HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-06-26, Page 14Pape 14
Times -Advocate, June 26, 1991
Feeding tone - Jeny Wider watches on while a part of his flock of emus enjoys dinner. An emu is fed
and watered once or twke a day, and will only eat approximately one pound of grain the entire day.
Fertility management
Test$1.500perfmaeTherheasaretechnically not es -
for nitrogen emu will brig in$30,000-$60,000. triches, but the niclmame South Ie Wildervets 1
JPDATF
Austraflanfowi
traditional
lives oc
• by am• ide Vandeworp > a biroder�s ocyoung that k 1
ZURICH - Until is
the fall of 1988, generally sell to hobo
Jerry Wild- petting zoos and other farmers
er was an- looking for somethingdifferent, an
other On- alternative livestock," says Wilder.
tario "It is true there are no companies in
farmer Canada at this time that are buying
struggling to make ends meet with the emus, but the interest is there.
traditional livestock After three It's currently a small industry, but a
years of losing out to the hog mar- viable and profitable one. In the
ket, Wilder decided to clear out his United States, the industry is in full
barn, and make room fora flock of swing."
six-foot, 150 -pound emus. Emus were brought to North
With a current ban on all prod- America from Australia in the
ucts comingout of South Africa, 1930's, '40's, and '50's as exotic
American leather industries have stock for zoos, and much later were
needed to find other sources to ful- discovered to be the perfect provid-
fill the demand for ostrich and emu er of leather for -designer boots,
hides lost because of the import re- pug, clothing and many other ac-
strictions. Farmers from the Unit- cessories.
at e an �l sr�nized this demand In addition to the leather prod.
Emu breedinggin ucts, oil obtained from the layer of
Canada, howev- fat on the back area is currently be-
. er, is still a young and growing in- ing sold in the United States as a ,
dustry says Wilder. There current-
ly is a temporary ban on ostriches of f is now undergoing skin cream. The
and emus entering the United or�1u extensive
at om Canada, and as otesting as a muscle relaxant, a treat-
y ment far arthritis, and other medi-
there are no leather companies in cation,
this country 'which cavy a line of
emu or ostrich products. Emu moat may be the latest craze
are interested," says among the health fanatics who en-
"TheyWik"but they want numbers." joy the taste of red meat. The meat
Canadian farmers are oke cal of an emu is all red meat, and tastes
about raising this Australian, like beef, but has fewer calories
not only for the two .foremen- and hydrates and less fat than
beef. It also has less than 5 -grams
tioned reasons, but also because the of cholesterol per pound.
, prices awarded for newborn emus Besides emus Wilder also raises
is unbelievably high. Unlike a rheas, or the South American os -
cow, which will only provide one trich. The hides of these birds are
calf per year, a breeder emu will currently filling the demand for os -
lay 20 to 40 eggs. At a sale price trich leather in the United States.
0
GUELPH - Research shows that
many growers may be over-
estimating fertilizer requirements.
To reduce the risk of groundwater
contamination, soil tests should be
done every year before fertilizers
are applied, says one SWEEP (Soil
and Water Environmental Enhance-
ment Program) scientist.
"Producers should do a nitrogen
soil test in every field to determine
the nitrogen levels already present,"
says University of Guelph scientist
Gary Kachanoski. "It may not be
necessary to add any extra nitrogen
to achieve optimum- levels. You
may not oven need (1iv>- fps to
hold the nitrogen, even though they
are useful for other things."
A great deal of work is being
done on ways to reduce the amount
of supplemental nitrogen necessary
to produce crops. The research has
focused on manure management,
cover crops and nutrient conserva-
tion. But Dr. Kachanoski says that
in many cases, fanners don't know
how much nitrogen is already
present in the soil.
"The goal is to have no nitrogen
left in the fall," he says. "This.will
stop nitrogen leaching and reduce
the environmental hazard."
Kachanoski's views on nitrogen
re -
fertilizers are supported
search: he has done
examined the of year ni
exceeded 10en roman branch
pats pori million. the ,
rocanitrt lrtl► c .for 'iii�artg.
water. No erencei were ob-
for S
One of his studies
quality and quantity of water mos
cremehigh prices willlast as long
as the market for emus remains one
breeding nature.:. Wilder ex-
ts the market will switch to a
ughter market in the next five to
years. At that time, leather
ompanies will be able to produce a
of emu wear with a guaranteed
upply.
uy Ontario
ds to
it screen
ing to tile drains versus surface ti of a
runoff under no -till and moldboard s�a
tillage systems. The study shed ten
light on the interplay of tile drain-
age in conservation systems. As c
Kachanoski said, "If we simply lin
move surface runoff underground, s
have we just pushed the problem B
out of sight?"
That study was carried out on a _ a
farm that had been in no -till for
nine years. No -till resulted in more
surface runoff but signifit tinily
low soil erosion and, pliaaphorus TO
v}s
ge
Be
wAr
A guest editorial by Ka
MacDonald says it well in
March -April newsletter of
Women for the Survival of Agri
ture.
farm
'Cathryn southwesternOnw up On
Now, with her husband, Jim.
have a cow -calf enterprise
west of Kingston. Her edi
comes n; ght from the heart.
The a suffragette, Ne
"On the
McClung,
amore electricity her mem
labor-saving devices ligh
loads, women's work obsessed
them. Their hours were endless
their duties imperative. Many book
under the strain and died, and
places were filled without and
delay. Some man's sister or sis
in-law came from Ontario to to
the dead woman's place. Coun_,
cemeteries bear grim witness to the
high mortality rate in young wom-
en.
Kathryn suggests that not much
has changed over the years for farm
women. They have always la-
boured -- in the field, with live-
stock, keeping books and in other
administrative work, running er-
rands, and fading work crews, in
addition to raising children and all
the other domestic duties -- without
Pay!
These days, though, in addition to
all the other duties, many farm
women have added off -farm em-
ployment to subsidize the farm. In
many caves, this off -farm work is
absolutely essential to keep the
farm viable. Without it, many farm-
ers would be broke and bankrupt.
"I resent very much the fact that
off -farm income has: in so many
cases, become essential to keeping
the farm afloat," wrote Kathryn. "i
resent the fact that off -farm in-
come must subsidize the farm and,
in turn, the manufacturer and con-
sumer sectors of Canadian society.
If the farm wife and/or husband
work off the farm in addition to
farming, if farm children contrib-
ute labor in the form of regular
chores or seasonal work, we not
only compound the overall person -
hours -of -work but we add the ap-
palling element of un-
paid,unacknowtedged labour.
"Loomingon the horizon is a
very real threat to Canada's food
security," she wrote. "The past 25
thryn years have borne witness to a re -
the duction of over 50 percent in the
the number of family farms. There has
cul- also been a decrease in the number
of acres under cultivation. Despite
mixed these facts, fanners are actually
tart. producing larger harvests which is
they stressingboth farm families and
north- the land.
torial h input costs, combined
with Low commodity prices, have
life forced many farm families to find
oir: essential off -farm income to ob-
and fain adequate cash flow and to
temod their keep the banks at bay.
"This breakdown in the country-
; side has serious ramifications, not
e only for farmers including and,
their perhaps, especially for farm wom-
ue en, but also for those who present-
ter- ly take locally -grown food on yo-
ke eery shelves and in farmers'
markets for granted.
"If the time should come when
we cannot feed ourselves, we'll be-
come as vulnerable as any Third
World country."
I have been harping on this
theme for 25 years. I have been be-
hind any move farmers make to be-
come more viable. I have been cas-
tigated by some other farm writers-
- and by some farmers. too -- for
supporting marketing boards no
matter what direction they take.
1 have been trying to get succes-
sive provincial governments to es-
tablish statutory limits to save
farmlands instead of guidelines that
can be broken at the whim of poli-
ticians.
Only recently have 1 started writ-
ing regularly about the lot of wom-
en in agriculture.
thanKathryn ld and I MacDonald said it better
grateful t0 her,
RONTO - A new series of tal-
ion commercials launched by
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture;.
Pod Food's market devgopment
will begin next week.
se seven commercials are
of Foodland Ontario marketing
program, designed to help Ontario
f rs meet the marketing chat-
s of the '90s and to encourage
mers to buy Ontario fresh and
processed foods.
veryone is aware of the impact
e recession and free trade,
•border shopping is affecting
producers and retailers. Now
than ever, we need to reach
to Ontario consumers," said
ster Elmer Buchanan.
commercials are part of an
approach that consists of aggressive
retail merchandising and public re-
lations, as well as food services
promotion, a 'shared cost program
to assist the industry with its mar-
keting efforts, trade liaison, market
research ad advertising.
diff'
served for the different tillage sys-
leirts, No. measurable phosphorus " acme
vela -were- detected ' >lite�e lenge
m
ora se water.' . . consu
Western barley
boasts significant
increase
WINNIPEG - Growing accep-
tance of westem barley. by farmers,
feed barley users, and grain compa-
nies
accounted for an impressive
133 percent increase in volume. A
total of 1,589 contracts traded.
An 86 t increase in April
1991 flaxseed volume reflected last
years unusually low volume of
trade. Commercials and exporters
actively traded flax, with 15,132
contracts changing hands.
Carola volume jumped 23 per,
cent from last year with 675,572
contract trading.
Rye volume slipped a modest
eight percent to 2,371 contracts,
A total of 7,429 wheat contracts
were traded throughout the month,
representing a 34 percent drop in
volume.
Thunder Bay barley posted a 46
percent Toss in volume in face of a
drop in eastern Canadian consu-
mers and shippers demand. A total
of 9,823 contracts changed hands.
Compared to the same month one
year ago. oats volume slipped 73
percent to 2,155 contracts. This is
indicative of decreased export inter-
est.
VISSCHER FARMS COUNTRY MARKET
Open Mon. - Fri. 9 - 8, Sat. 9 - 6
CLOSED SUNDAYS 46,0
Now harvesting fresh broccoli11911
Also produce, baked goods,
jams, •
honey etc.
3 mllpwestrMExeter on2Hwy. 03
Pfro
"E
of th
Cross
our
more
out
Tlie
tMi
American ostrich tends to attract
the customers, explains Wilder.
Wilder encourages other area
farmers to consider emu farming as
a viable alternative to traditional
livestock: "The public awareness in
Canada is increasing, and the po-
tential for profit is good!"
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