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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1996-02-21, Page 114-11 will survive proposed cut to OMAFRA HURON COUNTY - Despite concern expressed by 4-H repre- sentatives regarding a proposed 35 pet cent cut to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Af- fairs, Huron County 4-H will sur- vive by making cost-cutting chang- es. "We've got to kind of look at the whole program and see...what we can do without and still make (it) work," said Paul Coultes, president of the 4-H Huron County Leaders' Association. He said the organization will be- come self-reliant in its clerical and administration aspects. While OMAFRA has acted as a general manager for Huron County 4-H, a total of 1,000 hours of labor has been contributed each year and this came as a surprise to 4-H repre- sentatives. It costs the ministry S27,000 a year to implement the program. "We can probably do it a lot cheaper than OMAFRA can," said Coutles, adding county leaders and members of the leader association are prepared to devote additional hours to the group. Huron County 4-H raises $1,400 each year through Friends of 4-H, a fundraiser that consists of dona- tions from individuals. For the past two years, the organization has also raised money by collecting used batteries for a battery drive. Ac- cording to Coultes, the program will now organize additional fund- raising activities. Plans are already underway for the group to produce its own re- organized newsletter, perhaps with the help of a co-op student. OMA - FRA will continue to create the newsletter until the end of March. . "I think we can get through this," said Coutles. "It's the transition that will be the biggest thing:" But Coutles said OMAFRA will help with the changes by giving ad- vice as it gradually eliminates its clerical responsibilities during the next year. As well as making its facilities available to 4-H, the ministry will continue to maintain records and lists of entry names for competi- tions. Huron County 4-H will also have to explore the possibility of either buying its own supplies such as a photocopier, or sharing with an- other group since OMAFRA is not tendering out its equipment. Other cost-saving measures in- clude making phone calls to group members rather than mailing out notices. Volunteers will organize their own Awards Day and Sea - forth Fair prize money as well. "I basically think the cuts are go- ing to go ahead...Everybody in the leadership association feels it's vi- tal to keep the program going," said Coutles. "We are possibly better off than other counties because (they) don't even have an OMAFRA of- fice." Brussels livestock sales BRUSSELS - Sales at Brussels Livestock for the week ending February 16, 1996. Fed cattle 692 Cows 274 Veal calves 267 Sheep & Goats 39 Stockers 709 All classes of cattle on Tuesday were selling on a steady trade at Brussels Livestock. On Thursday veal sold $5-8 lower with lambs selling on a strong active trade. Friday stockers sold steady. There were 509 steers on offer selling from 78.00 to 81O to the high of 95.00. Thirty-nine steers consigned by Cunningham Farms, Ltrcan averaging 1475 lbs. sold for an average of 81.65 with sale to 95.00. Thirty steers consigned by Paul Johnston, Bluevale averaging 1411 lbs. sold for an average of 83.35 with sales to 94.75. Ten steers consigned by Darren Johnson, Bluevale averaging 1410 lbs. sold for an average of 82.48 with sales to 93.75. Two steers consigned by Mark Fisher, Ayton averaging 1627 lbs. sold for an average of 83.07 with sales to 89.75. Fourteen steers consigned by Tom Dickson, Stratford averaging 1430 lbs. sold for an average of 82.95 with sales to 89.50. Thirty-four steers consigned by Mac Willits, Wingham averaging 1451 lbs. sold for an average of 81.55 with sales to 88.50. Fifty steers consigned by W.B. Pletch Co. Ltd., Rockwood averaging 1349 lbs. selling to the high of 87.75. Thirteen steers consigned by Schmidt Brook Farms Inc., Woodstock averaging 1418 lbs. sold for 80.13 with sales to 87.25. Six steers consigned by Mel Lyons. Lucknow averaging 1365 lbs. sold for an average of 82.83 with sales to 86.00. There were 143 heifers on offer selling from 78.00 to 84.00 to the high of 92.50. Four heifers consigned by Walter Lynn, Stayner averaging 1233 lbs. sold for an average of 74.72 with sales to 92.50. Three heifers consigned by Gary Potter, Clinton averaging 1128 lbs. sold for an average of 83.46 with sales to 89.00. Five heifers consigned by Fred and Clyde McClure, Walton averaging 1094 lbs. sold for an average of 82.69 with sales to 86.25. Five heifers consigned by Murray Smith, Dublin averaging 1178 lbs. sold for an average of 84.44 with sales to 85.50. Six heifers consigned by Don Campbell, Mitchell averaging 1079 lbs. sold for an average of 78.97 with sales to 84.00. Two heifers consigned by Aaron Fischer, Ayton averaging 1200 lbs. sold for an average of 81.06 with sales to 84.00. Four heifers consigned by Gary Schmidt, Hanover averaging 1270 lbs. sold for an average of 80.75 with sales to 83.00. Nine heifers consigned by Ray Sykes, Mitchell averaging 1362 lbs. sold for an average of 80.99 with sales to 82.75. One heifer consigned by Ruth McPherson, Teeswater weighing 1245 lbs. sold for 82.75. There were 274 cows on offer selling from 32.00 to 50.00 to the high of 55.50. One Char cow consigned by Joe Devereaux, Seaforth weighing 1680 lbs. sold for 55.50. Two hol. cows consigned by Murray Donaldson, Gorrie averaging 1173 lbs. sold for an average of 45.68 with sales to 54.50. Three Hol cows consigned by Datwyler Farms, Atwood averaging 1433 lbs. sold for an average of 49.83 with sales to 54.00. There were 15 bulls on offer selling from 47.50 to 55.06 with sales to 64.25. One Limo bull consigned by Ron Skelton, Collingwood weighing 1800 lbs. sold for 64.25. One Limo bull consigned by Brad Miller, Wiarton weighing 1985 lbs. sold for 62.00. There were 267 veal on offer. Hol.: 60.00 to 75.00. Beef: 70.00 to 96.00. Eleven veal consigned by Clark Fortune, Chesley averaging 710 lbs. sold for an average of 81.47 with sales to 96.00. Ten veal consigned by Vesta Creek Farms, Chesley averaging 721 lbs. sold for an average of 73.77 with sales to 91.00. Six veal consigned by Allan McKinnon, Shallow Lake averaging 666 lbs. sold for an average of 75.21 with sales to 90.00. Lambs Under 50 lbs. 50 - 79 lbs. 159.00 to 195.00 Sheep: 44.00 to 66.00 Stockers Steers: 400 - 499 lbs. 67.00 to 94.50 500 - 599 65.00 to 99.00 600 - 699 65.50 to 79.00 700 - 799 70.50 to 82.00 800 - 899 75.00 to 93.50 900 tit over 65.00 to 97.00 Heifers: 300 - 399 lbs. 63.00 to 92.00 400-499 65.00to72.00 500 - 599 61.00 to 75.25 600 - 699 ,'. 1 . to 70.00 100-799 " to 80.00 8Q0 & over 73.00 to 77.50. .4 a Times -Advocate, February 21, 1996 Page 11 Paul Coultes, president of the 4-H Huron County Leaders Association, feels the program can survive through cost cutting measures, despite proposed cuts to OMAFRA. Land Resource Science celebrates 50 years GUELPH - The Department of Land Resource Science is gearing up to celebrate 50 years of service and achievements with an open house February 7 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Richards building. At the open house, laboratory tours, demonstrations, historical displays and posters of current re- search will show visitors the devel- opment of the department from its founding in 1945 as the department of soils to today's interdiciplinary department of land resource sci- ence. Current teaching and research often combine departmental exper- tise in various aspects of atmos- pheric science, soil science, geolo- gy and resources management, says recently retired professor Ken King, who is co-ordinating the open house. "Our new graduate program in land and atmospheric science will help provide young scientists who can address complex problems re- lated to our natural resources," says King. In the early years of the depart- ment, soil survey and classification of the soil resources of Ontario were major activities. The soil sur- vey in Ontario and other provinces was a fruitful example of federal/ provincial/university co-operatic•n, adds King. Provision of soil survey information has been a valuable contribution to farmers and plan- ners and all concerned with the best use of limited resources. The department has a long history of involvement in extension and ad- visory services for agriculture. The development of soil -testing meth- ods, backed up by fertilizer field trials, provided economical returns to farmers and protection of the en- vironment. A farm planning service based on land -use capabilities was initiated in 1946 in conjunction with the Ontario Department of Ag- riculture. Geared towards soil and water conservation, detailed soil maps were prepared and recommen- dations made regarding crop rota- tions, erosion control, field rear- rangements, strip cropping and more. By 1955, 555 farms had been planned. Departmental members have tak- 1 en leadership roles in federal/ provincial programs such as PLU- ARG (Pollution from Land -Use Activities), SWEEP (Soil and Wa- ter Environmental Enhancement Program), the Land Stewardship Program and, most recently, the Green Plan. These programs have led to increasing adoption of con- setvation tillage practices, better niahagement of manure, etc,., whi8h, re 1uce the contribution of sediment and phosphorus to surface water an'd nitrates to ground water. Since 1954, an annual progress report on the department's teach- ing, research and advisory services (the 1994 report is available on the World Wide Web), has document- ed its changes and highlighted its accomplishments. A few are: * development of the Guelph per- meameter for accurate measure- ment of water -flow rates in farm drainage and irrigation systems, landfill liners and septic -system de- signs. It was named one of the 50 outstanding products or systems technologies by Agricultural Engi- neering magazine. * development of a diode laser trace -gas detector used to date in several countries to measure the emission of greenhouse gases from land and water surfaces. Develop- ers earned the Norbert Gerbier- Mumm Award from the World Me- teorological Organization in 1992. * cathode protection of mine wastes prevents environmental problems caused by acid drainage waters. Until 1945, soils projects and courses were administered by the chemistry department. References to the study and teaching of soils are found in the annual reports of OAC in the 1880s. Staff members of the chemistry department, soils division, were transferred to the "Old Hort" building (now the site of the McLaughlin Library) in 1936. This building continued to house the department expanded to include the discipline of agromete- orology in 1956 and geology in 1966 and was renamed land re- source science in 1971 to reflect its broader interests. 441 meetings combined SEAFORTH - The Hurod County 4-H Machinery Club and the Hu- ron County 4-H Sodbustetf Chub will hold a joint organizational and first meeting on Feb. 22. The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Vincent Farm Equipment, which is one mile north of Seaforth on Hnon County Rd.12. Interested youth 10 to 21 years old as of Ian. 1, 1996, are invited. For more information, contact Allan Haugh at 522-0248 or Chris Ma- loney +at 345-2023. Control farm odors By Rosi Haugh "No odour means healthier hogs, better weight gain, healthier work- ing conditions and happier neigh- bours." Those were the comments of Mi- chael Toombs of OMAFRA speak- ing to the 15 annual Centralia Swine Update on January 31 in Kirkton. In coming to that conclusion, Toombs said, "Odour control and complaints are becoming increas- ingly important to farmers with the trend toward large scale facilities. In many jurisdictions controlling odours from larger scale livestock facilitites particularly swine opera- tions seems to be the largest chal- lenge facing these facilities." He continued, "There are over 200 compounds that make up manure. It is difficult to know which ones or which interactions and under what conditions generate the odours. In Ontario there are about 500 odour complaints each year and almost half of these are swine related." Toombs recenty attended a semi- nar in the United States where ol- factometry measured odours through the use of a panel. He said under controlled conditions, panel- ists sniff odours from field samples and rate them on a linear scale for offensiveness. He said this method is expensive and time consuming with a relatively large margin of error, yet it is currently the only existing methodology for measur- ing odours. There are no olfactom- eters for livestock odours in Cana- da and only seven in the United States. They cost about $25,000 each. In the Netherlands where olfac- tometry is in use, some producers use air filters on their fan systems to try and control the problem. Chemical and biological addi- tives, masking agents and other products are commercially availa- ble for manure storages. The addi- tives are in general intended to liq- uify solids and reduce odours. Used in proper dosages and under the right conditions additives can have some impact on odours. Experiments are underway in the U.S. with an electric nose. The hu- man nose has about 10,000 sensors which are non specific but can be very sensitive to certain odours. Signals from these sensors are fed to the brain for processing, and a conclusion is made as to what has been smelled. The electric nose attempts to do the same thing with fewer sensors and a computer. Current products start at a minimum of $75,000, have 16 sensors and recognize pat- terns. The Netherlands and Ontario have perhaps the most history in the use of separation distances to prevent odour complaints. Both use similar formulae and setbacks. The U.S. experience is to legis- late two or three large setback dis- tances based on cutoff values of farm size. Prevention of odour complaints through siting is still the most effective tool. The only alternative at this time is individual permitting processes which several states have adopted. There are several technology- based efforts at reducing odours generated by livestock farms in- cluding adjusting diets, housing layout and construction techniques, and manure management. The de- sign and location of slats in finish- ing hog pens can impact on the odours generated, as does the po- rosity of the concrete used. Aera- tion and floating covers for odour control of manure storages are also being viewed. Denfield Livestock Sales The market at Denfield traded on a good demand at steady prices with over half the cattle going to Amer- ican orders. Cows sold active at fully steady prices. Veal sold steady. Stockers under pressure. Pigs active at steady prices. Norman Hodgins, Parkhill sold 30 heavy mixed steers avg. wt. 1479 lbs avg. price 81.00 and topped the sale for a steer 1390 lbs. at 95.00 pruchased by Dendekker Meats. -Don Eedy and Mark Van der Ploeg, Denfield sold20 heifers avg. wt. 1185 lbs. avg. price 84.00 sasles to 94.00 purchased by Dendekker Meats. Steve Vokes, Bothwell sold 5 head avg. wt. 1238 lbs. avg. price 86.45. Ron McEachen, Parkhill sold a cow 1620 lbs. at 52.00. Stan Lovie, Parkhill sold a bull 1625 lbs. at 62.00. 85-90 sales 95. 80-85 76-81 85-90 sales to 94.00 78-82 65-75 48-52 40-45 15-25 45-62 70-80 50-70 Choice steers Good steers Heavies Choice exotic cross heifers Heavy American type Common and medium Good cows Canners and cutters Shells Bulls Good veal Plain veal Pigs 40-60 lbs. Over 60 lbs. Sows Boars 75-90 70-80 38-43 36-38 Popular speaker returns to Huron County HURON COUNTY - Dr. Ron Hanson, University of Nebraska, will be returning to Huron County on Saturday, March 2 to present his popular workshop, "How to Thrive As A Farm Family". During his vis- it last year, he presented workshops in Brussels and Holmesville. This year, the event will be in Exeter Le- gion Hall, to allow residents in the southern area of the county to take advantage of this opportunity. The workshop begins at 10 a.m. and runs until 3:30 p.m. for a cost of $15 per person, with lunch in- cluded. Topics which will be in- cluded are. improving communica- tions among family members who farm together, avoiding and resolv- ing farm family conflicts, and im- proving relationships. Dr. Hanson is an entertaining speaker and he shares his knowl- edge obtained through is teaching, research and experiences as a farm family counsellor. He is a professor of Farm Management and Ag. Fi- nance in the Department of Agri- culture Economics at the Universi- ty of Nebraska. He has been recognized as an outstanding teach- er in the classroom and has trav- elled widely presenting workshops on relationships between farm fam- ily members working together. This event is sponsored by the Huron County Rural Health Coor- dinating Committee which is a coa- lition of farm and health represen- tatives in the county. To register for this event, please call the Huron County Health Unit at 482-3416 or 1-800-265-5184. 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