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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-04-22, Page 29pg in furrow' ., Canada's Wonderland, they're calling it. It's a mammoth leisure complex located on 370 acres of land near the little town of Maple, about 18 miles north of Toronto just off Highway 401. Or Disneyland North and a few other tinsel -type names. It is going to, open near the end of May and it has already eaten all' those acres of prime agricultural land. Regular readers of this column will know that [ have been opposed to this dreamland since it was first proposed a couple of years ago. Already, I hear that an additional 50 acres of land across the road from this artificial playgroundhas been bought for a motel complex. Another farm gone. Another area no longer available to farmers. The original 370 acres of land was enough. In fact, it was too much. Probably another few hundred will disappear under ticky-tacky hot dog stands, fast food outlets and an- cillary buildings to service this park. You have probably seen some of the advertisements, wat- ched some of the television commercials. When it was proposed, it got final approval from the On- tario cabinet. Even the agricultural minister at the time gave his approval. Nobody, at that time, spoke for green growing things. They were — and I suppose they may have had an obscure reason for doing so — talking about jobs. They were more in- terested in jobs than in saving prime farm land. But look what is happening to this theme park which has a false mountain made of concrete, chicken wire and steel. The owners have spent $122 million, $50 million in Yankee money and the balance from four major Canadian insurance com- panies including Great West Life and the Toronto Dominion Bank. Yet, the Yanks will retain 75 percent of the park. Something sounds a little screwy there, what? Anyway, this company, now permanently housed on farmland no longer able to produce crops, expects to attract GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1981—PAGE 11A Hogs to be graded with electronic devices Lener% ere apple, area or Bot Toner Eieae Oro Po38 2C 2.3 million people this year who should generate more than $46 millionin revenues. When all the fooferaw and the objections died when the park was finally approved, it was supposed to create a lot of jobs. That was one of the reasons it was allowed to happen. How many jobs? So far, 2,200 of them but only about 200 are permanent jobs. The rest are seasonal. And what kind of pay? The base for the seasonal help is $2.75 an hour for those `under 18 and $3.50 an hour for those 18 and over, barely more than the minimum. Some job at $3.50 an hour! As this is written, this wearisome wonderland has been put on the "unfair" list by the Toronto Musicians Association for paying performers less than scale. So much for all the jobs it was supposed to create. Less than one full-time job per acre, of farmland. But that ain't all, my friends. Not only is it a bust in pro- viding employment, it has little or nothing in it that is Cana- dian. It's all imported -- or most of it — from good old Uncle Sam, even to its comic strip characters. So when you're driving north or south along Highway 400 this summer, bumper to bumper as the traffic moves in and out of Canada's Wonderland, think of all that farmland now lost forever. Think of all those jobs that were not created. Think of those 2,000 students working for the summer for almost minimum wage. Think of this phoney dream -theme park with next -to -nothing that•is Canadian. Think of the 75 percent American ownership. Think of the money being spent by the 2.3 million visitors, most of whom will be Canadian, spending an average $20. each, every time they go inside the gates. And then weep for Canada, Canadian culture the hundreds , of acres of farmland lost forever. When your radiator boils over, thumb your nose .in the direction of that man-made mountain. More than. 60,000 hogs are slaughtered and graded at southern Ontario packing houses each week. Present grading systems are becom- ing too slow to keep up with the increasing volume of hogs, but electronic technology may soon pro- vide a solution. "Hogs are graded by measuring the backfat thickness of the carcass with a ruler," says Dr. Steven Jones, University of Guelph animal scientist. "This is one area of processing that could beimproved with elec- tronic technology." A research project, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Pork Producers' Marketing Board, is com- paring' two electronic devices for measuring the backfat thickness . in pork carcasses. One device works„ on the principle of ultrasonics. High frequency sound waves are transmitted from a calculator -sized instrument via a transducer into the car- cass. When the Waves hit muscle, they return a backfat reading to a digital display terminal. Tile second device, developed in New Zealand, is a sensor probe that is in- serted into the carcass. The probe detects fat and muscle boundaries by color, and sends the information back to a display terminal. "Both of these devices are working fairly well in tests but it's too early to deter- mine which is the best for our purposes," says Dr. Jones. "Both have the capability lof adapting to a, completely computerized system that could grade and print out the information for each individual carcass." Electronic grading Bob McKinley to sell insurance The Dominion Life Assurance Company is pleased to announce the ap- pointment of Robert E. .McKinley as a sales • representative associated with our London Field Of- fice. Born in Huron County, Bob McKinley served as Pro- gressive Conservative Member of Parliament in Ot- tawa for 15 years. He looks forward to serving the public in the same efficient manner as he has in the past. Bob has successfully completed his initial training courses and been granted his Life Under- writer's license. • presents advantages to pro- ducers; packers and con- sumers. Because the elec- tronic grading improves the accuracy of the grading system, producers would be paid more fairly for their hogs. Packers would only,be paying the producer for the quality of the carcass. Lean pigs would be more easily Identified, so'pr ducers would have greater` incen- tive to produce leaner pigs. Leaner pigs result in higher quality pork for the con- sumer. 'The long-range effects of electronic grading could also change the way we process pork," says Dr. Jones.'"Be- ing able to grade the hog car- cass immediately after it is killed, instead of at the end of the processing line, could make skinning hogs a viable processing method." From an energy stand- point, present methods are expensive. Skinning would eliminate the need to main- tain the 60 degrees C scalding tank used to remove hair from the car- cass and the gas burners us- ed to remove any remaining hair. Processing by skinning also provides a secondary by-product - the pigskin. From the standpoint of quality, skinning permits a faster cool -down period for ..the carcass than the present processing methods. University of Guelph research into electronic grading began in February. SEED CORN "Performance Proven" DURST CLINTON RX295 & RX29 for 2600 H.U. areas RX 383 for 2700 H.U. areas Cecil Cranston R.R. 2, Auburn Phone 599-7691 Di. Jones expects to have some results by the end of June. B UTLER - Ring Drive Silo Unloaders B ig Jim Silo Unloaders - Volume Belt Feeders Convey -n -Feed 'CattleFeeders Single Chaln-Cony®yors s-- Barn Cleaners Oswalt EnsllmIxers FARMATIC- Blender Hammer Mills B lender Roller Mills Blender'MQIs for Ground HI -Moisture Corn •Augers Leg Elevators • ACORN - Cable Barn Cleaners draulle PuHymps WESTEEL-ROSCO Monure Grain Bins - 1,390 to 250,000 bu. Bulk Feed Tanks ACME - Fan -Jet Ventilation Systems A Ventilatetelen B 6STON- L- ComplHog Confine -Systems. ment Systems- SLURRY-SLINGER ystemsSLURRY-SLINGER Liquid Manure Spreaders CLAY - Parts and Service for' Clay Equipntlent AERO -FLUSH Liquid Manure Pumps, Aerators. Separators WE HANDLE EVERYTHING -ALMOST LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS, RR 1, Kincardine, Ont. Phone 395-5286 Representing Huron County at the Junior Farmer's Con- ference '81 held recently at the Constellation Hotel, Toron- to, were left to right: back row, John Van Vliet, Steve Steinman, Bill Armstrong, Bevan. Shapton, Bryan Williams, Murray Irvan, Sandra Ruston. Front row are: Diane McLean, Marg Pym, Audrey Ritchie, Donna Har- ding and Elaine Pym. Junior Farmers help raise money for March of Dimes In a special salute to the 30th anniversary of the On- tario March of Dimes and the International Year of Disabled Persons, the Junior Farmers' Association of On- tario focused on disability at their recent annual con- ference in Toronto. Wheelchair obstacle courses and awareness activities on blindness and deafness were set up to give Junior Farmers a better understanding of a disabled person's abilities and con- cerns. During Junior Farmers' Week held just prior to the conference, club members from 53 Ontario chapters organized special events to raise money for the Ontario March of Dimes. Over $15,000 was raised in box lunch socials, bake sales, road rallies, hockey games and dances in an outstanding effort supporting the organization. The 400 delegates and new executive presented the che- que to a representative of the March lof Dimes at the con- ference. Junior Farmers' clubs are divided into seven zones in this province. Members in zone three raised the most money (almost $6,000) with special events, followed closely ($4,000) by clubs in zone seven (Grey -Bruce area) . For other clubs, $1,417 was raised in zone four (Central West), $933 was raised in zone two (Central East), $825 was raised in zone five (South West), $786 was rais- ed in zone one • ( Eastern On- tario) and $644 was raised by clubs from Northern Ontario in zone six. In addition, over $900 was raised by the elected'presi- dent, Doug Peart, through an auction of his shirt at the conference. Each year, the Ontario March of Dimes works with thousands of disabled men and women. The organiza- tion provides aids such as wheelchairs and electronic devices, operates holiday camps and. aasists disabled groups with issues such as housing, transportation, employment and recreation. In 1981, the organization is also operating a school awareness program called "Dispelling Old Myths - Great Line of • Dimes". Disabled people from across WATER WELL DRILLING "Ali YEARS EXPERIENCE" u FARM 'SUBURBAN 6 INDUSTRIAL c MUNICIPAL FREE ESTIMATES 0 GUARANTEED WELLS 0 FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT 0 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills PHONE 357.1960 WINGHAM Collect Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1%0" WELL DRILLING LIMITED the province are now visiting schools, discussing the pro- blems of disability .and the abilities of disabled men and women. Students in the schools are also par- ticipating in fun events to raise dimes in an imaginary line across the province. Funds raised are used to operate the school program. 110NE ER SEEDS l� RAY BROWN 529-7260 Your Pioneer Seed Corn Dealer for COLBORNE TOWNSHIP FARMERS IN HURON COUNTY "THINKING OF REAL ESTATE, THINK STEVE BUCHANAN" SPECIALIZING IN THE SALE OF FARMS FOR 26 THE SQUARE GODERICH CALL 544-4700 EVENINGS 524-9097 OFFICE truirsoi.4,„ 1®5 Year Guaranteed Investment Certificates 1 /4 Annual Interest Rate subject to change VICTORIA AND GREY TRUST Since 1844 Goderich: 100 Kingston St. 524-7381 Member. Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation M.J. SMITH... ...NOW SERVING THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY * 67 YEARS * GRAIN MARKETING BUYERS OF CORN WHITE BEAN SOYA BEAN WHEAT CERTIFIED ALFALFAS D.C. RED CLOVER Y.B. SWEET CLOVER INOCULATIONS AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS SEED WHITE BEAN REG. and CERT. IMPROVED PASTURE GRASS MIXTURE WE WILL MIX YOUR SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE LAWN & GARDEN ENTHUSIAST We carry o complote eoloctlon of •GRASS •LAWN' SEEDS FERT ANDERSON'S FERTILIZER BAG or BULK 6.24 24, 8-32-16. 18-46-0, 45'. UREA 16.16.16. 33'. A.M. NITRATE 'BUY WITH CONFIDENCE' AT M.J SMITH WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD ALSO SPREADERS AVAILABLE PLUS, CUSTOM SPREADING AVAILABLE •Si-i-:u•(;H AIN •131,: ANS L OF OUR FACILITIES ARE TO SERVE YOU BETTER„