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Dairy Commission holds price
OTTAWA - The Canadian
Dairy Commission today an-
nounced that the target price for
industrial milk will be maintained
at $48.69 per hectolitre. Set annu-
ally in August, the target price is
reviewed every February and ad-
justments are made if the change
is two percent or more.
The support prices for butter and
skim milk powder will remain at
$5.331 per kilogram and $3.130
Grain producers
to get $19 million
OTTAWA - Eastern grain produc-
ers will receive $19 million under
the Agricultural Stabilization Act -
for crops marketed in the 1989-90
crop year.
Support prices for the 1989-90
crop hear for grain corn, winter
wheat, spring wheat and soybeans
have been set at 90 percent of the
previous five-year average market
prices, adjusted for changes in cash
costs of production. Payments are
made when the market price for a
commodity falls below the support
price.
Average market returns for 1989-
90 soybeans of $243.24 per tonne
were $16.35 per tonne short of the
support price of $259.59, resulting
in a total stabilization'pa'mcnt of
approximately $19 million.
No payout will be made on 1989
winter wheat, spring wheat, grain
corn crops or oats and barley grown
outside the Canadian Wheat Board's
(CWB) designated areas because the
market price for these commodities
exceeded the minimum statutory
support price under the Act.
Easter grain producers are not eli-
gible for support under the Western
Grain Stabilization Act. (WGSA).
More and more people are be-
coming more and more concerned
about the quality of the food they
eat. The trend to food safety is be-
coming more prominent.
If farm marketing boards, espe-
cially supply management market-
ing boards, need a raison d'etrc, a
reason for being, then food quality
and safety should be emphasized.
Much has been said and written
about how our supply manage-
ment system increases the price of
milk, chicken, eggs and turkey. I
can not argue the point. Those
products cost more in Canada than
in the Excited States because
farmers here arc paid on a cost -of -
production formula. American
farmers arc not.
But the proponents of laissez-
faire marketing do not tell the
whole story. In the United States,
corporate superfarms account for
more than half of all agricultural
profits yet they make up only 1.2
percent of thc farms.
What this says to me is that cor-
porate farms will take over thc en-
tire marketplace if they arc al-
lowed to do so. The same thing
would happen here and you can bet
your equalization payments that
most of them would be American
companies.
We would become dependent on
imported American foodstuffs. We
would be forced into accepting
their standards. What is wrong with
that? Well, for one thing, growth
hormones arc used extensively in
the States. In addition, a whole lot
of pesticides have been licensed
across the border, especially on
fruits and vegetables.
There is some proof that meat in-
spection is superior in the United
. States to what it is in Canada hut,
even though I am not from Missou-
ri, you would have to show me it is
better. I jat do not have that much
faith in the American system.
1t is my firm belief that the major
barriers to American food imports
are those very same supply man-
agement marketing boards that so
many people arc criticizing these
days.
Maclean's magazine took a swipe
at them recently. Even that most
American of magazines, the Rfad-
er's Digest, has castigated our mar-
keting boards, especially the feath-
ers industry.
The Consumers' Association of
e foot in the
row' bf p
Mo•.ru.. T ke .•cr.. 1 e.'. •e ,.--. (V. ft.)/ 2C 1
Canada seems to be spending much
time and energy these days in doing
the same thing.
If our marketing boards are dis-
banded - and I hope it never hap-
pens - then I can see too much con-
centration in the food chain in the
hands of only a few companies.
The oligopolistic control of the
marketing place here in Canada is
already restricting competition and
distorting prices. To cancel market-
ing boards will only invite more
control and more distortions.
Marketing boards are, in some
cases, absolutely the only barrier to
more control in the marketplace.
Farmers have fought loud and
long for these boards. They have
pressured governments over the
years to give them the proper legal
mechanisms to form these boards.
They have proven themselves over
and over again. They help preserve
the family farm. They work hard to
make sure a healthy product is
available at all times.
They are at the forefront in food
security and food safety.
•Thcy are an integral part of our
Canadian way of life and don't let
anybody talk you out of them.
per kilogram respectively.
The Canadian Dairy Commis-
sion sets the target price for indus-
trial milk and the support prices
tor butter and skim milk powder,
after receiving advice from its Con-
sultative Committee. This Commit-
tee, which represents milk produc-
ers, processors, retailers and
consumers, reviews cost of produc-
tion data and makes a recommenda-
tion to the Commission.
In reviewing the date for Febru-
ary 1, 1991, the Committee did not
recommend a price increase as
there was not the required two per-
cent change to trigger an adjust-
ment.
Industrial milk is used in the
manufacture of dairy products such
as butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream
and skim milk powder.
New OMAF
program
CLINTON - Agriculture has in-
creasingly come under public pres-
sure for its perceived lack of con-
cern for the environment.
Pollution in the form of sediment
loading to our streams and lack of
containment or misapplication of
agricultural waste are continually
linked with the degradation of wa-
ter quality and subsequent beach
closures. The new O.M.A.F. Land
Stewardship II Program provides
an opportunity to address some of
the issues of environmental con-
cern.
Farm planning workshops dc -
signed to identify problem areas
on your farm are being run by the
local Soil and Crop Improvement
Association (H.S.C.I.A.). Work-
shops' participants will be exposed
to a variety of land stewardship al-
ternatives will be supplied during
the workshops. The financial assis-
tance is available in two basic cate-
gories; Soil Management Practices
and Envirrmental Protection. The
Soil Ma lagement Section covers
practices which protect agricultural
soil and water from erosion and
degradation. This includes: residue
management, cover crops, strip
cropping, windbreaks, conservation
equipment and soil conservation
structures. The Environmental Pro-
tection Section assists with the
construction of: manure storage,
milking parlour/ milkhousc wash -
water disposal systems and pesti-
cides storage and handling facili-
ties.
Animal barns hard on farmers' health
GUT l PH - That never-ending
buildup of dust on an office com-
puter screen may be annoying, but
for people who work in animal
barns, dust can actually be hazard-
ous to their health.
The high concentration of air-
borne dust in animal barns can
cause farmers long-term respirato-
ry problems. And the results of a
two-year study co-ordinated by
University of Guelph animal sci-
entist Doug Morrison show that
barn dust is practically uncontrol-
lable.
"We're not giving up on it,".says
Morrison, "but I'm not terribly op-
timistic that the dust level can be
reduced. We're urging farmers to
protect themselves against dust."
A healthy working environment
has become an important agricul-
tural issue. Morrison highlighted
the topic in a study presented at
the United States National Pork
Producers Council annual confer-
ence in Iowa earlier this winter.
The study was preceded by a
comprehensive scientific literature
review by Morrison and research
associate Susan De Boer. The re-
view, The Effects of the Quality of
the Environment in Livestock
Crop
publications
available
CLINTON - The 1991 Weed
Control Guide & Field Crop
Recommendations publications
are now available from the
OMAF office in Clinton.
The Field Crop Recommenda-
tions has been updated with the
latest field crop varieties, fertiliz-
er recommendations, insect and
disease control and other crop
management practices.
The Weed Control Guide pro-
vides information on registered
weed control recommendations
for most crops.
Also available is the 1990 Sur-
vey of Custom Farm Work
Rates.
These publications may be
picked up during office hours
from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Buildings on die Productivity of
Swine and Safety of Humans, re-
vealed that swine producers are
highly exposed' to dust and appear
to suffer frequent and severe health
problems.
Their review led to a two-year re-
search project in which Morrison
and his colleagues altered ventila-
tion and recirculation rates in pig
barns to try to influence airborne
dust - a complex mix of naturally
occurring substances like dry fecal
material, protein (from feed, skin
and hair), ash, mould and bacteria
generated almost exclusively by
normal animal activity. Dust -
along with smoking - has been
shown to cause respiratory prob-
lems in farmers who raise animals
in confinement.
Modern pig barns arc equipped
with ventilation systems to ensure a
regular flow of fresh air in the barn.
The researchers thought that in-
creasing,the number of air changes
might correspondingly expel a
greater amount of airborne dust.
What they found, however, was
that, under winter conditions, air
exchange rates can't be high
enough to effectively reduce dust
without significantly lowering the
barn temperature.
Morrison says part of die prob-
lem is actually good animal man-
agement. To promite animal health,
farmers maintain clean, dry pens
and barns, but that dryness creates
dust. The animals are marketed be-
fore they suffer any long-term ex-
posure, but fanners get saddled
with higher levels of dust.
Further research will be conduct-
ed to determine if dust levels can
be controlled by other management
changes such as adding fat to the
animals feed.
This research was conducted at
the Arkeil Swine Research Station
and was sponsored by the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
and the Ontario Pork Producers
Marketing Board.
GIC Rates
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Usborne & Hibbert Mutual
Fire Insurance Company
ANNUAL MEETING
The Annual Meeting of the policy holders of the Usborne &
Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company will be held in the Kirk -
ton -Woodham Community Centre, at 2:00 p.m. on Monday,
February 25, 1991 , to receive and dispose of the Financial and
Auditor's Reports; to elect Directors and to transact any busi-
ness that may rightly come before the meeting.
Nominations will be received for the election of two Directors for
a three year term. The Directors whose term of office expires
are Jack Hodgert and Larry Gardiner, both of whom are eligible
for re-election.
Jack Harrigan E.J. Caers
President
,Secretary -Manager
Article 21 - QUALIFICATIONS OF DIRECTORS
Any person wishing to seek election or re-election as"a Director
must file his intention to stand for election in writing with the
Secretary of the Corporation at least ten days in advance of an
Annual Meeting or Special General Meeting called for the pur-
pose of electing Directors.
'; /' . Tenants - Landlords
We want your views on
Rent Control
You can help the Ontario Government develop a new
rent control law by letting us know your views.
Because both tenants and landlords want to settle the rent control
issue without delay, we want to have a rent control law in place
within a year.
To help us do that, we will meet with tenant and landlord
associations, municipalities and other interested groups across
the province..
But most important, we want to hear from you.
Here's how you can make your views known:
1
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