HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-12-08, Page 25DNF FOOT IN THE FURROW
by Bob Trotter
Two teenagers pranced into the restaurant.
They were young, fresh -faced, clean-cut kids, normal in
appearance with the uniform of the young: jeans and jackets.
Seated at a table was an older man with his leg in a cast.
His crutches were on the floor under the table with about a
foot protruding in the aisle.
One of the teenagers tripped over the crutches.
"Ya dumb farmer!" said his friend. "Watch where you're
going."
A typical scene? Yes, unfortunately, it was too typical
because it happens literally hundreds of times a day in
various forms. It typifies the prevalent attitude towards
farmers and agriculture in this nation.
1t you are dumb, you are a farmer. You may be other
things, too, but you are a farmer, a rube from the boondocks
who hasn't enough brains to do anything else.
"If brains were dynamite," said the youth, "you wouldn't
have enough to blow your nose."
In most other countries of the world, farmers are treated
with great respect. Senior governments provide all kinds of
grants, loans subsidies and legislation to keep farmers
farming. These older civilizations have a deep-rooted fear of .
losing farmers. They know what a famine is. They know how
important agriculture is to the welfare of an entire nation ,\
They do not hesitate to grant farmers the respect, even the
devotion, that is necessary to keep them producing food.
In this country, the opposite is true.
Farmers get less and less in the way of government help.
The federal government, for instance, spends less than two
percent of its whopping budget on agriculture.
Ever since the days of Sir John A. and Sir Wilfrid, a cheap
food policy has been promulgated by governments.
Canadians spend less of their disposable income.dollar on
food than any other nation in the world with the possible
exception of the United States. Farmers here have out -
produced every other sector of the economy. In fact, when
Canada's industrial workers are falling behind in production,
farmers continue to improve. Without agriculture, 43 jobs off
every hundred would disappear.
But still, fanners get less for -their efforts than their city
brothers and sisters.
And it ain't improving with age. The farmer who grew the
wheat gets less for the wheat in a loaf off bread than the
person who makes the wrapper for the loaf.
You pay $1.29 for a can of apple juice. The farmer who
grew the apples - nursed and nurtured them through an
entire growing season; nursed the trees for five years;
picked and sorted the fruit - gets 17 cents from that can of
juice. The firm thatmade the can gets more than the farmer.
A bag of white beans sells for $1.15. The farmer who grew
the beans gets 37 cents.
But, here is the clincher. Here is what angers the farmer.
Three years ago, farmers got 26 cents for those beans which
sold for 61 cents. The gap between the price the farmer gets
and the price you pay for those beans gets wider and wider,
even when farm production costs are going up, up and away.
"We are vying for more respect from the government and
the public. We are determined to convince them of our true
worth, of our need and our right to a bigger slice of the
economic pie."
So said Ralph Barrie last month at the Ontario Federation
of Agriculture's annual meeting.
It will be a long, hard struggle to gain that respect but it is
sorely needed.
Declare war on rats in barn
According to Andy Bunn,
'Swine Specialist, O.M.A.F.,
this is a good time of the year
to declare war on these un-
wanted guests.
There are a number. of
commercial baits available
from your farm supply
centre. The placement of
bait is probably the most im-
portant factor m rat control.
,Rats have regular travel
routes between shelter, food
and water. They prefer pro-
tected routes, ,usually along
walls, under floors or though
thick grass or litter. Baits
placed in rat travelways and
shelters are far more likely
to be found and sampled
than those exposed in the
open or in the middle of
rooms. Baits should be plac-
ed under cover whenever
possible. A board can be
leaned against a wall to
cover a runway. A perma-
nent bait . station can be
made from an inverted. box
with a three inch to four inch
We in each end at the floor
level.
Keep bait away from
children, pets and other
livestock. Keep grain and
mixed feed away from rats if
possible.
Stan Paquette, Assoc.
Ag. Rep.
Maximum reproductive
performance in dairy cattle
is achieved when a balanced
ration is fed to meet the
animals' nutrient
requirements for growth,
maintenance, lactation and
gestation:
The reproductive system
pas a low priority for
available nutrients- and is
usually the first system to be
affected by malnutrition.
Many dairymen have
expressed concern for poor
calving intervals' along with
getting cows rebred and
checked safe in calf. Poor
fertility has been • a major
reason why many,cows are
culled at an earage. A
review of the effects of
nutrition on reproduction in
dairy cattle indicates that a
majority of the nutritionally
related reproductive
problems can be prevented
by the following procedures:
1. Balance ration for
energy, protein, vitamins,
and minerals based on
results of laboratory
analysis and feed to meet
nutrient requirements.
2. Give high priority to the
feeding program used before
puberty, before 1 and after
breeding and before and
after calving to maximize
fertility.
3. Practice challenge
feeding to meetnutrient
requirements during peak
lactation.
4. Feed 20 percent and 10
percent above maintenance
during first and second
lactation respectively for
growth.
5. Teamwork between
dairyman, nutritionist and
veterinarian are essential
for high fertility, production
and profits.
OnIy Left
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Ask Hydro to
study low growth
Ontario Hydro has been
asked to change the mandate
of Working Groups now stu-
dying alternatives for a new
500 Iry Transmission Line in
southwestern Ontario.
The Provincial Board of
the Christian • Farmers
Federation of Ontario
(CFF') has asked Hydro to
study a low growth scenario
instead of medium growth.
Ontario Hydro's own load
forecasters have just an-
nounced a 2.1 percent per
year growth forecast to the
year 2000. This is down from
3.4 percent forecast made in
February of this year.
"Our representatives on
the Working Groups will
have an enormous frustra-
tft n if they are asked to keep
on working on a medium
growth scenario", said
Elbert van Donkersgoed,
Research and Policy Direc-
tor of the CFFO. "Hydro's
own forecasters are now ob-
viously committed to a low
growth scenario. The work-
ing Group mandate must be
changed."
The Working Groups are
looking for one Transmission
line right-of-way from the
Bruce : +I.ticlear Power
Development Plant to the
Barrie area and two lines
from the Milton -Hamilton
area to London.
A low growth scenario
would require only one line
from the Milton -Hamilton
area to London. ,
Be safe
Poorly maintained equip.
ment causes' farm accidents.
Fall is a good time to check
and „ maintain your farm
equipment. Along with
routine maintenance, check
to see thatallguards and
shields are in place. Make
sure that the machine is pro-
perly adjusted and check all
critical areas for wear. Get
ahead, start on next year's
crop this fall. Check your
equipment and make sure
it's safe and ready to go for
spring planting. "DO IT
OUR WAY - IT WON'T
HURT." This. has been a
message from the Farm
Safety Association.
GODERICH SIGNAL-SSTAR, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1982 -PAGE 23
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