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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-01-09, Page 13tr Times -Advocate. January 9, 1991 Page 13 i Ultrasound uncovers what hide hides CENTRALIA - Centralia Col- lege, Ontario Ministry of Agricul- ture and Food, recently began a six-month project to investigate the use of ultrasound scanning in the evaluation of livestock. Tho ultrasound unit and accompany- ing computer equipment provide a system for measuring the fat - layer thickness and muscle area of livestock. Evaluation of live beef cattle currently involves the measurement of fat thickness and ribeye are between the 12th and 13th ribs. This is the same loca- tion that beef carcasses are brok- en and evaluated in the grading process. Although ultrasound has been used for evaluating beef cattle for over 30 years, it has only for the last five years that its use has been very widespread. This is due primarily to the technological ad- vances in the medical field. Now, the same ultrasound technology that obstetricians use to deter- mine the health and sex of an un- born child aids beef, sheep and swine prodticers in making herd management decisions. The ability to accurately and. easily measure body composition of live animals would enhance genetic improvement programs for livestock since carcass char- acteristics are reported to be me- dium to highly heritable. The ability to make these measure- ments rapidly and under practical conditions would also be of tre- mendous value in feeding opera- tions and in the instrument grad- ing of carcasses at the packing plant. Real-time ultrasound is the technique that has been suggest- ed as offering the potential for providing accurate results for all these applications. Ultrasound can benefit all segments of the meat industry; the breeder, pro- ducer, feedlot operator, packer, Tenth annual swine retailer and consumer 'because of it's ability to identify what's under the hide. During the initial stage of the project, Susan Given, Ultrasound Technician at Centralia Coikge, will be training with Dr. James R. Stouffer, Professor Emeritus Cor- nell University, Ithaca, New York, and President of Animal Ultrasound Services, Inc. Dr. Stouffer has devoted most of his professional career to the develop- ment of ultrasound technology for the prediction of carcass charac- teristics in cattle, swine and sheep. The project is scheduled to run from December 1, 1990 to May 31+, 1991 and will address the ap- plication and feasibility of utiliz- ing this equipment to enhance ge- netic improvement programs for beef, sheep and swine. research update approaching CENTRALIA - The tenth annual Swine Research Update, scheduled for Centralia College on January 23, promises a program as interest- ing and informative as its nine pre- decessors. This update summarizes research another topics of current interest to swine producers and in- dustry personnel. Topics on this year's program in- clude Animal Welfare in Sweden - A Preview for Canada?, Growth Promotants in the 90's, Energy Ef- ficient Lighting for Swine Barns, Genetic Influences on Feed Con- version, Vaccination - A New Ap- proach to Enzootic Pneumonia Pre- vention, A.I. in Ontario - A Producers Perspective, Interpreting Your Mycotoxin Test Results, Quebec Wasting Disease Syn- drome, plus several others. A special visitor to the College will be Dr. Glen Almond from North Carolina State University. He will address two topics - Man- agement of the Breeding Herd to Maximize Productivity and Corpo- rate Farming in North Carolina - An Overview. Dr. Almond is a na- tive.of Ontario and a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College. He is presently an Assistant Professor in Swine Medicine at NCSU. His duties include research and teach- ing as well as acting as a consultant for some of the large corporate swine farms in North Carolina. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the program running from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The fee is $18.00 per person which includes lunch and a copy of the proceedings. For more information and to reg- ister for the program, call Centralia College (19) 228-6691, Ext. 285 or your local OMAF office. Farm payment increases TORONTO - Farmers enrolled in the 1990 Farm Income Assis- tance Program (FIAP) will receive increased grants under the pro- gram's interest assistance and grains/oilseeds components an- nounced Ontario Minister of Agri- culture and Food Elmer Buchanan. The final payment schedule under the horticulture component of the program was also announced. "I'm pleased we're able to bring greater assistance to producers who are suffering most from high interest rates and low commodity prices,' said Buchanan. "Now that the majority of proem applica- tions have been received and pro- cessed, the ministry has deter- mined there are sufficient funds to provide increases." The ministry says the increases will benefit approximately 26,000 producers. Under the interest assistance component of the program, there is an increase in the maximum grant allowed from $3,000 to $4,500. The change could poten- tially benefit producers enrolled FIAP who had interest costs of more than $17,000 in 1989. Under the grains and oilseeds di- rect payment component of the program, there is an increase in per acre payments - from $5.80 to $8 per acre. Under the program's horticulture Suggesting that marketing boards are not as good as they should be is like slamming motherhood or ne- gating Christmas. A week ago, a column suggesting that these farmer -operated boards could be more responsive to consu- mers brought half a dozen phone calls and a couple of letters. All I said in the column was that farmers should be seen to be more respon- sive to complaints about health and the environment. I meant to suggest that, although some boards are responsive, they must be seen to be responsive. There is a difference. I pointed out that the milk board in Ontario, for instance, should not be stressing butterfat content in milk. At least two dairy farmers called to say 1 had better get with it. They said I should' read their publi- cations and 1 would find out that farmers --- dairy farmers, that is -- are addressing this very question and I should have known about it. Perhaps I should have known be- cause Bill Dimmick, editor of the Ontario Milk Producer magazine, has been sending me the book every month. When I get time, I read it because it is one of the best farm magazines in Canada. I obviously missed the issue or the article which talked about but- terfat.,Sorry about that. industry direct payment compo- nent, producers of field -grown vegetables will receive $32.50 per acre, up from the original estimate of $25 per acre. The increased grants are part of the original money allocated to the 1990 Farm Income Assistance program: $48 million in Ontario government funds for interest as- sistance, and in federal govern- ment funds $35.3 million for grains and oilseeds producers and $15.2 million for horticulture pro- ducers. Producers can expect to receive cheques from the ministry starting in January 1991. Milk marketing board report supplies up last November MISSISSAUGA - The Ontario Milk Marketing Board reports that total milk marketings to the Board in November 1990 were 1.6 per- cent higher than a year earlier. This follows monthly increases of 4.2, 3.4 and 1.8 percent in August, September and October respec- tively. The Board urges that two points should be noted. One is that the comparisons are being made to fall months a year ago when milk supplies were dramatically down. The second point is that market sharing quota has been reduced by six percent since that time. There- fore, producers have done an ef- fective job of maintaining fall pro- duction levels this year. For the remainder of the year, monthly comparisons of total mar- ketings should begin to be nega- tive in the near future. Compari- sons will be made to months when production was on the rise. How- ever, of more significance is the fact that total marketings for the remainder of the year must fall in order to prevent Ontario from end- ing up in a serious over -quota situ- ation. At present time, it is too early to accurately predict provincial MSQ utilization, but if total marketings continue at 1.6 percent above last year's levels, then provincial MSQ utilization could end up at about 108 percent. This projection re- flects the assumption that fluid sales remain unchanged along with the provincial weighted average butterfat test and that cream pro- ducers will fill 100 percent of 'their share of MSQ. It is important for producers to bring their production in line with their quota holdings. The year-end situation likely will be very tight. Larger cutbacks at the end of the daily year present milk supply im- plications for the following fall. The Canadian Milk Supply Man- agement Committee met in Ottawa in December where they reviewed domestic disappearance figures for the previous year. The decline in butterfat consumption appears to have bottomed out. Based on the information available it does not appear as though a quota reduction will be required for February but this view should be .regarded with caution. The committee will melt again this month to review current figures to determine whether or not MSQ should remain unchanged. Ottawa proposes new safety net for rain and oilseeds producers OTTAWA - Proposals for a new safety net program for grains and oilseeds have been developed by farmers and the provincial and fed- eral governments through the Grains and Oilseeds Safety Net Commiuce. The (committee was formed as part of the federal government's comprehensive Ag '- ood Policy Review. The pro, programs the Net Income stabilization Ac- count (NISA) and the Gross Reve- nue Insurance Plan (GRIP), could provide Canadian grains and oil- seeds producers with a more effec- tive, predictable income stabiliza- tion program. The support will be targeted at the individual level ensuring the farmers who need the most assis- tance will get it. NISA could enable fanners to put money aside in individual accounts which could be drawn upon in years when income is down. GRIP would consist of traditional crop insurance with an added reve- nue insurance plan to provide farm- ers with both yield and price pro- tection. Agriculture ministers agreed in principle ' 10 implementation of NISA for the 1990 taxation year - provincial participation in NISA would be optional. Ministers also agreed in principle to implementation of a transitional GRIP for the 1991-92 crop year. It would consist of crop insurance and a new revenue insurance plan with as high a degree of offsets in- corporated as possible. Offset exists when a higher than average price compensates for a lower than average yield and vice Soybean growers meet e Iootlntl*e new' "obi. Lenses Awl .WOKWiled by Sob hone. itO.M t4 two. Ont N]$ iC / • 1 should have pointed out that supply _management marketing boards are not the big culprits when it comes to higher pnces for food in Canada, said one caller. "The evidence does not suggest our prices are out of line," she said. "The consumer price index has in- creased by 25 percent in Toronto since 1985 but the retail price of milk and dairy products has in- creased by only about 12.5 percent. the price we get as farmers has only gone up 8.5 percent." "How can you downgrade market- ing boards?" asked another irate chicken farmer from the Brighton area. "Prices for chicken after ad- justments for inflation have gone down-- down, that is -- by about 20 percent in the last decade! You should do a bit of research before spouting off about our marketing boards." But I did not say that marketing boards were not doing their jobs. I have been a supporter of supply management for more than 25 years. All I said was that our boards must become more sensitive to consumer concerns. That's all. I be- lieve in them. I believe these boards have done more than anything else to prevent corporations from concentrating on agriculture. In the Excited States it has been said that 85 percent of all production is concentrated in the hands of five percent of the produc- ens. This has not happened in Cana- da. Marketing boards have helped prevent it. Are marketing boards helping to preserve the family farm? That is a question that causes much concern. Unquestionably, there are fewer farmers today than 20 years ago. A letter from an old friend in Mitchell, Tom Ryan, a few weeks back suggests that the Ontario Pork Producers Marketing Board has put 6.5 pork producers out of business daily since its in- ception. . ' It should be called the Ontario ' Pork Process and Packaging Mar- keting Board," he maintains;. "No longer are people going to put up with listening to farce, fiasco and failure from OPPMB conven- tions." I believe that the regulations and control legally given to farm mar- keting boards are the main bangers against factory farming. 1 believe marketing boards have provided a steady supply of quality food to Canadians and will continue to do so. An individual farmer cannot stand alone against big corpora- tions in marketing and these boards provide leadership and security for Canadian agriculture. All I suggested was that they should be a little more sensitive to consumers. Is that too much to ask? CHATHAM - The 1991 Dis- trict Annual Meetings of Onta- rio Soybean Growers have been called by each District Commit- tee in compliance with the Onta- rio Soybean Growers' Marketing Plan. The meetings will receive re- ports from the marketing board and the district committee, elect the memirs of the district com- mittee fol. 1991 and conduct oth- er business which may properly come before the District Annual Meeting. The District 7 office which in- cludes the counties of Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth and Well- ington as well as the regional municipality of Waterloo will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 1:15 p.m. District 7's committee in- cludes Robert Down of RR1, Hensall, Robert Norris of RR2, Staffa, John Oke of RR3, Exet- er, John Scott of RR1, Granton, Hugh Scott of RR2, Staffs, Ger- ry Wallis of RRI, Granton, and Albert Weernink of RR 1, Kirk - ton. Pesticide Course Grower Pesticide Safety Course Place - Hensall Legion Date -January 31/91 Ti - 9 a.m. Cost - $35.00 per person Lunch provided Please contact: ONTARIO FEDERATION OF ANGLERS & HUNTERS Hensall 262-2527 By January 25th .-. ■-.-.-. .-.-.- .- • .• •..• ..• • RF,ACH THE WORLD BY . • .• -. - • - . • 0• -. - • . .- . 0•• •• •• ::