Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-06-21, Page 31FARM Farmers v rl cate l Question projections Farm spokesmen feel many of their concerns about Ontario Hydro have been vindicated by the report of the Porter Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning on the need for additional bulk power facilities in Southwestern Ontario The Royal Commission made public its report in London on June 13. It concluded that Ontario load projections have' limited credibility. "We argued throughout the March hearings in London, Kitchener, Wingham and Chatham that Hydro's forecasts didn't match what we know is happening in Southwestern Ontario," .says Elbert van Donkersgoed, spokesman for the Food Land Steering Committee. "Porter has obviously agreed with our con- cerns." The Food Land Steering Committee was the main public in- tervenor during the March Need Hearings. It is made • up of representatives from seven farm organizations including the Ontario Institute of Agrologists, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, National Farmers Union and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. producer from Huron County observed after the Royal Commission's press conference, "It's more than we expected but not a bit more than agriculture deserves." Porter's report does not give Ontario Hydro a go- ahead to make plans for any new bulk facilities. Instead it , calls for changes in some of the basics of Ontario Hydros whole approach, such as its forecasting procedures. It even calls for a re-evaluation of an already committed bulk facility - units -seven and eight of Bruce Generating Station B. Throughout the hearin.gs, farm spokesmen argued that Hydro's concern for getting more power out of Bruce Generating Station was outside the 'Porter Royal Commission's terms of reference. They argued that Bruce GS B related to all of Ontario, not just Southwestern Ontario. The Royal Commission's report recognizes that Bruce 6S B is a component in the total electric power system and should be evaluated as such. "For five or six years farmers have been saying that Ontario Hydro has never proved that it needs Bruce GS B," says Elbert van Donkersgoed, who serves as Secretary -Treasurer of the farmer committee. "Government ap- proved construction at Bruce GS B on forecasts that have now . con- clusively been shown to be inaccurate." "It's my -view," says Mr.. van Donkersgoed, "that the need for the completion of the con- struction at. Bruce GS B should immediately be reviewed before it becomes even more of a technological albatross than it already is. There are no transmission facilities for power from Bruce B. And farmers are not going to allow the use of food land for transmitting power that has no demonstrated need." Ag schools turn out 511 grads Agriculture and Food Minister Bill Newman has announced that 511 students graduated in 1979 from the ministry's four . colleges of agricultural technology and the Ontario Agricultural College. Enrollment in the two- year diploma programs reached a record of 1,384 students in the 1978-79 school year: In making the an- nouncement, Mr. Newman said, "I am happyto say that the employment picture for the 1979 graduates is a bright one. A very large percentage of the new jobs in Ontario are being created in the agriculture and food industries, and there are real op- portunities for young people with diplomas from the agricultural colleges." Many graduates from agricultural courses return to work on home farms, or find em- ployment in primary agriculture. The remainder find jobs in GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1979—PAGE 13A FARM_CLASSIFIED SECTION= - allied E TI : - allied agricultural in- dustries. Although the majority of diploma students graduate from the agricultural courses, the -diploma program also offers a wide range of courses to meet the needs of the diversified food service industry. Courses" offered in the two-year diploma programs in-' etude food- .service management, food and fashion, community home _economics, agriculture, agricultural business management, animal health technology, agricultural laboratory technology, equine technology, agricultural mechanics, and agricultural business and commerce. Diploma programs are offered at the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph and at the four colleges of agricultural technology operated by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and at Centralia, New Liskeard, Kemptville and Ridgetown. ho will make Hall ? The Tway is now clear for Ontario agriculture to honour people who have made an outstanding contribution to the development of the in- dustry. The founding membership of the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association met on Sunday, Jyne 3, - to ratify the association's constitution and approve the creation of a gallery to honour agricultural leaders. The Onta"rio Agricultural Hall of Fame Association was established in November 4 bne foot in the furrow bic The headlines are in the daily papers. Even the so- called Canadian edition of the Reader's Digest is doing it. I'm talking about a campaign in this country, whether by chance or design, to discredit marketing boards. It's insidious. It starts with a few editorials in big newspapers. Then, some major magazines get on the bandwagon followed by the electronic media. Pretty soon, everybody and his dog has a distorted idea of farm marketing boards. By that time, it is too late to stop the impetus. Farm marketing boards, especially those boards which practice supply management, are in disfavor. The politicians see it as a great method of getting votes. They make promises during election campaigns. The entire structure of ,orderly marketing, fought for by farmers for 30 years, comes tumbling down. You think I am painting too dismal a picture? Did you read the indictment of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board in Reader's Digest in the June issue? The story was condensed from a smaller circulation magazine, the prestigious Harrowsmitl}. Here's another headline: Eggs cost 9 to 14 cents a dozen too much in Canada, villain is the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. Want more?. Here it is: Farm boards blamed for milk price increase. I could go on but I',m sure you getthe point. The signs are all apparent: `Farm's, 'golden era' could be threatened by more price rises,' said the Globe and Mail less than a month ago. There are those, of course, who can testify that the golden era has never arrived. But you'll have a tough time convincing most housewives, battling inflation every week, that food prices are not too high in Canada. T -he --firming -comm-unity, always divided in t. country and always fiercely independent, must collectively fight this campaign before it gets to where it has too much momentum to stop.- . Too' many people spent too many years, too much time and talent, to get the powers necessary to fight in the marketplace, to have it destroyed now. Those who remember the early days of the flu -cured ,tobacco board or the early days of the hog marketing board can attest to the great struggles farmers went through to organize themselves to have those rights demolished. And the buying power in those days from the large food corporations was not as concentrated as it is WATER WELL .1 DRILLING "79 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • FARM • SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills LIMITED PHONE 357-1960 WINGHAM Collett Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" letters are appreciated by Bob Trotter Eldate Rd Elmira Ont N38 2C7 today. To lose the right to collective marketing now would be a disaster for the farm community. But I can see it coming. There are only a handful of people speaking out now for -farmers. That handful gets smaller every year as the farm community continues to. shrink. Less than six per cent of the population is now actively engaged in producing food. It's unfortunate, for instance, that stories against marketing boards get much bigger play and publicity than those in support. I do not recall the' big urban papers giving much publicity to the fact that farmers accepted a smaller increase in the price of milk May 1 than they were entitled to take. Legally, farmers could have demanded more. By the formula in price -setting, they could have received more but they didn't. The Globe and Mail did give it space but few other metropolitan papers did. The battle lines are being drawn up. It's going to be the rest the population against farm maf'keting boards and the farmers again fighting a losing battle all by themselves. - Now is the time to do.something about it. Whenever these stories against marketing boards appear, a single, strong farm voice should be ready to refute them. And farmers should be prepared now to spend more dollars to get people and politicians on their side. The big corporations don't stint on public relations budgets The more stories against marketing boards that get planted in big circulation publications, the tougher the farm fight is going to be. It's unfortunate that farmers aren't as experienced at planting good stories in their favor as they are in planting crops. Guaranteed Investment Certificates NOW 1/2 percent Annual Interest for OneYear VICTORIA AND GREY TRUST Since1844 Contact our office: 100 Kingston Street Goderich 524-7381 Member: Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation 1977, when agricultural organizations in_,.Ontarioa were invited to discuss the possibility of creating such a gallery. More than 50 delegates attended a meeting at ' which an interim board of direc- tors was chosen to develop a constitution and by-laws, recruit life memberships and lay the foundations for the project. William A. -Stewart, former Minister of Agriculture and Food for Ontario, spoke to the meeting -and commended the organizers. "You have earned and deserve the support," he said, "of every Ontario agricul'urist who ap- preciates the achievements of the past so that others -may enjoy a better, less onerous standard of living. Such were the people who did not live for self alone, but for the betterment of all mankind. There can be no -- better objective and no greater achievement". He paid tribute to those who had shown the way in Ontario agriculture: local agricultural societies, the church, the Farm Co-operative, the Farmers' and Women's Institutes, the Grange, the Farm Mutual Insurance Companies, the Beef Rings, and the Federation of Agriculture. The meeting on June 3 ratified the constitution and elected a 15 -member board of directors. William Kilmer of Mississauga, executive vice-president of the Fertilizer Institute of Ontario was elected president. Dr. R. J. McDonald, general manager of Western Breeders, Inc., Wood- stock, was elected vice- president, and R. W. Carbert-, general manager, Ontario Agricultural Museum, was chosen as secretary - treasurer. To date 35 agricultural organizations and 42 individuals in Ontario have taken out life memberships in the Ha11 of Fame Association, and a membership drive is underway to broaden the membership base... The objective of the association is to create a gallery at the Ontario Agricultural Museum at Milton where those who have made an out- standing contribution to the industry will be recognized. The plan calls for the unveiling of 15 portraits in the spring of 1980. The association has asked its membership to prepare profiles on suitable candidates for recognition and to submit them to the office of the secretary -treasurer, as soon as possible. The address is Box 38, Milton, Ontario L9T 2Y3. A. For sale TWELVE acres of standing hay for sale, good for horses. Call Blyth 523-9456.-25 FAR/Witt Cub tractor with attachments and chains. Phone 528- 2108.-25x TWO Grain Bins, com- plete with aerator. Phone 5a9-7177...—.25 BALED hay for sale. Contact H, O. Jerry, RR5 Goderich. Phone 524-2855 days or res. 524-9300.-25- 26-27 A. For sale 1,000 BALES choice alfalfa hay, can deliver. Phone 482-3349.-25 B. Custom work BULLDOZING, Allis- Chalmers No. 650, with six way hydraulic blade. Bill Robinson, RR2 _Auburn,529-7852..=.-.13tf _. D. Livestock BRED Sows, good stock. Phpne 529-7717.-25 Complete Automotive Machine Shop and Radiator Repair Service Let US do the work.... IDEAL SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED 145 HURON ROAD, GODERICH 524-8389 D. Livestock PUREBRED Hampshire boars, serviceable age. Paul McNally 357- 3724.-24,25 F. For rent PASTURE FOR RENT - CaIl 482-7560.-25 Silo Unload.rs Feeders Cleaners Stabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment B UTLER - Silo Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mills Augers. etc. ACORN — Cleaners Heated Waterers WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B & L - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine. Ont. Phone 395-5286 EDUCATION FOR EMPIOYMENT Conestoga College Certificate Programs Would you like to upgrade your job skills? Get bock In the work force? Or move ahead in the work force? You can do it... in Clinton Conestoga College, Clinton Campus. offers the following Certificate Programs on a continuous entry basis throughout the year. Academic Upgrading English, Mathematics and Science to College entry level *Programs are offered'on a continuous Intake basis throughout the year. *Contact the Clinton Campus for the date off the next openings. *Testing and counselling are available to help you select a program. *Funding assistance may be available. Check to see if you are eligible. Call or write to arrange an interview, or drop in to the Clinton Campus on Vanastra Road, 484-3458, for more information on these or any of our other programs. Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology We've got a lot to share. Shocking experiences with .electricity are so easy to avoid. Yet -some peopl-e-stitLta-ke- risks that can -take lives. ILL (JOSTREST /TAGA/NST THAT P/PE.. . They don't realize that most ladders can conduct electricity. II ler They fly planes and kites near power lines. They ignore Danger signs. They use frayed cords. You wjguldn't take risks like these, would you? your hydro