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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-03-06, Page 27;;, Wit IUL On display - C.G. Farm Supply of Zurich, put on a special planting and sprayer show last Tuesday at the Zurich Arena and Community Centre. Salesman Arnie Martin Is seen here displaying the latest technology in a com planting unit. Some people blame market boards.Some blame the lack of m keting boards. I put it down plain attrition plus production. Although Ontario's populati continues to to climb, the num of farmers continues to decline. old friend, Tom Ryan from Mit ell, maintains the Ontario P Producers Marketing Board shou be called the Ontario Pork Proc ing capita does not increase, the popula- ar- tion increase, means that milk po- to duction has increased in the last two decades. Far fewer farmers and fewer on cows are producing many more li- ber tres of milk which means fewer An farms are needed. ch- The same is true throughout all ork of agriculture so the attrition rate in Id farming is extremely high. One ess would think those who are left would be enjoying much greater and Packaging Board because 6.5 of turns if fewer people are producing n_ so much more. pork producers have gone out business daily since the board's i ception. He blames this extremely high at- trition rate on the pork board. ARM 1JPDATF Times -Advocate, March 6, 1991 Page 27 Fair boards meet for convention TORONTO - "Communicating Effectively" was the theme for the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies Convention held at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Febru- ary 19-21, 1991. Rosalie Wysocki of Wysocki & Associates, one of Canada's foremost motivational speakers and a leader in personal development spoke on "Working Together Better than Ever" as the theme speaker. Ross Daily, Agri- cultural Editor, CFPL TV London, was the luncheon speaker with 55 Ides for you to consider for your Fair. Marvyn Ryder, McMaster University, Hamilton was the speaker for the Homecraft Division meeting with "Getting your Mes- sage Across; Communication Strat- egies". The winning quilt in the Canada Packers Quilt Competition was won by Betty Grubb, Mildmay, District 10, and received $1,000. The Canada Packers quits were given by Murray Stewart, Canada Packers to the Milton Museum for display. John Wiley of the Milton Museum then announced a similar competition for the quilts for the corning year. The Champion of the Photogra- phy competition was Colchester South -Harrow, Reserve was King- ston Exhibition and the most points OFA responds to federalp budget TORONTO - In a budget that was no news or taken care of in the 1991 federal expenditure plan. bad news, farmers, in particular grains and oilseed Those deficiency funds are already committed." producers, would have to be pleased with federal However, George expressed regret and disappoint - Finance Minister Michael Wilson's announcement ment with the finance minister's announcement of an - of a $1.3 billion commitment to agriculture, other major increase in tobacco tax. claims the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. "The government will pick up $1.4 billion in tobac- "It would have been a shock if the minister had co taxes in the first full year without a definitive plan not followed through with the federal govern- 10 provide compensation to farmers who rely on to- ment's support to the Grains and Oilseeds Safety bacco for their income," he said. Nets," said OFA president Roger George. Wilson's budget announcement of legislating "The safety net program, designed by farmers spending limits for federal programs has also caused and governments over the last year, will give pre- some concern for Ontario agriculture, say the OFA. dictability to farmers' gross farm receipts and give "We will be seeking an interpretation of the spend - provincial and federal treasuries the ability to bud- ing limits to federal programs to see how, and if, they get for these predicted expenditures."relate to areas of agricultural spending," said George. Grains and oilseeds producers should not be On a positive note, farmers welcome the drop in the concerned that deficiency payments for the 1990- interest rate and Wilson's acknowledgement that this 91 crop year where not included in the budget, will continue it's downward trend. said George. "It's my understanding that the mon- However, said George, "this is more a result of the ey for special assistance for these crops has been present recession than budgetary policy." re- u I'm not sure the blame should rest there. When producers were asked to register with the board many years ago, everybody and his uncle want- ed a shipping number. There is no question, though, that the number of farmers in almost every branch of agriculture contin- ues to decline. Ontario's population has increased to more than 9.5 mil- lion. Ten years ago, it was just over 6 million. But there are fewer farms: Only 72,713 farmers,according to the last census. Twenty years ago, there were close to 15,000 dairy farmers in Ontario. There are not much more than 9,500 now and I do not blame the milk board for; this decline al- though some people J'ould. It is propably the most efficient of all the boards in this province. Farmers, themselves, are partly responsible. They have been blamed for embracing the technical revolu- tion to a greater degree than most other sectors of the population. They have. Milk production, pork production, chicken production, grain production have increased tre- mendously. Although milk consumption per Not so. In our area of the prov ince, the net farm income wa about $27,000, not much mone by todays standards. And the de pressing part of this is that those farmers had to earn about half o that income off the farm which doesn't say much for making a de cent living on the land. The cold statistics do not of course, tell the rest of the story. Farmers now make up less than 2.5 per cent of the population. In fact, at the turn of the century, al- most 45 per cent of the population was either into full-time farming or connected to agriculture in some way. The "farm" vote had considerable clout. Politicians were forced to pay attention to agriculture. Even today, senior governments are aware of the problems and some - drugs., laspond_ with oe4 jn-. in ,ntacri and nerd y $e ty:_' ' ' ne cannot help but wonder how much longer this will go on when farmers make up less than three per cern of the population. It should be remembered, though, that the food chain keeps 35 to 40 per cent of the work force jobs. A healthy agriculture means that the rest of the economy is in good shape, too, which is why politi- cians cannot ignore farmers. They - do so at their peril. eron colonies sought PORTtarso tion of a heron colony, or are in- years have seen increasing pollution s Heronry Inventory (O a project teres p ject ted in partici of - of the Long Point Bird Observatory censuses, please contact: Bev Colli nesting essites acid precipitation, we - g co f (LPBO), is seeking volunteers to er, Ontario Heronry Inventory, land drainage, woodlot cutting and help with the final year of a two- Long Point Bird Observatory, O.O. continues human development in year, province -wide survey of Great Box 160, Port Rowan, Ont. NOE more and more remote regions. Blu Heron colonies. As in 1990, IMO, 519-586-3531. Anyone pro- LPBO wants to quantify changes in the OHI in 1991 will be compiling viding a colony's location will be the distribution and abundance of heronries in Ontario. In addition the a catalogue of the locations of all gratefully acknowledged: volunteers herons in the province resulting interested in censusing will be sent from these human impacts. 0111 is hoping to "census" (count further information and instructions The Great Blue Heron, standing nests within a colony) as many as on how to participate. 300 heronries. over a metre tall, with a wing span In 1980-81, LPBO conducted a of almost two metres, is one of our In a province the size of Ontario, similar survey and determined that largest and most majestic birds. the contributions of volunteers are the heron population in Ontario Herons nest in colonies of two to vital to the success of a project of was healthy, with over 375 active as many as 300 pairs, often in iso - this magnitude. If you know the lo- colonies. However, the ensuing ten lated woodlots, where they build large stick nests. The Long Point Blue Observatory U.S. bann •. eases is an independent, non-profit organ- . ing a conservation o birds and Junior Farmers month AUBURN - Now is the time to join Junior Farmers. March is Jun- ior Farmers Membership Month. We want you! Junior farmers is for young people, rural or urban, between the ages of 15 and 29. Junior Farmers is designed by young people for young to explore and develop their talents and potentials. We have cultural activities, sporting events, self help and leadershipopportu- nities, community betterment and agricultural awareneslts and travel all in an atmosphere of fun. You can probably find more in Junior Farmers than in any other organization. The membership meeting of the Central Huron Junior Farmers will be held Tuesday, March 12 at 8 p.m. at Hullett Central Public School, Londesboro. Come out and find out what Junior Farmers are all about and what it has to offer, no obligations. For more information contact Ross McIntosh 522-0358, Rick Fowler 527-2539 or the Clinton OMAF 482-3428. Soybean stabilization CLINTON - Soybean growers in has been forwarded from the Ontario Ontario will receive a stabilization Soybean Growers' Marketing Board payment of $16.35 per tonne (44.5 to the Agricultural Stabilization cents per bushel) on all soybeans Board in Ottawa. marketed during the 1989-90 crop A letter from the Stabilization year which runs from September 1, board will be sent to each producer 1989 to August 31, 1990. listing the tonnes marketed during Average returns for 1989-90 soy- the 1989 crop year. Producers will beans of $243.24 per tonne ($6.62 have to verify the number of tonnes per bushel) were short of the sup- marketed and return the letter to the port price of $259.59 ($7.06 1/2). Stabilization Board to receive their. The support price for soybeans payments• was set under the Agricultural Sta- An announcement is expected bilization Act at 90 percent of the soon regarding a final payment to pervious five year average market about 6 cents per bushel under the prices, adjusted for changes in cash Provincial stabilization plan for production costs. producers with soybeans enrolled Producer marketing information during the 1989 crop year. Field sprayer workshop shop CLINTON - Looking to under- and components, sprayer,catibra- stand and improve the performance tion and performance, weather ef- of your field sprayer? The Ontario fects on spray and calculating ap- Ministry of Agriculture and Food plication rates. The workshop will is hosting three workshops in Hu- provide hands on training for par- rot) County during the month of ticipants with an opportunity to March on Sprayer rformance and test several of their own nozzles Calibration. Workshop dates are: Friday, March 8 - Centralia Col- Tue-sday, March 19 - Belgravc "may, Manch 20 - Vanastra A I workshop are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $26.75 per participant. Topics covered in the workshop include sprayer nozzles Improving your sprayer's perfor- mance can help you minimize your herbicide cost and the chances of i geeing good weed control. To register for a workshop, con- tact the Ontario Ministry of Agri- culture and Food office in Clinton. 1 Registration is limited to 15 par- ticipants in each workshop. izauon dedicated to studies promo[ fCanadiarvp habitats &..ihetir TTAWA-A 1 announced today that the potato vr- nadian potatoes across the bord rus PVY is under control. The which were initially put in place a department will be continuing tech- ter the discovery of a potato v nical discussions with the United originating from Prince Edward Is - States Department of Agriculture land. (USDA) next week to present a The U.S. ruling to ease the re - comprehensive eradication plan. strictions was made following con - Departmental officials indicate( cultations wiu. officials from the that the infected areas have bee anadian federal and provincial clearly identified and the spread of governments in Charlottetown on the virus has been confined, ensur- February 12-14 and in Washington ing the successful eradication of the on February 19. disease. Requirements for the do- The ban on New Brunswick seed mestic movement of potatoes will potatoes was significantly adjusted be developed corresponding to to allow the movement of the vast those presented by the USDA, for majority of seed potato shipments. implementation on February 25. Restrictions were also eased for po- This week, the U.S. eased the re- tatoes from all other provinces. , The department feels that, from a technical standpoint, the severe restrictions still in place for Prince Edward Island seed pota- toes could have been further re- laxed. However, the stringent ac- tion by the USDA is consistent with their legislation. Agriculture Canada say they will continue to use its best ef- forts to remove these barriers and to restore normal trade patterns. gncu Lure Cama* strictions on the movement of Ca- er, in prints was Teeswater Agricultu- ral Society. Exeter won a fourth in the newest class at the fair in slides and a second in a print of organiza- tion display or competition. District 2 won the Best Loaf of Whole Wheat Bread Competition. Lori Miller, Queen of Exeter Ag- ricultural Society was one of the 114 competitors for the Miss CNE who actively were involved and participated in the training program for the competition in August. The craft room was tastefully ar- ranged with exhibits from all fairs across Ontario to give ideas for prize lists. One was the Focus on Apples display by Crediton Wom- en's Institute that was exhibited at both Exeter and Zurich Fairs. Other workshops attended were working smarter not harder, how others see our fairs, using the me- dia effectively, GST information, attracting new volunteers, educa- tional approach to livestock shows, etc. Agnculttire in the classroom at the fair was convened by Dolores Shapton. Those attending from Exeter were Lori Miller, Wayne Shapton, Allan Renning, Mike Ryan, Linda and Steve Johns, Dolores and Bruce Shapton. Hensall: Donna and Ross Corbeu, Betty McGregor, Betty Simmons and Queen Jennifer Dalrymple. Zurich: Margaret Deichert and Queen Leanne Jef- frey. Kirkton: Betty Weston, Doris Denham. Attention Farmers CORN METER TESTING Special includes cleaning, testing, lubrication Parts and repairs extra 95 per metre 9 HYDE BROTHERS FARM EQUIPMENT LTD. 81 Wellington St. Hensall 262-2605 Vit?. Course Summary/Details f- Course Number: 9091110 irus Course Name: Sprayer Techniques Course Dates: Friday, March 8 Course Time: 9 a.m. - Noon 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Course Location (s): Centralia College - Grey Hall Wilkinson heads OFA OTTAWA - Jack Wilkinson, first vice president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), was elected second vice president of the Canadian Federation of Ag- riculture (CFA) in Ottawa Thurs- day. "I view this as a great opportu- nity to put forward the issues of the farmers of Canada before the federal government and the peo- ple of Canada. Many provincial and national farm leaders have participated in the federal govern- ments' policy review over the last year. Where consensus has been generated it is now our responsi- bility as national farm leaders to turn consensus into federal gov- ernment policy," he said. Wilkinson, who has been in- volved in farm politics since 1979, has never been afraid to speak out on behalf of the needs of farmers from all sectors of the industry, say the OFA. "The time clock is ticking down on many farms in Canada," he said. "Action must be speedy and decisive if we're going to keep our farmers in business. It is the role of farm leaders to turn pessi- mism and uncertainty into oppor- tunity as the national and provin- cial farm organizations work aggressively together t0 rebuild a vibrant agricultural sector so vital to the Canadian economy and the Canadian consumers." A former pilot with the Canadi- an Forces, Wilkinson has served n every province in Canada and has an indcpth understanding of the national perspective. Jack Wilkinson and hi. wife Ju - ie, along with their five 'Wren, operate a family farm in Ontario. } Elimville 4-H ELIMVILLE - On February 27, the Elimville Exploring 4-H club held their first meeting at Elimville United Church. After getting to know each other we played a couple of games and made a house from marshmallows using one hand. Starr Hovius was elected presi- dent, Rachel Weverick was elected vice-president and Tracy Taylor was elected secretary. We learned the 4-H pledge. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. at Elimville church and we will be cooking and sewing. Nancy Smith is the leader and the members of the club are Starr Hovi- us, Rachel Weverick, Tracy Taylor, Elizabeth Kerslake, Trevor Skin- ner, Marcy Swance and Elaine Jacques. Any new beginner mem- bers arc welcome. An Farmers are invited to GRIP Information Meeting Tues., March 12 8 p.m. at Central Huron Secondary School cafeteria, Clinton Bring a pad and crop Intentions. Agents will be present. Spon- • sored by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture Building Brief Course Outline; This one day seminar will discuss and allow for hands on train- ing. Topics covered will include: 1) Sprayer Performance 2) Sprayer Components 3) Sprayer Nozzles 4) Sprayer Calibration 6) Sprayer Operation 7) Calculating Application Rate 5) Weather Effects on Spray 8) Appendex - Pesticide Maximum Number of Registrants: 15 Management or and Minimum Number of Registrants: 6 Storage Information Course Instructor (s): H. Spieser and Group Registration fee: $25.00 + G.S.T. (7%) - $26.75/ participant O.M.A.F. Contact; Mr. Tom Hartman 519-228-6691 COURSE MANUAL AND LUNCH PROVIDED Ministry of Agriculture Ontario and Food CENTRALIA COLLEGE Announcement Brian Falconer Division of Parrish d Heimbecker Limited Cook's Division of Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Falconer to the position of Agri -Sales Representative at the Kirkton Branch. Brian is a graduate of Centralia College of Agricultural Technol- ogy and his background in- cludes several years experi- ence in agri-sales. This appointment reflects Cook's continued commitment to serving the needs of our cus- tomers in our trading area. Drop by our Kirkton Branch to meet our new team momber and discuss your agricultural needs. Kirkton 229-8986 "Whom you can trade with confidence."