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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1973-02-15, Page 18Page 2 -Crossroads -February 15, 1973- 0 VER THE FARMGATE by Bill Itomahn CKNX Farm Director Part I One of the trends that has had a most serious effect on both farmers and urban residents is land use in this area. • To many people, this subject is far removed and couldn't interest them in the least. But for the people in Minto Township who may have a dump located on or near their k,t4. land; for the people who may see their area cut in two by a • highway; or for the people who may have ahydro ° corridor of lilt,* unequaled Proportions built near their residences, the issue of land use becomes alarmingly important. - In short, Huron, Bruce and Grey Counties are experienc- ing a growth that"most people have never witnessed or par- si ticipated in. ' This part of Ontario was first settled in the 1830's and '40s Le.• .`z: when peopte braved the frontier in hopes of exploiting the so - caned Queen's Bush. From the Period of 1840 to 1860 this area indeed did a booming business. The Great Lakes were 1.1 utilized.as a transportation facility. Timber moved to the Old city of Chicago to build the Metropolis preceding the great fire. The lakes also supported a strong fishing industry. f S. • . In short, the period up to circa 1870 saw virtually • • PhenOmeglal grOwth, By the standards Of those days this was K4 a good place to live if you wished to work hard and make .handsOme profits ,by the sweat of the brow. -Aeterditig to the information I can gather the growth :Al* I period slowed and ended by the 1900's, Census charts and his books reveal that people left the area to open the West. ti No doubt We remember our history books which showed the huge ads luring Pei:Tie to Canada's West. •'Front the period 1905 to 1915 the area lost approximately one -hall of its. reSidents, With this regression the economy .4 ":1naturally suffered duetoilack of industrial growth althoughkpzi, agriculture naturally thrived on the rich soil and basically favourable elimate.. The war years also.took their toll of the population and 'fected„ the birth rate to a:certain extent. • • - COmPoundthe movement with young people continually ',II to the ogles or Kitchener -Waterloo * London, Toronto, or a t of othr Places Where opportunity abounds. While the 65;9000f youngpeople being taken away is regrettable, no oubt there:'Asn't anyone who wants to be labelled as a terient2to,ambiticn, Ms only natural that a person starting44.. e will go Where he can fulfill his ambitions- and ,get "the in , best dealpossible" Since the area had Brat*, opportunities, • the 'a' Also,during his OM_ h other aspects of rema ed statit Land, values did' not ,appreciate as quickly • as those nearlarger centers. Wages were correspondingly lower and SYR are an many cases, for a similar position in a large enter. Many groups still have the square -dances, barn 41 meetings and "ladies please bring lunch" affairs. In short, life ' hasn't changed too much this part of the country:. :',,,shi been iea4,‘,0 yea,. since this area has seen real 7 About a generation and one-half or even two genera- Higher prices for maple syrup -operators want at and we are bound to see it. Thi i is the result of a resolution of area operators who are mem- bers of Bruce -Grey Maple Syrup Producers' Association who -ag- reed to consider a $9 a gallon minimun price for syrup this year. The group gathered for an an- nual meeting in Walkerton last week. They elected Walter Ren- wick, Clifford; -Arthur Garland, Cargill; JaMes McGillivray, Paisley; William Robinson, Owen Sound; Donald Thompson, Ches- •ley; elk(' Clarence Lernbke, Ches- ley, directors for the association. David McCallum of Teeswater will start another year as secre- tary -treasurer of the association. —Some operators said they may. have problems selling in their own areas. A Chesley district farmer said Menrronite farmers near Chesley last year sold .4YruP for $6 a gallon when the going price was $8. The associationWill ask that Mennonites hold 'to the higher price this year. Fertilizing sugar bushes may lead to higher yields of sweeter sap and more dividends for the operator the .meeting -Was told. The Ontario ministry of agricul- ture- and food has been experi- menting with fertilizer for five years and,results, While not On - elusive, are encouraging. One thousand pounds per acre . of ammonianitrate was 'broad- cast in a bush over a tour -year period. Last spring the take from the fertilized bush sh_owed 31_, per cent sartincrease and a slight increase in sweetness compared to on unfertilized patch. -- • The syrup yield Was 51. per cent higher and when annual. costs Were deducted from, the in- creased yield, the fertilized plot 'yielded about $56 more an acre. ' 'Ernest Danes, special products forester with the ministry of natural resources, said the ex- periment will be continued. He • said forest soil has better fertiliz- er retention than has other farm land. He also said trees tend to run sap' earlier: in the season, when fertilized: rsOlially, I think it a wholesome life in this area to ,o'Shart.years that my Wife.altx1 inyself, have lived in on: County we have become part of the continunity. The •.2.4e. ele6nie.inat,has been thick, long AO Viarta- , l'WoUld:stisPedt. that long time residents ;like the way 0.-fi ni I t th co mUriltY andltur e S established.While,we eeeP e '.holiday traffic, I -would doubt that we Vvant the land sliced - eaVeceofPleibylnofistrous "401's" to carry thousit of , t• -le t back and forth on king holiday weekends. There are ether land -use happening. s about us that con- ' ' "and urban,PeOple alike. ' . con- cern °PAZ:: Prt'OUsir*:iitt°0t3rTiTtit:ilgaadrthaeged.ubioeuresdisti.,.....„ Iic'tion'Of being, a possible. t now to build a 500 kv. power igl;:e re otiatiiiris ender waY•righ d there are plans v a' ' J.' ction to Seaforth. An 4* l'illeboitrI7mBarredir Bradley through some fertile country. 'Next week I Will retail' to,this subif'gt lif.!1.1.d:#11:,.... A Clifford area Operator, Wid- ter Renwick, wile has been kw- tilizing part of his forest, Said das results he experienced in the first year were not great, He said be got back only 4% eents from each $1 Spent for fertilizer. However, he said he willcontintle to kr, Mize for a couple of years, -, Many area evaporators have been converted to oil or gas,firing but Predicted price increases for" both these fuels may see a return ' to wood firing. Mr. Danes. said syrup produ; cers can sign, a 15 -year agree.; tnent with his department and the department will thenreimburse the owner up to $50, an acre for. sugar bush improvementa. ' Snowniobiles are used by some operators, to patrol their lines when the snow is deep but are Jess operation of the winter ve-' hides in a bush rips out sal) and causes other problems., ,he said, , Walter Humphreys, maple syr- up extension specialist, citej maple syrup festivals at Elmira and Belmore as the most success- ful means, of marketing and pro7, moth* syrup Other Mettas of increasing, in- come included charging visitors who come to tour the sugar bush, •selling at area fall fairs,. setting up A pancake house or holding taffy and sugaring -off parties. Mr. Humphrey said of 70 mil, lion tappable maple trees in On- tario, Only one million are bong used to produce : maple Syrup products. Yet, he said there is a demand, for much more . syrup, than is produced and this prow ince isan importer of maple syrup when it could well be, a Ma- jor exporter. . Ontario produces less than one- eighth the syrup': Quebec 4100S. (That province produces more than one4ialf the world's supply). One way to get greater yield per tree is to Suck the sap out, he... said. Vacuum lines ,operating under at least 15 pounds pressure appreciably " increase „the sugar bush yield. COURT ESTABLISHED • The Supreme CoUrt Of Canada was established in 1075.. An advisory maims was iSatWi to members of fibs Wren County Federation of Agrieullosre mooti- ng in Clinton, about * comsulting firm now doing business West- ern Ontario* The advisory said do* firm in question* *ping contracts with farmers for MO per year for up to tlwee years On * eonsultation basis. The eorieultation included, Bill Crawford, Hum County fieldmatv said, many services which are provided free by the IAgriculttire • MAN MAI1E FOOD FOR VS A Stomach Won't knaw " Have a Tree Stick areand until the year MaX icUnited Nations OntarioVIiinstry of •200 , be- foodexpert boo eaten,yeint made and rood. He Said investtga tion C0-har ya re ,ou''t 3e eating „ , from petroteturi and soon hopes to Lad not proved the firm ‘Ads crazy feud', such as 4mItatIon, eat food made from Britiob, Col honest but itwas felt the fai aim should be Ilia** aware iz.if the fact beef , Id turkey , made, urnoia pulp waste, from suybep, iety of food- '‘DasPita the Orem. revioltition, that many of the Services offered 4tuft-s made „„ puip industry we are not going to be able to pro; could be obtained freeelSeWbere, waste -and petv, and: coffee dime 00* food from the He said there was no evidence the _. ..:...... Alai Cows made in v'brating la- he told a recent meeting' of the firm was operating in Huron at . boratory flasks,. But, take heart, B.C.' Food Technologists. The the present time. . ' according to food nit Aiats„ man- ,,, green revolution is the term Harvey Davis, guest speaker at Made foods taste pretty good. coined • for J.* Plant Yield* the Meeting, commented that. it There's a welter of evidence that through research: just provedthat many firms had. e willrnsl' ugh foods in And in the laboratories of the found out over :the years that • order to survive. there is more profit in farming Say Animals Masi Go the farmer than in farming. When the world population reoebOs. 0.5 billions, animals' tritist ti otherwise half. ,the a, lean University of British Columbia, Coffee vultures are being shown in vibrating flasks. This is only part of what is hap- • peril% in the world of foodtech- . min population will starve SaY nolo$Y, . tiWted Nations food and agrieul- One thing is clear it Seems: tural organization, Officials. Based on opinions of many oath - Meats of all kinds will be orities in the food *mites' and eteeeig the first conventional nutrition, we are now living in • Consuinera often ask "Why is f0040 to disappear. That's why so what will be called the golden age breakfast bacon not leaner? Why much research is currently of food supplies. It won't last don't processors trimbff more of underway in manmade 'meat - more than another 30 years at the fat?" fibres, Already, Stick laboratory most. Enjoy it while it ktiatS,., The reason is very simple, say* products in the -making have the BY, the Year 2003 we'll ,be ac - food specialists at the Ontario 'look and taste of the reit) thing, customed to the tante of man - Food Connell, Ministry of Agri- 'Meat From Soybeans , made foods. My, my., .. culture and rood. Side bacon, for - Soy, protein is getting •itro not sure about you. ,but I better Or for worse is always ,share ofattention as the primary. don't know if 1 want to live that going to be one of the fatter Pork basis for many Of the new foods long. • 7. cuts. It is the COMblaation :of jean • commonly called meat analogs. 0.4.47.0 , and fit thatgives side 'bacon such According to a cntnell'Univer- Unique fie** and taste aPPOill.p• .sitY;s0Y Protein will account for^4 14413°TE OF THE WEEK While th fat on most cuts • ten per cent Of all domestic meat • "Jersey farmers 111 We8telil On- • .rea Citilinnied-ofr #00lirY consumption in lesst4"-ato-Stfowed-agetaiFtf4000-etm - tieing a product that's' retton- • than 15 years.And by the year bred lest August but only 192 ably lean; baconldet'e"r"nteentis'tagr7t11twele:red.t°:1ereY'b. e trimming resi°1thein;62i!ee,TieYe removing the fat.The streaksof • amemory most people." bred to and fat are interwoven in According to Dr. John demaii, men continue to expert quality to virtuallysuch• aWain that'ip impossible. bilYe• mf is .hineeindttat thnieverrTity•tfieGneueeligriniitt: itht aid :°tir oeuCniowariikheetsrda' Ain't As it proceeds through the pro- Willy mat meat and analogs will being depleted for the big buck,o duetion line 1)401 iS sarted'for a\ b,. sold right along side ' each that can be made from export- THE BELMORE 4-H Maple Syrup Club is the first of. ItS kind in Ontario. These are only a few of its members. Seat- ed, Laura Jean Conlan, RR 2, Wingham; 447.1...igAder Dave McCallum, ,RR 1, Wingham; standing, Ray Miffs, RR Wingham; Mark and Andrew:Renwick, RR 1, Clifford. The photo was, submitted.by Len MacGregor of the Department of AgricultUre and FoOd. Clinton, office, • v -good priPortion 'and distribution other in the 'supermarkets, The ing." Bob Trotter, . '1/ne Foot in 0 the lean. 41aPY packers have choice will be up to the consturie.r, the Furrow' columnist. . „two or three brand *Mies.' They and the price he or she walliteto • . 4,24.4 , .... . , . .100'411e particular brand for all, pay, .: :1 .• • '. , their : first selection •,baton Hight now, we can buy analogs .7,4P o, THE HAT ,. ...,, Helen , / another one .for their Second , in the form' of ,stealy chicken, Abell, a rural sociologist from the selection, ' arid' se. on.. : • chops and hamburgers. University of Waterloo, told the Fish protein an e anon o e - ruce „ anotherfood of al meeting,f th • the future And a contender of soy County Federation of Agriculture -,0•10,..ommaimommunimiim. , \...protein , in 'providing, •: human that urban Canadians know little J. J. liagarty ,lleurishMent, FPC (fish protein of how this,country's farm pop- - ..«„Iiialtio11-11Food ¼ 2J4 concentrate)is made tlatr Ministry of • • A' tctiithie and :•t,t‘ 7-1 ..1 ni iArttili4V 90 r t of farms have similar demands on per_ embers of the Httron,COunty :ftWellover per cern . Federation of Agriculture were held as single proprietor- sonal income, a50-50 diton of shipsthis has been the main , income may be best. As long as told recently that the priorities tit method of owning farms, and no the division is fair and reasonable - •Canadiamsooiety are wrong. doubt it will remain that way for (and not a means of evading The meeting of 70 farmers from t many years to come. it is accthroughout the county heard Many to the tax ., Many. -farmers at age 50 to 70 authorities. In this Situation the HarVey Davis of Dobbin*, are tOoldrig forward to retire- farm is really providing labor in- .. reeve of Eldersley Township, - rnent, and quite a few would like come only. There is nothing left quote from an article in The To to transfer their farms to one or for interest on inirestment. There ronto Daily Star whith showed • , 7 • ,• • .• "*":. ".::04•4*% :69klitat•gX .• • ismer 'tensing to Ont. cabinet In a brief prepared for presen- tation .0 the provincial prune minister,and Cabinet, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture urges: licensing of farmers; .0 compre- hensive long term, land use plan for the province; subsidies for farm labor; equality in property assessment; and abelition of suc- CessiOn duties. The lirief states that, although farmers have experienced a record year for net income, the. average Ontario farmer received only some $4,861 for his interest on investment, family labor, and management. A lower income than might be achieved by the same capital inveatment in Can- ada Savings Bonds. City Garbage It asks that Toronto solve its garbage problem without re- course to diSposal in rural areas. "Decaying pits of garbage bring high risks of water table pollution, vermin, laod depre- elation and air polltition. Our countryside must notbecome an excuse for urban areas to post- pone needed research \and invest- ment in realistic, inoffensive dis- posal systems," the brief asserts. Rural Waste The federation reeommends creating a government -appointed beard of livestock , operators to investigate and make recom- mendations on all Odor and pollu- tion complaints made against farmers. It asks, too, for an amendment in the code of prac- tice to give fanners protection and determine space required for waste disposal per animal unit. The eost of subsidization of farm labor would be moderate, the brief states, if the savings in welfare and uneniployment in- surance payments are calcu- lated. The OFA brief recommends that the Ontario government introduce legislation to control vertical integration and prevent large corporations from enteiing farming. It asks for legislation to protect the farmer from unjust liability claims arising when snowmobilers suffer personal in- jury or damage to property while on the farmer's land. Commercial Farmer The brief defines a commercial farmer as one who owns or leases and operates land devoted to ag- ricultural products, including livestock and crops, and .as one who has a minimum gross in- come of $3,000 a year from farm- ing, the income to, be at least 50 per cent of his total income for that year.4The $3,000 minimum should be adjusted every five years according to the rise or fall In inflation. Published ev'ery Wednesday at the big, action cross-comitry section in The Listowel Banner, The Wingham Advance -Times and The Mount Forest Confederate. Wenger Bros. Limited, publishers, got 390, %Ingham-, Barry Wender, Pres. Robert O. Wenger, See.-Treas, Dick Eskerod, Editor. Display and Classified ad deadline -- Tuesday, week prior to publication date. , REPRESENTATIVES A Ontario Weekly Newspapers Assoc.,121 George- St., Oakville*114141-01$4 that when tinned apple juice is t are farmers with hired men who more sons, They wan a simple sold it costs two cents more than method, one they can under- say "the hired man receives the apple juice itielf. Mr. Davis, stand, and one that will be ac- more pay than I do." ; who is a former warden of Bruce ceptable to the tax man. Both File i' t„ CotintY, member of the Ontario Tax Statements Press Council and president of It is very difficult for a young Father and son can mutually the Bruce County Beef Improve - man to start farming on his own. agree (annually.) on the contri.. nient Association, told the group If he has to buy the land, ma- chinery, livestock' and quota he usually says "no way." Quite often father oOnis a farm that has been combinestfrom two or more 100 -acre farms with separate deeds. Father can sell to his son one of these separately deeded parcels. Father -may take back a demand note. His son may make annual payments on this note or the father may decide to forgive the note in yearly lots of $2,000 to avoid gift tax. The machinery, livestock etc. may remain for the time being in father's name. In the division of income, em- phasis is given to what is needed in preference to what is deserved. It could be argued that a father who owns most of the assets and who works full time deserves a larger share of the income than does the son who contributes mostly labor. If $10,000 or less is being divided and if both persons are maintaining households, if both • ' buhon e,ach wil make to the that- \ out of every $10 spent on capital and management of the .o 2...i foo,\ less than $4 went to the farm. If no machinery is sold farmer, die primary producer. father can continue to use He said farming was the only straight line depreciation (Part . .- business he knew of that bought XVII) and claim capital- cost. at retail prices and sold at whole allowance after division of in- sale.• - come. Mr. Davis said that cries about Both father and son will file an ' k - nigh' food costs were unjustified income tax thateraent with a total : to a certain extent because if farm statement to indicate the ., prices for form produce had risen source of their receipts. In addi- tion to claiming separate depre- at the seine rate as other prod- ucts such as. cars, the prices ciation, -both father and son .can would be far higher. claim any legitimate income -pro- to pointed out that the cost of '° ducing farm expenses personally paid. foal has not risen at the same • rate because of the tremendous This agreement may or may ' increase in the productivity of the not be considered a partnership farmer. In the last 15 years, he by some authorities. The intent is said, the efficiency of the farmer that it not be a partnership. On winding up of this agreement, it had increased 100 per cent while the efficiency of industry in -gen - is a matter of each one taking his erai had risen only 60 per cent. He own. gave an illustration from the beef A Farm Family Agreement industry where he said 20 years Form can be obtained from your ' Aga a farmer could raise 40 head local Ministry of Agriculture and' of cattle on 100 acres of land. Food office. Now by using the land to grow esolution to ask goy% for study on future power routes By Keith Roulston The first meeting between the cominittee representing farmers in the path of a proposed hydro line from Douglas Point to Sea - forth and Ontario Hydro has taken place and‘a spokesman for the farmers called the Hydro ne- gotiators "a tough bunch of hom- bres".. George Underwood, RR 1, Wingham, told the regular meet- ing of the Huron County Federa- tion of Agriculture in Clinton that the biggest problem is trying to introduce to people not directly affected by the proposed line, • what is really happening. He said therkis generalapathy about the project and sited an editorial in an area ileSwpaper which spoke of what a good public relations job Ontario Hydro had done and compared it with the bungling of Canadian Pacitic Railway in connection with the dump near Harriston. However, Mr. Underwood said, although Ontario Hydro talked about three different proposed routes for the line, only one had ever been discussed in public. There was a feeling among the negotiating committee he said, that the 940 -foot wide swath the utility proposes will not be big enough and that it Is just the be- ginning of power lines which will carve up the hest farmland in the area. He • expressed the need for greater planning. for. Ontario ee' farmer could raise the -same number of animals producing the .saMe ameurit .of meat on- only Seven acres.° . " He. said the government's cheap attempts to maintain a -cheap food policy can be easily seen through the lumber *. expert 'consultants the govern- ment payt to help farmers im- prove their efficiency. Mr, Davis said most farmers would like to be able to earn enough to pay good „wages for farm labor. He quoted statistics which showed the average wage for farm labor is $1,64 per hour compared to $4.70 for constfuc- tion and $3.28 for industry. . He also said he was disillusion- ed with regional goxternment. He said it would cost more and take away the basic deindoratic need of communication between the people and the legislators. Under the present system, he said, a person can pick up the telephone and call his councillor any tine he wants. Under regional gov- ernment, however, the alderman (or whatever he is called) would be -harder to reach. "We re e do need chan- ges," he aid("It is being shoved down oui throt because of the apathy yot; and I have display- ed," he said. He called for people to stand up and fight against the imposition of regional govern- ment. He .said it might sound corny, but men gave their lives on battlefields to preserve free- doms that are now in danger. Hydro and other bodies,to make sure poor farm land is used for Utility corridors whenever pos- sible instead' of good land and to seek Ways to use the same corri- dors for multiple uses such as new highways. He warned that People must sbecOrrie aware that not only those in the path of the line are affect- ed, but everyone. "It's our land- scape that is being used," he Said. Ile said people had to stand 'op and let Ilyttro know that "it's our landAnd we want some say in tow it iw used, tion to the ()FA that the 014',A ask the gOvernment for an indeperid. ent feasibility study 0,, the routh of the line and WI future power routeis, , Dead Animal Removal Service WANTED ,!ff• f, 0„, • d tt tap ( ,1•1 ti , It • COWS 81 HORSES (AL( ordmq to Size) All ,,ruall ovurndl., picked up 1 E of c,flarup tO yoti CAll USF HIST' \NV tAiill (11k/f. you th ‘,F.rulfp opprf c(dim 1 0)19) 887 9334 24 HOUR Si Rvicr- Brut;sels Pet Food Supphe rOcesr and betTOS` tin- adeeptable for eating' whole, , lotion lives. She saicl iUs up,to the .farole.ralteft-Nititilra,c1,1 *411'04 peOpltboTriales,the,only wayffthey Will know you are here, she said. 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