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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-04-22, Page 15SOIL AND CROP TROPHY A Centralia College researcher Bob Forrest presents the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association trophy to Perry Webber for gaining the most points in the produce competition at the 1986 Open House at the col - T -A photo lege. \rid • INN • Times -Advocate; April 22, 1987 Page 15 Farmers t.IJ� use it or lose It. Farmers across the county. must find ways to boost membership in their federation of agriculture within the next few months, or they stand a good chance of losing one of their five voting voices at the provincial level, according to Bob Harrison of RR 1 Monkton, a regional director of the Huron Federation of Agriculture- ( FIFA and chairman of the group's membership committee:: ,. Speaking to the sparse gathering of farmers at the HFA's monthly members' meeting in Londesboro last Wednesday, Harrison said that HFA membership now stands at around 1,775, nearly 25 members less than are technically needed to warrant the Kopp county's five regional directors and voting delegates to Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture t OFA ► monthly meetings. Chris Palmer of RR 5 Wingham; se- cond vice-president of the HFA and regional. director for Huron nor- • thwest, said that a concentrated membership drive will take place throughout the county this June, and that all farmers should take the .op- portunity to renew their memberships at that time if they want a strong and unified voice in agricultural affairs.- "Losing membership through. attri- tion' is our greatest danger right now", he said. "In east Wawanosh Totvnship alone was have lost eight members in the past year; a couple have died and the others have been forced out or have quit, and no young guys are getting into farming these days." The plea from members of the Huron executive echoes the com- ments made by Jack 'Wilkinson. a Camlachie farmer and vice-president of the OFA, speaking at several farm meetings across the province in re- cent weeks. "We need all the help we can get. Many farm issues havebto be address- ed. There is a need for well researched and documented evidence for presentation-to'overnments, and there aren't enOgik people to handle the work," he said, noting that the• OFA membership of about 25.000 out of a population of close to 80,000 farmers in Ontario, has not increas- ed ncreased lately. Citing the same statistics, Palmer said that virtually every farmer in Quebec is paid-up member'of• their provincial federation of agriculture, and that their strength in numbers certainly seemsto be paying off. He remembered that when Eugene Whelan 'was the federal Minister agriculture, he said in a speech dur- ing the Quebec referendum in 1980 that "75 percent of the government money that crosses my desk goes to Quebec." "We just want equity" Palmer said. "And the only way we are going to get it is if you guys start supporting us." wants FCS back to lending The Farm Credit Corporation i FCC r or a similiar vehicle must get back into lending at stable long term interest rates that reflect the realities of farming, Paul Klopp, President of the Huron Federation of Agriculture This televangelist fooferaw is a sad commentary on our. society. It is also frightening when some of these camera freaks threaten to lead millions of voters into a polling booth. They - the preachers of hellfire and damnation - have proven that they BRANDY POINT FARMS • Our breeding stock pro- vides our buyers with proven genetics from the. top 3°° animals tested across Canada • Our pro jram enables us to offer quality and health at a price that is hard to beat • We have an ongoing supply of A.l.. sired Hamp/Duroc, York and Lan- drace boars and Fl York Landrace gilts. All Boars are priced from $275.S375 F1 York Landrace gilts are priced S55 above market hog value. • Our closed herd is ranked Good"' by the OMAF BRED GILTS ALSO AVAILABLE Delivery available KURT KELLER R.R. 1 Mitchell, Ontario 519-348-8043 i ne loot ,in the furrow'••aa� lemma.* a•ravaltd by 110b 'HMV ENV, Ro Ekn„a Oct N3* 2C 1 .J can persuade people to part with their hard-earned paycheques. .pension cheques and baby bonuses. And some of those people would not pay a pen- ny to see Ragapple Annie give 10 gallons of milk. But they faithfully 'fork over $8 million because Oral Roberts said he got death threats from God. This whole idea of using the boob tube to sell the disadvantages of sin is ominous. These holy hucksters ob- viously stop at nothing as long as the bucks to support their glittering grails keep coming in. The Oral Roberts empire keeps on growing and he says h. ;t•ill do the same thing every year to keep his university in the black. He will probably go into his prayer tower again next year - and the year after and the year after, ad nauseum - until the trusting souls across North. America fork over another $8 million or more. The inflation factor will de- mand at least five percent more every year until Rev. Roberts is call- ed to that great numbered bank ac- count in the sky. Spiritual emptiness is a vulnerable state to be in and that is what these God -sellers spout about. It is a hard sell with flashing lights.. painted faces, capped teeth and phoney smiles to persuade followers to part with their money. These petty preachers prey on the weak and frail who fear they have not paid their dues to get into Heaven. - I suppose most of us would laugh with .Saturday Night Live's church Winners from the . Home & Garden Show Draw Barb Hartman Case IH 4 wheel drive toy tractor Joanne Pickering Case IH battery operated toy tractor Iva Blair Hardi backpack sprayer JR/ gireDtil FARM EQUIPMENT LTD. "Serving You For 55 Years" • D Exeter 235-21.21 Dashwood 237-3242 lady if these evangelists stayed where they belong even if they did stray in- to a cozy motel room now and again. But it is their ambition that scares me. Pat Robertson and his charismatic ca-pers are not funny. He is head of the Christian Broadcasting Network and he says he talks to God - and God answers - regulary. Which is fine with me but Robertson says he will contest the 1988 Republican presidential nomination. He might win it and become president of the most power- ful nation in the world. Jerry Falwell leads the Liberty Federation which is the parent organization to the Moral Majority whose tenets have been described as somewhere right of Atilla the Hun. The Moral Majority actively lobby for aid to the Nicaraguan contras and staunchly support Reagan's. Star Wars initiative. The Falwell empire has been accus- ed of 'using only $300,000 of an estimated $3.2 million raised for .famine relief in the Sudan. Doesn't that frighten you? These people can mesmerize millions of peo- ple every week. They can equate their interpretation of the Bible to a vote in a polling booth. - And that, my friends is very, very dangerous. . Maybe PTL does not mean Praise The Lord or People That Love. Even Jim Bakker does not seem absolute- ly sure. But even it if means Pay The Lady, clear -thinking people should hesitate if and when these emotional preachers start telling them how to vote Pitch -In CHAPARAL FENCING R.R. 1, Lucan Ontario NOM 2J0 ALL TYPES FREE ESTIMATES industrial Fencers Chain Link & Patio Farm F•ncea Phone Bob Hardy 227-4160 Track Eliminator Smyth 500 Gal. 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Now many farm families are in financial -trouble and their equity has dropped below 50 per- cent because of declining land prices. "Michael Wilson needs to be educated as . to where the problem lies," Klopp said. "He says he is .always concerned with the deficit yet he spends million on getting farmers out of agriculture and into other lines of employment. He spends millions on soil conservation because the right people are no longer there to proper- ly manage it (the land). We spend billions on unemployment insurance Turbo 21 High Pressure Washer 2.1 g.p.m. Adjustable 1000 p.s.i. oil both triplex pump C.G. Farm Supply Ltd. Zurich 236-4934 because people can't get jobs." What farmers need to be self- sufficient are commitments,' 'strong and true" from the Ministers of Agriculture, he said. . MP Murray Cardiff said the in- terest rates of FCC loans had dropped recently from 10.75 percent to 10 per- cent although it certainly. could be lower. The problem is, he said, that the FCC legislation calls for it to recover losses through the interest it charges. As for educating Michael Wilson, he said, it had to be realized that many of the farm families in trouble just wanted to get out of farming and on with their lives. The main idea of • government assistance was still to keep as many farmers farming as possible. "MPP Jack Riddell acknowledged Klopp's brief had credited the Provin- cial government for its Ontario Farm Family Interest Rate Reduction pro- gram and said his government was looking seriously at. continuing the program at 100 percent coverage this year instead of beginning -to -phase -it out as originally planned. • Trucking • Gravel, Sand & Stone • Bulldozing • Excavating • Top Soil • Septic Systems "No job is too big or too small" GET YOUR HANDS ON BIG VALUE! HYDRAUL Ss 'LC 1 HYDRAI'l. 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