HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-02-25, Page 23If you're
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My old grandmother called February the suicide month.
The older I get, the more I appreciate her nickname for this
most miserable of months.
Although this year the weather has been unusually mild, it
is just the thought that winter is far from over yet that makes
it that Much harder to bear. High winds as cold and wet as a
dog's nose and just as probing still whine and howl through
the bleak, black hardwood limbs in the bush behind the
house.
No Canadian will truthfully allow that' winter is over. We
hunker into our heavy coats and scarves and slog through the
snow knowing full well that at least,one more, probably two
or three, storms will swoop relentlessly across tale land.
It's depressing. We have already been through three mon-
ths - some years four - of winter. I get snarky and morose in
' February. I'm sick of snowbanks, knifing winds, yellow
snow, white snow, brown snow and black snow.
Every time a supercillious television announcer says we
are going to get five centimetres of the "white stuff" I feel
like punching him in the mouth. I'm even snarling at Ozzie,
our playful, little Siamese cat. She doesn't know the winter is
going on out there. A smart cat, she won't even go outside the
door; hasn't been out since the first snowfall.
And why do those announcers insist on calling it white
stuff? Surely, there are more creative people available in
those fancy newsrooms.
Getting out of our long laneway becomes a real problem.
Although we have a snowblower remove most of it after
every snowfall, there is a buildup and we have to be careful
ittake another
not to dig through the crust or will half-hour to
get to work. 'I'lu like a skunk in -February. I feel like sleeping 'love the land -and the rural life to remain, in farming. If they
-all the -time -so -ll -liege. leave-eneugh-Binns--to-get out-af-t-he--werer't-so-good-ax what-they-do;--half-of-t iis-irdtion-would-by
lane. I'm late more often than I like to be. My old-fashioned, wandering around with distended bellies suffering from
Protestant work ethic keeps me punctual the rest of the year. malnutrition.
To make matters, even more depressing, along comes
Statistics Canada with that annual story on cash receipts for
farmers. They do it every time. They only tell half the story:
Farm cash receipts rose 11.1 per cent to $15.6 billion in 1980
from a year earlier.
That's it. No mention of increased costs, just that farm in-
come rose 11.1 per cent. Every city slicker in the nation reads
those figures and comes to the conclusion that farmers are.
living high off the hog, tripping over subsidy cheques when
they pick up the mail at the farm gate, if they can get through
° the snow.
It must make farmers angry.
StatsCan doesn't say that feed costs doubled during the
same time period, that land costs keep escalating, that in-
terest rates have hit farmers harder than any other sector of
the economy, that fertilizer costs have doubled, that labor
costs are up 10 to 15 per cent.
In a recent study, a group of farmers was polled by statisti-
- -pians at the University of Guelph - -which houses one of
Canada's best-known agricultural colleges. After those
farmers paid themselves wages, they ended up with a rate of
return of about 3.5 per cent on the capital invested.
How many other people would stay in business, with a
return like that? These were more profitable farms that were
studied, too, commercial -scale farmers. Looklat those huge
profits racked up by oil companies in recent years and you
wonder why anyone would be stupid enough to stay in
agriculture.
It is fortunate for Canadians that enough men and women
Huron farm news
By
Stan Paquette,
Assoc, Ag. Rep.
Should 1 buy
more land?
You've heard it said,
"They're not making any
more of the stuff." There's
also the non-resident owner-
ship question and the fact the
Germans are buying it up.
Does this frustrate you?
Maybe it does, but should it
to the point that you feel you
must- go out and buy more
land, either for the sake of
buying before someone else
does or for the sake of own-
ing more land?
At current land values in
Huron, which run from
.$1,000 to $30100 per acre,
depending on location,
topography, soil type and
drainage, it becomes very
difficult to finance new pur-
chases.
Even if financing was
available, can youreally
substantiate the neve pur-
chase? Currently, F.C.C. in-
terest
is 123/4 per cent and
payments over. 29 years
would be $131.55 per annum
per $1,000 borrowed.
A 1981 corn budget shows a
break even of about $2.56 per
bushel with no land cost in-
cluded. A 95 bushel crop at $4
per bushel would returnj380
gross and a net of $136.80 per
acre. Land costing $2,000 per
acre would require annual
payments of $263.10 for 29
years to retire: Ridiculous
possibly, but it isn't thaLecut--
and dried. A lot of factors
would enter in on the deci-
sion making.
A few guidelines may help
you make your decision:
Buy one acre for every two
acres now free of debt.
Have a good asset -liability
ratio. Good ratios are: For
current assets: current
liabilities -1112 - 2 : 1; For fix-
ed 'assets: fixed liabilities -
1"4:1.
Simply, it means you
should own 11/2 to two times
the dollars in livestock, feed
and supplies as you owe
against them for the current
situation. With fixed assets
such as :'land and buildings,
• own 11/4 times the value for
every dollar' owed against
them.
Beginning farmers might
.be better to buy productive
assets first, • such as
livestock. Buying good used
equipment would also be
wise. The beginner should
alsotry to remain solvent. .
Established farmers may
be advised to buy ne�v equip-
ment if they are in a taxable
position.
Some questionsto ask
before buying more land:
Does the new purchase fit
with existing operation?
Will current equipment be
adequate?
Is labour available and
adequate?
Do you have a good track
record on crops and
livestock?
Are you currently using
management tools such as
soil and feed testing and a
good bookkeeping system?
Have you or can you diver-
sify?
Do you have, off -farm in-
come? .
Could you rentthe proper-
ty for a few years with an op-
tion to purchase?
Have you seriously looked
at your credit situation?
Look at net farm earnings.
Will it handle the extra debt
load and have the capacity to,
retire the debt?
Is it what you and your .,
family really want?
'41
GODERICH SIGNAL•STAR, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 251 -PAI E 74
junipr Farmers .compete ill games
About 600 people attended
the Ontario Junior Farmer
association's provincial
winter games held in Exeter,
Saturday, February 14.
Wayne Shapton, RR 1 Ex-
eter, was , chairman of the
Huron County organizing
committee. He was assisted
by the association's Huron
County provincial director,
Bill Armstrong, and a com-
mittee of 10 local members.
Teams from. county
organizations, representing
the various Junior Farmer
provincial zones, competed
in basketball, badminton,
volleyball, bowling, curling
arid cross country skiing.
The Huron County ladies'
basketball team won their
tournament.'Shapton said he
was quite pleased with the
win, saying they did "quite
well", considering they had
only six players for they final
game against Middlesex.
Team members were Kay
Morrison, Mary Thompson,
Kathy Larone, Faye Car-
nochan, Pam Carnochan,
Susan Pullman, and Dianne
Wilson.
Winners in the . other
categories, were: men's
basketball, . Waterloo Coun-
ty; ladies' badminton, Peel;
men's badminton, North
Simcoe; Mixed' . volleyball,
Bruce; men's bowling, Peel;
ladies' bowling,. Haldeman;
mixed curling, Hastings;
men's , curling; Peel. The
cross, country skiing was
•
What can be done in'81?
• Come and find out!
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. ACRES OF EXHIBITS AND
1981'S NEWEST FARM MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT
OPI.N DAll t 10:10 A.M. 10.10:30 P.M. Ic ....• Friday .. 4:00 P.M.)
western . fa i r
FARM 8HOW
March 3 to 6,1981
WESTERN FAIR GROUNDS; LONDON
•\I)MI!..,It)N $2 IN) It hikin•n tirwl.v I2.,,+rnrn,kimed bt ,,,'ntlult- 1 Hill
e the gnen
ioabritht idea.
If your organization
has a pm.ject worth
doing this sun1111er,
Summer Cana da'S!
«ill help -pay for
students to help
get it acme.
It \.,I t'rt•.II,1 „r::.rnt_,In„n \1411 .1
,tn;:ul.lrl\ good Ova that nett,
dtnn(:. R•r114.1411,r that rhe
t It „lilt: d.trc tor •I Pill, anon),
tt,r `111111ln'1 (' nta.l.l .S1 I,
410,t11).: to '
t\l.trth Ih• I`t.'+I t.••ht•
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11.,11 alrcad\'..n t utt' . \\'t nrt•d
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n•ahra.l. lir di,. \\her,\\1rh.11
t., ;a't It ^.•Irl/:
Lets gill t°
dollars and sense.
`Thi rule, t, ,hi,ttld Is, tine
I4.111d u,u ,.nl rcall\ }:ct nit.,.
with \4,11r heart and \.,lir held
Prole, 1, L:1\ lot; I,nunt\ t.,
park. , rpt rc,ltnm and ,Ln , .111,1,
eJ; hc.111It and :.,t 1.)I
•n to r,, emit:\ t. m,rr\.111' n,
\\ AN, n'.%Ii tc,.Ind,11
\In,ntnrnt,naln.nl..un,nt ani
ult11ral de\rh,la11ent \\„1111
t't•rt.nt11\ 111.11,'1' ,t•11.,c t., 11, r
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\\•CII rut up, ,.Ilan n;,,nrnhu
tlt,ll< equal r„ du. I,1•.,\ 114 1.11
MI11lt1111111 wage. And ill, r.,
ti 3i „\ rrhrad, l,cr
The Qtial tiers.
1 he prow,r, 11111,1 1,, t, `I1
i'r.ltir. The h,'nettr, ,h•',,1 1 ht
10nt: Nam. To rh, .1'1,141 I-.
\11,1 to 'ht. „tt,lt,ttiinr, n,t
pr.,tt•, r trllr,t I`r• , id, IF I,'.l,t
thrcc101,, t.•t ,std,lu, I4'1 •I,
ttt't'I<, 1 IS t.n,'I•, I I.tlt!
I„ nil 1,,,t'.'I1
1111141 that 1 eta r.11 l tilt nr
, nll,1.,\ runt l•, •I1,1, • • tri
I,I,u1, \\In, II
lnnu\ 1,, .illi .In.l,;l •'.-. • • 1941
In:; iii \•,;111:. \t„runt, \ tint••
And tilt dl,al,l„1
A few weals
dosing slate`
\\'c 8.111\ \t.11I1 1.` ', I: , ,1
:2,ryh11,11.1, 1;111 t\, 1, •. 1,1.
11•„f 111.1714.t 11'\ \11'.' 1
_ t tit .11`11I` .1•.11.1 r.••• • \\•
II
Oil ha\, 11 1 .II:, .Id.
1 ton, \.`111 l I10d1 1 :
111ent t t r111t .. a 1 1111 ;• •' 1r11r
1 )t'\ t 1oI`t:t.'I,r l lt':. , '\• ,9•\
tilt _'It t I I Ii_lll I,
Ur 111,i
Canada
.p�
r Employhient and 'Employ et ,
Immigration Canada Immigration Canada
fovd•Altwnrthy WIMP, Lloyd Aewarfhy Mmrcfre
,b
won by Zone 1. (The zone in- ,
eludes the counties around
Prescott. )
The overall *inner was
iron 3; whicli includes Peel
and North Simcoe counties.
The wintergames were
preceded by zone competi-
tions to decide which county
team would represent in the
zone. Huron county is in
Zone 7 which includes Perth,
Bruce and Middlesex coun-
ties.
Huron County had teams
in men's and ladies' basket-
ball and badminton.
The men's badminton
team won their first game, „
but were put out after the se-
cond. Ladies' badminton and
the mien's basketball teams,
• after losing their first
games, were • eliminated'. in
the second round of the B -
division.
The sporting events were
finished off 'late in the day,
with two exhibition broom. -
ball
room -ball games.
The first saw the Mid-
dlesex Junior Farmers' beat
their Huron counterparts 2-1.
The second game was the
entertainment highlight of
the day.
The Huron, county
organization's . executive
took on the Junior Farmers
provincial:directors.
--`lite- first half --ended- with
Huron leading 1-0. It was
agreed the teams would pay
$5 for each goal they scored
to the March of Dimes, on
behalf of the Junior
Farmers.
The provincial directors
quickly overtook the Huron
team and began to build up a
lead.
The • referees seemed to
support the province as they
called some questionable
penalties. The directors in-
creased their players to 9
( from six) and kidnapped
one of the Huron team.
Huron answered by, play-
ing 11 people, and moving
their net up the - bluelitie.
They also tackled Junior
Farmer provincial presi-
dent, Tom Callahan, who
had scored two province
goals.
The province played their
trump, , sending in Paul
Laidlaw on skates..
During half . time, the
Huron team agreed to pay
$20 for each goal they
scored, so with the game en-
ding 8-3 in favor of the pro-
vince, $100 was raised for the
March of Dimes.
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Cashway .Celebrates With OliddEn
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CASHWAY
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