HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1993-04-28, Page 30( 11 . 1.pia;
woiks on top of one of his brother's bams which was destroyed by fire.
WO pigs parish
SHIPKA - Amount .of damage is yet-'mtdetarmnted
following a fate which destroyed'thtee:bilosutad'Med
hundreds,of pigs in Shipluclate'Tfinrsday
The fire .ts:from • Zurich,: Dashwood and
Grand Bend -were fall _dispatched to the farm of Bill
Finkbeiner justeiffof Huron County Road 4.
"A neighbour phoned and said the barn was on fire.
We had.gone to bed," said Finkbeiner.
Monday.untsning, while smoke still rose from the
ruins;Enilcbeinersaidhe still -had no idea of what start-
ed the flre:orwhat the.actual cause was.
He said the fire .in the :three bams killed about 500
hie
pigs but he was able to save quite a few.
"We still saved 275 or 300, we're hoping they'll be
:okay," said Finkbeiner.
• Firefighters were summoned back to the farm on Fri-
day because the fire had started up again. Finkbeiner
said he was insured and will be rebuilding. The barns
were fairly new, having been built in the late 1970's
and early 1980's.
Monday morning, several neighbours _and family
members were at the Einkbeiner farm assisting with
the cleanup.
One Foot in the Furrow;
A few snide little remarks are
surfacing about the manner in
which the agricultural community
is "brainwashing" children in the
classroom.
I have heard it once or twice at
social gatherings from eggheads
who feel the classroom should be
preserved for what comes from the
education ministry and the ingenu-
ity of the teacher. They decried the
methods used by some of the mar-
keting boards, especially in Onta-
rjo.
Also, 1 have heard several farm
writers decrying the manner in
which certain farm groups spread
their propaganda in public and
high schools.
Personally, I believe .these
boards are doing an excellent job.
The material that 1 have seen
from such groups as the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture, the On-
tario Pork Producers Marketing
Board, the Canadian Caulemen's
Association, the various branche=s
of the feathers industry and even
the Ontario Farm Animal Counclil
have been not only tasteful but
truthful.
None of it has been forced on
school children. Any participation
has been by choice. 1 have three
daughters who went through the
public school system, one of
whom is tiiitl at university and will
soon become Dr. Trotter. I have
six grandchildren, five of whom
arc in the system so I am not
speaking from inexperience here.
It will be interesting, then. to see
what the Ontario Milk Marketing
Board does with its new Education
in the Classroom program. Instead
of the once -popular Dairy Princess
Program, the milk board has
scrapped this semi -sexist idea.after
37 years. 1 never felt the Dairy
Princess selection was degradieg
because the choice did not depend
on the "beauty" of the winner but
was based on her knowledge of
and ability to perform the duties of
a dairyperson along with public
speaking and personality.
Instead of selecting a princess,
the board will sponsor a representa-
tive to be known as the Ontario
Dairy Educator. She -- or he -- will
be chosen in a job interview selec-
tion process.
1 know of no other marketing
board in this country which has
been in the forefront of change like
the OMMB. When dealing with
board members and -employees in
more than 30 years of writing
about agriculture, I have found the
OMMB to be first class all tithe
way.
They .choose their peopleith
great care and the board members
are on top of the game at all times.
It .is:ibe Cadillac of marketing
bonds ion my humble opinion. i
have imported -- and criticized -
this board for most of its 25 years
of existence. Always, the praise
and the criticism has been accepted
with good grace. I did some con-
sulting for theboard some years
ago and was treated warmly but
professionally.
i think every marketing board in
this country, whether they are sup-
ply management or not couldjske
some lessons in public rets
sow
teed -the proper handling of -the
-stress from the OMMB.
• I'm sure this new venture into the
classrooms of the province will be
done quietly but firml, and in
good taste.
Not long ago I criticized the pork
board for withholding minutes of
meetings from a producer who
asked for them. I think that board
haslearned plenty in the last fee
years as well. Not long after the
snide remarks in this corner, I was
contacted with what was a reason-
able explanation.
This is what these boards should
do more often. They cannot contin-
ue to simply ignore their critics for-
ever. Public relations is a big part
of my agricultural -endeavor and
will continue to be.
TelMisorr
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Deisit sour cows on :milk produalea
GUELPH - 'Most cows are con-
tent giving milk, but one bad expe-
rience in the milking parlor can
sour them on the process -for a long
time, says University of Guelph an-
imal scientist Frank Hurnik.
Humik, who gave a report on his
work with dairy cows at a recent
symposium on robotic minting in
the Netherlands, says the success of
technological advances in milking
systems depends on the good treat-
ment of dairy cows.
"Progress in automatization and
robotization will depend on the sen-
sible integration of biological and
technical knowledge," he says. "It
is always easier to adjust newly de-
veloping animal -production tech-
nologies to the biological require-
ments of animals, rather than
animals to the technology. it is sur-
prising how often this simple rule
has been ignored,"
Hurnik says dairy-irmers should
take special measures to ensure that
milking is not traumatic flbr their
cows. "The milking parlor itself
and all aspects of the milking pro-
cess should be comfortable and
positively reinforcing."
In previous research, Humik has
found that cows acquire behavioral
characteristics through experience.
An anim`dl that has learned to asso-
ciate the milking process with an
unpleasant experience may resist
being taken to the milking parlor
and cause handling difficulties.
Conversely, if efforts arc made to
make a cow as comfortable as pos-
sible during milking, it may adapt
more readily to the process.
By understanding and using the
concept of positive reinforcement,
dairy farmers can alter their ani-
mals' behavior and develop the
skills necessary to harmonize ani-
mal behavior with new technology,
says Humik. But fanners must keep
in mind 'that the success of such
harmonization depends on "the psy-
chological and physiological pat -
dispositions of each individual ani-
mal." Simply put, some cows
naturally enjoy being milked more
than others.
He suggests several steps that
Thompson founder named
to Agriculture Hall of Fame
GUELPH - Wesley Gardiner (Tommy) Thompson, founder
of W.G. Thompson & Sons Ltd. will be inducted into the Onta-
rio Agriculture Hall of Fame at its 14th annual Unveiling Cere-
mony on June 20 at the Ontario Agriculture Museum.
Tommy Thompson, was an innovator, and some of Ontario's
',greatest crop handling techniques and mechanisms were de- ,
veloped and implemented under his watchful eye. The legacy
of Thompson's keen and fair business sense can be traced
through the two family corporations, W.G. Thompson and
Sons Limited and Hyland Farms Limited. Elected to represent i
East Kent in 1943, he became the Minister of Lands and Forests
in the Ontario Legislature.
The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, Chancellor of the Universi- `
ty of Guelph and former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario will beahe
guest speaker at the ceremony and the general public is welcome to at-
tend. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Ontario Agriculture -
Museum in Milton.
The Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame is a provincial non-prnfit.or- i
ganization created for the sole purpose of providing recognition -to
those who have made significant contributions to Ontario's agriculture.
should be taken to gear the milltNlg
roeess to the cow's weft -being.
hese include:
• using the milking parlor for no
other purpose, particularly painted
of aversive treatments;
• consistent timing in milking
routines;
• -using comfortable attd non -
aversive walkways and holding
units and well -operating milking
machines; and
• early detection of nett=frt
�
health problems that can
Milking painful for the tow.
Hurnik says it's in the best inter-
est of farmers to ensure that the
Milking process is a pleasant one
for their cattle.
Sec ad 111 next
week's issue
for details
LAWN & GARDEN
CENTRE
EXETER
u Custom applied Dual 480 Impregnation
Liw For control of your annual grasses
Bar Call your Thompson Branch
for more details
Crop Tips - -
Seeding Date and Planting Depth
or The best yields are usually obtained
from corn planted in the first half of May
because the crop is table to use the full
growing season. Early planting also results
in earlier maturity in the fall, reducing the
risk of damage from an early fall frost or
adverse weather at harvest. The optimum
planting date is around May 7 in south-
western Ontario and May 10 in central and
eastern Ontario. L$elaying planting past the
optimum date can result in yield reductions
averaging 40 kg/ha'per day of delay.
we It is advisable to start planting slightly
before the optimum date. Take advantage
of good planting conditions when they oc-
cur. The risk of a yield reduction from
planting a bit too early is less than that
from planting too late.
er Corn will germinate if the soil temperature
is over 10 degrees C, but emergence will be
very slow at soil temperatures under 15 de-
grtzss C. When planting early or in cold soil,
place the scads 2 to 3 cm deep, because the soil
will be warmest near the soil surface. Deeper
planting will result in delayed emergence and
uneven stands.
se When planting in warm soil, the sending
depth generally should be such that the Seed is
placed in moist soil. Excessively deep planting
should be avoided. Seeds planted more than 7
cm deep may have difficulty emerging, espe-
cially en line -textured or compacted soils
where crusting may be a problem.
(Re OMAF publication 296)
-Seeforth Hensel) Mitchell Ailsa Craig Granton Pt. Albert
245-2545 262-2527 343.8433 293-3223 225-2360 5,29-7501
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