HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe 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
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ment Systems-
SLURRY-SLINGER
ystemsSLURRY-SLINGER
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WE HANDLE EVERYTHING
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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
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SOYA BEAN WHEAT
CERTIFIED
ALFALFAS
D.C. RED CLOVER
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BAG or BULK
6.24 24, 8-32-16. 18-46-0, 45'. UREA
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ALSO SPREADERS AVAILABLE
PLUS, CUSTOM SPREADING
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•Si-i-:u•(;H AIN •131,: ANS
L OF OUR FACILITIES ARE TO SERVE YOU BETTER„