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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-05-13, Page 28John Heard appointed Huron Ag. Rep. John Heard has been appointed Assistant Agricultural Representative for Huron County. John's emphasis will be on soils and crops, with some future work on swine. John graduated in April of ,1981 from the University of Guelph with an honours degree in crop' science. He is from a cash crop farm in Middlesex County. John's father, B.F. Heard, is also Area Co-ordinator and Farm Management Specialist in Middlesex and area. John'sinterests include sports, fishing and farming, He is looking forward to working with the farmers of Huron County. Huron home and farm news Open Front Heifer Barns by Dennis Martin, Assoc. Ag. Rep. Local Agricultural Engineers visited Peter- borough County and toured three dairy farms using a relatively new "concept . in dairy heifer housing. The new concept involves the use of single slope, open front shed withadjacent feeding area. The shed is 20 feet deep and built in multiples of 12 feet in length, the most common length be- ing 60 feet. Along the front of the shed is a •20 -foot yard bordered by the feed bunk. The shed and yard are divid- ed into pens measuring 12 feet by 40 feet. Each of these pens houses a small 'number of heifers grouped according to size. The shed is located such that the open front faces south. The southern ex- posure allows the sun to warm thebedded area dur- ing the day. The relatively shallow depth of the shed allows, the sun to reach the back of the bedded area dur- ing the winter months. Dur- ing the summer, when the sun appears to be higher4in the sky, the bedded area is largely shaded. This concept in heifer housing appears to be the logical follow-up to raising calves in ,hutches since the heifers are being housed in a cold environment. The cold environment is not detrimental to the growth of the heifers. Winter wheat yellows Has your wheat yellowed? A soil born virus, could be causing spindle streak mosaic, " those " brownish - yellow patches ` or large yellowing areas in your wheat. The disease is first evident in April er early May as light green to yellowish spindle streaks in the leaves. As the discoloration progresses, spots and patches of leaf tissue die. Severity lessens with warm weather. - -If cool `temperatures per- sist on into. May and June, more leaves become yellow streaked 'and may die prematurely. This causes fewer tillers with heads and fewer kernels per head. - If you have grown wheat on . the same field three or more times, in ten years spindle streak can develop. A top dressing of 80 90 kg. per hectare (72-81 lbs. per acre) of actual nitrogen in April.should have helped. Best control is to use a long term rotation. Don't grow wheat in the same field more than once in four or five years. Factsheets on cereal diseases are available at On- tario Ministry of Agriculture and Food offices. " T Canadians do not have to line up to buy food. All kinds of food are available. Yet, complaints are con- stantly heard about the high cost of food. At a social gather- ing last week, six of the seven people in a corner conversation cursed and complained about food prices. Whether we realize it in Canada or not, we are the best -fed nation in the world and we get our food at the lowest prices of any other nation in the world. We do not have to line up for it. We do not have to wait for -another nation's largesse to supply us with food. Our fanners are the most proficient in the world. In• fact, they are too proficient for their own good. They can produce too much for this nation. That is obvious by the fact that many farmers are forced to limit production through marketing boards which have instituted supply manage- ment. Canadians, if that weekend conversation is an indication, should be happy to pay the going prices. The entire world is in a more precarious food supply situa- tion than at any time since the grain shortages of the mid- 1970s. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) recently completed a survey around the world and direct warnings of grain shortages in many nations have been reported. Estimates vary but more than a million people could starve to death this year of 1981. Major food aid programs are already underway in some African nations. China's cereal harvest last season was far short of projec- tions. Russia,. in spite of many five-year plans, continues to be unable to grow enough grain to supply the people. The world begins this harvest season with virtually no cushion against major crop shortfalls this year. The harvests around the world this year will be crucial, - Because of this precarious position, more farmers will plant more grain. They know of the shortages. Rising prices - it's the old law of supply and demand - will encourage larger plantings. But rising prices adversely affect The Third Le111e11 are app•e.•dted by Bob 1rotte• Eiaaoe 040 Evn.te Ont #4313 2C 7 • World Nations which are forced to import food supplies and pay more for those supplies, Expect to see heart-rending pictures in mass media next fall, pictures of starving children with hands held out pleading for food. Expect to hear reports of terrible famines in some north African and West African countries and acute food shortages in, the Asian countries which cannot feed themselves. Think of those many millions of people in many nations around the world who go to bed hungry, perhaps not starving, but certainly hungry, every night of, the week, month after mo th. Because now �t the embargo on grain to Russia has been lifted, that country will be shopping the world right along with -C1 na buying as much grain as is available. World grain stocks are low enough now, the lowest in six or seven years. If any major food producing area found the globe has a bad harvest, the whole picture will become even more drastic. Any crop failure in either Canada or the United States will become disastrous. So, think of those things after you have eaten a good meal this summer and next winter. Think of those starving people all over the world when you loosen your belt a notch because you are overfed and overweight. Most important, think of those people when you complain so bitterly about.rising food prices in Canada this year. Do not lay the blame on the farmer who toiled in his fields. Do not suggest that all marketing boards, especially those with supply management, should be scrapped so the price of food will go down. With food shortages around the globe the price of food in Canada cannot go any place else but up. Just be thankful to the farmers and the good Lord who plac- ed you in such a wonderful country where food is plentiful and relatively cheap. . Remember, Canadians spend less of their disposable in- come dollar on food than any other nation in the world because Canada has hard-working, progressive farmers who produce the best food in the world to fill your belly. Ministry sosponring �rngram The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. . is again sponsoring the Junior Agriculturalist Program which is now in its ninth year. The program has been very successful in providing a practical learning ex- perience for young people from non-farm homes who have a serious interest in agriculture, n and no ex- perience working on a farm. As a result, there are now a group of young people in- terested in and capable of pursuing agricultural related careers or farm labour positions. As well, the Junior Agriculturalists, their familiesand friends have developed -a greater awareness and appreciation, of rural life and the farming industry. trHost • farmers are to operate a commercial farm and to be engaged full time in farming. Selection of host farmers will be based on their interest• in helping an inexperienced young person develop skills required on a farm and on their ability to work well with and supervise young people. It is an ideal 'opportunity for farmers to share their knowledge of. agriculture with urban youth. Junior Agriculturalists are 16 or.17_.years of .age and must have had no previous farm experience. • Par- ticipants are selected on their reasons for being in- terested in farming and future education and'career plans. The program gives these students an opportuni- ty to develop an appreciation for rural life through living with a• farm • family and through participating in local 4-H, Junior Farmer and other community ac- tivities. • The on-farm assignments last from June 22 to August • 22. Each Junior Agriculturalist will receive a training allowance of $18 per - day. The Host Farmer will pay $6 in cash and supply • room and board worth $6 per day. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food •sup- plies the remaining $6. • If you think you and your family .would like to host a Junior Agriculturalist on your farm for the summer, contact, your local Agricultural Office for an application or the Area Co- ordinator, `Sharon Salm at Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, 279 Weber Street North, Waterloo. N2J 3H8 • Are you being beaten Council condemns by velvetleaf,: marketing boards jimsonweedmn A report released recently by the Economic Council of Canada condemned marketing boards. It ac- cused fanners of making excess profits. Gerry Fortune, president of Huron County Federation of Agriculture, says she does. not believe there are excess profits. She says, "I would like to know where the -ex- cess profits are. They're not here on this dary farm." Gisele Ireland of R.R. 2 Teeswater, is on the Public Relations Committee for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and is an OFA representative for the Canadian Association of Consumers of Ontario. Ireland echoes Glenn Agnew, OFA, when she says that, "Farmers shouldn't deny that marketing boards increase the price of milk. However, 15 cents a litre is very debatable. What is their criteria that suggestsexcess profits?" Fortune sees a place for marketing boards. She says, "It benefits the farmer and consumer. It gives the farmer stability of supplying a part of the market place and gives the consumer a steady supply of a product". Fortune asks if there was no cost to quota, how would quotas be dispensed? The simplest way is to put a price on it. If a person buys a business, the purchaser pays for area and goodwill. Doctors and dentists have a type of quota, she says. They have a suggested fee schedule. Only so many doctors or dentists can come on the market. A lot of things have quota, some more obvious than others. Newspaper companies only produce as many newspapers as they can sell. Fortune concludes, "I don't tell unions, plumbers, or electricians how to run their businesses. Why should someone tell us how to run ours?" WATER WELL DRILLING `YO YEARS EXPERIENCE" FARM a SUBURBAN a INDUSTRIAL a MUNICIPAL m e FREE ESTIMATES a GUARANTEED WELLS FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT e 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR E (PERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVI DSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED 4 Rotary and Pereutsion Drills PHONE 337.9960 WINGHAM Colied Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCF 1®OO" - COC ur . Ufa ,C 5' � •+ Lasso® herbicide°plus a metribuzin . product such as Sencor' or Le/one' is the smart choice for tough weed control in soy- :, D beans. These hardworking tank mixes effec- tively reduce competition from hard -to - control weeds like velvetleaf while y�J sf controlling many " r grasses like foxtail,.• crabgrass, fall panicurn and barnyard- • N'S-,, grass. They also control many broad �SaR ;".• leaves likep'gweed i•� smartweed, common ragweed, nightshade and wild mustard. And Lasso gives you excellent crop safety with no carryover. In fact, if you're switching some acres to soybeans... you'll find that a Lasso tank mix will give you the same great grass control you're used to in corn. Don't put up with tough weeds. Remember, Lasso plus metribuzin is the smart way to It3::444:;:i::::44:';:: ��f. Ji�f��/'• 1 • GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDA Y MAY 13,1981 -PAGE I lA Retail beef prices rise In April -the price of beef at the retail level increased to $2.80 per pound, three cents more than the March price of $2.77 per pound. The farm - gate price declined five cents per pound to $1.79, per pound. This represents a farm -retail spread of $1.01 per pound. Due to wide "specialing" in the first week of April, -the retail price of pork dropped 15 cents to $1.65 per pound. The farm -gate price declin- ed one cent per pound. At both retail 'and farm - gate levels, chicken, ttirkey and egg prices remained similar to last month with the exception of approx- imately a one -cent increase in the price of chicken at the farm -gate. .Increases in the farm -gate nrire of manttfawtiirinn milk for ice cream, cottage cheese, cereal cream, butter and skim milk powder are reflected in the April food basket. Retail price in- creases for the manufac- tured dairy products will be reflected in the May Food Basket. Retail prices of grain pro- ducts (bread, flour, pasta and cereals) increased 26 cents over last month while the farm -gate price decrees- --'ed six cents. This decline is due mainly to lower prices for spring and durum wheat. For the month of April, the retail value of the O.F.A. Food Basket was $40.97, up four cents from March and $5.71 from a year ago. The farm -gate price was $2L63, a decrease of 25 cents from -March and an increase Display Pig\ Art' The Stratford Festival may be the centre of dramatic culture each sum- mer, but the Ontario Pork Congress will add the ar- tistic renown of the area with its third annual Pig -Art Ex- hibit. This unique competi- tion attracts a variety of endeavours, from sketches, oils and ceramics to photographs and stitchery. There are three age groups and contestants who may depict any of the various aspects of the pork industry in any manner that their imagination cargies them. Besides the prize awards, the winners have the thrill of seeing (and hearing) their entries sold by public auc tion on June 23 at 7 p.m. in a highly entertaining and spirited session. Further information is available from Mrs. Jean Smelski, Box 61, Stratford (519) 625-8811. • 1 SEED CORN I r.rrsr► e "Performance Proven" M.W. DURST CLINTON of .$2.11 from last April. The farm -retail spread has risen. from $15.73 last April to $19.33 this math, an in- crease of 22.9 percent. BUTLER. Ring Drive Silo Unloaders Big Dm Silo Unloaders Volume Belt Feeders Convey -n -Feed Cattle Feeders Single Chain Conveyors Barn Cleaners Oswalt Ensilmixers FARMATIC- Blender Hammer Mills Blender Roller Mills Blender Mills for Ground FII -Moisture Corn Augers Leg Elevators ACORN - Cable Barn Cleaners Hydraulic Manure Pumps WESTEEL-ROSCO Grain gins - 1,350 to 250,000 bu. Bulk Feed Tanks ACME - Fen -jet Ventilation Systems ASTON - Ventilation Systems B81. - Complete Hog Confine- ment Systems SLURRY -SLINGER Liquid Manure Spreaders CLAY - Parts and Service for' Clay Equipment AERO -FLUSH Liquid Manure Pumps, Aerators. Separators WE HANDLE EVERYTHING -ALMOST LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS, RR 1, Kincardine, Ont. phone 395-52116 i *74 Off` t4k. C°‘*° °.`• .- !;-‹ ;�� e•' �•r' ,.fir- ' �� /,dam \•1......:...A.:.•:.-••;;;;.'. '';rte " r..7•,.ftPrat fight back. Lasso The Smart Choice Monsanto every farm should reap the many benefits of Daymond Sub -surface Drainage When you choose Lassdplus metribuzin... even tough weeds lose the fight. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL DIRECTIONS Lasso* is a registered trademark or Monsanto Company Monsanto Canada Inc , registered user Sencor is a trademark for a herbicide of the parent company of Farbenfabriken Bayer GmbH. Leverkusen Lexone is a trademark of El duPont de Nemours and Company cMonsanto Cornpany 1981 Monsanto Canada Inc Winnipeg Montreal, lbtonto. Regina Saskatoon Calgary Vancouver LN- V- 3-81 Like Huron Farm Drainage R.R. 1 Dungannori, Ontario (519) 529-7510