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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-06-04, Page 58Is your old furnace costing extra $$$ with rising fuel costs? If you have a woodlot, be a winner with a - NEWMAC Wood & Oil Combination Furnace Also available in hot water and wood combin- ation and oil Save up to 30% On Your Fuel Bill When You Instal A New Grimsby Retension Head Furnace For Estimates Call Chisholm Fuels 14 —Piff'-r,101 Edition, Week of June 4, 1980 IL ution from land use is important We nolrnally think of pol- lutors as noisy smelly factor- ies that spew their wastes into our rivers or the air. But quiet countrysides and sub- urban- neighbourhoads can be pollutors too,. According to a recent report by fhe International Joint Commis- sion, this pollution from land use activities is much more important than pireviously thought. For example, from one- - third ,.to one-half of the phosphorous pollution in the Great Lakes, where it causes algae problems and depleted oxygen; comes from these dispersed "non -point" sour- ces rather than from factories or sewage treatment plants. The ITC Report highlights two land uses of particular Implants increase. gain and profits Growth -promoting ear im- and finishing cattle. Synovex "To maximize the benefits plants offer. a. number of ec- is available as Synovex-S for of i'm'planting, re -implant the conomic benefits to produc- steers 270 to 455 kg (600 to cattle after 100 to 120 days," ers, especially during the 1000 lb), and Synovex-H for says Mr. Forsyth... "If • you present price squeeze. John heifers weighing 180 to 365 implant them in the spring Forsyth, Ontario Ministry of kg (400 to 800 Ib). These before pasturing, you co A traitor. w a d F,aod beef implant prod rte at'• •.r.-jtrtplant _yethen y,e,u bti cattle specialist, says, ommended for use on ui s tem in to tie baen m e fall." importance - intensive farm- ing on clay soils, and urban developments under con- struction. Both these activities tend to produce run-off phosphor- ous -laden sediment, which is carried downstream- to the Great Lakes. As well, this sediment often is contamin- • ated by heavy metals such as lead or mercury, or with other toxic chemicals such as pesticide residues. For urban areas, the Com- mission recommends regula- tions to prevent developers from stripping • all . the soil from sites under construction along with improved erosion control measures. For farm land, the emphasis is on education and voluntary ero- sion control, since the 'Sedi- ment and nutrients that pol- lute the lakes afso represent an expensive loss of top soil and fertilizer to the farmers involved. The VC report adds an interesting angle to the argu- ments for preserving prime agricultural lands. Since in- tensive row cropping on marginal lands with poor drainage ,and steep hillsides increases polluted run off, the IJC suggests that saving our best farm lands can help save the Great Lakes as well. They also note the import- ance of natural wetlands as biological filters to trap sedi- ., ,,menL_and--nutrients before they reach the lakes. All this doesn't lessen our need to tackle major pollut- ors such as nickel refineries or pulp and paper plants. But this latest study does em- phasize the importance of the thousands of little sources that together represent a large pollution problem, and that can only be controlled by the individual responsibility of you and I. Government - action r�not ula„forces rural tax increase. ng w csa P s. myL x«4 r .FQ-, u r s .. *i -'16_'Tne "These implants increase the animals' rate of gain by about 10 per cent, increase feed efficiency, and reduce feed costs." The increased feed effici- ency is difficult to assess in pasture situations. However, tests show that implanted cattle can gain 11.2 to 15.7 kg (25 to 35 lb) more on pasture during the summer than non - implanted cattle. Two implants are licensed for use in Canada -- Ralgro and Synovex. Ralgro can be used on suckling, growing or femalebreeding stock. "Implanting is a relatively easy procedure, providing the producer has the right type of handling equip- ment," says Mr. Forsyth. "A head gate equipped with a nese bar is recommend- ed." With practice, a producer can implant 30 to 40 head per hour with only one helper. Implanting can be conducted at the same time as other pre -pasture treatments, such as vaccinations, to make the best use of time and labour. The withdrawal time be- tween implant and slaughter is 65 to 70 days, so producers should not re -implant cattle destined for the market in fall. Ontario Ministry of Agri- culture and Food beef rattle specialists can provide ,more information about ear im- plants. Contact your area beef cattle specialist through your local agricultural offic- es. Corn seed contaminated by new smut disease "Farmers planting seed corn this spring should con- tact ontact the head office of 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 Farm- ers Union. Mr. Casey said contact has been made• with the Depart: ment 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 explained it is not known how wide an area the new disease has affected, but said onus has Hog subsidy not �dequate: NFL - "The announcement by Agriculture Minister Whelan of $2.46 per cwt. subsidy to hog producers will be wel- come, although very .inade- quate to the average hog producers," says Joe Casey, National Farmers Union. He said the subsidy is no consolation to the hog farm- ers that have already been forced into bankruptcy, nor is it the remedy to future erratic trends in prices and production. "Surely farmers can now see.the need for an orderly national marketing agency for hogs, for all meats for that matter, in order to stab- ilize price and production." Mr. Casey said, "The Ontario government should assist and encourage the development of a national agency o he prepareed—to accept responsibility for the consequences of a vertically integrated hog industry in Ontario." He said too. that the Hog Marketing Board should be offering foresight and leader- ship for national marketing, rather than allowing a mark- et economy to dictate the boom or bust cycles that spell disaster for family farm hog producers. been put on the seed com- panies to advise farmers who may have purchased contam- inated seed. Mr. Casey is critical of the government's method . of handling a situation that could be very serious if the new smut disease mush- roomed into wide spread damage this crop year, re- sulting in devastating the crop and becoming difficult to overcome. He said farmers have • a right to know the seed com- panies that are being shield- ed, but in the meantime urged that the seed com- --pane. not their agent, be called for assurance by auth- orized persons that they are not, planting seed corn likely to be contaminated. It takes your enemy and your friend working together, to hurt you: the one to slander you and the other to bring you the news. -Mark Twain FARM Everyone. benefits... Government policy will force farmers to pay very large increases in their muni- cipal taxes, the Ontario Fed- eration of Agriculture (OFA) told the Ontario Cabinet last month. The OFA, in their Annual Brief to the provincial gov- ernment, said the problem is due to the lifting of the freeze on equalization factors. Equalization factors are used to determine the share of county council and county school board costs that are assessed to each municipal- ity within a county. Farm properties have in- creased in value much faster than urban properties since the equalization factors were frozen in 1970. As a result, farmers now are expected to pay a larger share of the tax load, in spite of no increase in services and no increase in the ability to pay. The OFA said that the government's policyof.bold- ing increases to five per cent a year, introduced last year as a result of rural pressure, is not acceptable. The OFA recommended the government drop welfare and • education costs from property taxes and develop a special tax on income to cover these costs. The 35 - page Brief said this will ensure taxation based on benefit and the ability to pay. Ten years ago, the OFA led a protest of farmers which led to the Farm Tax Reduction Program. The pro- gram, which provides a 50 per cent rebate for farmers, has served well as an interim measure. However, with the unfreezing of equalization factors the benefit, of this program willsoon be eroded. OFA recommends true tax reform at this time. Lucknow Phone 529-7524 Bill Chisholm Goderich, Phone 524-7681 Nilel-Biemllan Wingham, Phone 357-2820 Gasoline - Diesel Sunoco -Lubes &-Greases Propane Filling Station i