Loading...
Times Advocate, 1984-09-26, Page 15Po ! e 14 Times -Advocate, September 26, 1984 A COMMON SIGHT Stuart Boyce, Brucefield, checks the flow of his white beans into the elevator at the Hensail Co -Op. Farmers sufforing from Canada's farmers are ex- periencing lower asset and equity levels and more debt in 1984 than they did in 1981. These are the preliminary results from a survey by Farm Credit Corporation Canada (FCC). The survey indicated that the total assets controlled by Canadian farmers amount to about $116.3 billion. This represents a decline of about $1.2 billion from the level recorded in FCC's first farm survey in 1981. The latest survey shows that 12 percent of the total capital consists of current assets, which are made up largely of market in- ventories of crops and I iveStock. Intermediate-term assets, which consist mostly of farm machinery, make up 26 percent of total assets. Long-term assets such as farm land and buildings make up 62 percent of the total farm capital. The average equity Cana- dian farmers hold in their enterprises declined from the 1981 level of 85 percent to 82 percent. This equity position is still stong. However, a high equity position may be necessary in agriculture because the low and variable t GET STEPHEN CRESTS — Stephen reeve Allan Wolper presents township crests to ODC officials Ross Waddell and Kaye MacMillan at a reception for Waddell at Huron Park, Thursday. Time to wi nterp roof home for your savings not dry out or crack) are recommended. and weatherstripping for doors and windows should be rugg- ed enough to stand up to open- ing and closing. While you are buying the materials, you might want to ask the store staff for tips oh both selecting and installing the materials. The basement is a good place to start. The sill area - where the house sits on top of the basement wall - deserves special attention- Plumbing vents and electrical boxes which penetrate the air/vapour barrier should he caulked and sealed to the barrier. Door sweeps on exterior doors - strips of pliable material to block the space between the door and the floor - close off a major heat loss area, and weatherstripping around the edges also helps. Don't forget the attic hatch, either. install a latch which pulls the hatch tight against its seal. Windows can be particular- ly drafty, especially the double -hung type. Weather- stripping. and caulking where the window frame joins the wall, can help here. Anil remember, do all your caulk- ing from the inside. ('heck too around electrical outlets and switches. and be sure to disconnect the elec- With a hint of fall in the air, homeowners should do more than just think about winter - proofing their houses. Money - and not as much as you may think - spent on draftproofing a house can cut 10 to 15 percent from heating bills. A $200 investment in high quality caulking and weatherstripping materials can pay for itself in two years, based on annual heating costs of $1,000 for an average On- tario house. To draftproof your home, first track down places where warm air leaks out of the house, or where cold winds whistle in . On a windy day, the back of your hand or a strip of tissue paper will detect air leaks around doors and windows, the top of the basement wall, milk or mail chutes, electrical outlets or switches, and from the fireplace. Ontario Ministry of Energy experts point out that these openings account for 30 to 40 - percent of the heat Toss in the average home. Uninsulated attics and basements can also be a ma- jor culprit in heat Toss. Next, visit your building supply dealer or hardware store for the materials you need. Silicone or acrylic caulking materials rwhichdo tricity before you start work- ing on them. Something to think about, especially on seldom -used outlets, are "child -proof" plastic caps. These are designed to keep curious little fingers out, but also block drafts. Many fireplaces are energy wasters, and actually suck more warm air up the chimney than they contribute to the room. if you have a fireplace, make sure the damper closes tightly when the fireplace is not in use. You might want to consider using a specially made insulated fire plug which fits snugly over the opening. These can be attrac- tive as well as practical addi- tions to the room decor. Tempered glass doors on the fireplace cut down on heat loss when the fire is burning, without spoiling the attrac- tiveness of a fire. Be sure to use special heat resistant materials around the chimney. Muffler cement makes a good seal. Before the heating season starts, have your furnace ser- viced to make sure it is clean and in efficient working order, and remember to keep the air filter clean. For more information on winterproofing your house, write to Energyscope, GMS Box 37. Queen's Park, Toron- to, Ontario, M7A 267 : fit JOIN BETA THETA Glenda Wagner has progressed from Xi Gamma Nu Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi to Beta Theta Chapter. Marion Ryder hastransferred to the Exeter Chopter from Burlington. Above president Elsie Tuckey presents roses to Marion Ryder and Glenda Wagner. 1 1 1 cash flow of farm businesses limits the ability of farmers to carry high debt loads. The decline in equity represents a $4.2 billion decrease in the total net worth of farmers from $99.8 billion to $95.6 billion between 1981 and 1984. The magnitude of this decline is significant. It is greater than the realized net farm income in any one of the last three years. The top one-third of farms, New varieties are available New, better -yielding varieties of Ontario alfalfa, winter barley and winter triticale were announced by Agriculture and Food Minister Dennis Timbrell at the International Plowing Match media preview. The three varieties are known as OAC Minto (alfalfa), OAC Acton ( winter barley) and OAC Decade (winter triticale). They were all produced by the crop science department at the University of Guelph for the ministry which financially supports the university's plant breeding program. "These new cultivars," said Timbrell, "are the latest triumphs in a very commen- dable record at the Universi- ty of Guelph, which has pro- duced some 75 new varieties of field crops over the years." OAC Minto is a medium - maturing alfalfa, with good resistance to disease. It pro- ved to be more winterhardy than the most widely -used similar variety, Iroquois. In trials where there was no winter -killing, OAC Minto yielded 4-5 percent more forage than Iroquois, but 10-20 percent more, where there was some winter damage. OAC Acton has outpaced any other Ontario variety of winter barley including its nearest rival, OAC Halton. It had a good winter survival record. Its yield was 11.4 per- cent better than OAC Halton's with good lodging resistance or standability and better disease resistance than other varieties. OAC Decade, the new winter triticale has a higher yield and earlier maturity than OAC Wintri, the only other winter triticale licensed in Canada. which are those with annual gross incomes over $79,700 produced 77.3 percent of the total farm product sales. This high income group controlled just over 59 percent of the total farm assets. High in- come farming enterprises us- ed proportionately more credit and experienced greater productivity gains than middle and low income farms. Middle income farms, which are those with annual gross sales between $26,500 and $79,700 produced about 18.2 percent of farm sales with 26.7 percent of total farm assets. Low income farms, which have incomes under $26,500, produced only 4.5 per- cent of sales with 14.1 percent of assets. The low income group is made up of beginning 14. lower asset and equity lev..1, farmers, hobby and part-time farmers, retiring farmers who retain some of their land and farmers working on marginal land. The survey shows that the average investment in a farm is $508,470. The average debt on this investment is $90,617, leaving an average equity of $417,853. Total farm debt outstan- ding is $20,73 billion. This is a 17.5 percent increase over the debt load carried by farmers in 1981. However, the change in farm debt varies widely between provinces, with, for example, Alberta experienc- ing an increase of 56 percent while farm debt outstanding in British Columbia declined by five percent. Sixty-two per- cent of the farm debt is long- term which compares to 61 percent in 1981. Since 1981 the long-term credit outstanding in Canada has increased by 19.8 percent to reach $12.8 billion. This suggests that many short- and intermediate-term loans were being refinanced with long- term credit. Farm Credit Corporation is still the major lender of long- term credit, with 39 percent of the market. The 1981 survey reported that FCC held 42.6 percent of the long-term agricultural credit market. The chartered banks are the next largest lender of long- term credit. The latest survey shows that they have a 27.4 percent share of the market. Provincial governments follow at 11.4 percent. Private individuals and credit unions each hold about another ten percent of the market. Banks provide almost 74 percent of the short-term and 60 percent of the intermediate -term agricultural credit. Credit unions, supply com- panies and private in- dividuals provide the remain- ing portion of short- and intermediate-term credit. The survey also provides data on the financial characteristics of the four major types of farm enter- prises: cash crop, dairy, beef and hog. Preliminary analysis shows that beef and hog producers experienced a significant decrease in their net worth over the last three years, reflecting the tough condi- tions in those industries. The FCC survey is based on detailed interviews with a representative sample of 6,000 farmers across the coun- try. Intended to gather up-to- date information on the finan- cial structure of Canadian agriculture, the survey is the result of collaboration bet- ween FCC, Statistics Canada, Agriculture Canada and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The complete results of the survey will be published October 1, 1984. AT SCHOOL - SHDHS teacher Lyle Little appears as the professor in the school float in Saturday's Exeter Fair parade. T -A photo CHECK TEST Carol McIntosh waits while a load of soybeans from her father's form is sampled at the Hen- sall Co -Op. Weeds not enemy to Guelph biologist For most of us, weeds are an -enemy in a war that is never finaly won, and it would CAKE SELLS Auctioneer Norm Whiting takes bids on the second prize cake held by Cathy Seip. BEST YEARLING RAM - Jayne Hendrick hands out a ribbon for best yearling ram (any other breed) to Dar- ren Faber (centre) and owner Louis Emke, Elmwood. MONSTER BINGO IN THE Hensall Community Centre Auditorium Wednesday, Oct 3 8 P.M. Jackpot: $1,000 -MUST GO MiNI EARLY BIRDS Starts at 7:45 pm -Doors open at 6:30 pm ADMISSION: 51.00 Door Prizes Bring your dabbers seem that people in their right minds would not deliberately cultivate these pestiferous plants. But gardeners, farmers and landscapers are beating a path to the Univer- sity of Guelph campus these days for an informative stroll around Professor Jack Alex's weed garden. The environmental biologist is proud of his exten- sive collection of weeds, and explains that far from being a major nuisance to be eradicated by fair means or foul, the university's weed garden is flourishing only as a result of long planning and much care. "We have always maintained a weed garden here," says Prof. Alex, "but a couple of years ago we upgraded the collection, lay- ing it out in neat beds and labelling each specimen for easy indentification. "Maintaining a weed garden is not as easy as it would at first seem. Contrary to most gardeners' ex- perience they do not grow just anywhere. In fact, the most undesireable characteristic of weeds is that they flourish best precisely where you do not want them. We have to get them where we want them in the first place, and then pre- vent them from encroaching on their neighbours," says Professor Alex. Some of the weeds are se- questered in metal cylinders sunk well into the ground to contain the spreading root systems. Others must con- stantly be trimmed back to prevent the spread of surface shoots. A poison ivy trimming operation a few weeks ago left Pro. Alex, one of Canada's leading authorities on weeds and their nasty habits, with an unwelcome crop of blisters. "i was wearing pro- per protective gloves and boots and thick jeans, and was careful to avoid contact wherever possible, but the resins must have spurted from the cuts and penetrated both my jeans and heavy shirt, and 1 have been under treatment from the doctor ever since. Poison ivy is clearly not to be fooled with." The University of Guelph weed garden is easily accessi- ble just off Gordon Street near the greenhouses. The public is welcome throughout the daylight hours, seven days a week. Whatever unidentified, unwelcome floral guest may have claimed squatters' rights in your garden, you will almost certainly find it here - and accurate identification is the prerequisite of eradica- tion. if your weed is NOT here, contact Prof. Jack Alex, he will certainly want to know about it. And beware the poison ivy - you can't miss it. FAIR MODELS — Caroline Perry and niece Sarah Perry model some Perry Originals lingerie at the Exeter Fair. Commentator Shirley Perry is at the right. OPTIMISTS winn ing WIN Optimists Tom Bowen and Art Hunking are shown with the prize float in Saturday's Exeter Fair parade. THE FRAYNE SPECIAL – Representing Frayne Chev Olds in Saturday's Exeter Fair parade were Daryl Beaver, Jason Robertson, Harlan Tinney and Allen Bloomaert.