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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-03-24, Page 35Y 1 ;Honey talks but all it eversays to me is good bye. :Honey is talking all over Ontario. today and recent figures nom a Royal Bank official. given at the Western Fair Farm how this March by John Murphy:. prove that farmers are aking tremendous risks to get into and stay in business. Ten years ago. said Mr. Murphy, a large farm might ave required $100.000 in capital investment. But now that igure has skyrocketed to the point where some farmers - re borrowing as much as $500,000. - These aren't the farm corporations but farrn families — man. wife and a couple of kids," he said- The money is eeded for land. fertilizers. fuel. tractors and all kinds of flier equipment which a technically -oriented farm needs hese days. Not every farmer needs such huge sums to keep going but any do. What must be galling to those who need to finance uc•h amounts is that rarely can a farmer get a reasonable eturn on his labor and investment. A 10 per cent return, filch is what most investors strive to get these days, would ve him a net profit of $50,000 a year before taxes. But few farmers can boast of a profit that high even if hey do not recognize a figure for family labor and for man - gement A few years ago when the Ontario Federation of Agricul- ure presented a brief to the Ontario Cabinet. figures were uoted which proved that the average construction worker Ontario in 1972 — five years ago — earned approximately .000. Iigures quoted from Statistics Canada. Yet those ame laborers had no large investment. certainly nowhere the neighborhood of $500,000. In addition. the laborer who arned $10.000 five years ago is probably making more today nil he doesn't have a family working for him for next to othing which is what most farm wives and children do. That brief, one of the most comprehensive documents •erpresented to the Cabinet accurately reflecting the farm Letters aro appr•stated byBob ob Trotter. Male Rd. Eimua. Ont N38.2C7 dilemma. suggested that most farmers would be better i to sell out and invest their $500,00010 Canada Savings Bds s • where they could expect at least seven' or eight percent return. Some farmers, of course. have done just that: sold out and left the. farrn. Unfortunately, not enough young farmers are getting int() business thesedays. The last figures 1 have on file maintain that the average age of the Canadian farm- er is 52. What's going to happen when all the old fellows bow out or die on the tractor if some inc•entiv‘arc not available to young men? It is happening right now. Between 1961 and 1966. one On- tario farmer went out of business •every 3.8 hours, The rate accelerated between 1966 and 1971 to one farmer every 2.8 hours. This trend has declined in the last five -years. Lin told. but is still too high. I listened to one of the most articulate young farmers in Ontario in early March at the annual marketing seminar sponsored by the Rural Learning Association. Douglas Hol- liday, a chickenproduc•er from St Marys. told seminar dele- gates that he was worried because quotas imposed by mar- keting boards make entry into many sectors of agriculture almost impossible. You can't produce eggs. broilers. turkeys. milk or tobacco in Ontario if you dont have a quota. Those who own then are hanging on to them which discourages young rnen from getting into production, "Let's not waste our potential to produce on protection- ism.- he said. Young farmers in the milk business were hit horribly hard • when the federal government ordered cutbacks in produc- tion a year ago. Some of therm were hit so hard they went broke It seems a shame. especially when you -consider how much money is needed today to get InUrlar'ming. Bruce to Bay City e travelled as part of the Goderich delegation to City St. Patrick's Day celebrations last weekend w cheers and applause all along the parade route. g "It ain't no bull, Goderich is the Prettiest Town in Canada" he invited residents of our sister city to join in sesquicentennial celebrations here this summer. (staff photo) r Agriculture And Food Minister Williai Newman has announced the details of Ontario's 1977 beef calf in- come stabilization program. He said that for purposes of • integration with the ne* federal pl&Th it was necessary to announce the conditions of the Ontario program at an earlier date than in previous years. The support price for calves under Ontario's beef calf income stabilization program will be 51,5 cents a eawj pound this year - an increase of 1.5 cents a pound over last year. Newman said that the federal government beef calf stabilization plan will not affect_ the level of . price guarantee provided by the provincial program for those producers enrolled in the Ontario program, - He said that Ontario beef calf producers now have 'three options: The first option is that producers can enroll 'n the pecialist advises soil testing Ontario program. This automatically also enrolls them in the federal plan, if they meet the requirements of the federal plan. Producers who participated in„ the Ontario plan last year will receive enrollment forms in the mail. New participants will be able to get forms from their • agricultural representative after April 4. The second option is for producers to enroll in the federal plan only. These producers can obtain ap- plication forms from the "Regular oil testing can save producers money and also lead to higher yelds," says Dr. Charles Baldwin of Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology, Before farmers begin fertilizing this spring they should have the soil tested to determine what nutrients the soil requires. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food provides soil testing without charge to all Ontario producers. "Many producers have a traditional view about fer- tilizer - a little bit is good, so a lot must be better," says Dr. Baldwin. "They don't realize that fields can be over - fertilized ° and over- manured," Dr. Baldwin stresses that it is important to remember that what was good for the field 10 years ago has no bearing on what it requires now. Following a soil test, ex- perts are able to make recommendations on fer- tilizer use. Dr. Baldwin says the experts will first look at the farm's manure siipply to see where it can be used. They then can recommend commercial fertilizers, "Knowing the soil and its needs can save fertilizer dollars and also reduce the costly errors of over -or under - fertilization." "Though the soil nutrient composition doesn't change much from year to year, we recommend soil tests every three years," he said. Soil tests analyze the phosphorus, potash, calcium sale grown from Cer- ner, either cleaned ed or from the bin. eorge Wraith, 524 - or 524- 11 12,13,14,15ar LE — One hundred n; sixty ton of mixed one 529-7459,-10-13 LES of hay for sale. Deere 21' disk; and five furrow by 16" ne 529-7574,._-11,12 UALITY first cut ne 529.7517._ 11,12 ES of Straw. Phone 11,12,13x LD HENS, can be meat or laying, 50 er hen. Contact rawford, 524-7060, A. For sale 9N FORD tractor with im- plements; plow disc, cultivator and snow blower. Phone 526-7753, —12,13 HAY, 80 cents per bale. Palomino and Arabian colt, two years old in July. Potafoes, $2.50 for 75 lb. bag. Phone 526-7719. --12tf C. `Wanted WANTED TO RENT, good cropland, within a reasonable distance of the Carlow or Nile area. Phone evenings 524- 1,12 WANTED TO RENT — 45 - 50 acres drained land for Cash Crop (cereal grain). Reply to "Drawer 61, Signal -Star Publishing, Box 220, Goderich, C. Wanted mg WANTED: Pasture for 2 horses. Phone 524-8529 after 5 p.m. —12nctf D. Livestock STALLION SERVICE and horse training. Registered thoroughbred and hunter improvement sires, Cypress Barb and Barb's Man Friday standing at stud. Last year's foal available for inspection. Start your horse right by letting us give him professional training. Book now for early spring. The Tack Shack Equestrian Centre, RR :1, Lucknow, 395- 5443.-11, 12A R WANTED SHELL BORN WE PAY COMPETITIVE PRICES! M.J. SMITH LTD. (Chatham, Goderich) Ltd. 529-7135 _. Bladex* Onaro.-9,0,11,12nc from EDWARD FUELS the flexible corn h�rbiCde TER WELL DRILLING 6 YEARS EXPERIENCE" SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • ESTIMATES RANTEED WELLS MODERN EQUIPMENT' ARY & PERCUSSION' DRILLS EXPERIENCE R WELLS", AOSTATE , Flexible because it doesn't leave residue for the following •crop year. Poudre touNable i pVola Flexible because it can he povidi used alone to control a wide range of common annual grasses and hroadlcafed weeds. Flexible hec,aUSC it can he aplied over a wide range of time, from pre -emergence to 'early post -emergence. Flexible because you can buy it as a wettable powder, J or as .a liquid. I IDSI1 � 4 Rotary► and Nrcit>fl:ion Grills Rlurw ' :a PHON assn -1,60 C LIMITED WINOHAM rAR1aS ,F ColICl►Hs Acciptt I EST -WATER WELLS`SINCE lifg0"" Although Bladex can he mixed w ith atrazine and other herbicides, it docs a tremen- dousjoh when used alone. That wkly you get the three things <<'ir need most: no grasses, no broadleaf: 110 carryover. YOU can buy Bladex at agri- cultural Chemical dealers •- throughout corn country. n_tder0 trade mark . 1 Shell 1 :m:rd, 1 rm.l.a krich S24.$3$6 teal bottler and magnesium level, as well as pH. Although there is no reliable test for nitrogen, analysts are able to get a good idea of its level from knowing the crops and history of the field. In addition to soil tests, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food also 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 & Parlour Equipment WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B & L - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine, Ontario Phone 395-5286 provides a manure analysts service. Dr. Baldwin says that although there is a charge for this analysis, it could result in savings of thousands of dollars. For ore ation about soil�and manure rtesting contact local officesof the of Ontario Agriculture Ministry and Food, 1 A.,:9 pit �S'�t��'F 4►It�� (S ,�s producers *+ 1 iisli ticip+Al inNew It said that• producers', eiu oiled in the Ontario Lan will. 'be guaranteed ,the federal support price, and in addition will receive the difference e pricebetween . andthe the provinciia soap°rt pricef, deral support Also, every producer enrolled in the Ontario program will have some cows which are not eligible for inclusion in the federal plan. - All cows in a producer's possession as of April 1, 1977, will be eligible for coverage under the provincial plan. The en $ cow this yearnrollme, andtfee eapi forms must be returned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food by May 3] , 1977. This is the third year of the province's beef calf income stabilization program. Last year, more than 15,000 producers enrolled 355,172 cows from anthedplan. received $20,750,000 For details Corn, Spring, Grain, Beans, Hay & Pasture call: GEORGE TURTON 319 HURON ROAD GODERICH 524.7411 st is deadline for applications May 1 ATTENTION FARMERS FLAX WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FLAX AS A CASH CROP IN 1977 1. Flax Futures for 1977 continue at an attractive level. 2. Flax Plantings in our area have continued to grow. 3. Input Cost for seed, fertilizer and spray less than $20.00 per acre as of March 31, 1977. 4. A market is available immediately for ail Ontario grown flax. -=t` 5. Quick unload as compared with other cash crops. 6: Forward selling available (ask Manager for details) 7. Storage available (ask Manager for details) 8. Contracts available (ask Manager for details) 9. Crop insurance for flax is available in 1977 (See your Agent for details) Don't delay because interest in this seed is high. To avoid disappointment call today. 1 For seed please contact: OPNOTCH TOPNOTCH FEEDS LIMITED Milverton, Ontario phone 595-4941 or ANDERSON FLAX PRODUCTS Lucknow, Ontario phone 528-2026 • S>o