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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-12-09, Page 38AGE 16A - OD RICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1976 iurroiv Letters are appreclated'by Bob Trotter Eldele Rd Elmira. Ont N38 2C7 Not long ago, this corner decried the situation in On- tario which ha5.pitted consunter against farmer. A few years:ago, before consumers organizations and farm-malrketing"1 dards. these confrontations were few and far between because, farmers were constantly sub- jected to the ups:.and`downs of supply and demand. Con- sumers got the lowest 'prices possible On 'food pi educts and _nobody. much `that hundreds of thousands of farmers went broke. . •The fact that there' are fewer farmers — and fewer farms -- in Ontario today 'seems -to have been forgotten by most people. Mute testimony to -this fact is the num- ber of abandoned farm homes sprawle, across Ontario. It is true: then -that fewer farmers are growing far more food these days than ever before; that far era and the agricultural community have adapted to te.eh logy and change better than even the most modern industries. • .Production' in the agricultural sector has outstri ed any other segment of the economy in the last decade. Which means that fartilers have had• to compete •to a greater degree than any•other industry on this province. They have had, to be competitive to stay in business. I'm positive these confrontations between consumer and farmer can, for the most, part. be, prevented. The consumer wants a quality product at a competitive price. The farnittic can and will -produce a quality product as long as he •is assured of a reasonable return on his labor and: investment. • When farmers can convince consumers that they are not gouging the public. the public _Will accept reasonable price increases. The consumer wants to ,be assured that the. price of fooct.is competitive. Unfortunately. .many consumers think that prices have • been administered: that is. artificially set by a consortium •••,uf government officials. farm marketing. board officials and bungling bureaucrats. • `l'p some degree: in some products, there •is a modicum obtruth in that supposition, . But farmers and marketing boards .have • proven, time t1i.e and again against -many odds, that even the prices set by marketing boards which have assumed that power are fair and reasonable. And,I'm referring specifically to a couple of those abor- tive attempts by the consumers association to prove that price formulas set by marketing boards were too high. I honestly think that those confrontations could 'have been avoided and a lot of hard feelings dispelled between the two parties if they had been able to sit down and dis- cuss the 'pricing formula before either one went off half cocked and threw baseless accusations at one another. This corner has suggested many times that -any farm marketing board which assumes the power to set prices and quotas should have a consumer representative on that board. • Why invite ,criticism? Why not consult those • most af- fected by prices? Farmers andfarm organizations are ' constantly carping at the government for setting policies and writing legislation for farmers and . not consulting farmers about that legislation. Farmers, especially the .Ontario Federatibn of A•grieui- tune, have been bitching at the province for many years for not including farmers in their discussions about pend- ing legislation. Therefore; farm organizations should follbw directions from their own people and allow consumer representatives to add to the deliberations. Up to now, most boards have been reluctant to do this. To my knowledge, few of them have done it. The Ontario in Board, I•believe .•has a repre- sentative Products' Marketing , from- the consumers association — Mrs. Ruth Jackson — on the board. When she was appointed, a great many agricultural people objected but I believe it was a good move and should be emulated by other boards. It could go .a long way to. removing the confrontation attitude so -prevalent the consumer and farmer. today And anything that will relieve tension in this troubled• world is certainly worthwhile. Soil and crop hold annual meet A large number of Huron County farmers attended,the annual meeting recently of the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association and heard about crop methods to European Countries. The guest speaker was Terry Daynard of the Crop Science Department of the University of Guelph. During the summer. of 1975, Daynard'' visited the agricultural areas of France, Italy, Yugoslavia and Hungary. The farms he • visited ranged from a low of 10 acres in Yugoslavia to 80,069 acre commune farms in Hungary. • At the present tithe, Terry Daynard is doing research at Guelph to develop a system for handling corn stalk.. In Yugoslavia he: discovered small, pockets. of corn s -at tiered along the hillside where farmerspicked their corn;.by hand and then went back to harvest the stalks. The management practice has been in use in Yugoslavia for. 400 years. The Guelph researcher was amazed that Europeans' harvest corn much wetter than Canadians do. He brought some seed back and grew it at Guelph. Last fall. they were able to combine it quite successfully at 50 per cent moisture. Many of •the Enrope corn Says provincial farm income stabilization bill little more than public rekitions Jack Riddell MPP (Huron. Middlesex) , the agricultxr--al critic for the Liberal Party, Iwas the guest speaker at the annual `.meeting of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture on December 3. He spoke at' length about the farm income stabilization program calling the . gover- . nment's original plan "little more than a public relations exercise" as it. would have covered only 15 to 20 per cent of the commodities which are produced by Ontario farmers. "Frankly, 'we (the Liberal party) still have some misgivings - about the - proposed plan", Mr. Riddell said. "But we hopeto prevail upon thegovernment to accept .amendments, which we have suggested." - These amendments say farm organizations in Ontario should be able to appoint people directly to the com- mission, rather than having all commission - members appointed by 'the Lt. Governor. More realistic cost of production should be taken into consideration. In addition to direct, cost, the farmer must be allowed interest on his operating capital and some .allowance for labor which he has to hire. The commission should be required ,to consult:, with producer organizations or commodity boards before' arriving at a stabilized price for a particular commodity. , . Where the present bill says the commission "may con- sult.", the Liberals feel .it should read "must" consult with the various commodity boards. Mr. Riddell was critical of the proposed property tax reform, stating thatit woubd not be as satisfactory as the present rebate system. He said that, "farmers' have expressed the fear that payment - of taxes by the - province would be tan- tamount ', to. government control of their land, that their status as independent businessmen is being'steadiry ' eroded, and that the proposed changes in ' tax structure might be part of a trend which _could ultimately lead to the government dictating what and how much is, to be' produced." . He went -on to say that the Liberals believe that a far more equitable and just alternative to the tax reform proposals would :be, • "to strengthen . the farm economy, and guarantee farmers a reasonable rate of return from their land, so -that •th.ey, are able to pay their taxes and: other costs and realize a fair profit from their. labor". • M. Riddell told the crowd. of Bruce County farmers that the agriculture industry must not be underestimated. Farm and the foodrelated industry generate one out of, every three jobs in Canada, either directly or indirectly.. He• reported• that in 1974. Canadian farmers paid nearly $6 million in operating costs, most of this money going back into Canadian economy; .they -spent mere than one billion dollars on • machinery expenses • and produced enough farm commodities to account for nearly four billion dollars in export sales. The MPP from Huron Middlesex emphasized the need in ' Ontario for a long term land use policy, with the province setting the overall guidelines and leaving -. the • WARW1CKCK SEED CORN Better Hybrids through research. See your Warwick Seed Com dealer today. Doug Armstrong RR 3 BAYFIELD 565-5294 WARWICK Warwick Seed Comparry Limrted •Stenrielrn, Ontario« rest to the municipal between 300 and 1200 acres of governments. He said that urban planners estimate that every time the population increases by' 1,000 'people, land are converted to urban use. A university research project has indicated that for • WNAi'S NEW pi HURONYIE W A girls' quartette provided Mary Turner, formerly of special musical numbers at Wingham, will be 100 .on . the Clinton Christian December 11: -Mrs, - Joyce Reformed song service led by pepper, President . of the Mr_Dick.Roorda. -" Institute, was emcee for the Elsie Henderson and pay_ • Norm -an- Speir provided the- —The --program • -was- _a - old time music and . led the carol singing on Monday afternoon in the normal care sitting room. Earl and Martha -Heywood, of C.K.N.X.. Wingham, en- tertained on Family Night with a program of music and magic. The residents . look forward to the annual visit of the Heywoods and enjoy hearing some of the old songs of Gene Autry and others who were popular on radio. Earl mystified the audience with his magic tricks. Mr. Scottie Easton, a former .neighbor and a long time friend of the .Heywood family, thanked the entertainers on behalf of the residents. The Hensall Women's Institute were hosts for December Birthday Part the y on Wednesday afternoon. A '-special tribute was given to • two of the celebrants who are celebrating their 100th bir- thday in December: Miss Clarinda Darroch, formerly. of Harriston, will be 100 on December 4 and Miss• preview. 'of, a country school concert with Mrs. Jim McAllister, as teacher and included recitations, readings, a sing -a -long led by Hilda Payne accompanied by Myrtle. Sherritt and piano melodies by Elsner Trick of Clinton. ' Mrs. Meston, for- merly of Hensall, and one of the celebrants expressed the appreciation of the residents. CLAY — Silo Unloaders Feeders Cleaners Stabling , ' Leg Elevators Liquid 'Manure Equipment Hog Equipment - BUTLER —` Silo Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mills Augers, etc. ACORN - Cleaners ' Heated Waterers . ZERO Bulk Tanks Pipeline . .dr Parlour Equipment 'WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries 8 & L. - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine, Ontario Phone 395-5286 exercise every ache of farm land actually used for develop- ment purposes, something like 1.6 to two :acres of land are taken out of production. "`This province has plenty of room for houses, cos- -merce, urban, industry, recreation • and agriculture," Mr: Riddell said. "However the people who will live here, say 50 years from now, will be happier, healthier and more prosperous if we give more thotight than we have : been doing in the past to the question of which land should be used for which purposes." The—annual -meeting con- cluded with the elections for the new executive for the corning year. Those gaining office were: President, Brian Ireland, a dairy and . hog farmer in Culross Township; first vice president, Eldon McKinnon, a beef farmer in Elderslie; and second vice president Harold Poechman, a swine and poultry farmer in Brant Township. . hybrids appear to , thresh much easier than Ontario hybrids. In France fuel costs are. about 50 per cent higher than Ontario and consequently they are also trying to make .' their corn dryers more ef- ficient. Much of the corn in France is stored in cribs but they are never more than two feet wide. Daynard . believes the Europeans have done a great;.. M« deal more experimentation with tillage equipment than - the Canadian or American farmer and research per- sonnel in these countries have studied the effects of various tillage implements on the soil structure. ' - • In'France farmers literally hate dead furrows and almost all of the plows were .rever- sible moldboard on reversible disc plows. Slides were shown' __to the Huron farmers of the various. chisel plows, reciprocating harrows, rotators and deep tillage instruments in action. Corn planters used in many of the European countries also had interesting features which Daynard would like to see adapted to work on Canadian corn planters if they can be made to work under North, American planting conditions. Many of the European concepts are presently in- corporated into theresearch program at Guelph as growing conditions in the corn , areas of Europe and Canada are similar. NO SKIP NO NOISE Just "10-4" SYSTCOMS 25 Watt VHF./ F M Mobile Radios _ SOME FACTS ABOUT VHF/ FM RADIO -WHE/FM'Frequencies are assigned by the Canadian Dept. of Communications and are coordinated with the FCC In the U.S.A. 'When you buy VHF/FM Radios, you are given a SPECIFIC frequency for operation. 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