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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-07-26, Page 27• FAR GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JULY 26, 1979. --PAGE 11A ario producing own n bees to endure winter Red meat prices down considerably from May Red; meat prices declined :.substantially at the farm -gate level from May,. 1979 to June, 1979. Beef prices dropped 0.6 percent and pork prices fell 4.1 percent. This year to year change was: beef up 26.4 percent; pork down 9.8 percent. Red meat prices declined at the retail level as well. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows (from May, 1979, to June 1979) a drop of 4.7 percent for beef and 0.2 percent for pork. On a year to year basis, retail prices in- creased 18.6 percent for beef, dropped 0.5 percent for pork. It would appear that at the retail end the sharp decline in hog prices are t. helping to moderate beef prices to consumers. Overall, food prices at the farm -gate level, as measured by the Farmer Price Index (FPI) dropped 0.6 percent in the last month. The FPI now stands at 223.3, 13.8 percent above last year's level. The CPI for the same items increased ..13.2 percent from a year ago. In absolute terms, of course, the retail in- crease represents .a greater dollar hike in the food bill, as it is a similar percentage increase on a much larger•base. Roughly three-fifths of the pork produced in Canada is processed into a large variety of food products. Thus the pork system from the farm- gate to retail is a very complex one. In this issue of the FPI we trace the price of important pork cuts through various stages,of processing. In Canada, hogs are sold on a carcass (eviscerated) basis. The carcass is broken into primal cuts by the meat packer and it is these primal cuts that enter into trade -- either, sold correspondence between relative increases in hog prices and gross margins of processors and retailers is curious. Are the markets for wholesale'and retail truly competitive, so that the margins tend to correspond to total costs (including fair profit)? In that case if the expected down turn in, hog prices happens later this year, current gross margins would be at least maintained in absolute terms On the other hand if processors and retailers are able to exercise considerable control over their pricing (or at least if the pricing leaders can) and if the gross margins have been increased on that basis, then we might expect some reductions in those margins when hog prices turn down- wards. , rig beekeeper become sel icient in producir queen bees in the future, Currently, queen bees 'are imported from the southern United States where weather conditions are mild. These genetic lines of imported bees do not, adapt,well to harsh Ontario witers. But attempts to overwinter surplus queen bees here are proving successful using solitary confinement and "con- tinual darkness. In a three-month trial at the University of Guelph, 80 percent of the queen bees survived the artificial conditions, says Prof. R. W. Shuel. Department of -ane foot in furrow' byaisa. fresh to a retailer or sold to a processor (who is often the meat packer as well) for further processing. While the meat packer's margin on the primal cuts appears to be slim. (even negative in some years), it should be pointed out4 that he realizes additional value on by-products. Fur- thermore, as many packers .are also processors, they further process some of the cuts, thereby realizing added value before sale. During the period '71- '73 to '76-'78 hog prices went up about 67 percent to farmers. Thus the gross margins of processors 'as well as retailers went up by the same proportion. This means that in absolute terms in dollars per hundred weight; gross margins have increased and these increases have formed a substantial part of price increases to consumers. Of course costs of processing, transporting and retailing have grown significantly. Yet the CLAY — Silo Unloadors Feeders Cleaners Stabling Log Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment BUTLER — Silo Unloadors Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mills Augers, itc. ACORN — Cleaners Heated Waterers WESTEEL-ROSCO Granaries B 1. L - Hog Panelling LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine, Ont: Phone 3eS-52116 LeIlets aye app'ec ated by 800 Lone, Etc/ate Rd Eir',a Ont N38 2C 7 ) i Farmers must get irritated by .the empty-headed accusations thrown at their marketing boards.. Big circulation magazines have joined the chorus coming from metropolitannewspapers decrying the death, of free enterprise, killed by marketing boards, they say. They also say that quota -setting boards have too much power and that these boards can hold up the entire nation with exorbitant prices. Whenever a discussion on marketing boards and controlled production arises, the two terms private enterprise and free • enterprise are bandied about. Most people consider them to mean the same thing. . They don't. Speaking against free enterprise in this social - democratic society is like speaking against motherhood, the flag, little girls and horses. It is time everybody got a clear idea of what these terms mean. Theyare not interchangeable. Private enterprise is easy to explain. Every farmer who isn't tied to government has a private enterprise. The governmentais not engaged in the production of eggs or poultry or beef or pork or mutton or 'corn or wheat or soybeans. Not com- -mercially, anyway. Purely for research and ex- periment. • These industries are privately owned by individuals or corporations. Therefore, if they are not owned by the government or the state, they are private en- terprises. • But what about free enterprise? I subrnit that free enterprise is a myth., It does not exist. It is an idea, a fanciful dream that went outwith button shoes and wing collars. There is no such thing as complete freedom in any business. Whether you are producing something, manufac- turing something or selling anything from elephants to. elbows, you are not free to do as you please. In the early days of democracy, a laissez-faire policy was in vogue. The governments of the day adopted an almost hands-off policy. Big business -- and little business, too -- milked the people for every possible cent most of the time. As mass production techniques were developed and the large, corporate structures were devised, . it became apparent that governments had to intervene. If left to its own devices, big business monopolized, eliminated competition by fair means or foul and created trusts, carteles and other forms of monopolies to gouge the public. . So anti-trust laws were passed, some as long as 100 years ago to keep private enterprise honest. These laws are constantly being enlarged. Governments had to intervene in many ways such as unemployment insurance • payments, pension payments, health insurance payments, compensation payments. Security regulations were adopted to protect the investing public. Hundreds of government laws and regulations have been enacted to curtail the excesses of the business and industrial community. They are not free. They may be engaged in private enterpise but•they are not engaged in free enterprise. Private enterprise is alive and well and flourishing even in agriculture and even in products which are controlled by quotas. Marketing boards are simply a method whereby farmers can get together to market their produce. Members are made up of private enterprisers who can get a better deal for themselves most of the time by taking advantage of the legal procedure open to them. Those who think marketing hoards kill free en- terprise in this country are probably right. But free enterprise hasn't existed in this country for 60 or 70 years. Marketing boards, in fact, are simply an extension. of private enterprise, -perhaps even a protection for private enterprise. M. J. SMITH .. .. .. ..NOW S.ERVING THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY . . •65YEARS • We at M. 1. Smith have all the requirements for handling your • WHEAT CROP e handle GRAIN, FERTILIZER; CORN, SEED GRAIN, & V'U AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS at competitive prices! WE BUY,SELL,STORE & DRY! LTd. i/ Latham l,n,h rn'I+t • sl'.i'.I) • (,It Ili • I11.•;,0,1ti , 1 • . HWY. NO. 21JUS1NO,THa,PORT ALBERT PHONE: 529.7135 or 529.7700 "ALL OF OUR FACILITIES ARE TO SERVE YOU BETTER" Environmental Biology • . - Large numbers of queenbees are needed to provide future reproductive stock to Ontario beekeepers and for genetic testing. In nature, each gL'een bee needs a colony to support her through the winter. This method is too costly to maintain large numbers of surplus queen bees. A less expensive ap- proach used by apiculture researchers is to store queen bees in solitary confinement. Caged in a small wood and screen case, each queen bee is fed a sugar solution containing 15 percent royal jelly. It provides the protein, vitamins and minerals that help maintain body tissues. Water and the sugar solution are always available in separate gravity -feeding con- tainers. Feces drop through the slatted 'cage to keep the bees clean and free from disease. Success in over- wintering queen bees depends on maintaining continual darkness at 28 degrees C and about 45 percent humidity. Daily - examinations are con- ducted with a red lignt to FARM CLASSIFIED - SECTION A. For sale prevent disturbance. 31/2 ACRES of standing Thus, the queen •bees are wheat. Call 524:6'308.-30 isolated from . the in- fluence of the photoperiod GRAIN BINS 10'x 19 with (available amount of aerators. Phone 529- light) that normally 7717.-30nc determines bee activity. "In my opinion, reducing activity to a, minimum is the key to successful over- wintering," says Prof. Shuel. ''Reduced stimulation promotes the queen bees' chances of surviving." Prof. Shuel says that small numbers have survived six months of this unnatural solitary confinement. A current trial is repeating the endurance test with 200 queen bees in hopes of 'better survival rates. Queen bees with known genetic qualities and the ability to overwinter well will be used to reproduce hardier bee colonies suited to Ontario con- ditions. This researokl_i,s_. part of the bee breeding program sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food. WATER WELL DRILLING "79 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • FARM • SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS •.FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS - 'OUR EXPERIENCE-ASSURES-- LOWER XPERIENCEASSURES-- LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills PHONE 357.1960 WINGHAM -Collect Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" r 1. Pat St. Cyr, CO.ORDINATOR TWO range hog feeders, on skids, 24 holes in each with tops. Phone 482-' 3178.-29-30 B. Custom work BOOK YOUR CUSTOM COMBINING NOW! Low rates and long hours to get the job done. Grain, beans and corn. Phone 524-4700.-28tfnc CUSTOM combining of oats, wheat, barley, and corn. Swathing also available. Phone Philip Steckle 565-5324 or Arnold Steckle 565-5329.-29TF BULLDOZING, Allis- Chalmers No. 650, with six way hydraulic blade. \ Bill Robinson, RR2 .0611 BLAST-OFF Auburn, 529-7857.-13tf AOTION! \' D. Livestock BRED SOWS. Good young stock and young boar. Phone 529-7717.--410 CHOICE cross bred first litter sows, 300 lbs. average, bred purebred Hampshire, due starting August 1. Phone 262- 6609.-30 Complete Automotive Machine Shop and Radiator Repair Service Le -t --US do the --work.... – IDEAL SUPPLY COMPANY LIMITED 145 HURON ROAD, GODERICH 524-8389 3 good reasons to meet our BUSINESS RESouRE t TEAM Management counselling Experienced counsellors assist small businessmen to improve their methods. % r A r 2. Pete Huxtable, MANAGEMENT ' SERVICES OFFICER Information on government programs Which government programme `may assist your business. 3■ Don Muir.- MANAGER Financial assistance . Financing to start, modernize or expand your business. SEE OUR TEAM OF FBDB SPECIALISTS at: The Bedford Hotel 92 The Square, Goderish(Ontario on: Tuesday, July 31st, 1979 BIKES 1036 Ontario St. Stratford 271-5650 FEDERA4 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BANK Opening new doors to small business.