HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-04-09, Page 19GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, APRTU, 2, 1
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A recommendation in the recent pprter report of
great importance to farmers has been virtually
ignoredby the big city papers.
Whether the province will follow that recom-
mendation remains to be seen but it deals with the
manner in which Hydro has treated farmers and
agricultural land during the past couple of decades.
No need to go into great detail on what has happened
except to say that Hydro, on many occasions, has
treated farmers in a high-handed manner. And it isn't
just Hydro, either, because other utilities have been
accused of the same things such as not restoring good
agricultural land to its original condition. Or
threatening expropriation, virtually forcing farmers
to sell land or hand over rights for utility corridors.
But the Royal Commission on Electric Power
Planei-n-g has recommended - loin -t planningpr-oeess
with decision-making shared with farmers and other
landowners.
The Royal Commission discussed the problems of
farmers with •a food land steering committee, .an
umbrella organization made up of half a dozen farm
organizations including the Ontario Institute of
Agrologists, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture,
the National FarmerstUnion and the Christian Far-
mers Federation.
Although some farm organizations have suggested
that the concerns about food land and farmers have
been ignored by Hydro, I :thinlf, in the .last few years
that attitude has changed considerably. Utilities, at
one time, ran roughshod over agricultural land,
almost ignoring the farmers. In the last decade, much
public relations work has been done and Hydro, in
particular, has done a lot to repair its image.
If the recommendations of the ,Porter report are
followed, no land acquisitions will be made until a
levers are app,ec.ate0 b, Boo T,on Eidae ad Ei'' 'a Ori N38 2C 7
joint committee of farm representatives have
discussed the route thoroughly with.Hydro.'
"No more Hydro projects should go forward without
the new decision-making process being in place," said
Elbert van Donkersgoed, executive director of the
Christian Farmers Federation, a small but influential
farm group in the province.
Another aspect of the Porter report that seemed
important to me,. was the recommendation that
nuclear power appears, at this point to be acceptable,
I'll probably get a dozen snarky letters again but this
corner has espoused that view for many months.
Hydro has the know-how, the technology, the ex-
pertise, to use nuclear generators in a method that
appears to be the safest yet devised. Until technology
can come up with a better method, the Candu reactor
is the only choice for . Canadians. Water power
resources are. limited. Coal, although plentiful in this
country; poses a transportation problem and an en-
vironmental problem. Solar power is still in its in-
fancy.
I am even skeptical that Hydro has dropped plans
for expanding its nuclear potential. I ,hope we are not
left cold and in the dark 10 or 20 years from now when
those original power plants would have been coming
into .production.
Certainlythe researchers and the Porter • Com-
mission have more facts than I have in telling Hydro
to shelve its plans for expansion. Hydro officials, too,
seem to have accepted the cutbacks and they ought to
know that the demand will not outstrip growth.
With oil shortages looming and natural gas going up
in price every time fuel oil goes up, I wish I had
enough money to convert my house to electric heat.
We certainly seem to have enough hydro power to
keep us all warm and comfortable in the foreseeable
future.
Graduation exercises for a swine farm and dairy
herd worker ,trc lal,ng program offered by the
Centralia College -of Agricultural technologywere
held Friday. Congratulating area,graduates Laura
Jean Brock of Exeter, Mark Harris ofLondesboro.
Valari Pullman . of St. Marys, Bruce Pope of
Goderich, Ronald Willis of Goderich and Alfred
Etzler of Goderich was school principal Dour
Jamieson. (Exeter Times Advocate photo)
Massdemonstration set for April 24
Concerned and anxious
farmers from across
Ontario will converge on
--Ottawa t�pril- , to
protest against high
interest rates and request
government assistance.
The mass meeting,,
scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in
the Chateau Laurier
Ballroom, underlines the
severe financial
pressures on the farming
industry due to unex-
pectedly high ;interest
rates. In the forefront are
concerns about -this
year's cropping ex-
penses, and the loss of
young or beginning
farmers with heavy
debts.
The O.F.A. has asked
the provincial govern-
ment to subsidize interest
on short-term loans at a
level of 10 percent,for
any farmer unable to
finance purchases of
seed, fertilizer.,
chemicals, fuels, and
labour for this year's'
cropping program. The
funds would,. only for
1980 cropping ' expenses,
and only for those far-
mers able to demonstrate
urgent need.
The federal govern-
ment will be asked to
assist those farmers who
have entered farming
within the past five years,
and have current dif-
ficulties with existing
short - and medium-term
loans. If, in the opinion of
the : lending institution,
thea farm peeration :will
continue to be viable at a
lower rate of interest, the
federal government will
be asked to make up the
difference between the
A.
lower rate and the actual
rate.
Net farm income in
Ontario is forecast to
drop as much as 40
Many farmers are
already in desperate,
financial circumstances
and nee gav_exnment_
help now.
percent in 1980 because
price levels are too low to
offset rising interest
rates and input ' costs.
Offers solution
BY
DENNIS MARTIN,
ASSOC. AG. REP.
Most high -producing
dairy cows go through an
energy crisis in the first
months after calving. The
drain of high production
and "so-so" appetite
crea4es a negative energy
balance. The resulting
weight ,less can lead to
disappointing production
and fat test, acetonemia
and poorer conception
rates.
A new feed ingredient
"Protec" offers a
solution ,• and shows
considerable promise as
an aid in solving the
crisis. Protec is a
AlrY concentrated source
of energy, on -e inilortant
benefit from its use could
very well turn out to be
improved health in early
lactation. In particular,
problems with ketosis, or
acetonemia, caused by
inadequate energy in-
take, may be prevented
WATER WELL
DRILLING
'79 YEARS EXPERIENCE"
FARM ^ SUBURBAN m INDUSTRIAL o MUNICIPAL u
m FREE ESTIMATES
GUARANTEED WELLS
FAST MOCERN EQUIPMENT
• 4 ROTARY 8 PERCUSSION DRILLS
"OUR EXPERIENCE ASSU8ES
LOWER COST WATER WELLS"
DAVIDSON
WELL DRILLING
LIMITED 'a
4 Rotary and Percussion Drills
PHONE 357-1960
WINGHAM
Collect Calls Accepted
"ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 19R0"
through increasing the
amount of energy in the
ration.
At the current price of
$650 per tonne, Pro'tec
should only be fed tohigh
producing cows. Top
dressing Protec at a rate
of one pound per cow per
day in early lactation
would be a very efficient'
way to increase energy
intake. At current prices,
the .expected increase in
fat test would return half
of this added , feed bill
cost, so that an increase
in production per -cow of
one half kilogram milk
per day would be needed
to reach the break-even
point.
CLAY -
Silo Unioaders
Feeders
Cleaners
Stabling
Leg Elevators
Liquid Manure
Equipment
Hog Equipment
BUTLER —
Sllo Unloaders
Feeders
Conveyors
FARMATIC —
Mills
Augers, etc.
ACORN —
Cleaners
Heated Waterers
Sig:soybean contract
The 1980',- soybean
marketing agreement
has been signed by the
negotiating Agency
comprising of processors,
dealers and growers.
The 1980 agreement
required two days • of
deliberations relating to
-the soybean industry
including such. items as
the formula.for minimum
pricing, dealer handling
charges, drying charges,
grade and moisture
disputes and the Cash
Advance Payment
Program.
The actual change from
the 1979 agreement was
the drying charges in the
Soya -Bean Cgnversion'
Table. During the past
year fuel and energy cost
has risen 'in propane gas,
electricity and natural
gas used for the drying of
soybeans should the
moisture be in excess of
14 percent. The increase
is approximately 12.5
percent , more or lest as
the rate is taken to the
nearest 10 cents.
Soybean production in
Ontario has been on the
increase dufing the past
two years. Today,
Ontario accounts for
approximately 75 percent
of the processors
requirements compared
to five years ago when
better than 50 percent of
the crushers supply had
to be imported from the
U.S.A.
Soybeans are Ontario's
4th highest cash crop .and
production is on the in-
crease. Last year
Statistics Canada in-
dicated the acreage was
700,000 producing a crop
of twenty-five million
bushels.
As Ontario soybean
production continues to
increase the,1980
Negotiating Agency
agreed to have the.
Ontario Ministry of
•Agriculture and Food
conduct an in-depth study
to determine a more
desirable pricing
mechanism from that of
the present which is tied
to the laid ;,in,yalue of
imported • soybeans of
equal quality. in Canadian
funds; the study will
embrace the costing of
the dealer handling
charge as to services
rendered and cost of
operation in the handling
of soybeans and the
grower iivolvement in
the cost df production and
a ` fair return on in-
vestment. It is the intent,
the study will be com-
pleted in 1980 in order to
'be studied by the
processors, dealers and
growers prior to
negotiating the terms and
condtions of the 1981
marketing agreement.
Agricultural
engineers rely on
farmer. feedback
BY.
RON FLEMING,
AG. ENGINEER
Have you ever felt th t
money was being wasted
on useless research? Who
cares about thermal
stress and strain in
grapevines? How many
of you will benefit from
the development of a low
cost meat -bone separator
for crab meat? The prize
has to go to this one:
Event Scheduling and
Process Interaction
Concepts in Discrete
Simulation Modeling.
These are isolated
examples. There is a lot
of very useful research
going on in industry and
at universities. In the
area of agricultural
engineering research,
several projects are
underway at the
University of Guelph.
These include work on
low-temperature corn
drying, solar energy
application, production of
methane, studies into,
erosion and many others.
-Who decides what
projects are the most
important?
That's where all of us
come into the -picture.
Agricultural engineers
BPAG>w 38
FARM CLASSIFIE6
SECTION ...-
from across the province
get together once a year
to come up with priorities
for research needs. We
look at different subject
areas and base our
comments on feedback
from the people we work
with.
For example, there has
been a lot of interest in
Huron County lately in
alcohol production for
fuel. There has been a
fair amount of interest in
new rabbit barns. Is
research needed in either
of these areas? Are other
subjects more im-
portant?
I have to rely on
feedback from the far-
mers to base my com-
ments. The whole in-
tention. of these
engineering meetings is
to try to get research
projects going that are
going to be the most
useful to the farmers. of
the province ultimately.
If- you see a need for
research in some par-
ticular area, please let us•'-'
know. When the same
concern comes from
several people, there's a
good chance it will be
acted on. You do •have a
voice in this.
GEORGE NESBITT
FARM • DRAINAGE
Reduced prices for
installation over 30,000 ft.
All work guaranteed.
PHONE CLINTON 482-9497
A. For sale
A. For sale
GRASS SEED - Limited
amount of forage mix-
tures and straight seeds
at last summer's prices.
Available for immediate
deli ery. Also lawn grass
mixtures. Call Eldon
Bradley, 528-2214 or
Harvey Culbert 529-
7492.-13-16
LEYLAND tractor,
model 270 with .. turbo
charger, 90 h.p. duals and
cab, 2300 hours; Versatile
cultivator 20 ft. done only
300 acres; • Kongskilde
plough, three furrow,
adjustable and like. new.
Best offer. Phone 524-4165
mornings only. -14-15
FORD 8000 tractor and
cab; White 16 ft. wheel
discs; Keewanec L61/2 ft.
wheel cultivator; Turnco
gravity box with fertilizer
auger and wagon;
Melrow pull.type seed
drill with hydraulic
cylinder, seed box at-
tachment. Phone 529-7219
or 529-7214.-14-15
NO, 1 Red Clover
Phone 524-9595.-15
POLLED HEREFORD,
between 400 and 500 lbs.
Phone 524-6385.-15
D. Livestock
FOR SALE: Good
selection of Hampshire,
Yorkshire, Hamp X York
and York X Landrace
boars, ready for service.
Prices reflect market
conditions. Bob Robin-
son, R.R.4 Walton, 345-
2317.-12-14
ew wavym.w
For details on plans
Seed. covering Corn, Spring
Grain, Beans & New
.Forage Seeding call:
GEORGE TURTON
RIDGEWOOD PARK
R.R. 5 GODERICH
524-7411
"Performance 'Proven"'
SEED CORN
M. W. DURST
Spnng.. NO BETTER TIME FOR
LET US ®O THEM FOR YOU e g
Residential & Rural
e Driving Sheds
e Hog Barns
o Renovations
• Additions
BRINK'S CONSTRUCTION
Phone 345-20�
R.R. 1 Bornholm
Corn Growers:
•
1
WESTEEL-ROSCO
Granaries
B 8 L - Hog -Panelling
LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS
RR 1, Kincardine, Ont.
Phone 395-5286
ARE YOU RECEIVING
THE MAXIMUM CROPS AND
THE MAXIMUM DOLLAR VALUE
FROM EACH ACRE YOU FARM?
Have You Considered
Farm Drainage?
CAN WE HELP YOU?
WE OFFER EARLIER PLANTING
WE OFFER BIGGER CROP POTENTIAL
WE OFFER SURER FALL HARVEST
ROCK DRAINAGE LTD.
FARM DRAINAGE
KINCARDINE, ONTARIO
PiiONE:
3964253
Or
395-5851
-SPECIALIZING IN FARM DRAINAGE-
-WORK FULLY GUARANTEED.
"DRAINS THE EARTH TO ADD MORE WORTH"
•