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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-01-20, Page 14Page 14 Times -Advocate, January 20, 1993 Corn producers meeting cers gathlibld et Centbil# 1 $rI fy tOabear exert advice an*NPrr01l►1helr *WOW. r. Atgbp is the fanner NNW which -491410y.with details on how they keep their uction successful. Pro+n right are Joel of the Naerton area, Eriic VenMoerkerke of `iNf Cantt-of Clinton. Below ded 'the #rl Farmers urged not to make too many changes for 1993 crops VARNA - Farmers attending last Tuesday's annual meeting of the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association were told not to make too many changes in their cropping plans for this spring because of last year's very irregular weather. OMAF crop advisor Alan McCal- lum said, " When picking a variety to plant, don't make too many changes. If a certain variety was successful during three of the last four years, keep it up." McCallum added, " It would be a good idea to spread your risks, and timing of planting is very impor- tant. When it comes to plowing or disking, don't leave time for the soil to dry out. Doing the cultivation at night would be a good idea. Don't work more than a day ahead of planting. Don't let the seedbed dry out." He continued, " If you created a lot of ruts while trying to harvest last fall and didn't get the land plowed, levelling out the ruts with a disk would help. Take hard look at a no -till op- tionr.lt'will decree is and in- creej your char for a good crop. Yields for soy s in a no - till situation have been going up." McCallum went on to say, " If you have corn standing which has not been harvested you can roll it , chop it or knock it down with a drill bar. The answer is really by experiment and using your own logic. But, avoid plastering the corn down into the ground." To the -question of when one Swine Research Update HURON PARK - The 1993 Swine Research Update will be held in the Recreation Centre at Centralia College on Wednesday, January 27. This annual Update summarizes research and other topics of current interest to swine producers and industry personnel. Topics on this year's program in- clude "Biotech Shelter Research Results", "DNA Probe Identifica- tion of PSS Pigs," "Ontario Hy- dros Energy -Efficient Ventilation Systems Program", "Pseudorabies - Should You Be Worried?" "The Cost of Producing a Kilogram of Lean Pork," "Alternative Feed Sources", "Increasing Liner Size Through the Use of Vasectomized Boars,", "Manure Spreading Im- pact on Water Quality", plus sever- al others. A special visitor to the College this year will be Dr. Neil Shantz, from Warman, Saskatchewan. Dr. Shantz is a partner in a 4 -person Western Ontario One Foot in the_Fzpq7p Bera?aiia Dat One cannot help but wonder what makes the wheels of govern- ment turn these days. There was a time not too long ago when governments, especially Ottawa, went to the people affect- ed before implementing a policy, especially when it involved agri- culture. They talked to farm leaders. Not so these days, according to a couple of well-known chaps who have been connected with federal agriculture for many years. Bill Hamilton was a senior executive with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture for more than 20 years. He has been active in farm organizations most of his adult life and he should know whereof he speaks. And George Price has toiled on Parliament Hill for CBC for as long as I have been covering agriculture and that's almost 30 years. Both men agree that govern- ments are not consulting with farm groups as much as they did a dec- ade ago. To be more specific, both men agreements arc paying more attention to consumer advocates, food processors and even retailers than to farmers. This seems to me to be a terrible shame. It was evident some years ago that farm population was shrinking drastically. At the tum of the century almost everyone had a direct connection to the farm. Not so today. Most people do not know a Hereford from a Holstein or a corn crop from canola. Less than four percent of the en- tire population of Canada remains tied to the land and even this small proportion continues to shrink. Therefore, it follows logically that politicians -- who must get re- elected -- pay less attention to four percent than to 90 percent or even 10 percent. They go with.the flow, man. Both Iimnilton . and Price gave concrete examples but one that stands out for me was Hamilton's contention that this government has done nothing about creating a rural Canada development policy or even tried to analyze what the impact of cutting farm subsidies will have on small, rural communities. Farm groups have been asking for a rural Canada policy for years. This writer has been pounding away for 20 years about a comprehensive pro- vincial and Canadian land -use poli- cy that would at least attempt to pre- serve the best ' farm land in the country. In Ontario, for instance, the Se- well commissions draft proposals for major changes In the way plan- ning and development is handled in Ontario has been blasted eight ways Annual meeting Talking about the 1993 crop season at last Tuesday's annu al meeting of the Huron Soll and Crop Improvement Associa tion are from the left, Ridgetown College engineer Jack Under- wood -,nd former Huron ag. rep Don Pullen. -from Sunday and it is still only in draft form. The commission is suggesting that the province make it extremely diffi- cult, if not impossible, to develop urban centres in rural Ontario. Pro- tection of the environment is a key element in the Sewell proposal too. But when the proposal was sent to interested people, the clamor and the outrage was heard across Onta- rio. Farmers cannot have it both ways, mind you. They must be prepared to fight to preserve land for agriculture which means they cannot sell their land to developers. I still believe that provincial plan for stable funding, now a dead duck on the order paper, would have giv- en the three major farm organiza- tions in 'Ontario enough money to promote agriculture properly and enough money to lobby all govern- ments in a professional manner. Somebody, for heaven's sake, has to stand up and fight for green grow- ing things in the country. HURON PARK - Once again the Western Ontario Beef Feedlot Day will be held at Centralia College on Wednesday February 3. The pro- gram is designed for people interest- ed in feedlot production and the in- dustry. Topics on this year's program will include "Feeding Strategies for Ade- quate Finish", "Nutritional Survey of 1992 Corn Grain Crop", "Envi- ronmental Farm Plan," "Handle With Care" film, "Olympic Promo- tions", "Health Update" and "Mar- keting - Forward Contracting". Vari- ous company displays will also be present for review. Registration will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the program running from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fee has been set at $21.40 (520. + GST) per per- son which includes lunch, and a copy of the proceedings. For additional information or to register for the program call Central- ia College (519) 228-6691, Exten- sion 285. Save Save Save Once again we are offering our Winter Service Specials 31 Point Tractor Check up and Maintenance Special Includes: Engine, Powertrain, Hydraulic, and Electri- cal Systems. Starting as low as $200.00 Baler and Harvester Checkup Helps keep you in the field with less down time Balers and PuII Type Harvesters $175.00 • Call today for more information on additional savings (Discounts for cash and free trucking) Check out our everyday low prices on genuine Ford New Holland Parts eg. 4 DLT. battery - fits most Ford Tractors (1968-1991) $129.00 Ford Fuel Filters starting at $4.09 We deliver parts daily by U.P.S. LOGAN FORD TRACTOR .SALES LTD. Hwy. No. 8, East of Mitchell Phone 348.8487 or 348-9782 Ask for Gage • A.R. 2 St. Marys Corner of Hwys. 7 i 19 Phone 3492180 or 2841778 Ask for Mike veterinary practice, as well as the owner of a consultation practice where 95 percent of the time is spent in preventative medicine with dairy and swine production units. His topic - "Monitoring the Grow -Finish Barn" is an area of pork production which required in- creased attention' in an attempt to maintain a financially successful unit. He will also conduct a short discussion; period on various other aspects of pork production. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. with the program running from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The fee is $21.40/person ($20. plus GST), which includes coffee, lunch and a copy of the proceedings. For more information or to regis- ter call Centralia College (519) 228-6691, Ext. 285 or your local Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food W.H. MACGREGOR .- Farm Accounting Service 31s KlagEtt,Bsasall ont. (5m9) 263-3039 Income Tax Preparation for Individuals and Farmers - Electronic Filing Available - Refunds in as little as 2 weeks Electronic Transmission Service For those who prepare thea awn returns T1 Individual Tax Returns starting at $19.00 15 years a tperience should switch crops, McAllum re- plied " if you can't get corn planted by May 20 to 24 switch to soy- beans and if you arc delayed until June 1, you should go to white beans." Another speaker, Ridge -town Col- lege engineer Jack Underwood also called for little change in crop prac- tices for 1993. Underwood said, " Last year was very unusual, but don't panic and make many chang- es. This was the first year we had to use heated air for drying soybeans: Usually it's natural air for soybeans. For the last 25 years they have used natural air drying in Essex and Kent counties. Air is better than air and heat." 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