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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1984-10-24, Page 30Harry Pelissero, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture was the guest speaker at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture's annual meeting. In the photo, from left to right are, HCFA president Doug Garniss of RR 4, Wingham; Mr. Pelissero, and HCFA first vice-president Paul Klapp of Zurich. Farm groups urged to raise issues with government Farmers will now lobby federal members of parliament to see if they keep the election promises made to the agriculture'sector. Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Harry Pelissero told the annual meeting of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture that federation members can't simply go to Ottawa and demand action, rather there has to be a "build up". Mr. Pelissero said county federations have to raise issues locally. "If the issues aren't being raised locally the organization can lose credibility," he said. The OFA president suggested that the county federations make their local politicians aware of the issues facing agriculture such as a desire for affordable credit' and higher commodity prices. Mr. Pelissero said the practise of informing members of parliament. with successful results has worked at the provincial level. He mentioned earlier OFA activities referring particularly to. June 19 when OFA members descended on Toronto and visited their local MPP. The OFA president indicated that once the federal members of parliament have been. briefed on agriculture matters, OFA members may, en masse, visit them in Ottawa. The federation will have the' opportunity to get their ideas across again at the provincial level, said Mr. Pelissero referring to the upcoming provincial leadership race. The leader of the 25,000 -member strong agricultural group .said he is optimistic about the business of farming. "I'm the eternal optimist," said Mr. National 4-H Week is Nov 5-10 Along with the rest of Canada, Ontario will celebrate National 4-H Week from November 5-10. Special events to be held during the week include the National 4-H Volunteer Leaders' Conference and the National 4-H Members' Conference. Five Ontario 4-H leaders will attend the Leaders' Conference in Toronto from November 7-11. The five are Lynda Mc- Cuaig, Ottawa -Carleton Region; Helen McDonald, Lambton County; Thomas Mur- dock, Algoma District; Walter Petheram, Haldimand-Norfolk Region; and Helen Williams, Prince Edward County. Con- ference sessions will focus on the theme of "In Action Today to Lead 4-H Tomorrow". Ontario 4-H members attending the Na- tional) Members' Conference from November 7-12 in Toronto are Dave Haagsma, Oxford County; Lori Israel, Waterloo Region; Janine Moore, Simcoe North; Cindy Morgan, Stormont County; Dawn Smith, Elgin County; Debbie Stiles, Hastings County; Jeannette Willemse, Mid- dlesex County; and Bernie Zimmerman, Rainy River District. The 4-H program is a world-wide 4-H movement with members in over 80 coun- tries. Canada has over 60,000 4-H members with Ontario supplying 23,000 of them. Near- ly 6,000 adults volunteer their services each year as 4-H leaders in Ontario. The 4-H motto is "Learn to do by Doing" and all activities are based on this philosophy. Pelissero. Ha expressed confidence in the agriculture sector and said the process of educating politicians and consumers alike will win out in the end for farmers. STOVES BY: OLDTIMER GODIN KENT CHIMNEYS, ACCESSORIES Certified Installations. 744 PRINCESS KINCARDINE 396-8669 GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1884 --PAGE 11A FARM NE:W Crisis in farming not due to poor management says FCC study The study of 6,000 farmers by the Farm Credit Corporation (FCC) just proves what farm groups have been saying all along, the president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) said recently. "Farm groups can tell political decision makers, 'I told you so', because we've been warning them all along that the crisis in far- ming isn't due to poor management," said Harry Pelissero. The study by'the FCC relates productivity to debt. It shows that the one-third of Cana- dian farmers with high debt loads and low equity in their farming operations produced about half of Canada's food last year. "Politicians who have hemmed and haw- ed because they didn't have the cold, hard facts must take decisive action immediate- ly. Thesituation might not be as serious now if they'd listened to us in the first place. If they had provided long-term, low-interest loans when farmers first started feeling the squeeze, the statistics might not be as startling as they are," Pelissero said. "The formula for the success of agriculture is a two-part equation," Pelissero,said. "The first part is long-term, affordable credit and the second part is pro- viding farmers with adequate returns for their products." The OFA recommends several courses of action for the federal and provincial govern- ments. At the federal level, the federation has recommended an agri-bond program, to provide farmers with affordable credit at less than market rates. The FCC should be restored to a preferred source of long-term credit, and its ni.gn-interest loans snolua De refinanced. An effective stabilization pro- gram must be put in place as soon as Parlia- ment reconvenes. At the provincial level, the OFA is lobby- ing for a program to freeze interest rates on operating loans, a new capital lo9ns pro- gram for improvements to productivity and environmental standards and a re- organization of the Ontario Farm Adjust- ment Assistance Program. The FCC study shows that the most pro- ductive farmers are carrying the most debt. "Consumers benefit from farmers' ability to produce high quality food in abundance and at reasonable prices. Any government action to help farmers staggering under this debt load would help everyone," Pelissero said. Four new courses added to program Four new courses are being added to the roster of the Management of the Farm Business program, delivered by the Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology to farmers in southwestern On- tario. In all, over 50 courses are being organized by M.F.B. program co-ordinator, Don Luckham, and six of them begin this fall. 011e new course is the Applying Com- modities Futures (Advanced) course which begins on November 19 running until December 10. Along with the Advanced Farm Management course which has a star - FOR LIFE AUTO HOME COMMERCIAL FARM INSURANCE SERVICES ASK FOR JIM BELL 31 WEST ST.. GODERICH , BUS:2138 RES: 524-8521 00 u co-opeiato INSURANCE SERVICES ting date of November 22, the Applying Commodities Futures course will be con- ducted at Ridgetown College. Both, new courses will run from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Two courses on Computers on the Farm (Beginners) begin this fall, as well. One is a night course, beginning on November 8; the other a day course, from 9 a.m. to noon, beginning on November 15. Both will be on campus at R.C.A.T. The fith new course added to the M.F.B. program list is a Water Management for Horticultural Crops course. This course begins in the Leamington area and runs for three consecutive day -long sessions, star- ting on December 11. A final course, to be given in Chatham starting on December 5, is Financial Records for Beginning Farmers. Space for this particular course is extreme- ly limited, says co-ordinator, Luckham. All other courses have room for applicants, but the instructors can limit the numbers to 20 to 25 participants. Upon • successful completion, course registrants will be presented with a cer- tificate signifying their academic ac- complishments. SOIL & CROP MANAGEMENT SERVICES •Soil Analysis •Crop Production Programs •Pest Monitoring ATTENTION FARMERS Bring yout soil samples to us for full analysis and recommendations. SoiLab is located on the corner of Goderich Street and Loftus Street in the villdge of Auburn. Yes, we do Garden samples as well. solaa OFFERS: Soil Analysis for all field crops Soil Sampling service Pest Monitoring service Crop Information Centre and Computerized Programs for •Production Records •Production Costing • Fertilizer Treatments For further information please call Tom Perry Box 46.A.uburn, Ont. NOM 1E0 (519) 526-7513 • Pesticide Treatments •Hybrid and Variety Selection a i . 1000 PtODTHS 0IN, NAVE TO WORRY AeoUi A SMORTA6E OF FOOD, T USUAIIY NAvE TO EAT TNErP WORDS. "Li tle Joe's" Bluew®ter Coffee Shop 355 BAYFIELD ROAD Deliver your 1984 Soybeans and Corn to your closest W.G. Thompson Elevator Fast unloading, with a complete marketing system backed by our own Brokerage Department. All branches ready to serve you 26'1-2:27 Mitchell 348-$433 2254160 Port Albett :529^'91 41117