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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-08-31, Page 23Over 100 attend Centralia conference Times -Advocate, August 31, 1983 Page 23 Learn how to establish credit; marriage contract About 100 rural women who attended the third annual Directions conference, spon- sored by Centralia College of Agricultural Technology were challenged to learn and work together. Hilde Morden, of Rodney, longtime Women's Institute activist and member of Women for the Support of Agriculture, opening speaker at the Aug. 28 and 27 con- ference asked "what are you telling yourself?" "So you got the vote? What are you doing with the respon- sibility? So you married a farmer? Look at the role ex- pectations and how to cope with farm lifestyles.. So you RURAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE — Connie Thompson, RR 2 Ailsa Craig, registers with Isobel McDonald (centre) and CCAT employee Nina Knee for the third annual rural women's conference to be held at the college. DIRECTIONS $3 — The third annual rural women's conference was held at Cen- tralia College last weekend. Shown chatting informally are coordinator Valerie Bolton, RR 1 Belgrave, keynote 'speaker Hilde Morden and program consultants Susan White, Seaforth and Brenda McIntosh, RR 4 Seaforth. Varna farmer outstanding in many fields Gordon Hill, RR 1 Varna, is the first 'to admit he is a very lucky man. No longer an ac- tive partner with son Bev in running the 3000 -acre Hill and Hill agricultural enterprise. he is in the fortunate position of having the time, energy and financial freedom to do what he wants to do. not what he has to do. "I don't do anything on the farm any more, not even find fault". Hill said with an infec- tious laugh. "Bev does a much better job of running the farm than 1 would." Now that he has turned in Hill does know the meaning of the word "work." Born at Brucefield, he has seen the wheel turn full circle since he and his bride began farming almost four decades ago. Times were tough also then, commodity prices 'low, and money scarce. Beginning young farmers faced many obstacles. and older, established farmers extended little sympathy or assistance. After three years on what seemed like a treadmill going nowhere, Hill headed for the bright lights of London. only to find the struggle was just his tractor keys. Hill is busier than ever. Ile served on the Ontario Bern Marketing Board from '67 to '699. and was elects(! again in '77. acting as chairman for three years. For the past four years he has been (he lone rural voice on the Ontario Press Council, at- tending their most .recent meeting in Kingston on .lune 111. He is an active member of the.F'ederation of Agriculture. and a member of their Agri - skills Abroad committee which encourages Canadian farmers to adapt and share their skills with their counter- parts in .Third World countries. As for hobbies. Hill and his wife Ruby have buil) up an impressive , cellar while perfecting the art of wine making An avid fisherman. Hill claims one of the best spots is tucked away right on .his own farm. "i'm so busy i wonder how I ever found time to work". Hill jokes. E DFT1P1, FEN] INVESTMENTS in leading trust companies BOOKKEEPING ART READ Chartered Accountant (5 19) 238-2388 Grand Bend, Ontario 39Woodpark Cres as intense in the city and the environment. for someone raised- in the country. less appealing. In 1948 the !tills returned to the land. Soon Ruby 's parents.' wanting to slow down. rented their 200 -acre farm at RR 1 Varna to their son-in-law and moved to town. When they offered to sell a few years later. Hill ob- tained a Junior Farmers loan as down payment. and the (fills moved into the house built by Ruby's Reid ancestors in 1860 on land they had carved out of the bush. "First you get a farmer's daughter. then you get the farm." Hill chuckled. (till recounted some of the skirmishes in his life-long bat- tle 10 improve the farmers' lot it began quite innocently with a notice in a chopping mill. announcing that a member of the Ontario Farmers UJnion- would he speaking locally. !laving heard so much about "terri- ble unions". Hill attended the meeting out of curiosity. During the ensuing debate between the OFU represen- tative and a spokesman for the F' of A. accusations and counter claims flew thick and fast. A personal investigation proved to Hill's satisfaction the truth of the Union's claims. and he jumped into the fray. forming a local branch with the late Sherlock Keys. Whatever Hill does, he does wholeheartedly. Soon another local was organized in Zurich, and more were formed in Middlesex, Lamhton and Perth counties. in 1957 Hill was elected president of the Ontario FU. Hill recalled the conflict between the_ F of A and the OFU in the sixties. A government -appointed task force brought the provincial presidents of the two organizations together to work on an agricultural marketing inquiry. "I learned Gordon Greer (provincial F of A president) didn't have horns, and he learned I wasn't a red radical," Hill said. Hill was then appointed to the Farm Products Marketing Board, but resign- ed three years later in protest over a controversy between the bean marketing board and the provincial agriculture minister. The bean board wanted to finance increased elevator capacity by a levy on all growers, and Hill wanted to see the board given agen- cy powers to develop a pool system. The board decided to go ahead and expand, using the year's profits, and was sum- marily dismissed by the agriculture minister. The farm community were enrag- ed, feeling the government should have let the farmers sort out the situation themselves. Members of the bean board used the hiatus to study market pooling. The govern- ment soon reinstated the board with an extension of powers, and Hill was elected to the bean marketing board. Hill remembers the great unrest within the farm com- munity in the late 1960s, with tractors blocking highways, and chugging en masse to Queens Park. He was part of the protest on Ottawa's Parliament Hill by Ontario dairy farmers, joined by over a thousand more who march- ed across the bridge from Quebec in support. The result was a subsidy to the dairymen. During that period Hill and Brucefield farmer Malcolm Davidson attended a con- ference on farm income call- ed by then provincial agriculture minister William Stewart. Afraid it would be "just another conference", Hill stood up at the beginning of the meeting and moved that the prepared agenda be discarded, and attention con- cetrated on ways to improve farm income. Though he was voted down, the tone had been set. Hill was one of the ap- pointees to a special commit- tee to study the problems and suggest solutiohs. The report two years later recommend- ed more use of supply management, a food supply agency involving commodity marketing boards and farm organizations, reasonable supply of farm products at reasonahle prices based on cost of production plus a reasonahle profit, and a general farm organization (financed by a levy on all farm products) to supercede the F' of A and the OFU. A long, bitter campaign for a general farmers' organiza- tion ensued, with Hill working for it with his usual vigor. The F' of A was for establishment of a new organization, the OFU. bitterly opposed. When the votes were counted, less than 50 percent had voted for the proposed GFO. The OFU went national, and Hill did not join the revamped organization. An air of gloom hung over the F of A's next convention. its fortunes were at a low ebb. A number attending the con- vention offered Hill their sup- port and help to rebuild. Hill, with no prior involvement, stood for office and was elected president of the On- tario F of A. He confesses he even had to find out where the Federation's office was. He also admits he did it without consulting his wife. Hill is very proud of the sup- port he has always received from Ruby and his children. Without their active backing, he knows he would not have been able to become so in- volved in farm -oriented but off -the -farm activities. While quietly listening to her husband's recital of his ac-• complishments, Ruby inter- rupted only once, to observe dryly that her husband "likes to be a dictator in a democracy." This elicited an appreciative laugh from the subject. The F of A had been an association of 200 farm - related organizations. During Hill's term of office the F of A was revitalized, direct membership was instituted, and the OFA now has 26,000 individual members. As Hill reviews his past, his only regret is his campaign as NDP candidate for the Mid- dlesex riding in the provincial election of 1977. "I got beat in lots of farm organization fights. That doesn't bother me. But i made a poor job of politics. i tried to be somebody I wasn't. Because i was concerned 1 might appear radical i went too far in the other direc- tion. I wasn't heing myself", Hill commented ruefully. Hill has to believe in what he is doing. and finds it (fd- ficult to give his loyalty to any organization. His loyalty is to -people. "I didn't like 'leaving the OFU, but i felt they were let- ting down the farmers of On- tario. If I felt the same about the F of A. I would leave thein", he elaborated. Turning to the present, f fill voiced his concern about the current marketing system for . white beans. He believes the only way to overcome the pro- blem of poor quality is to see that farmers who produce top quality beans are adequately rewarded. and those who deliver poor quality beans are not over -compensated. Hill predicts that overall 1983 will be a bad year: the prospect for good yields is not there. A report from seed dealers given to the bean board in June.showed the dealershave sold slightly more than half the amount of seed sold by this time the previous year. The white bean acreage reduction will be mach greater than first expected. Hill predicts normal yields for what is planted, and much better prices than 1982's. Hill maintains farmers must protect themselves from violent swings in com- nio(lity prices. and sees an important role for the newly formed corn producers association in holding crash courses to teach growers how the corn market works. Those who, like Hill, have been farming for 30 or 40 years can affirm that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Compar- ing conditions now with the way they were in. 1945. Hill said one difference is that when he began farming, one could buy a farm and meet one's obligations with it. That. is no longer possible, he remarked. He advises young farmers to tighten their belts and hang on, but fears more will be forced off the land before the weeding -out pro- cess is finished. The high debt ratio will kill them. The modern attitude to debt is the other difference. Hill's father abhorred debt, Hill learned to live with it, and his son considers it a stimulating challeige. Hill is convinced farming will continue as in the past, with family farms dominant. No matter what the future holds for farming, ybu may be sure Gordon dill has not retired from the battlefield. He is enjoying a little rest and recreation until the next issue worth fighting for looms on the horizon. EASTERN STAR PIES FOR SALE -- Joyce Lavender, Margaret Strang and Mabel Kyle show some of the pie; on sale at the Exeter Eastern Star booth at the Zurich Bean Festival, Saturday. T -A photo want to be assertive? Learn to be selective in saying yes and comfortable with saying no." Her audience saw the NFB film "Great Grandmother" which from historic photos, letters and diaries, re-creates the story of women who helped settle the prairies. "Women must learn to net- work together, respect each other's views, learn from each other and just general- ly help each other, regardless of age, interest or relation- ships. We'll only be as strong and effective for ourselves, our families, our com- munities, our country, when we are tolerant, confident and united, "Live for today, feel challenged for tomorrow, and yesterday is what provided your experience and knowledge," she said, echo- ing the conference theme "Legacy of the Past; "hallenge of the Future." A welcome from CCAT principal, Doug Jamieson, and discussion groups were other Friday evening highlights. Agriculture in schools On Saturday the rural women, from many parts of Ontario, attended their choice of workshops. From Eloise Calhoun of Bruce County's Concerned Farm Women they heard how the group moved from being upset about financial stress on the farm to developing a book and a study documenting the pro- blems. Jean Johnson of Mid- dlesex Women for the Support of Agriculture explained how the group is organizing to have agriculture taught in- telligently in the classroom. Men aren't born with good money skills, they learn them and women must too London stockbroker Sandra Burns told her workshop on Finan- cial Concerns of Women. Why bother? Money left in a savings account will not grow enough to fight inflation, she explained: "We've got to make our money work harder... we work hard for it. In dealing with financial advisors, always ask yourself "who holds the gold?" and treat them accordingly. Don't be too loyal to any advisor at your own expense. If they aren't helpful; don't use them, she said. Credit;akin Every woman, to establish a credit rating in her own name, needs a chequing sav- ings account ("deposit the family allowance cheque") in her own name. Pay some bills from it, and pay them on time. A joint account is often assumed to be the husband's, despite the fact that the wife does all the bookkeeping and signs the cheques, and the credit rating established belongs to him. Everyone needs to list all financial details (account numbers, where they are; in- vestments; mortgages; in- surance etc.) Tell your spouse the information and put a copy with your lawyer and in your safety deposit box, she suggested. A workshop on Woman and the Law with lawyer Mary Dionysakupoulos of the Bat- tered Women's Advisory Clinic in London heard that whoever gets interim custody of children when a marriage breaks up will probably keep them. "Possession is nine - tenths of the law," she said and the courts are usually reluctant to move children back and forth. Leaving a bad marriage? Don't leave the children behind, she said. A domestic contract, even for couples who have been married awhile, can be used to set out each other's respon- A HELPING HAND - - Theresa Van Wieren lends a helping hand to some of the children in the grade 3-4 class at a vacation bible school organiL.crl by Bethel Re- formed and held at the Christian Reformed. church. Both churches participated. BRIAN SANDERS, Exeter, checks scores at the Bean Festival horseshoe pitching. sibilities and rights and what happens to the family assets if there is a separation. Wills, the lawyer suggests are crucial if you want to dispose of your estate rather than having the courts do it for you. Spouses should do them separately, because they are personal. "Maybe you want to leave a litte something to your brother...". Other workshops included The Great Journey of a Life Time Challenge with Melanie McLaughlin of the Ministry of Tourism . and Recreation ; Eating Well; Being Well, with Deb Campbell of CCAT; Developing Leadership Skills with Eloise Calhoun; Time Management with Bev Brown of Rural Voice and poultry farmer, Brenda McIntosh; Community Development with Beth Slumskie and Carolyn McDuff of Concerned Farm, Women and Relieving Stress with Sabina Hubsher, a London therapist. Exercise breaks to music were conducted by fitness in- structor Drusilla Leitch of Seaforth, who teaches classes at Vanastra for all ages and in Seaforth for senior citizens. The conference was co- ordinated by Valerie Bolton of the Huron County group, Women Today. MEAL SELLERS — Arnold Merner and Leroy Thiel sell meal tickets during Saturday's Bean Festival in Zurich. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and. Food huron farm and home news In a recent experiment. 48 Holstein cows were divided into three groups during the dry period. Group 1 received corn silage free choice. Group II received hay crop silage free choice and 20 pounds of corn silage. Group III receiv- ed grass hay free choice and 20 pounds of corn silage. Seven cows ( 43.7%) of displaced abomasums occur- red near calving (befere and after). All seven were in the group fed corn silage as the only forage. Other disorders associated with the displacements were retained placentas, ketosis. metritis, metablic upsets and uterine infections: Corn silage fed cows also had more cases of milk fever than the other cows. Only 10% of the cows fed hay free choice had ketosis, while more than 50% of the cows in the other groups developed ketosis. Dr. E.L. Rotnmel Farm Management Specialist Perth County Choose bin dimensions carefully Do you consider operating costs when deciding on the size of a new bin'? Many farmers are installing full - floor aeration systems in their bins. They are finding it pays to be able to aerate at higher rates and remove moisture from stored crops instead of just condition the crop with low-level aearation. But how many people look at the difference between wide. short bins and tall bins? It takes less power to force air through a shallow depth of grain than a deep depth. Let's look at some numbers: A University of Il- linois engineer, W. Peterson, calculated the differences between two 10,000 bushel bins. One was 30 feet in diameter and 171 feet deep. The other hada diameter of 36 feet and a depth of 1212 feet. To move 112 cubic feet of air per minute per bushel the deep bin needed a 20 horsepower fan. The shallow bin needed a 13 horse -power fan to move the same amount of air. The total cost of bin and fan worked out to about 3c more per bushel of capacity for the shallow bin setup. However, the energy cost to dry corn at 23 percent moisture was about 3t less for the shallow bin setup. In other words, because of energy savings, the extra in- itial costs of the shallow bin Setup can be paid off in one ' year. You may not intend to dry 23 percent moisture corn, but this example points out the merits of at least looking at the alternatives when selecting. a bin. Ron Fleming Agricultural Engineer 1. 20% Off any drycleaning or 2. 3 similar articles for the price of 2 (example 3 suits drycleaned for the price of 2) Offer good until Sept. 15 IMAGE A Division of Grand Bend Cleaners CALL TOLL FREF 1-800-265-7050 BRANCHES: Exeter Mitchell Stroihroy Grand Bend 235-0360 348-9422 245-4991 238-8481