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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-12-27, Page 7• GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1979—PAGE 7 MVCA annual meeting attracts 25 of 35 member representatives Members of the (MVCA) recently Maitland Valley Con- reviewed program ac - servation Authority complishments for 1979 Panel to talk quotas The Huron Federation Producers Marketing of Agriculture will Board and. Ken McKin- sponosr a panel a non, chairman of the discussion on m-arketing Ontario Milk Marketing quotas, their transfer, " Board. Market value and benefits to the producer The discussion will be and consumer. held on Jariaury 3 at 8:30 The guest panelists are pm in the Clinton Central -Jim Johnstone, chairman Huron Secondary School of the Ontario Egg cafeteria. and discussed the proposed budget for 1980. Twenty-five of the 35 representatives from member municipalities attended the annual General Meeting to provide their input, and to make decisions. that will direct the Authority's activities in the new year. Authority Chairman, Lorne Murray, urged each representative to return to council with the preliminary budget, so that comments from the municipalities can be received prior to the final budget adoption _in February, 1980. Following in- troductions and com- ments frlxrCl, the various guests at-- the General Meeting, the members adopted the reports of the Water Management, Land Management, Community Relations and Conservation Areas Advisory Boards. It was noted that while 1979 was a very busy and )ne foot in the iurrow' by Cold it is around our place as the old year fades. Clear and still. The sun is just coming up through the bare, black branches of the hardwood bush behind the barn. From the chimneys in town, the white smoke rises straight up, all golden with sunshine into the measureless blue of the sky. When I reach the fence behind the house, the blood is racing warmly in my veins. The buckskin sticks her velvety nose out the door and snuffles a welcome. The little appaloosa raises her head above the stanchion, looks around at me and strikes her forefoot on the stable floor - the best greeting she has at her command 'after being cooped in a standing stall all night. I lay my hand on the bucksin's flank and she steps over to let me go by. I slap her neck affectionately and she lays her ears back playfully. The barn is full of hav and the oat bins are full. In a few minutes, the barn is quiet except for the contented sound of animals munching. Take my word for it, this is one of the pleasantest moments of life. 1 cannot explain it but at'such moments, the circuit of that dim spiritual°battery within seems to throb with new life and the full current of contentment flows through. I'm sure it is moments such as these that keep farmers on -the .land in spite of the problems ahead in 1980. Rapidly rising operating costs will take a hefty chunk of farm profits in the new year if you can JOHN WISE AGRICULTURE MAILBOX Drawn from letters to Agriculture Canada and Agriculture Minister John Wise. Dear Mr. Wise: I have heard that we import most of the cran- berries we eat in eastern Canada from the . United States. With all the bogs we have here why aren't we growing more of our own cranberries? MS., Osgoode, Ont. Dear M.S.: 6y At present, most of Canadian cranberry produc- tion takes place in British Columbia because the cran- berry varieties available for commercial production are not hardy enough for our short northern growing sea- son. However, a program is now underway that could help expand production in Ontario. This five-year pro- gram has been' -worked out by the Iroquois .Indians of the Gibson Indian Reserve in the Muskoka region, and prov- incial government horticul- turists. Agriculture Canada's New Crop Development Fund is helping to fund the project. New cranberry varieties and management techniques will be tested under com- mercial growing conditions in a bog already being worked on the reserve. It may not be'too long before our Christmas cran- berries are Canadian grown. Dear Mr. Wise: I know Christmas is a time for good cheer, but I have one worry. I'm preparing a turkey for a large family gathering and I worry about the possibility of food poisoning. What can I do to play it safe? D.J., Swift Current, Sask. Dear D.J.: The yuletide bird is one of the delights of the holiday season but it won't be if food -borne bacteria, such as salmonella, are given a chance to multiply. Agriculture Canada's Food Advisory Service offers the following safe handling and cooking advice. Once the turkey is thawed, stuff and cook it immediately. Do not. stuff the bird the night before. Warm stuffing provides a perfect medium for bacteria. Cook the turkey at 325 degrees. Temperatures lower than 300 degrees'are not safe. Be sure to remove any leftover stuffing from the cooked bird before storing in the refrigerator. Both stuffing and meat should be chilled or -frozen as soon as possible after the meal. CLAY --� Silo Unloaders Feeders Cleaners Stabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment BUTLER - Silo Unlooders 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 DAVE HAYLOW ELECTRICAL Serving Industrial, Commercial, Residential Needs 524-6038 Leneapp'ec,aied Ur Elora Lone, EJdaie Ra EIr, Oni N36 2C 7� believe an agriculture department survey released this month Cash receipts to farmers next year will be $15.1 billion, an eight per cent increase from 1979. And that is probably all you will hear from most newspapers. What they will not include is the figure from the same survey which suggests that total operating costs will climb by 15 per cent. In other words, that leaves Canada's 300,000 farm�ers with a before -taxes income of $3.3 billion, an actua1'12 per cent drop from the 1978 level of $3.8 billion. The picture doesn't improve when all aspects of. farming are considered. Grain and beef prices will remain high or even increase and feed grain is the biggest item in a farmer's budget. In fact, the agricultural outlook conference is predicting 10 to 20 per cent price increases in feed grains. Continued Canada -wide expansion in hogs and poultry will increase the demand for feed grains. Little change is expected in beef prices. Hog prices will likely drop well below $60 a . hundredweight compared witli. an average in 1979 of $64.50. • In fact, little. optimism is shown in the outlook report. But farmers will keep on producing. They will protest and sigh and continue the way they have for generations by tightening their belts and waiting for the upswing. They are fiercely independent people and„;.eternally optimistic. Some will leave; others will get into it. They will stay on the fields andin the barnyard because it is 'a"precious way of life,,a way of life that gives satisfaction that no other profession can give. If I, as ,a hobby farmer, a horse -lover, can get so much satisfaction from our piddly little barn, think of. how much greater the feeling of fulfillment •is when your barn holds 50 or 60 Holsteins or a few hundred beef steers or when your granaries are bursting or. your hogs are contentedly grunting at the troughs or your chickens clucking in their cages. "I see not a step before me as I tread on another year; • "But I've left the. Past in God's keeping, the Future His mercy shall clear; - "And what looks dark in the distance may brighten as I draw near." - Mary Gardiner Brainard. . And a Happy New Year to everyone! the store successful year, 1980 will provide an even greater challenge due to the budget restrictions that were outlined by Secretary -Treasurer, Marlene Shiell. The combination of increased 'costs and $11,600 less funding in 1980 than was received in 1979 will cause the Authority to strictljly assess program priorities, and to allot less funding to each program area than was originally requested from the Ministry of Natural Resources.. Programs most drastically affected by cutbacks will be land acquisition and Legislation is introduced to set new trespass rules The Government of Ontario has introduced legislation to increase the protection of landowners against trespass and to clarify the liability of owners to people who enter on their land. On Tuesday, Attorney General. Roy McMurtry introduced two bills, The Occupiers' Liability Act, 1979, and the Trespass to Property Act, for first reading in the Legislature. McKillop farmer heads plowmen By Wilma Oke Allan Campbell of RR 1' Seaforth, was re-elected to a second term as 'president of the Huron Plowmen's Association at a meeting in Winthrop Thursday. Vice-presidents are Ken Duncan of RR1, Kirkton and Ross Eedyof Dungannon. Secretary - treasurer is Graeme Craig of Walton, who replaces Russell Bolton of RRl Seaforth, who retired after serving for 14 years. Directors representing the 16 townships in the county were also elected. The date and the location of the county plowing match in 1980 were left to the executive to set. A new committee was named to establish a special events. category. in the 1980 match featuringthe use of an- tique plows. Ernest Talbot and Raymond -Scotchmer, both of Bayfield, and Rev. Kenneth Innes of Brussels, will work out the details of this event. Introduction of the two bills follows the publication and distribution last spring of a discussion paper on the question of trespass and liability.. Reaction to the discussion paper has been favorable, with 75 per cent of the letters received by the Attorney General indicating general support for the measures. This legislation will have special meaning to Ontario's farmers who have been asking for clarification of the trespass situation'. Agriculture and Food Minister Lorne C. Hen- derson said, ''This legislation will help farmers protect them- selves against trespassers who damage their property of commit theft of their crops. But it will also enable farmers to allow people to come on their land to hunt or fish without making the farmers liable for anything tha.t. might happen to people using their land.” Mr. Henderson said there are :-many' 'far' mers who ape willing to allow people access to their land, or to parts of their land, for recreational purposes. All they ask is that people behave in a responsible way. "These new bills set out the responsibilities of both the landowner and the person who ynters on his land. Both parties will know what is expected of them, what rights they have, and the extent of their liability. I believe this legislation will make an important con- tribution to good relations between farmers and urban people," Mr. Henderson said. Goderich, GJir second run — "Don .ring it back" Agriculture Canada has launched a public awareness program with the theme "Don't Brin Back". The purpose is to ' ad- vise, inform and alert the travelling public of the dangers that could occur if foreign materials such as meat, animals, birds, fruit, vegetables, plants and soil were not checked and cleared by our in- spection personnel. Two examples of severe consequence are foot and mouth disease which came to Canada in the 1950s via uncooked sausage which resulted in an $800 million cost to the. taxpayer. Another is Dutch Elm disease which arrived undetected in a shipment of logs and is now destroying Canada's native elm trees. development 'of existing conservation areas. - A year-end summa y of erosion control projects was presented to the members in the form of.a slide presentation and photo display. The examples of the Inter- national Plowing Match Demonstration site, a stream bank project in the Town of. Harriston, the McGuffin Gully project and Belgrave Creek Improvement projects were used to show how effective land management techniques Turn to page 10 • FARM CLASSIFIED SECTION C. Wanted WANTED TO RENT: Crop land in Colborne, Goderich and Ashfield Townships. Top dollar land. Call chanan, Go rich 524 - paid for ve top au de 4700.-38tfnc GODERICH COUNTRY CASUALS specializing in Professional FARMERS & INDUSTRIAL 1st LINE GWG WORKWEAR AT BELOW DISCOUNT PRICES Other Clothing Accessories Available 35 WEST STREET Beside French Dry Cleaners WATER WELL DRILLING "79 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • FARM • SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES well 11101 LOWER COST WATER WELLS" • ....467.0111 ti-. DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills PHONE 357-1960 WINGHAM Collect Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" ORDER YOUR ANDERSON'S Take advantage of our early low prices. Buy your fertilizer NOW! The Lucknow District Co-op would like to thank you for your patronage during the past . year and express all the best in 1980 Well be closed December 26th and January 1:st 6-2- 4 24, 8-32-16,16-16-16, 6-26-26, UREA, NITRATE V AtLAB4E PLUS MANY OTHERS A Watch for our Member's Midnight. Madness Sale Monday, January 21st You'll sleep better tonight and have a lot happier New Year knowing you have saved so much. This same offer applies to your Chemical needs too. Drop out and let's discuss your total requirements today! " We like to know our customers by name! LUCKNOW DISTRICT CO.OP PEIONt 529-7953 • SEED • GRAIN • BEANS HW . NO. 21 Jus,NO.,RcfPORTALBERT "ALL OF OUR FACILITIES ARE TO SERVE YOU REti'1'ER,"