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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-07-20, Page 27The IPM takes a lot af farm land By Henry Hess How much land does it take to stage an Inter- national Plowing Match? One hundred acres? Two hundred? Five°hun4red? If -you guessed any of the above you weren't even close. Land com- mittee chairman Barry Mulvey, the man charged with making sure the match won't be cramped for , space, already has 1,100 acres lined up for use..and he's still _Looking for a little more. Now that figure might be a trifle deceiving since few,, people, bLand. chairman and his com- mittee members will ever see all the land set aside for the match, but it does give some idea of -the ' scal!e of the event. In addition to the parking areas and tented city, all the many visitors will see, land 1§ required for equipment demon- strations, for a trailer park-.for•reserve 'in- case— of bad weather and, of course, for the plowing competition that gives the match its name. Of the total about 200 acres will be devoted to providing parking for exhibitors and visitors. According to the guideline used by the Ontario Plowmen's Association about 100 cars can be parked on one acre, Mr. Mulvey ex- plained so this will provide space for up to - 29,000 vehicles. It sounds like a lot but it might easily be needed if the anticipated .end-of- week- rusk --ma-teria-lizes- ' has traditionally had the largest attendance and that will probably hold true this year too, he said, -So they are trying to •be prepared. However, he noted attempts are being. made to attract more visitors early in the week to spread things out a bit. Two hundred thousand visitors. showed up • for the match at „Walkerton two years ago, Mr. Mulvey reported. "Maybe we're shooting a little high, but we expect 250,000." He said the fact that last year's match in Frontenac County near Kingston was a "washout" should help attendance this year. Many people who stayed• home last year because of the wet weather will _makean extra effort to get to this match. He reported that when he attended the pork congresS in Stratford recently, "everyone I talked to said they were About 350 acres are set aside for the plowing competition. Since the land right around the tented city isn't suitable, for the plowing events the committee has had to go bit further afield, he said, though' everything is still in the general area of the Jim Armstrong farm. Wagon tours will run out to the outlying areas. The tented city itself will occupy in the neigh- ., bourhood of log acres and a further 200 abres are being rese-rved for equipment demon- stratioris by large machinery manufac- turerS". These demon- strations. are -a new thing this year and so the committee doesn't know exactly how much land will be required, - Mr, Mulvey said, but it is trying to make sure there will be plenty. . Other parcels of land will be devoted to a trailer park and to access roads to the various areas of the match. The committee's work started about two and a half years ago, Mr. Mulvey reported. "The OPA arid local com- mittees tell us -how much land they need and say arrangements 'with the It is necessary to start these arrangements some.....time, in advance because a farmer has to take the match into ac- count when planning,crop, rotation for that year. Fields eartharked for parking must be in soa while grain stubble will work well for the.plowing. Standing corn is desirable for the equipment demon- strations but it would be a terrible shock to find it on any of the areas designated ffir other uses. Farmers can't just shut down their operations the year of the match since they receive only a nominal fee for the use of their land so they have to figure out ways to ac- corrimodate the match while keeping the farm running. The co-operation of farmers in this area has been "Just super," he declared. Most of the land committee's work comes before the match_ and some comes afterward but "we should be able to enjoy the match,'' Mr. Mulvey said. In this they are more fortunate than members of some other _ cammi�teos"":ib�Fsu �at ; -. _.-_., so busy match -week they won't get a chance to admire the result of their efforts. 'About a month before the match land com- mittee t tembers___go._ around and "spruce up" the area -- repairing fences and putting in culverts or gateways for access as needed. During the week prior to the match they stake out the land to be used for plowing into the in- dividual plots and take care of any other last- minute chores. The week of the match itself they might have to find some extra land for parking or plowing, especially if wet weather renders some of the land unusable, but otherwise things- should be pretty calm, he said. He hopes to 'heave enough -extra land iri- reserve that there will be no panic if something does develop. He worked very closely with the Bruce match, he reported: "They had a super match-" One morning they saw they needed more land, he said, so they went right out and got it --the only catch was they had to move a herd of cattle off the land firs. After the match the committee has the job of picking up all the stakes and settling with lan- downers for,,,,the use of their properties. They also_ have. . to ._repair. any. fences cut for access' or other changes they have made. Henoted the com_mit,tee_ is trying to keep land damage to a minimum by keeping heavy trucks out of the fields. There will be an unloading ramp across from the tented city where everything will be unloaded and hauled onto the site. ,He said the activities of the match don't seem to damage land very much. The farmer who hosted the match at Seaforth several years ago deep -tilled the .land following the match and _reports _ it .is now producing more corn than ever. On the other hand, the host of the ,Frslntenacmatch is still regularly turning up rubber boots in his field! THE GODE RICH SIGNAL -STAR, .THURSDAY, JULY 2.0, 1978 --PAGE I IA Even with more than 1,000 acres lin.ed up the committee is looking for some more land, Mr. Mulvey reported. He noted that of . the 1,100 acres booked around the Armstrong farm some is in bush, corn or lowland ' •d"= '�1ri''�i?� nrcTc available when when needed. Anyone with land in the area is invited to contact Mr. Mulvey .or..one of. the members of his com- mittee: Ralph Metcalfe, John Wilhelm, John Ga_si.nt, ._ Haryey.- McMichael, Keith Mulvey or Harry Mulvey. New manual for conservation • • of electricity A bright new manual for 4-H Electrical. Con- servation Clubs is put together by Ontario Hydro's agricultural supervisor Grant Webber (top)• and graphic artist Jim Smith. "Electric clubs -- stressing electricity conservation, the efficient use of electricity and its safe handling --are especially important to those young people who will be run ning,the farm in a few years," says Mr. Webber. .."'Tl%ere are about 400 applications of electricity on today's modern farm." Club instruction is provided by Ontario Hydro. So far this year, clubs with from 10 to 15 members each have been organized in Essex, Grenville, Huron and Peterborough counties. and in the Nipissing District. (PHOTO BY ONTARIO HYDRO) ., ,SRM cLASIFIED 11 SECTI N A. For sale TOX-O-WIK 570 grain dryer, used only two seasons, in excellent condition; also 27 ft. -in- ,as dryer; with stir and unloading augers, plus two 5,000 bushel bins; also qua,ntity of 4" augers and electrical equipment including panels, magnetic switches and throw "switches, all from 400 amp. service. Phone 527-1844.-28,29,30 C. Wanted WANTED — Cement slab silo to take down 12' or 14' diameter. Write: Mose J. S.hetler, RR I, Dungannon, Ont. -28,29 JIO.DGINS.&. HAYTER.... Farm Drainage Contractors Profitable Farming begins In the field. Well drained land can make the difference between profit and loss. Call us for ,all your farm /drainage requirement;( Our work k guaranteed. We are equipped to serve you now. Provincial Drainage License No. 2034. Phone Grand Bend • 238-2313 • H. Custom work BULLDOZING, Allis- Chalmers No. 650, with six way hydraulic blade. Bill —Robinson,'RR 2, Auburn, 519-7857. —16tf D. Livestock FOR ..SAL.E._.._— Ser- viceable age' Hampshire boars, Yorkshire boars and Hamp X Duroc boars ,.._ ROP-. tested.Bob Robinson, RIZ 4 Walton, 345-2317.-28-31 CLAY — Silo Unloaders Feeders Cleaners Stabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment BUTLER — Silo'Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Milis Augers, etc. ACORN — Cleaners Heated Waterers WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B & L - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1. Kincardine, Ont. Phone 395-5286 "Don't you get tired of telling people that good farmland is disappearing in this country? asked the young housewife frogr1,e,ci.tY try to read your column whenever I come home and you always seem to be harping on the same subject. I get tired of reading it." No, I don't get tired -writing about the loss of good farm- land in this country because I think it is a major problem -that has not been solved at any level of government. The federal government is keeping its hands off land. The pro- vince of Ontario has tabled a green paper with recommen- dations but is not even following its own recommendations. The province is, in a haphazard way. leaving the preserva- tion of land in the hands of the,municipal governments. And it is not working. Some friends of mine. notably a couple of other farm writers. laugh when I get on my "preserve -the -farmland" hobby horse. They maintain there is no problem. "In a few years, we'll be growing grafin on rooftops." said a friend of mine not long ago. "We don't need to preserve land." The birds -eat that stuff. I just don't believe it. And one of Canada's leading soil scientists agrees. He has painted a grim picture of the futuff of food production in Canada. Fred Bentley, a soil scientist at the University of Alberta. told the opening session of the International Congress of Soil Scientists. that all .— note that: all — the good farmland in Canada is.gone. It is either in production or covered with roads. houses. factoriesand shopping plazas. And land not in production now is marginal. Even with careful tending.and 'using the most modern production methods. the land that is left could cost $1.000 a hectare. (2.471 acres i to make it fit to support crops. Only the Prairie Provinces in Canada ate net surplus food producers. Alt the other provinces now import more food than they produce. The population of Canada is expected to increase by 20 to WATER WELL DRILLING "76 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • FARM • SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS• • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT 0'4 ROTARY d, PERCUSSION DRILLS. "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COSY WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED • 4 Rbtavy and Percussion Drills PHONE 351-1960 WINGHAM Collect Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" by Letters are appreaated by Bob Trotter Eldale Rd Elmira Ont N3B 2C7 40 per cent by the year 2000. "Future Canadians who will findthemselves faced with increased food costs as more farmers are forced more, and. more to marginal land will find inexcusable our squand6ring- and abuse of the agriculture land resources during the se- cond half of the twentieth century." maintains Bentley. The past 60 years have seen massive decreases in the amount of farmland in Canada: The Windsor -to -Quebec strip has lost, would you believe. 28 per cent of its farmland to urban sprawl' _ - Only about one-fifth of this great land mass called Canada is fit for agriculture and Canadians continue to over-estima- te the amount and quantity of good land available "These harmful myths — that Canada has lots of land — persist and must be destroyed. Only eight per cent of Cana- da is even marginally suited to agriculture:'In Canada. near- ly half the farmland lost to urbanization has been corning from the best one-fwentieth of Canada's farmland." Those are familiar words to me. I have been saying much the same thing for 20 years, sometimes followed by hoots of laughter from my confederates. It would seem a lot of peo- ple do not believe it, either, because the provincial Cabinet has given the green light to allow a mammoth amusement park to be built along Highway 400 near the village of Maple. This huge complex. owned by an American firm called Fa- mily Leisure Centres Ltd., will gobble up 320 acres of the best farmland, in the province. Just 320 acres. you say? Yes, but count the periphery acres. too. Count the acres which will be gobbled up by hotels. motels,; campgrounds. food takeouts. taverns and smaller amusement parks and you've again sacrificed a few thousand acres of producing farmland in the name of progress. Phooey on progress. l; am not an'intellectual snob but I think we should be paying more attention to people like Fred Bentley and less attention to spokesmen for Family Leisure Centres Ltd. Those fast -talking Yankees can paint a helluva good pic- ture. though. It is their money tarlking. Olson's Gravel Pit DUNGANNON, ONT. 529-7942 ®/®J e•®® #._.O aver O®beer O_,4 300 100 Load. PRICES ARE PER TON tons tone Prices SANDY FILL B-2 GRAVEL B-1 GRAVEL DUST OR SAND 4" UNDER STONE ROAD GRAVEL CEMENT GRAVEL 5/8" ''% STONE .30c .40c .44c .40c .50c .54c .50c .60c .64c 1.00 1.20 L24 1.20 1.30 1.34 1.35 1.39 1.80 1.90 1.94 OUR DELIVERY CHARGE IS LESS Dozer and scraper available for a good leveling job 0, The Employees of McDonnell Motors Ltd. (Glencoe) (Strathroy) To Extended Health Care These employees row have the added bene- fits of extra health protection for themselves and their families: a Blue Cross Extended Health Care Plan. EHC provides protection against health ser- vices not covered by t'he basic government health plan. coverage for such items as pre- scription •drugs, private nursing and private room accommoda-tign in hospital. In addition. EHC can be tailored to meet the needs of any employee group. 4,'47 As your Ontario Blue Cross representative I am pleased to add my personal welcome, and look forward to serving you alondwi-th the many others in this region already enjoying the protection of a variety of Biu' Cross Plans Phil deBarros 227 Queens Avenue, London. OntarioN6A 1J8 (519) 439-4431 ON"T`Afl1O BLLJE CROSS ONTARIO A DIVISION OF THE T IO HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION 4 Weramoste