campus classroom and laboratory facilities are sup- plemented by extensive use of com- munity resources that provides train- ing and work-study outings," says Currie. ••Part-time and guest lecturers with special expertise are also brought in to round out our classroom instruction." These vital points of contact with the real workplace enable students to prepare themselves effectively for success because they know exactly what they are up against, adds Currie. The main work-study vehicle for the agricultural business manage- ment course, for example, is the farm analysis project, which sees students choose study farms in their final year. Physical and economic factors af- fecting the viability of the farm opera- tion are analysed by the students who then write a report of recommenda- tions to improve farm profitabilty. An oral presentation is also given before faculty and the farm families involved. Present courses at Centralia Col- lege are kept as relevant for today's students as they were for the student 20 years ago because of another tradition. "Curricula are . reviewed every year by staff and program cur- riculum committees," says Currie. "Revisions to the courses are made as required in any area. perhaps in the work-study experience or com- puter training." Not to stay abreast of industry developments, she continues. is to jeopardize the excellent -prospects graduates have cross the spectrum of job opportunities in the field. Where graduates work Although animal health technicians are primarily trained to assist veterinarians in private practice. they also find work in industries, governments, hospitals, universities or research. �yy�� - Graduates in foodTervice manage- ment are in great demand by the TALKING ABOUT BEEF — Shown chatting prior to Wednesday's beef feedlot seminar at Centralia Col- lege are area farmers Doug Lightfoot, Larry Rundle, Don Kerslake, Ron Dougall and John Oke.T-A photo. ne in rrellebytii“ Those in the know have been aware of it for years but only recently has it been upheld by scientific studies: Farm.people spend almost as much on food as everyone else. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture -and Food has come up with some substantial figures. It takes $6.700 a - year for a family of three in Toronto to buy food. It takes $6,600 a year for a farm family of three to buy food. In other words. living on a farm does not save much money in food costs. The reason? Farmers and farm- wives no longer have the time to cultivate a garden. Most city dweller} have a picture of the farm wife spen'* ding two or three or four hours a day working in a .huge vegetable garden on the farm throughout the summer months. The farm wife is seen as a willing helpmate as the farmers puts on his straw hat and tucks in his bib overalls: The farm wife -waves at -her spouse as he goes off to work the fields. The farm wife. singing happi- ly, works in the huge garden close to the house. - Well, my friends. the sparrows eat that. The picture is untrue. sa- T--BRANDY POINT FARMS—''` CENTRED AROUND ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION r Our reed ing stock provides - our buyers with proven genetics from the top 3% animals tested across Canada. • Our program enables us to offer quality and health oto price that is hard to beat • We have an ongoing supply of A.I. sired aHamp/Duroc. York, Landrace boors 8 i'1 York/Landrace gilts • •Our , closed herd is ranked "Good" by the OMAF standards of Herd Health Clossificotion. Come and take a look at our stock anytime! Delivery available KURT KELLER R.R. 1, Mitchell, Ont. 519-348-8043 AT CCAT BEEF SEMINAR One of the guest speakers at Wednes- day's beef feedlot seminar at Centralia College was Waterloo area warmer Stewart Cressman. Cress -man -at the left talks -with -seminar - chairman Dennis McKnight of CCAT, Jim DeBlock of Elanco and Brian Miller, RR 1, Hensall. T -A photo. Lasers are appreuated by COO lottlr, Eklak Rd . Elmo. Rm N312C l More than t5 percent of the farm wives in Ontari-ari-ari-o must work to supplement the farm idcome. They work as teachers. clerks, bus drivers, crossing guards and anything else they can get to help keep the family farm afloat. They just do not have time to get out and ddwork a big, home garden. Furthermore, they are forced into working to preserve a way of life they hold dear. Financially troubled farmers are experiencing higher levels of stress these days than gnjice officers involv- ed in shooting incidents. Farmers are suffering from headaches, marriage problemsn and irritability at a McGillivray talks stalled 11IcGillivray council httvc made ap_ poinlments for 1987 as follows: Mid- dlesex Plowmen's Association, Allan Cunningham; North Middlesex Com- munity (centre Board, Jacob Lagerwerf; Lucan Community Cen- tre Board, Wesley Ilodgson; Ausable- Bayfield Conservation Authority, Norma Thompson; McGillivray Athletic Association, Hodgson and Thompson; union negotiations, Charles Corbett, Ilodgson and Mr. White of the industrial Relations Institute. Council was advised that the township hall ceiling had been repaired and painted and additional insulation and h n -ire--- stalled as part of a continuing im- provement program being carried out in cooperation with the Brinsley Com- munity Trust and the West McGillivray Exercise Club; ARC in- dustries have been contracted to clean the !Vas well as the Township office Council was advised that acquisi- tion of a gravel source was pro- ceeding satisfactorily but would not be completed in time to supply gravel for the 1987 road program; and that a conciliation hearing on December 1 and an arbitration hearing on January 14 were not successful And negotiations are continuing with Local 222 of the. Service Workers Union. ATTENTION DAIRY FARMERS A New ALFALFA °° PICKiEt ONEIDA VR (fine stemmed) 102 Yield Index WITH HIGHEST DISEASE RESISTANCE Vertu Wilt M R (Moderate Resistant) Phytophlhora Root Rot R (Resistant) Batler,el Wilt M R (Moderate Res.stanf) SUPPLY LIMITED: Contact • PICIi;�1�Ib� 527-0416 HANK-BINNENDYK • RR -1/2 KIPPEN, NOM 2E0 greater rate than RCMP officers. An increase in family violence, suicide and psychosomatic symptoms is occurring throughout the rural community. The farm, the age-old bastion of •stability, love and per- manence, is fast becoming a hot -bed of social problems. - The crisis out there in the boon- docks -- not completely ignored by senior governments -- is almost ig- nored by urban people. Look at the statistics: The suicide rate for farmers in 1984 was about 40 per 100.00 people compared with a rate of 16.7 for the general population. The farm suicide rate has almost tripled since 1981 and if that ain't a good in- dication -- or a bad one -- of what is happening, then what is? What compounds this problem is the fact that farm people are proud. - They are independent. They do not find it easy to ask for help. They will wait until the situation is desperate before seeking professional aid. By that time, the pralttems-maybe past solving. It seems to me to he a terrible in- dictment of this society that so many people can be in trouble and the rest of society virtually ignores them. And yes, 1 am aware that the Mulroney government has already promised a billion bucks to help farmers. What i think is needed is a national study on the future of Canadian agriculture. Jeff Simpson, the Globe and Mail's political columnist, has called for the same thing. And Jeff Simpson is not the most sympathetic journalist when it comes to farm problem: A study, an enquiry, into the broad picture of agriculture for Canada is needed. All kinds of people have answers to the agriculture problem, including yours truly, but until a full investigation is held on the future of agriculture in Canada, no one will really know the direction we should be taking. Brand is 4-H head Variety of topics for beef session. A wide variety of topics were covered in Wednesday's Beef Feedlot Day at Centralia College of Agricultural Technology attended by 80 farmers, mostly from South Huron and North Middlesex. The first speaker was Doug Dickie, an OMAF beef cattle specialist from Markdale. He listed the many available by-product feeds which are available to beef producers in most areas. These included potatoes, corn, rutabagas. carrots. citrus, etc. He said trucking is very often the big cost and in using these by- products, farmers must be sure they are cheaper than the traditional feeds. In this area. all waste products from Canadian Canners are picked up and a number or bunker silos are fill- ed with corn husks. Gerald and Fred Van Osch of McGillivray township showed videos highlighting the advantage of weighing cattle and feed in getting a handle on the efficiency of production. The Ontario Red Meat Plan is sup- portive of the weighing of both input and the final weights and grants for purchase of scales are available. Dr. Dave Mowat of -the University of Guelph stressed the importance of getting back to forages saying, "The beef steer has the advantage over hogs and . t ultr in the co f ' orage. : ee can compete with the others in grain alone." it takes 10 pounds of feed to produce one pound of gain in beef cattle while hogs gain a pound for four pounds of feed and the ratio for chickens is two to one. A former president of the Waterloo Cattlemen's Association and present - lye beef and hog producer, Stewart Cressman was very candid and infor- mative on costs of production on his farm. He related how he and his father make decisions especially on the pur- chase of equipment deciding between new. used or repairs. Cressman is strong on keeping ac- curate production and financial records and has purchased a com- puter to assist in making manage- ment and financial decisions. Huron OMAF farm specialist John Bancroft also discussed the impor- tance of keeping good records. Bance ft. added, "Compare your performance with of i and identity the areas of improvement needed. Find out where you are, compare with others and decide where you are going." The subject of stress was discuss- ed by Eloise Calhoun of Chesley. She talked about handling of stress and more importantly admitting it exists. The Bruce county lady contined. "It's very important to recognize stress. Traditionally farmers have ig- nored the possibility of stress pro- blems. Not all stress is bad. but, you must know how to manage it. It can lead to health problems - Dennis McKnight of the Centralia College staff was co-ordinator and -chairman for the day's activities. growing hospitality industry as well as by hospitals and nursing homes across Canada. Legislation requiring qualified food service supervisors in Ontario nursing homes has strengthened that demand. Traditionally. 60 to 70 percent of agricultural business management graduates return to a farm setting. Others find a variety of oppor- tunities in agribusinesssales and ser - vie, with goverment service, or in the technical input side with machinery, feed, seed, fertilizer or financial ser- vice companies. "What has been creating a good de- mand in the marketplace is the ex- cellent reputation of Centralia grads on the job." says former principal Doug Jamieson. "Our reputation has also worked to attract high calibre students." Jamieson was appointed general manager. education programs at the - Ministry of Agriculture and Food recently. He has been with the college from the beginning, as lecturer,- section head and as principal for the past seven years. He says the 20th anniver- sry is a good time to reflect on how the college came into existence. How it all started . The Ontario government Nought Canadian Forces Base Centralia in 1966, he explains, after it had been shutdown by the Department of Na- tional Defense. There were concerns about the closure's economic impact - on the local economy. Plans were drawn up for an in- dustrial park and an agricultural col- lege that would serve the needs of the —area's - important and successful agricultural industry. Called the Centralia School of Agriculture and dome Economics when it opened in July of 1967, it of- fered its first two-year diploma pro- grams in general agriculture and home economics. Later, • in 1969, the former base hospital was renovated to house the animal health technology course. along -with -the- newly -established _ Veterinary Service Laboratory at Huron Park. The first principal was James A. MacDonald whose experience in agricultural college administration was to set the new college on a strong course for the future. Twenty years later, another ex- perienced administrator, William R. Allen, is to take over as Centralia's' ' third full-time principal May 1, 1987. He has worked in a member of capacities for the Ministry of I' Agriculture and Food since 1973 and has been principal of the New - Liskeard College of Agricultur Technology in Northern Ontario for i the past two years. We recommend 13152 Soybeans Exceptional yield potential __lap -the export market with these clear hilum soybeans:-Exceltent- resistance.to phytophthord root rot and excellent standability ensure tap yields at harvest B 152 Soy- beans adapt best to narrow rows and loamy Soils in the 2900 heat unit area. Don't delay .. order your supplies now( WEIGAND FARMS JIM WEIGAND R.R. 1 DASHWOOD, ONT. 237-3363 Adriaan Brand, RR 2 Crediton became the 1987 President of the Huron County 4-11 Club Leaders' Association at the annual meeting held in Blyth. The Association has a membership of 195 volunteer 4-11 Leaders from all areas of the County • In his closing remarks, Mr. Brand challenged the Association to "in volve more non-farm young people in the 4-11 program". Association Past - President Dianne Oldfield, UR 4 Seaforth was presented a pen set from Centralia College - of Agricultural Technology in recogni- tion of her leadership. Barry (leave, Varna, was elected as 1st vice-president; Ken Ramsy, RR 3 Blyth 2nd vice-president; and Mary Delloer, Exeter_ secretary - treasurer of the Association.. Direr• tors are Brian McGaVin, Mt 4 Walton; Ken Mewhinney, RR 1 Lucknow; Bonnie Johnston, RR 2 Bluevale; Rose Workman, Clinton; Lila Rintoul, RR 2 Lueknow: and Isabel Campbell, RR 4 Wingham. The Association is celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 1987. Old age is having too much room in the house and not enough in the medicine cabinet. .ohm . 1 L.mN . ,..,.,i, HENSALL, Ontario Dear Farmer, We would like to invite you to our,1987 GROWER INFORMATION MEETING to be held on DATE: February 20th Place: HENSALL ARENA TIME: 10 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Please contact Hensall Branch for Meal Reservations by February 13, 1987 Phone 262-2527