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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1980-07-24, Page 13Huron form and home news Sow crossing pays dividends c How good is your sow cress breeding program? j Research has shown that a three -breed crossbred, as compared to pure breds, should give you 15 percent larger litter size at birth, 42 percent larger litter size at weaning, 58. percent larger weaning weight . per litter and an 11 percent im- proven*ent _in average daily gain. These are research figures that can be quite variable but very definite improvements. For these reasons, all pork producers should have a planned breeding program to get the maximum hybrid vigour out of their animals. Heterosis or hybrid vigour is the increased per- formance of the offspring over the parents. For example, if Yorkshire average a litter size of 10 and Landrace 10 and if you crossed the twobreeds and had a litter size of 12, then the hybrid vigour would be the extra two piglets.'It's the increase over the parents that is called hybrid vigour. Hybrid vigour is best with traits of low heritability (litter seize piglet survival, weaning weight).. Cross breeding improves these traits. Pure breeding gives you the best opportunity to improve traits with high heritability (backfat, average daily gain and feed efficiency.) How good is your cross breeding program? What do you want to improve most? If you use only two breeds in your cross breeding program, then you can only obtain 67 percent of the hybrid vigour possible. With three breeds, you will be able tar obtain 86 percent. A four breed terminal cross gives you maximum hybrid vigour but no opportunity to select BACK ADVERTISING = In a float promoting the upcoming Zurich Bean Festival, the message could be seen both coming and going. Riding the miniature motorcycle and sidecar com- bindtion were Jay Schwartzentruber and Dorothy Pember- ton. Staff photo u replacements. The biggest question is what kind of progeny will cross bred boars produce when mated to cross bred sows. The offspring will be born larger and, healthier, but aocording to hybrid seed companies, you would not save the offspring for replacement females. But with pigs, health is so im- portant that you should have a breeding program' especially designed for raising your own replacements, if possible. Richard Smelski, Swine Specialist for Huron and Perth. A bad dream that's true: • The other nightI dreamed I had agreed to help an area hog farmer with his chores. He had,left for the weekend and all I bad to do was the feeding and some cleaning. When he got back, he was quite upset. Some pig pens had 6 inches of feed on the floor. The pigs in those pens hadn't eaten half of what I gave them. More was kicked down through the slots at the back of the pen. In other pens, the pigs were squealing like you wouldn't believe. They were starving. Needless to say, the owner was quite upset. He asked me what I had done. I told him I gave every pen the same amount of feed. Ten big shovel fulls, twice a day. Then he really got upset and asked me why I did that. I told'him I thought that was the way he wanted it done. had seen his cropping program and that is the way he treated his crops. He put the same herbicide on all fields. He never checked to see what weeds, were there. He just sprayed them all the same, irregardless of the weeds. He never walked the fields in the summer time to see what weeds ecapes he had. • Thal is the part of the dream that has come true. This year I have seen too many fields 'kith bad weed escapes. These weeds just didn't suddenly appear. They have been building up for the past 2 or more years. They could have been con- trolled earlier. I am seeing triazine resistant lambs, - quarter, proso millet, velvet leaf - just to name 3 of the goodies. All can be con- trolled. Now you know I didn't dream about feeding somebody's pigs for a weekend. I have better things to dream about. I am just trying to make the point. How can you possibly pick the right herbicide com- bination for next year if you don't walk your fields' this year to see what weeds4you have? And while you are walking the field, why_ don'tyau _take a soil probe and do some soil testing too. Pat Lynch, Soils and Crops Specialist Details of sow weaner stabilization plan now final Agriculture and Food Minister Lorne C. Henderson has announced the final details of the Sow Weaner Pig Stabilization Plan which has come into ,effect retroactive to April 1, 1980. Farmers will enrol as producers for a five-year period, ending March 31, 1985. The plan will work on two six-month periods per year, ending September 30 and March 31 of each year. The minimum number of sows eligible for enrolment is four; the maximum number a producer' may enrol is 100. The commission will verify sow counts by making spot , checks on randomly chosen farms. As in other stabilization plans, the government will pay two-thirds. For a sow weaner plan, however, the commishion will pay most of the farmers' fees in advance and recover them when hog prices improve. Payments Will be based on such prices of market hogs, but paid on sows. Additional details on such items as eligiblity of part- nerships and method of registering sows will be covered in a brochure to be mailed early in August, together with application forms, to all producers registered with the Ontario Pork Producers' Marketing Board. Brochures and ap- plication forms will also be available from the griculture Office, Clinton. Don Pullen Agricultural Representative If you're a poor bridge player everyone hates you and never asks you back; But if you're a poor poker player and 'lose a lot of money then everyone loves you and you always get asked back. THE STAGES OF UFE -- Giving a humorous protrayal of the stages of life in the Zurich Fair parade Saturday were Mark Clausius, Jeff Laporte, Paul Bedard, Mark Laporte, Mark Johnston and Steve Consitt. ` Staff photo Citizens News, July 24, 1980 .. a 13 PRIZE WINNING PERFORMANCE — Joanne Verlinde, RR 2 Hensall, concentrates on playing her accordion solo called "Polketta" at the Kirkton Garden Party Wednesday night. Joanne won `irst prize in the instrumental category for her performance. Staff photo Golden jubilee at English Martyrs The Jubilee Mass wa celebrated by his Excellent J.M. Sherlock Bishop o London, with Msgr. J.A Cooke and Msgr. W Bourdeau celebrating The latter, as Pastor, in troduced the Bishop and warmly welcomed him on his second visit to this church and thanked him for coming this time to help celebrate the Jubilee. His Excellency, reminded of his visit last summer, told us that two days after having returned to Grand Bend, he had fallen off a bicycle and fractured his skull. He hoped that his "pontifical array" would protect him this time. In his homily he spoke of the scripture readings for the " day which dealt specifically with our fidelity to Christ. The good Samaritan parable was directly related to the Jesuit and other missionaries who, over a century ago, carte to this area to see the religious needs of the Indians and early settlers. One par- ticular Jesuit priest at that time was a Father Moncoq who travelled to the east coast of Lake Huron from 1850 to 1854 when, on a sick call, he fell -through the ice and drowned. This was a man who truly carried the word of God "on his mind, on his lips and in his heart." Bishop Sherlock urged his listeners to remember that they are inheritors of that faith, so courageously im- planted, and their com- mitment to it must prevail in daily life carrying the word of God "on our minds, on our lips and in our hearts." The Bishop continued: "The word must become a reality because it contains all truth, life and being. The concrete form of his faith can be 'found in Our Lord Jesus Christ." His Excellency said that we have existed in Christ always and in Him is found our true being. By our faith we have made a convenant with Him for time and eternity and it is up to us to honour our commitment through concrete expression. It was because of this commitment, the Bishop added, that the missionaries came here to encourage the practice of the faith, a faith that was partially expressed by the building of churches to show that Christ is part of man's daily existence and that commitment to His Gospel love, compassion and concern towards the neigh- bour. The - speaker ended by s expressing the gratitude of y the present congregation to f the small original flock of the church of the English -Mar- . tyrs (built in 1906 by the . Methodists of Bayfield, - deeded to the Diocese of London, Nov. 20, 1929 and donated finally to it, July 13. After the celebration of the Mass, a plaque com- memorating this Golden Jubilee was unveiled and blessed. It matches the one installed fifty years ago. both are now hanging in the church vestibule. A delicious dinner in the Bayfield Community Centre followed the religious ser- vices with some 115 guests present. Seated at the head tablewereMrs. Evelyn Shea, Bishop Sherlock, Mr. Joe • Beechie, Msgr. W. Bourdeau and Msgr. J.A. Cook. Mr. Beechie was the Master of ceremonies. Mrs. Shea proposed a toast to the Queen; Reeve McFadden brought greetings from the village council and Dr.W.A. Tillmann proposed a toast to Msgr. Bourdeau who, in turn, introduced the speaker, Msgr. Cook. The speaker, who had been Pastor of the church in Bayfield from 1939 to 1945, reminisced about those years. He recalled that his family came up by train to Brucefield and continued the journey by horse and rig to Deer Park Lodge.He remembered a time when, on Judy 12, he called upon the services of the Master of the " Orange Lodge and his horse to help pull his car but of the ditch. He saw this as a first move towards church unity! He also told us of the time he rushed up to Bayfield from London only to realize he had forgotton his cassock and so improvised by pin- ning one of the altar boys* cassocks under his long Lace gown. The pins began to pop after the first genuflection and he finally walked out of the cassock while distributing communion. Msgr. Cook thanked us all for the opportunity to reminisce about his years in Bayfield which have always reminded special to him. He spoke about his pleasure at watching the congregation grow and congratulated the present Pastor on his dedicated service to the church. He is now retired 'and living in Sarnia. All those present at the banquet wish to thank the Bayfield Lioness Club for catering such a lovely din- ner.