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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-05-14, Page 31Miller leaving ag.office to farm near Ridgetown By Jim Fitzgerald A well-known and highly respected member of Huron County's agricultural scene is leaving his post after a decade of work. Mike Miller, associate agricultural represen- tative for Huron County for the ministry of agricultural and food, who works out of the Clinton office, retired this week. The popular soils and crop specialist wants to farm his 250 acres near Ridgetown and do some travelling in North - _.merica. "I don't want to - be too tied down," he said in an interview. Mike as he was know in area farming circles, came to Huron in October of 1969 and liked the location and job so much Milk fever tied to minerals Although the precise cause of milk fever remains unknown, much has been learned in recent years about the disease and methods of prevention. Milk fever occurs generally in early lactation, when a cow cannot mobilize calcium from the bone or absorb it as fast as it is being secreted in the milk. Blood calcium level drops and the cow will die if calcium is not given to her by the blood stream. During the dry period, the cow stores calcium in her bones. At calving, the bone must release this calcium for milk production. Some cows are unable to release this calcium and con- sequently "milk fever" develops. Iowa State University suggests feeding a low calcium diet 14' days previous to calving. The low calcium diet. ap- parently causes the release of bone calcium into the blood stream, thus enabling the cow to be ready for the demands on blood calcium that occurs with calving. This research points out once again the importance of separating the dry cow from the milking cow and feeding a ration to meet her special needs. For those cows with a history of milk fever, an injection of one million I.U. of Vitamin D3 per 100 pounds of body weight should be given in the rump two tb four days before calving. IfR. eight days after injection the cow has not calved, provide a second dosage of Vitamin D3. Pork groove The Federal Gover- nment .has announced a pork stabilization payment for the period April 1, 1979 to March 31, 1980. The payment isT2:46^ per cwt. with a maximum of 5,000 hogs per owner. Hogs must index 80 or better in order to qualify. Partners who can show equal investment, labour, management and risk or profit sharing may claim on a share of total sales. he stayed on and made the Clinton office unlike some in other counties which have a high tur- nover rate. As well as looking after the soils and crops in Huron, Mike was also secretary of the Huron Soil and Crop Association -for the last 10 years and enjoyed his involvment 'when Huron hosted the International Plowing Match in 1978. "It's very difficult to leave such an excellent office staff and the associations in the county, " Mike admitted. -- "This- is a- good -county - to work in. It (farming) is very progressive here and Huron has always been in the vanguard in innovating new techniques. The job was always a challenge," he explained. Over the past decade he has seeh many changes in farming, including the introduction of slated livestock barns, modern milking parlors, large poultry operations and the large scale cash cropping units. But with the increased size also comes stress, and according to Mike the ultimate size of an operation is based only on the farmer's ability to manage it and handle the stress. Although he is op- timistic about the future of farming, despite the current cost pinch and low prices, he said he was not- "starry-eyed" - ab -out - the sta-r-ry yed".--ab-ou-t--- the future the way some experts are. "I've seen three ring - outs (downturns) since I've been connected with farming, one in the mid 60's, another again in 1969 to '71, and now this one in 1980. We'll just have to plan for them," he said. "What's really un- fortunate is some far- mers have been caught in the timing squeeze and were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there were some in trouble before the high interest rates hit," Mike noted. He thinks that cash cropping will be carried out on rented land more and more in the future, as there is a trend away from owner -operator units. He explained, "Land values s<re under value if compared to gold, but - over . Ya'1-uecl--if c -o m -pared- -- to commodity prices." Don Pullen, the ag rep who runs the Clinton office, said Mike would be missed, "He'll be a very hard man to replace." The ministry's Toronto head office is currently looking for a replacement. tine . furrow" by Letters are appreoaietl by Elgb Trotter Eiaaie Ro Elm ra On, N3B 1C 7 GQDERIC}I,SIGNAL-STAR, WgPNE'SDAy, MAY 14, Itt pr -,P ,Ga 11,E . FARM CLASSIFIED, SECTION ' Mike Miller (left) gets gift from Dennis Martin Ask before you plant -Casey Farmers planting seed corn this ,,spring should contact the head office of When we first moved to the country more than 12 years ago, there were mornings when I awakened with the strong impression that I was hearing music, exquisite sounds. Or perhaps it would be better to suggest a sense of harmony, wonderful and pervasive, each morning when I left the house and went to the barn. Everything seemed so perfect. At that time, we had an old, white mare and a palomino filly in the stable. Both were friendly and greeted me with a nicker and a nuzzle. Sights and sounds 'around a barn, are so important. It is worth a thousand dollars a year to me to watch a horse gallop across an open field with head up, mane and tail flying in the breeze. But why is it that the sense of smell is regarded with disdain by most urban dwellers when they think of the country? And of all -hours of the day, there is none like early morning for real, good odors. Fresh from sleep, a man's five senses are unclogged 'and keen as ..a knifeblade. A still, spring morning is best because the mists and the moisture of the night seem to retain what has been distilled overnight. When a morning breeze is blowing, a single predominant odor is likely, especially in blossom time or haying time or seeding time. So, a still morning is better if you want to drink all the odors of the earth. This morning, I walked slowly along the fence line and the cool, heavy aroma of the bushland behind the barn greeted my nostrils. It is a heavy aroma of moist wood and earth mould and wet leaves and green grass. In the sunny spots at the barn, the fragrance of the brown earth was warm and generous, a reminder of daylight and sunshine. Inside the barn, the warm smellof fresh 'manure assaulted me and it was mixed with the crisp smell of golden straw and timothy hay. And the horses! Ah, who can explain the feeling a person gets when the sweet, sweet aroma of horse sweat is inhaled. There's something about the outside of a horse that does great things for the inside of a man. The water pails were empty and the horses playfully bunted them at the stanchion and forced their velvet noses into the water. I suppose, because horses are complete vegetarians, their breath is always sweet unless they're ailing. When they mix a little water with their oats;tthe smell is rich and natural. The horses munch contentedly as I leave the stable and wander to the back of our property where the ground is still soggy and the thin, acrid smell of the swamp -like ground reminds me of bullrushes and swamp -singers and pollywogs and tadpoles. In another few weeks, this ground will be baked by the sun and the swamp smells will have disappeared. All the more reason to enjoy them now before the summer sun eliminates them. Turning to go back to the house, the odors from our neighbor's chicken stable are wafted gently across the field to complete the smells of the•'eountry--m riing. I'm happy to have those odors. The town is growing toward our house. Even now, plans call for that chicken stable to be torn down and on the property, five building lots will appear. One has already been sold and we'll have mother neighbor to share the sights, the sounds, -the feels, the smells, of the rural countryside in a few months. Maybe I'm over -emphasizing the senseof smell but it is only because I walked this morning in a world of wonderful odors. To some people, those smells would mean nothing. In fact, to many people, many of those smells would be obnoxious, unpleasant and made for complaints. Not me, brothers and sisters. I love the country, especially at this time of year when thousands of tractors are turning the good, brown earth and sowing the seeds of ple-nty to supply a hungry world. GEORdE NESBITT FARM DRAINAGE Reduced prices for installation over 30,000 ft. All work guaranteed • PHONE CLINTON 482-9497 rs get break wypouTM The maximum is 5,000 declares hogs per partner for no s more than three part- Hers . Application forms are ravailable by writing tooii,,..iwj the Agricultural Stabilization Board, 9th Floor, Sir Wm. Logan Bldg., 580 Booth St., Ottawa, Ont. K1A 0Y9. Hog grading slips must be submitted with the application in order to establish proof of sale NnTInr! Due to the Victoria Day Holiday - Monday, May 19 Our FARM PAGE DEADLINE WILL BE TUESDAY, MAY 20 10 A.M. SHARP 1 ytou've been waging he war on wild oats for years. But it will take a powerful force to make a dent in the enemy's armour This year Uniroyal Chemical has committed .Wypout to the fight and this hard-hitting herbi- cide is' going to make its presence felt very quickly Wypout is among the most economical post - emergence wild oat treatments available in Canada It provides growers with effective Control before there is a chance of yield, loss. Wypout is effective on wheat. barley. lentils.' rapeseed. mustard: fababeans. sugar beets sunflowers. flax and peas Let Wypott become your formAible ally in the war on wild- oats UNIROYAL CHEMICAL Div. of UNIROYAL Ltd. Elmira. Ontario • 1 UNIROYAL Wypout is available from W.G. Thompson & Sons Ltd. Blenheim, Rodney, Granton. Mitchell, Kent Bridge, and Hensall. kl 1;lik their seed corn company and ask if the particular variety being planted is one contaminated by the new smut disease discovered last fall in south western Ontario," says Joe Casey, of the National Farmers Union. Mr. Casey said contact has been made with the Department of Agriculture, which has taken random samples of seed corn for testing and has ordered some seed off the market, but will not release the names of seed companies known to have contaminated seed. • He said . a spokesman for the department ex- plained it is not known how wide an area the new disease has effected, but said onus has been put on the seed companies to advise' farmers who may have purchased con- taminated seed. Mr. Casey is critical of the governmen't method of handling a situation that could be very serious if the new smut disease mushroomed into wide spread damage this crop year, resulting in devastating the crop and becoming difficult to overcome. He said farmers have a right to know the seetl - companies that are being shielded, but in the meantime urged that the seed company, not their agent, be called for assurance by authorized persons A. For sale EVANS certified soybean seed. Keith Lovell, Kippen, Ont. Phone 262- 5618.-19-20-21 "MEAT KING" Roaster Cockerels, day-old, available May and June. Call McKinley Hatchery 1-800-265-8536. Order today and put meat on your table this fall.-20- 24AR SIMMENTAL SALE, May 31, 5 p.m., Double M, Airport Road at Cashtown,_ 5.6 fullblood, percentage females, 3 bulls. Catalogue: Milton McArthur, RR1 Stayner, Ontario. 705-466- 3048.-20bc D. Livestock BRED GILTS - York X Landrace with closed herd conditions. Original herd constantly being R.O.P. tested by Quality Swine. Breeder Boars also available. LAURENCE VAN- DENHEUVEL 524- 4350.-20-22ar WATER WELL DRILLING "80 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • • FARM • SUBURBAN'. INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED - • 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills PHONE 357-1960 WINGHAM Collect Cat's Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" D. Livestock FOR SALE: Service age boars, Hamp, York, Hamp x Durpc and Kamp x York. Also York x Landrace bred gilts, due in 4 to 6 weeks. Bob -Robinson, RR4 Walton, 345-2317.-19-21 REGISTERED Polled Hereford bulls, ready for service. Good rate of gain. Halter broken. Sire gained 3.5 lb. per day, Ed Powell, RR1 Wingham. Phone 335-3.893.-19,20 CLAY - Silo Unloaders Feeders Cleaners Stabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment BUTLER — Silo Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mllls Augers, etc. ACORN — Cleaners Heated Waterers WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B & L - Hog" Panelling LOWRY FARM,SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardlne,.Ont. Phone 395-5206 • 0 I, Now you c tch to whiteb or kidney bea 'thout s 't 4 herbicides. Stay with Lasso R. Now registered for grass control in whitebeans and kidney beans. Lasso R herbicide by Monsanto, the herbicide you can count on in corn, is now registered for whitebeans and kidney beans. So you can switch crops — and stay with the uTrbc-atable-.. rass control of Lasso. Lasso delivers consistent control of many tough annual grasses. To apply Lasso in whitebeans or kidney beans, just broadcast it before planting, then shallowly incorporate into the top two inches of soil. For extra clout against broadleaves, follow Lasso with Patoran' 50W. You can count on Lasso to get the job done right. With excellent crop safety. And no carryover. So when you switch to white - beans or kidney beans, stay with Lasso. The proven winner in the fight against yield - robbing grasses. Monsanto Mnn'•�•.t Tnr „�t \,1,'Innip,,1 kr� Aiw inti i(,a,i'nn(I''Ilnw iItr,.71, 1 rF'gist,'r,'(ttn3c'le'm,vrk '1`,i10t mua rr'cn5tr'7r•itr,o ir'mirk r Mcrns(nin C<nnp:Tny 1(1'7(1 j11.1.1 Cr)ltt,tiy V.rnrnuvr•r (Ilrf ,'I1(1115 u r I OS((C, of Monsanto Company of (-rha (:r,ury C'nrporat u'n 1,N WTC 4 80 e - ..P 7