HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-11-06, Page 13On November 12, 1991
ELECT
Wilmar
Wein
for
ill%\ COUNCILLOR
in Stephen Township
Over 25 years of Municipal experience
a Lifetime resident
® Ample time for your concerns
Fon QLJEs77701119,, CONCERNS OR A RIDE
TV THE POLL 7ZI•ONE 234-6977
Yourwuld y
obe app
Authorls8� y the CFO for Wilmer Wein
.►
in the
By Bob Trotter
It began back in the days when
banks were gloomy places. Years
ago, bankers did nothing to win f
vor in a 'community. They were
nasty old men who foreclosed on
widows and children.
I suppose they got bitten too of
ten during the Great Depression
Too many people had to renege on
their debts. My first genuine con
frontation with a banker came
about after the war when I needed a
loan to help me through school
Veterans' benefits helped but I
needed more.
The banker saw no reason to trust
a young navy veteran who wanted
to borrow enough money to buy a
ring for his sweetheart. I ended up
going to a consumer loan company
after visiting two other banks.
The next major loan came from a
trust company. For years, I saw no
reason to go to a bank after my first
discouraging attempts. Those con-
sumer loan companies were active
in all communities after the war
�they charged g7eat gobs of in -
But something happened in the
turbulent '60s. Obviously, the banks
came to the conclusion they were
losing money by not making consu-
mer loans. Legislation was changed
to allow them to get into this lucra-
tive area and they got into it with a
vengeance.
Bankers changed from being
Lobo.' No pp4Ky
crotchety old men. They became
public relations persons. Their
banks changed from being austere,
a- gloomy, foreboding places with
pin-striped assistant managers
whose faces cracked when they
smiled. Tellers emerged from their
- cages and tuned frau frowning
• men and bespectacled old women
into long-haired young men and
- charming young ladies.
Gone are the days when you
went into a bank as though you
• were entering a mausoleum in
quiet dignity. Some years ago, af-
ter the banks starting to change
their image, I actually found a
bank er who had a sense of
humor. He when 1 said I
had tried more banks than John
Dillinger. I called him once and
said I had written a cheque on my
account but could he hold it for a
day because my new money was
not dry yet.
He actually laughed. Out loud.
That's when I knew banks had fi-
nally emerged into the 20th centu-
ry.
I was a newspaperman for many
years before becoming a profes- e
sor. Reporters and editors live a sc
transient life. They move around a m
lot- We changed banks almost as c
often as we changed underwear. in
We got to know which banks had o
the most empty pens, which bank
sold candy kisses, which ones had san
NO Or Sob 7104$, VOW* NO t"""• On, N312C7
car draws and which trust compan
you could trust.
Then, when we settled down
the same place for 20 years, the
banks got restless. They started
changing bank managers and loan
officers as often as we changed un-
derwear. We met dozens of bright
young, tie -wearing assistants with
handshakes about as sincere as and
as solid as a KGB promise.
When we moved to the city al-
most three years ago, we went to
the bank closest to our home and
the manager was young enough to
be my daughter and almost as pret-
ty as my daughters. She gave us our
new money card and walked
through the money -machine proce-
dure with us personally.
Most young people take it for
granted that they can get scads of
money any time of the day or night.
But oldsters remember when bor-
rowing money was almost sinful
arid dealing with stingy, mean old
bankers was almost as bad as going
Times Advocate. NOV.__li
Agriculture Federation calls for arbitration
TORONTO - The winter of
1991-92 may well be remembered,
not for its pending cold weather,
but for the number of Ontario farm
families who lost their farms and
homes due to financial stress.
"The marketplace has not given
! adequate financial returns for farm-
ers to meet their f hal obllga-
Y tions and this y families
face losin arm," says Jack
in Wim • • t vice president on
the On : 'o
through an inquisition.
Our new bank manager wants to
be called by her first name and
ven giggles pleasantly when I de-
ribe my creative accounting
ethods. The surroundings are
heery, bright, pleasant, even invit-
g, a far cry from the dingy dumps
f the '30s.
Our manager, too, is much plea -
ter to look at.
31,
The crag show at the Exeter Legion on Sunday
Hensall's Linda Crerar. The annual short' was dozens of liispleys lucling this one by
some excellent work and pick up a few things for C Christmas.
thoseopukiras who attended could see
Soybeans, protein supplement
By Dennis Martin
CLINTON - Again, this year
there has been a lot of interest with
feeding soybeans as a protein sup-
plement to dairy cattle.
Raw beans, stored at 87 percent
dry matter, are approximately 36
pmt protein and 81 percent
TDN. Roasting results in a 6-7
percent shrink due to lost moisture
resulting in a product with 38 per-
cent protein
and 86 percent TDN.
roastingWith costs added, beans
still can be a very economical
pro-
tein source compared to most oth-
er supplements.
A second reason for considering
Amendments to beef
cattle act Jntroducecj
TORONTOslative ister said. -------- ---
amendments to the Beef Cattle From the check -off system, the
Marketing Act which would in- OCA wives a low percentage of
crease funding for the Ontario Cat- the sale price of each head of cat -
dements Association were intro- de for market development and
promotion to assist all Ontario
beef producers
duced recently by Ontario Minister
of Agriculture and Food Elmer Bu-
chanan.
"The amendments involve beef
producers and importers only, and
will in no way affect the prices to
consumers," Buchanan said.
Three amendments are proposed.
One would remove the upper limit
on licence fee "check -offs" from
the act. The other two would pre-
pare the legislative ground for a
federal -provincial agreement on a
national check -off system, and
would allow th OCA to collect lev-
ies on imports.
"With these amendments, the
OCA will be able to carry out its
work more efficlendy for die beef
industry in oux province," the min -
"Removing the upper limited on
licence fee check -offs will allow
the association to raise its fees to
beef producers without having to
obtain legislative approval. The
government will retain control of
adjustments to fees through the
regulatory process," Buchanan
added.
The other two amendments an-
ticipate changes in federal legisla-
tion which would allow designated
groups to collect levies on beef
imports. Several other countries
including the United States, Newjet
Zealand, and Australia already
have similar programs.
beans in a ration is that they can
help reduce the "energy crisis" in
early lactation, high -producing
cows. One kilogram of roasted
beans can replace 1.17 kilograms
of meal and corn in the diet. This
higher concentration of nutrients
results because part of the energy
is in the form of fat. This impacts
on the ration in two very positive
ways. With higher energy density,
the cow requires slightly less grain
and supplement, allowing the cow -
to eat slightly more forage, and
-with some energy from fat, thea
is less starch in the diet. With
more fibre and Tess starch, diets
which contain soybeans usually
result in a higher butterfat test in
early lactation. With more energy
available, many cows also respond
with a slight increase in milk pro-
duction.
There is, however, a defmite
possibility of overfeeding unpro-
tected fat, especially in the form of
vegetable oils. Feeding excess un-
protected fat can cause potential
problems with rumen metabolism.
In summary, full fat soybeans
are an economical source of pro-
tein for dairy cattle. Higher than
recommended feeding levels, es-
pecially combined with low fibre
diets, can result in serious fat test
depression. Roasting, extruding or
sploding" the beans increases
their palatability, descreases pro-
tein degradabilaity and is recom-
mended for early lactation diets.
ture (OFA). "Twenty-five percent
of Canadian farmer's (50,000) are
technically insolvent or in severe
economic stress."
Farmers' only sustainable option
is restructuring through the Fanm
Debt Review Board, but Wilkinson
has grave reservations about the
board's ability or willingness to
work towards its mandate of keep-
ing fanners on the f
Of the $460 million•
federal re-
structuring fund established in
1986, only $143 million has actual-
ly been used for this purpose.
"Not only am I concerned about
the scarcity of dollars spent to keep
farmers in operation, but the fact
that $59 million of that fund went
to the Farm Credit Corporation
(IAC) in concessions to take back
farms that are then rented to the
original owners is nothing short of
a scam," said Wilkinson. "The in-
tent of the review boards is to help
farm families survive, not to bail
out FCC."
While the Farm Debt Review
Board claims an 85 percent success
rate, it refers only to "arrange-
ments" and not figures are available
to determine how many of these
SUCCUMBS are true reSITUCtilleS
where farmers continue to own the
land with ongoing viable farm op-
erations. Of the 2,454 Ontario ap-
plications to the board since its in-
ception in 1986 to June 1991, FCC
represented 70 percent and docu-
ments that only 397 (23.2 percent)
of its applications were genuine
restructures.
Wilkinson says the numbers
prove that, for many farmers, the
farm debt review system is not
working.
"We don't want those boards to
be processing plants to get farmers
out of fanning. Surely their pri-
mary role is to help fanners be-
come productive citizens again."
"No other sector of society in
this country is denied the right to
addle Club award winners
EXETER - The annual banquet
and awards night for The Exeter
Saddle Club was held on Saturday,
October 26, 1991.
The winner of the raffle for a
$950 hand-crafted rocking horse
was Bonnie McNutt of Exeter.
The 1991 award winners are as
follows:
Showmanship - Adult Youth -
Connie Bull, Carrie Simpson; Open
Trail - Carol Lindsay; Western Rid-
ing - Carol Lindsay; Barrels - Sr. -
Connie Bull; Western Pleasure - Jr.
- Nancy Costello; Flag - Sr. - Larry
Forest; Flag - Jr. A - Andrew Gei-
ger; Command - Carrie Simpson;
Keyhole - Sr. - Connie Bull; Key-
hole - Jr. A - Andrew Geiger, Pole -
bending - Sr. - Julie Forest; Pole -
bending - Jr. A - Andrew Geiger;
Horsemanship - Adult - Connie
Bull; Horsemanship - Youth - Jody
Ground
water
quality
survey
CLINTON - Agriculture Canada
will be conducting a ground water
quality survey of 1,500 wells
across Ontario this fall. The pur-
pose of the project is to test the
quality and safety of drinking water
for farm families and to determine
what effect farming may have on
the water quality.
The Ontario Soil and Crop Im-
provement Association has agreed
to conduct the survey for Agricul-
ture Canada. In Huron County, are-
as of the county to be sampled
have been decided, and most areas
of the county to be sampled have
been decided, and most landowners
participating in the study have been
contacted. Water samples will be
tested for bacteria, nitrates and may
also be tested for pesticides Results
from individual water tests will be
kept confidential with the co-
operator.
For further information on this
project contact the OMAF office in
Clinton.
_FiveLrece ive
Rural
Leadership
Award
AUBURN - Five members of
Huron County received the
"Rural Leadership Award" at
the Agri -Food Week dinner
hosted by the Junior Famers on
October 7.
The awards are honours for
one's dedication, leadership and
contributive efforts to agricul-
ture and the rural community in
the county of Huron.
The winners were Kathy
Bridge from Brussels, Cliff
Hicks from Centralia, Aleda
Murray from Clifford, Robert
Traut from St. Marys' and Lio-
nel Wilder from Zurich.
Ilhman; Down & Back - Sr. - Julie
Forest; Down & Back - Jr. A - An-
drew Geiger, Texas Speed & Com-
bination`- Andrew Geiger; English
Pleasure - Jody Illman; English
Hunter Under Saddle - Jody Illman.
Awards to all Junior B exhibitors:
Dusty McMullen, Shawn Forest,
Ashley Bull.
Most Improved Rider for 1991
was Frank McKenzie.
Overall Point Awards: - Sr..Per-
formance Horse - "2M Gypsie
Eyes", Carol Lindsay; Jr. A Perfor-
mance Horse - "Good Neighbour
Sam" - Jody lllman; Sr. Games
Horse - "Aceaway Champ" - Julie
Forest; Jr. A Games Horse - "Final
Cheque" - Andrew Geiger.
representation aid. For farmers to
be excluded from this basic princi-
ple of democracy is not only intol-
erable, but a travesty of justice,"
said Wilkinson.
As a result, expediency of the
farm debt review process is heavi-
ly weighted on the side of the farm
financial institutions "and that is
unacceptable. The time has come
for both the federal and provincial
governments to access their option
for court imposed arbitration when
mediation fails. That may be the
only viable solution," Wilkinson
said
"We need to ensure that those
who deserve justice receive it and
whenever possible, that farm fami-
lies remain at the occupation they
are best suited and trained for --
producing food."
Re -Elect
David
Urlin
Exeter Town Council
RE-ELECT
CARRY G. BAKER
Deputy Reeve - Stephen township
Residence: Lifelong resident of Stephen Township
Municipal Experience: Township Councillor for 3 years 1985 -
1988.
Deputy Reeve/County Councillor for 3 years 1988 - present.
Council representative on several local boards
County Planning and Development Committee and Severance
Board 1988 - present. Chairman for past year.
Executive Committee for County Council
Community Involvement: Soil and Crop Improvement Associa-
tion - Huron County
Ontario Federation of Agriculture - Huron County
Education: Engineering, University of Waterloo
Several Business Management Courses and Workshops at Cen-
tralia College of Agricultural Technology.
Caner & Workshop: Family farm of about 800 acres, cash crop
Goals: Reasonable tax rate, Equitable land use policies, Envi-
ronmental responsibility for our future.
Authorized by C.F.O. for Gerry Baker
VOTERS OF STEPHEN
TOWNSHIP
Re-elect Yvonne (Bonnie) Slaght
for 2nd term as
Board of Education Trustee
November 12, 1991
1. Maintaining or bettering our quality of education in Huron
County.
2. The escalating tax burden on local ratepayers for education
and other sodal services.
3. Better communication to parents and ratepayers on policy
changes and allocation of funds.
4. The declining share of Provincial Grants
Authorized by C.F.O. tor Bonnie Sieght