HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-08-19, Page 26ti
Page 8A Times'Advocate, August 19, 1987
One Foot in the Furrow
By Bob Trotter
Urbaniteshave erroneous picture of rural
'Urban society often perceives the
agriculture and food sector in a way
that .is different from current reality.
.The tranquil. pastoral setting
remembered by many urbanites from
childhood days does not accurately
portray the modern farm business of
the provincial rural community.'
Does that sound pedantic? 1t
should. It comes right from a recent-
ly published document outlining the
official strategy of the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food.
It is -something I have been saying
for years. The public has a completely
erroneous picture Of agriculture.
They see the grey-haired grampaw
attired in bib overalls and straw hal
striding purposefully across _ the
manure yard, chomping on a piece of
straw. with two pails of kitchen
scraps as he goes out to slop the hogs.
Farmers rarely wear straw hats.
They wear a peaked hat from the Co-
op or Purina. They don't -- and never
did -- chomp on.a piece of straw. It
was hay, usually timothy.
And they sure as hell don't slop hogs
any more. That method of feeding
hogs went out with button shoes. It is,
in fact, illegal to feed uncooked scraps
to hogs. Hogs are fed a scientifically
balanced diet, probably better than
yours.
Farmers are no longer rustic and
bucolic. They have to be jacks-of-all-
trades: growers, husbandmen, soil
experts, crop specialists, accoun-
tants, welders, mechanics, you name
it. They do not sit on the farm veran-
dah each night, watch the sun go
down and listen to the -corn grow..
Pioneer field day
• Area crop and livestock producers
are invited to discuss preharvest con-
cerns and forage management with
agronomists and silage specialists at
an upcoming event sponsored by a
major seed company.
The event is the Pioneer Super Ex-
po field day to be held Tuesday.
September- 1, from -10 a.ni. tot p.m.,
at the farm of Wayne McBride, east
of Kippen off Highway 4 on Huron
county road 12'
New for the fall of 1987 is Sila-bac
1R? brand 111s; high moisture corn in
oculant, an additive that will reduce
yeast and mold growth in the silo
resulting ina more consistent, higher
quality feed for hogs and dairy cows.
Besides a full line of silage in-
oculants, Pioneer Hi -Bred Limited is
a leading producer and supplier of
hybrid seed corn along with varieties
of alfalfa, soybeans and sorghum. The
company also markets Diamond
Scientific ,m brand vaccines for cat-
tle and hogs.
John Bancroft
Farm Management Specialist
for Huron County
FARROWING
CRATES...
Call
•
• Model #80
• Hot dipped galvanized
after manufacture
• Stainless teel or
galvanized feeder
• Narrow design prevents
sow from flopping
down, greatly reduces
piglet losses.
South Huron Agri -Systems
R.R. 2 Crediton
Phone anytime 234-6403
•
•
•
RUTABAGA TWILIGHT MEETING
CENTRALIA COLLEGE
Wednesday, August 26, 1987
• 6:30 p.m. tour begins at airport plots
• Feature speakers are -
Tom Lowery, OMAF
Dr. Verne Shattuck, U. of Guelph
Bruce Brolley, Centralia College
• Beef Barbecue to follow tour
($8.00; plate)
EVERYONE WELCOME — DON'T BE DISAPPOINTED
Reserve your meal ticket by August 21st
CaII: Bruce Brolley
Centralia College
(519) 228-6691
Announcement
Exeter District Co-op
Kevin Delbridg•
We are pleased to announce the appointment of
Kevin Delbridge to the position of Soles
Representative.
Kevin has a solid background in agriculture and is
looking forward to serving the needs of his many ac-
quaintances in the area.
r
Most of them do not even have a
verandah anymore and they do not
have time to sit on it, anyway.
The ministry is going to have its
hands full living down the old-
fashioned image of a farmer. Fifty
years ago, almost every city dweller
had a connection with rural Ontario,
no matter how remote. Urbanites
Knew a little bit about the country.
They had, perhaps, an uncle or two
still on the farm. Or a cousin, even a
brother. Not so today. Less than tour
per cent of the population is actively
engaged in farming and the erroneous
picture ofthe farmer has withstood
all the urban changes.
'These false im I ressions
negatively affect future agriculture
and food policy and program
development.'
'Communication of the strengths of
the farm sector, the security of food,
the necessity of change to meet the
needs of society, will remain
important.'
Again, I quote the strategy docu-
ment. What it says under all that
government gobbledy-gook is that
people still have a wrong idea about
farmers and the ministry will try to
change that idea. If they don't, peo-
ple of the province may get sick, sore
and tired of propping up agriculture
with special grants and subsidies.
The ministr will tr to tell the peo-
ple that agriculture is strong and so
are farmers and farm families.
They will try to tell the people that
Ontario farmers are good, that they
supply good food at good prices, that
the food will always be available if the
people want to support the
agricultural sector. The ministry staff
will pound away at the misconcep•
tions rampant in the cities about how
farmers are tripping over grant che-
ques'when they go to their mailboxes.
The ministry will try to dispel the
myths about marketing boards and
that marketing boards keep the inef-
ficient farmer in business.
This kind of work by ministry
public relations officers will not be
L
JUNIOR FARMERS BREAKFAST — Al Renning, Anne Marie Maioney and Scott Eveland prepare the
food for Sunday's pancake and sausage breakfast sponsored by the South Huron Junior Farmers.
DEAL
reality
easy but 1, for one, believe it is
something that should have been
tackled in earnest }O years ago.
I'm just happy tosee that some ef-
fort will .be expended now to give
farmers their true place on our lad;
der of prosperity.
Your Farm -Guard policy with
The Cooperators protects
buildings, contents, livestock,
produce and machinery. For
complete farm insurance protec-
tion, call about Farm -Guard
today.
Bob Lammie
CO the
O co -open tots
Insurance Services
EXETER: -
429 Main Street, 235-1109
LIFE HOPI • AUTO :COMMERCIAL • FARM -TRAVEL
ITH CONFIDENCE
When you deliver your White Bean Crop to
Th
Ken R. Campbell & Sons Ltd., Seaforth
Howson & Howson Ltd., Blyth, Ontario
Palmerston Elevators Ltd.
Bar' B - Dee Farms, RR 1 Bornholm
are also white bean receiving satellites for Thompson's
We want and appreciate your business
Hyland Brand Augusta Seed Wheat
Hyland Brand Houser Seed Wheat
Fredrick Seed Wheat
Cert. Monopol Red Winter Wheat
Be sure you buy Blue Tag Seed Only
This assures you of "Certified" #1 Seed
for "Purity" - "Quality" and -
"Top Yields."
Any other facsimile is not the same.
Available only at Thompson's ora Hyland Dealer
"For larger growers"
wishing Certified seed in Bulk we can supply. Please order ahead.
ALL SEED IS TREATED WITH VITAFLO " 280"
- Custom Fertilizer Spreading
= Soil Sampling Service
- Computerized Reports •
- Recommendations from a Qualified Staff
For purity,
top germination,
disease free
Sow only Certified Hyland Seed
Hensall
.!62-2527
Mitchell
348-8433
Granton
225-2360
Seaforth Ailsa Craig
345-2545 293-3223
Pt. A ber t
529-'901
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