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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-08-26, Page 9FARM IIMATF Cash crop update held at y. �� .` - --t The 1992 crop update held at Centralia College Research Farm last Wednesday enabled farm- ers to be educated on new and upcoming techniques in farming. Here, a group on the plot tour watches for smoke rising out of the pores in the field in a demonstration on manure appli- cation. One Foot in the Furrow By Bob Trotter .Bashing the yanks is becoming almost as popular in this province as bashing Bourassa. (You heard the latest? I hope Bourassa becomes the Pope be- cause then we will only have to kiss his ring). I hate to be a yankee-basher but I am beginning to think this free trade deal, especially when it comes to agriculture, is a one-way street for the Amurncans. They slapped a countervailing duty on hogs being shipped to the Excited States from Canada claiming that Canada's tripartite income stabili- zation program gave Canadian farmers a trade advantage. The Canadian Pork Council fought the'isSue for three years be- cause they felt the duty was unfair. They took the dispute to the bi- nauonal disputes panel to review the U.S. Commerce Deparunent's ruling. The disputes -settling panel ruled in favor of Canada. But the U.S. Commerce Depart- ment is defying the international trade panel and is sucking to the countervailing duty, in spite of the tree trade agreement and the dis- pute -settling mechanism. 1 hate to say 1 told you so... When it comes to a buck, any Canadian will have trouble dealing with the Americans, especially the The Only Ori// On The Markel That.. •Has The No -Till Toolbar Built Into The Main Frame. No Need For Expensive Add -On Coulter Caddies •Has Up To 750# Of Down Pressure Per Coulter •Has Hydraulically Adjusted Weight Transfer To The No -Till Coulters And Openers •Is Designed For Any Field Condition - No -Till, Min -Till. Or Conventional SPEEDY 5000 SER/ES Sales &.Service Parcae (519) 2313.4934 Pax (519) 23 22 Mato Street,.f.i': United Farr Tools The Lander /n Conservshon Technology American fanner. Probably the strongest lobby m the world is the lobby by the American farmers. What other country in the world would pay so much money to so many farmers for so Horny years NOT to produce crops? Canadian farmers have put up with these countervailing duces evert though they have been re- peatedly condemned by both the bi-national disputes -settling mech- anism and by the GATT panels, too. The Americans have bullied us at border crossing points with sur- prise inspections which included costly shipping delays because trucks had to be unloaded and re- loaded. The Americans made all --.kinds-of-false claims -against -Cana- da's meat inspection standards and, even when those claims were disput- ed by their own officials, they have still refused to allow full and free access to their farm markets. When this Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1988, it was heralded as a new era for our two countries. I had grave doubts about it then espe- cially when dealing with agriculture. The history of American farmers protecting themselves against Cana- dian imports has always favored thc big boys to the south. Canada, because we arc much more complacent, have allowed much of this intimidation to go un- questioned, fighting the American inconsistencies legally instead of re- sorting to bullying tactics. 11 is interesting to mote now, though, that the Americans arc be- ing hit now with a ball of their own dung by the Mexicans. Mexican border inspectors have banned imports of live hogs from Canada and the U.S. because of con- cerns about a "mysterious" swine disease. The action, the Americans said, is "unprecedented." It ain't necessarily so. The Americans have only to look at the border to their north where they have been using the Barrie tac- tics against us. When the shoe is on the other foot, it pinches pretty hard, doesn't it? The Yanks have been do- ing the same thing to us for throe or four years but when they get the same treatment from someone else. they can't wait to cry foul. They arc going right to the lop with their prot- estations. They went to the Execu- tive Branch -- the President himself -- to go atter the Mexicans. Canadians have been battling this curtailment of trade by the yanks for years. • Times -Advocate, August 26, 1992 Pugs 9 CCAT Research Farm HURON PARK - Cash crop fanners and farm equipment deal- ers in southwestern Ontario, many discouraged by the severe damage caused to crops by frost and rain- fall, gathered at the Centralia Col- lege Research Farm last Wednes- day to talk solution. At least 210 local fanners, Onta- rio Ministry of Agriculture and Food and marketing board mem- bers spent the day obtaining an- swers to difficult production prob- lems and getting the lastest forecast on the economics of 1992 crops. Such predictions came from guest speaker Charlie Broadwell from the Ontano Bean Producers' Makcting Board who said the white bean yield of Michigan and North Dakota will compensate fpr Ontario's poorer yield. Karl Stumpf, with the corn and soybean market update, gave a more "philopsophical presentation on how to market cash crops. To rely a lot more on information such as weather and crop conditions around the world," said event co- ordinator Jim O'Toole. Stumpf reported that com and soybeans, however, are close to the bottom in terms of crop prices. A wagon tour took the partici- pants to five different stops where experts in fields spoke on innova- tive techniques, some which have not even been registered. At one stop in the plot tour, Ron Fleming and Chris Brown dis- cussed "Manure Application - Smokc Tests and Application Study" and demonstrated, using a man -hole fan to blow smoke into a four inch drainage tile, how pores in the field can allow liquid manure to leak through and damage the tiles. loin Hartman, a pest manage- ment specialist at CCAT and Wray Mason from the Agricultural Divi- sion of John Brooks Company Beef information night KIRKTON - Beef producers arc invited to attend the annual Beef information Night at the Kirkton Community Centre. The evening program will be- gin at K p.m. on Monday, Au- gust 31. Three speakers will address the audience. Kevin Grier, a writer of thc Canadian Cattle Buyer, will focus on the topic "Pricing Beef from the Meat Case to the Feedlot". "A Beef packer's Perspecuve' will be provided by Frank Vasilopou- los of Better Beef in Guelph. He will discuss the grading sys- tem, beef carcass sizes and pricing. To wrap up the pro - grim' Bruce Murray from St. Marys will have -a Motivational talk for everyone to enjoy. - This informative program is sponsored by the Huron, Mid- dlesex and Perth County Cat- tlemen's Associations. The cost is $3.00 per person, payable at the door that evening. demonstrated the lastest in band spraying equipment which uses a plastic directional shield over the spraying unit to prevent blowing of pesticides. Continual tours looked at weed control plots in field beans and soy- beans and herbicide trails on quack - grass and bindweed as well. Research has been taking place all summer and the principal objec- tive of the day was to allow the farmers and marketing board mem- bers who support the activities to come in and observe what has been taking place, said OToolc. Local farm equipment I.alrn showed harvesting and tillage equipment emphasizing new fea- tures and planters for the fall. O'Toole also added that although the program wasn't being presented at the crop update, the college's re- search for the vegetable program has been expanding this summer as well. Herbicide testing on sweet corn, peas and rutabagas as well as variety trials have been the main growth area of the college. "Those are some areas we have had good headway on this sum- mer," said O'Toole. Middlesex County Mowing =1',atiatch Sat., August 29 at the farm of Frank Vanneste, McGillivray Twp. on County Road #24, 1 1/4 miles west of #4 Hwy. Pork BBQ 5 p.m. Brinsley United Church Adults $7.00 Jack McLachlan 232-4454, Wes Hodgson 293-3073 for advance tickets more and more Canadians are getting the message... the beaUt1U\ fUe1 °i choice Oil provides 12% more BTU's than gas; 261% more BTU's than electriclty dollar for dollar. And today's con- ventional ventional oil fumaces have a steady state operating ef- ficiency of 85%, compared to 78% for the average con- ventional gas fumace.' If you update to a hi4h effi- ciency oil fired system it pays for itself in less than five years; a new high effi- ciency bumer takes less than three. But converting to gas at a cost between $2,000 and $3,400 takes from 6.5 to 11.3 years for payback. No wonder the Ontario Min- istry of Energy says, "Con- verting from oil to natural gas_isone of the least ef- fective ways to reduce ever- ny costs. As for electricity, why do you think the Ontario Hydro Lennox generating fa- cility near Kingston uses oil to create electricity? it's the most efficient way! More and mord Canadians are getting the message. Between 1985 and 1990, the Canadian Oil Associa- tion reported a 14.5 per- cent increase in oil ac- counts. Add the quiet, odor -free performance of today s oil heat equipment and it's no surprise that Canada is choosing oil... the beautiful fuel of choice. • Data supplied by thc .Sana - than Standards Association and the Canadian Gas Associa- tion. For more information about oil heat for your home or business: DAVE MOORE FUELS LTD. 315 Main St. N. Exeter 235-0853 or 1-800-265-2931 discover oil...the beautiful fuel of choice. Attention Farmers Plot Tour W.G. Thompson & Sons Hensall Branch would like to invite you to join us for a plot tour of White Beans, Soybeans, and Com. Your spouses are also invited to join us for the day if they wish and for the barbecue. Following the tour a barbecue will be served for all that are interested. Please call us at 262-2527 by August 31, for meal preparation and buses. DATE: Tuesday, September 8th TIME: Tour - 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. BBQ - 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. PLACE: W.G. Thompson & Sons Limited - I'iensall The Hensall staff would like to say thank you for your patronage •