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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-04-09, Page 12Forage Seeds Reasonably prNeed and processed to a high standard of purity and germination. Special Mixtures As In the past, we prepare mixtures to meet your own Individual requirements based on recommendations of the Ministry of Agriculture at no extra cost. PAGE 12—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, THURSDAY, APRIL 9 ,1981 • Annual Members of Parliament Dinner - Huron County Federation of Agriculture members (left to. right) John Van Beers, first vice-president; president Gerry Fortune and Merle Gunby (far right), chairman of the foreign ownership committee, chat with MPP Murray Elston of Huron -Bruce at the federation's annual members of parliament dinner held in Clinton on Saturday. (photo by Gibb) Economic ills widespread among farmers, OFA says "Economic pressures on Ontario farmers are forcing many of Ahem to find a dif- ferent wavy to earn a living", Ontario Federation of Agriculture President Ralph Barrie said, "and not just a handful of people are af- fected". This was evident April 1, when over .500 concerned farmers crowded into the Chesley Community Centre to meet with OFA executive members. They went to discuss passible solutions to the pressures, that are for- cing many of them out of business. The OFA executive presented the farmers with several possible courses of action the 25,000 member lobby group could take. After voicing their opinions and concerns, the farmers gave almost unanimous support to. a sixpoint program. Top priority was given to sspporuiee fort* of low cost, long - rim financing, as well as a replacement _ for last year's prti�vincial �,eipte,�est�,_ rate subsidy - r anal '.The faritier$ wain the prbvinciai plan to cover loans from both -banks and farm suppliers up to a maximum of $150,000. The new provincial program would be based on a graduated scale. Farmers who owned less than half of their farm would receive 100 percent of everything the. banks charged over 12 percent. Farmers with 90 to 100 percent equity would be subsidized at the rate of 20 percent on , everything charged over 12 percent. Payments would be made quarterly. The farmers also called for an -independent review agency to look at each case before banks could foreclose. In .addition, they want an improved federal stabilization program, . an. emergency rescue program for young farmers and a reduction in farm interest rates by providing tax benefits to farm lenders. There was unanimous agreement that there should be a long range financing program put in place as well. This will require more funds forFarm Credit Corporation (FC`, ante t:view-of-tbe. FCClending criteria. Barrie said . the new programs would save many STARDUST AVIATION LTD. Box 1019 Kincardine Frank Szekely AERIAL APPLICATION INSECTICIDES • HERBICIDES FUNGICIDES • SEEDING FERTILIZING (519) 396-3133 hard-pressed farmers. These proposals will be presented to the OFA Board of Directors' meeting on April 22 for ratification, he said. "Then the hard part begins — we'll begin to work for government action." Protecting the soil Conservation affects Ontario farmers in 'many aspects of agricultural production including soil — the most basic resource of all. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food in- formation branch recently produced a film, "Lands: Our Last Resource," to tell the story of the need for soil conservation. The 20 -minute, 16 min color film was produced for a general audience, although it is' aimed at primary producers. The film was written in co- operation with Dr. Charles Baldwin, Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology soil scientist, and James Arnold, ministry agricultural engineer. This ram looks at the causes of soil erosion and shows practical ,. methods of prevention. "Land: Our Last Resource" is available 'for loan to schools and groups free of charge from the Film library, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Room 38, Johnston Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario NIG2W1. Foreign land ownership doubles, HF By Rhea Hamilton While the portion of Huron County land under foreign absentee ownership has doubled in five years, the land is still being farmed. This was just one of the points revealed by the se- cond phase of the Rural Development Outreach Pro- ject (RDOP) survey for the Huron Federation of Agriculture. Rental fees range from a maximum of $95 to a verbal agreement with no money exchanged and the average parcel size is 102 acres for foreign owned, acres for non -local but Canadian own- ed and 73 acres of local owners. The majority of land is grain -corn with some acreage under other crops too diverse to mention. While thelandis,being.us-.. ed, the Huron F of A learned Thiusday night at Grey Cen- tral School in an update of the first phase of the RDOP study, that the number of acres under absentee owner- ship has increased. In a slide presentation made by Julius Mage who spearheaded the study, graphs and maps illustrated the concentration of foreign ownership purchases in the northern lakeshore area of Ashfield, Colborne, and in the inland township of Howick. In Huron county foreign owned land increased .from 4,658 acres (.61 percent) to 7,823 (1.03 percent) in 1980. While foreign owned includ- ed American interests, the figures showed that American owned land was down from 37 owners in 1975 to 24 in 1980 with the average size of the holding in 1980 be- ing 100 acres. On the other end of the scale, European based land owners increased their holdings from three in 1975 to 21 in 1980. The acreage involved is up to 8,000 from 1,815 in five years. The average land holding is 400 acres. 2,800 acres of Huron, South -Bruce farmland formerly classified as absentee foreign owned became legally owned in 1980 through resale to locals or by immigration of the owners. The study was broadened to include the four southern townships in Bruce county after reports indicated that there were several concen- trations of absentee owned land there that could be documented with the Huron report. With these additional townships the figures of foreign ownership for the area rose from 5,327 acres in the Huron -South Bruce' area to 10,674 five years later. UP -KEEP SERVICE FARM AND HOME REPAIRS *PAINTING *CARPENTRY *IMPROVEMENTS Before dour small repairs become big ones... PHONE: 482-9365 CLINTON ONT. The other classification for absentee ownership showed little or no change in trends over the past five years. Non -Ontario Canadian' owned land was scattered throughout the area. The 2,000 acres or .02 percent of the total farmland fluctuated from 850 acres in 1975 to 2,142 in 1979 and 1,982 in 1980. The third category of non - local, but living within On- tario, remained stable dur- ing the past four years. This group controls 40,000 acres or 75 percent of absentee owned farmland or slightly over 4 percent of the total farmland in the area. Dr. Mage pointed out that a continuous monitoring of land purchasing would assist in the next phase of the study. The third and final stage will,.assess.the -impact - of absentee foreign owner- ship on the rural community. The RDOP group stressed that the importance of the non -local Ontario absentee group not be overlooked. This type occurs in all the townships and has maintain- ed an acreage which is still four times the amount of farmland owned by the absentee foreign group. Tony Fuller, director of RDOP, Dr. Mage and George Stock, who worked on the study, as well as Dr. John Fitzsimmons, answered questions for the audience in small groups. Members were interested in finding out how farm prices are affected with foreign investment. Dr. Fitz- simmons intends to use a study similar to the one used in Saskatchewan some years ago with some modifica- tions. In measuring the impact of the communities the group foresees many dif- ficulties in proving just where the effects begin and stop. ' It may be far more dif- ficult to pinpoint retail dif- ficulties with foreign and absentee ownership. Further. questions or sug- gestions for the third phase can be directed to Louise Marritt, field co-ordinator for RDOP, at R.R.1, Wingham, 335-3906. --In other hatless tless the Huron F of A agreed to sup- port a couple's request to Huron county that 15 acres of swampy scrub be cleared Ship your livestock with FRANK VOOGEL DASHWOOD Shipper To United Co-operotivesOf Ontario Livestock Department, Toronto Monday k shipping day from Varna Stockyards CALL DASHWOOD 238-2707 OR BAYFIELD 565-2636 by 7:30 A.M. For Prompt Service Also Western Stockers IL Feeders Available .4 Your dollars cover more ground .with High Quality -- FARM SEEDS Lon We have on hand Locally Grown ° Mixed Grain °Red Clover We are taking Order for registered seed grain. Custom cleaning by appointment. esboro Seed Plant Robert Shoddick 5234399 from mew farm m Grey Township. The membership stipulated that they support the county bylaw in principle which restricts rampant tree cutting; and that only 15 acres be cleared and that ap- proximately 30 acres of bush will be left on the 100 acre farm. The land use committee in- spected the acreage in ques- tion after Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Ward approached the Federation for help. They had anticipated pro- blems in getting the tree cut- ting Permit. Mel Knox reported that the impact of the clearing would not be detrimental to the sur- rounding land. It was pointed out by members that each farm should be judged as a separate unit from the neighboring farms and that one farmer not be responsi- ble for maintaining bushland for a large area while his neighbors strip their land. Another member applaud- ed the fact that the federa- tion is doing something about this matter before the final decision is made. Anyone interested in being kept informed or getting in- volved with a farmer's co- operative waste disposal site can contact Tony McQuail. The energy committee sent out questionnaires to municipalities on waste and the idea of an alternative to land fill sites. Of the 16 responses three were not in- HOOK®LINKTM barn cleaner by BUTLER All -forged link ° The new Butler Hook -Link barn cleaner fea- tures links that are totally forged (not stamped out). Links are reinforced at the wear points with extra steel to a thickness of 5/8". Forging changes the grain of the steel, causing it to curve around the contours of the Zink in unbroken flow Pines, for extra strength. Closely controlled heat - treating provides in-depth hardening for maxi- mum wear and strength. - It's worth more than you realize ... costs Tess than you think. GLE.NDINNING FARM EQUIPMENT LTD. R.R. 2 Luca'', Ont. 519-227-4593 Ken Glendinning Phone: 519-294-65744 George Glendinning •m:.,a9-..:J4 T terested. 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