The Huron Expositor, 1950-02-10, Page 6sr
ON EXPOSITOR
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In Huron County Farmers Turn Their Big
Barns Into Laying Pens and
Produce Lots of Eggs
(By F. E. Ellis, in The Family
Herald and Weekly Star)
"Huron County ..produced more
eggs for export last year than any
other county in Canada."
The thousands of Huron farm
family folk who heard W. A.
Brown make this statement at
their Federation of Agriculture pic-
nic some years ago straightened
their shoulders, threw out their
chests and looked both pleased and
important.
Why shouldn't they? Mr. Brown
would be sure of his figures.
Wasn't he chief of the Exports Pro-
ducts Board and salesman -extraord-
inary for the Canadian poultry in-
dustry? They knew themselves
that the Huron poultry industry
had been forging ahead. Still, it
was very satisfying to be told by
such an authority as Mr• Brown
that they were now in a top posi-
tion. What is more, they have
continued to stay at the top.
Let us look at this county, which
plays such an important part in
the Canadian poultry picture. It is
decidedly rural—a few towns, no
cities and a very 'large percent-
age of good, workable land. There
eMIIIIMILIntonor
CHICKS
• Peat Moss and Cozeo Litter
• Co-op Chick Starter
• Co-op Grow Mash
• Chick Grit and Shell
• Howard's Stim-a-Tone Tablets
• . Semi -Solid Buttermilk
• Fortified Feeding ' Oil
Jr'
Seaforth Farmers Co-operative
PHONE 9 SEAFORTH
ver`
s a small orchard area near Gode-
rich, canning crops have become
important so4rth of Exeter, but the
general farm is almost the rule.
Atka everybody has hens. The
latest statistics avail -able place the
;,oultry population of this county
at 7,768,994. If comparisons are
;emitted, the next highest coun-
ty in Ontario is Lambton with
1,559,193 and then Middlesex with
1,347,101. I consulted. with A. F.
Curran, Ontario Egg and Poultry
Inspector for the Dominion Depart-
ment, of Agriculture, to learn the
amount of eggs actually delivered
to registered egg grading stations
in the county in 1948. The .figure
was 21S,3tt5 thirty -dozen cases. In
1344, the first year for which such
acelrate statistics are avtaitab4e,
the figure was 146,419 cases'; al-
most a 30 per cent increase in four
years. Unfortunately, there are no
reliable statistics available for oth-
er poultry products.
Perhaps we will better under-
stand how great is this production
of eggs from the farms of one
county if we make a further com-
parison: As against the 218,325
cases produced in this• tone county
in 1948, the receipts at all egg
grading stations in the Province of
Nova Scotia in that year were
131,110 cases and in Prince Edward
Island 118,626 cases. There are a
few very large commercial poul-
try plants but the great bulk of
the Huron eggs came from general
farms operated by farm folk who
really appreciate the value of poul-
try in their economic setup.
Flocks Big Enough
Huron County eggs are good in
quality as well as in quantity. Pro-
bahly this is because so many
farms have flocks that 'are big
enough to worth taking care of.
PORK PROFITS s&z4t
t4eSOW-
-i •
Above: Combined driveand poultry house on the Huron County
farm of W. J. F. Bell, Kippen.
With more of 'the income arriving
by way of eggs and poultry; Hitron
farmers have beeome .poultry, eon
•scious. It was one of these' farm
Vers wbo first informed me of the
,increased interest in poultry.
It was back in the early years of
World War II that I climbed a
fence in the southern part of the
county to ask directions of a farm-
er who was resting his team. The
farmer, too, was glad of a rest fid,
:as he sat on the plow beam, he
talked of his hundred acres. 1
suppose he realized that he had a
sympathetic audience -
"This is my idea of a good life,"
he said with comfortable convic-
tion as his eyes roamed over his
fields• his herd and this home. "Give
me a hundred 'acres of good land,
a dozen Shorthorn cows, some
"oung stock, some white hogs and
a hundred hens and we can have
as goad a life as any man should
ask for." He thought a moment
and amended: "It will be 200 hens
next year."
He went on to tell me that his
wife's .bens were making more
money, labor and expense con-
sidered than were his cattle and
hogs. They had t'ecided to expand
the poultry end and he was able
to tell me of several farmers who
were going to do the same. "We
caa look after a large flock as
easily. as a e -mal/' one, and make
more money," bo told me.
If I were lost again in Huron
and happen on that man's farm I
would not be surprised, to see one
end of the farm barn looking like
the side of,. an apartment house—
mostly winows. Probably he would
have 500 to 1,000 layers. I say this
because so many of the poultry
conscious gener^.l• farmers of that
county now have flocks of this size
and larger.
When I was in Huron in late.
October I visited a few of them.
My first stop was in Seaforth and
the first man I met on the main
street was R. S. McKercher, with
whom I had, become well acquaint•
ed at Federation •of Agriculture
meetings in Toronto.
Bob'McKercher is typical of oth-
er farmers in his farm set-up: He
has 250 acres of good land—every
Huron farmer says he has good
land and u. n:tlly is telling the trutb
—and the main line has been bee:
cattle. He winters 100 head as a
rule. Just the week before he had
unloaded 70 "white faces" from the
West. "Thetrouble with beef
that it is a once -a -year income,"
says Bob. "Poultry has fitted We,
ly into that picture: it is an ever
day source of incon?e. Rig.ht nov
my plan for my farm is 100 cattle
and 1.000 hens."
He is very near his ideal. He
has 900 Rhode Island Red pullets
housed in a three -deck laying house
in the end of the L of his barn.
When I was talking with him they
were hitting a 70 per cent produc-
tion, which he iholrghtwas quite
high enough. During the hatching
season the eggs will go to one of
the big hatcheries in the 'county,
commanding a nice premium. For
the balance of the year they go to
the co-operative egg grading sta-
tion in Seaforth. He is well satin-
fled with this setup.
And that reminds me: Two years
ago I was talking with an ,.exten-!
sive hatchery operatoitV in a county
farm •removed from Huron. I ,asked 1
him where he got most of his
eggs. "Huron County," he replied.
"Around home I would have to
mate 50 hens here and 100 pullets
there and all of the flock owners
ndifferent over the deal. Up in
Huron I have three farmers along'
one road with over 1,000 birds each
one anxious to give service. Pou-
t -y is a business up there." He had
found three Bob McKerchers in as
'any- mi'es. •
Nick Does Big Business"
F.'ve miles from Seaforth I drop-
-ed in on W. L. Whyte—"Nick" to
his friends—and Mrs. Whyte. The
Whytes farm several hnudredC-
res, finish 150 head of beef cattle
annually, have between 5,000 and
1,000 layers, operate a brooding
'dant with a capacity of around
'00.000 broilers or starter pullets
'2 months, and have a retail
meat store Seaforth ffor
ti r ,.rl e.+ forin all the Club at part
amuse wasunder construction tli'aat.
,would houae 38,000 birds Urs to'12.
weeks of •age,,,. The next move' was
q purchase the 100 acres -next door
and convert the big barn into a
fout+.deck poultry house with ac-
comwedat:ion for 4,000 layers. Thin
move trlu'st have been profitable for
a couple of years later another 100'
was purchased - and another barn
carried its quote, of 4,000 layers.
L nto- tunately this barn was burn-
ed shortly later. It thas not been re-
placed.
While it would not be 'advisable
for the /nest of us to try any .busi-
ness on such an extensive sea,&as
comes:: naturally to ,.Mr and-• Mmsz
Whyte; such rapid expansion does
stir up- enthusiasm in folk' gener-
ally and encourages moderate ex -
Pension over a wide territory, The
main contribution of the Whytea
goes further than' :stimulated con-
fidence, however.
Along with a number of others
in the county they are introducing
a. new method of flock replacement
that makes it easier for the busy
general farmers to increase his
poultry holdings. Their big brood-
er house furnishes thousands of
pullets 10 weeks old or older and
ready to go on range to men who
might never increase their flocks
if it meant ' the added labour of
brooding chicks. During my visit
to the 'county I met several men
with flocks up in the hundreds—
and ...even thousands --who do not
own a brooder stove.
Veteran Starts in Poultry
Nick drove me around the con-
cession to see the flock of Norman
Saunders and his wife. It would
not do• to leave out Mrs. Saunders.
She is so enthusiastic about the
poultry business that she intro -
&iced me to their five -week-old
son as "my poultryman of 1970."
She was a Toronto girl. Norman
came from London, Ont., is a vet-
eran of World War 1I, and served
his apprenticeship in poultry for
16 .months on the Whyte farm. He
bought his farm with Veterans'
Land Act assistance and immedi-
iii the early fall and then through
the winter and sells in ,tone
"Do4,yert find: that -poultry wo
in well''with,- 20Q acres and beef
cattle,'. Ianked',. net mentioning the
horses as time was limited.
"They have paid so well that we.
have given up milking cows," was
the convincing answer. "Dad and
I have enough hens ,tomake it
really .pay. At the start we had
just one pen. Now we And that
we look after the three pens with
Iittle more otrouble,"
4, ,
Twti"B19 Flocks'
;..Later in the afternoon, driving
freer!). Clinton to Exeter, I noticed a
field of range shelters near a nei'
ooinbined drive and poultry house.
I turned in. Here W. T. F. Bell
farms, 250 acres with Shorthorns
and Jerseys •but -Mrs. Bell informed
me that she was the poultry 'spe-
cialist of the firm. She looked
capable and she, must be capable.
She pur�cchased 4,500 mixed chicks
(non-seked) in January and March.
Her favorite cross is Light Sussex-
New Hampshire, excellent for both
meat and eggs, but her comment
was "They looked, so nice on the
range., Evidently Mrs. Bell gets
pleasure as well aa profit "from her
business. Her layer flocks total
3,000 birds, Over 2,000 roasters are
marketed.
NearHeiisall I' spent a pleasant
half-hour with Elgin Rowcliffe. He
has 460 acres, a Holstein herd,
turns • off some beef but "it's the
poultry that pays the bills." Poul-
try on an extensive scale—he car-
ries 3,000 layers—is not a ,new
thing on this farm. Elgin's mother.
had 300 to 400 hens when 100 birds
was considered a big flock. , Back
in the thirties the Rowcliffe flocks
began to grc.w and the end is not
yet. Son Bill, in his twenties, has
now purchased a 200 -acre farm and
it is going to be a poultry farm.
He figures that. he ea.n. grow the
grain for 4,000 birds on his land
and there will be no other live-
stock.
Buys Started Pullets
"We have been buying pullets 10
Top: Norman Saunders, of Seaforth, houses more than 2,000
pullets' in this old barn; at left, a glimpse of his farm home with
the sun porch which he built himself.
Above: The three -deck poultry house. of Eleiry. Rowcliffe, of
Her,sall; at the left is another larger three -decker on the Row-
cliffe place.
Below: This biq brooder.housecan rear 38,000 chicks to 12 weeks
old; owned by W. L. Whyte, Seaforth.
•
•
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11'
•
j�.���"7111•
Norman Saunders also breeds
Great Dane doge.
Building pigs within the sow
• , putting body weight on the
sow herself as a reserve for the
milking period , . , improving
the quantity and quality of the
milk after she farrows ... is a job
fora top quality feed ... a mash
that's made fresh with National -
7. Sow and Pig concentrate .. .
Feed your next litter in the sow.
See riot laidNATIONAL
tell;; O.i for tag
•
L
if a sow farrows 10 pigs;
she must build 45 pounds
of young pigs as well as her own body in the
last 114 days. Only a specially balanced sow
ration can do this job. If you want strong,
large vigorous litters — feed them in the
sow and keep them growing on a ration made
the NAt1ONAL wary.
WILLIAM STONE SONS 'LIMITED .
iNGNISOLL ONTARIO
COUNT ON
rr
of th.e9 poultry produced on the
W.hyte'.farms.
It as characteristic of the Whytes
that they go into anything inwhich
they. are really interested on a big
scale. Probably Nick got the pouI-
try idea. when be worked for a
summer on the extensive Spruce-
leigh Farm, at Brantford.
First room waas made for 2,000
layers in the big barn on the home
farm. All the poultry fraternity
of t'he province sat up, however,
when it was known that a broiler
EVERYB0IWs Busiss
by
Look for the facts!
In this simple phrase there lies
magic power to help you build a
more effective personality and win
greater success.
A famous industrialist was once
asked how he could make so many
wise decisions quickly. "I get the
facts", was his reply. "Once you
gather all the imjtortant informa-
tion related to any matter, the facts
themselves decide the issue.;'
Needless to say, the man who can
make sound decisions most fre-
quently and rapidly wins against
all competitors in any Geld.
Many a new invention, too, has
been made because sear ebody dis-
covered new facts, or gave familiar_..
.facts u new interpretation. You may
notice some little detail that others
have overlooked and be inspired
to change k in saute xray that will
jcreate a'rnoneymaking (invention, ••
or lead to a valuable time -or -
money -saving idea on your job.
Facts may serve us in countless
other ways. They provide power
for selling or convincing others.
Jntroditced into conversation, they
make o'dr comments more effective
and interesting. Used as guide-
posts, they keep us from the
dangers of wishful thinking and
impractical philosophies.
Abo+e all, facts add to our
knowledge. And "knowledge is
po ser" 1,
To btax'ld a sound life ill ante '
plan :frit yourself andYour f pix!
you !)rhe hep hf'ttotneonti Ylto
cite**
yke'all the facts related to
your future needs. The modern '
, life insurance company i'itl#retenta-'e
the is gained to do '6.'4 --,4 and you '
• can rel ion his recommendations.
152.
ately proceeded to build the 50 by
80 barn into a two -deck laying
house with room for more decks
above when needed. There is just
one pen, to a deck and with 1,000
to 1,100 layers in each pen. The
1,100 NH -BR pullets on the second
deck, housed July 15, 'had climbed
to 715 eggs daily and then held
steady at around 000 eggs, The
old hog house to the side of the
barn had 380 pullets—:a total of
over 2,400 layers. This young cou-
ple .moved to their farm in Octo-
ber, 1947, and, are satisfied that
they are off to a good start. The
cost per bird of building the old
barn into a well insulated and well
equipped poultry, house, by the
way, was $1.75.
Our next stop was at the farm -
.Bob McMillan. He and his father
were picking corn with a one -row
Dicker. I was going to start pick-
ing my own corn the following day
and I didn't want anyone around
to bother me, so I didn't stop . to
interrupt their work. Bpb and his
father have a layout that is typi-
cal of scores of Huron farms—
room in the barn for 400 to 500
layers that bring in a nice- income
and with no additional outlayfor
labour. They, too, favor -cross-
bred pul•lete and. this year have the
NH -BR cross. a
He Stopped 'MIIking- Cows .
Wm. J. Dale Is "horsey." He
likes good horses- and it was at a,.
horse breeders' meeting that I first
met. him. When we drove into his
yard, however, he , p,*as b'busy ,tips-
;rioting oi s 's en
146 'Idyeris ov4it'''x'the c1''1r-o buil.
Thele are 1'00 to tlrk ii ret aka
sthd*ed' "lis` the pens' •hs 1t9d :i ri
eructed' over the stable for 450
pullets. He told is that he had
no trouble keeping a dry, perma-
nent litter In these pens' but. that
Wet litter was a problem over the
drive shed Ile buys the ,pullet
tii'etk>t d: lbyl` !gats+ 'hid i lrodthl itfl
weeks old for several years," Elgin
told me. "I consider that brood-
ing plants such as the Whyte plant
are doing a good job for the
armer-poultryman: Very few'farms
have the brooding equipment or
the labor to start their own chicks.
"Also, he considers cross-breds the
only kind of chicken for the farm-
er. HA favors LS -NH, as do • his
neighbors, the Bells.
That evening I had a few min-
utes with the Dominion Poultry
and Egg Inspector for the district
that embraces Huron County—Mr.
Mode. I knew that I had visited
outstanding flocks. I wanted the
general picture. Mr. Mode had it.
He told me that the most of the
county had small to average flocks
per farm, but there was a large
district that included Seaforth,
Brussels and Hensall, where there
were plenty of flocks of 300 to
500 layers and the people were
Poultry conscious.
"I don't think there is any idea
in Canada that produces finer
quality eggs than this section of
Huron County," declared Mr. Mode,
"Summer quality may leave a lot
to be desired but I think a bigger
percentage of the flocks are well
managed for production and qual-
ity than in most areas. Roughly,
the quality seems to be in propor-
tion to the• quantity per farm,"
Poultry is big -business in Huron.
Ask any Huron farmer. He will
teli you.
Easy Credit
Terms Help You
Purchase Farm
Improvements
The more modern your farm
equipment,•the less you labour and
the more money you make. Your
wife, too, can speed her round of
chores with new work-saVirig devic-
es. But, perhaps your progress. to-
ward a better -equipped farm and,
home is barred by lack of ready
money. If so, let tt Bank -of
Montreal Farm Improvement Loan
overcome this obstacle for you,
The loans are a.vallable to farm-
ers for many useful purposes.
Thousands have met the early re-
payment terms out of the greater
profits thus made possible, and they
have .increased ,efficiency' and- com-
fort at the sinus tithe
Ydif `will find ty'duf. B ofr, M T'at`rit'
ImpAAt>Librit I,batt deneen tietil
way of Ottl'rig1lhhe'ii , Meme th ' only
'charge Is interests at live _per. cent.
Whether ,you want it tractor or it
washing-tlaaehine, livestock, 'a 'new
building 'or road repairs, you will
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tan
Wvgith J�i'a��eyykyy�� Iyr�yvini, �lutytilager
b>vr4t'n� ;ralj'1` tY;•,;tYL;utitftiil„?lii.'e17 OiyN A
'a `':1.'.
N.
M's-• apd Mrs- $ MtuPert wttt aY,
Phanxas;• visited her pal—Gran;
Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Anis osi
Wednesday.
Misses . Jos. and 'Margie Britton
visited on Sunday at the home of
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Keyes, Mitchelll,
VARNA
The ..monthly meeting of. tlte,W;
M. S. was' held in Abe eh!urc4 9m
'J huraday :afternoo j., Eeb . 2 Mrg-
It,Qbert 'T`ay'lor opened'lvith'the
to Woxshl.p,, after wI eh all ;cruet;
in singing Hyuii} 17;2 ,.l .ave
;kingdom, Lord.” Mins Beep) let�f
-prayer. The first and second read,
er was •taken by Mrs. ,Melvyn Hay-
ter and Mrs. E. Moyer, respective-
ly. Hymn, 402, "Lead On, 0 king'
Eternal," was sung. The meeting
was then turned over to' the" preSri-
dent,' Mrs, George Reid'. Minutes.
or the last meetitig,'were rread'and
adoption was moved by MA.' W.
Webster and seconded by Mrs. Bill
Reid. Ten members were present.
The roll call for March' is to be
answered by a Scripture verse in-
cluding "Saint." Mrs. Johnston had
received a thank -you note liram
Mrs. Alex Sutter for parcel receiv-
ed. Mrs. George Reid' rkeolVed a_
letter of thanks for the bale that
had been shipped last year. It
was decided to send for Baby Band
boxes for the Baby Band members.
Plans were made for the World
Day of Prayer, to be held in the
church on February 24. Chapter €.
of the study book. "Growing With
the Years," wak taken by Mrs.
Robert Taylor, Mr. E. Moyer and
Mrs. Mervyn Hayter. The meeting
closed with the benediction.
Upholstering
Chesterfields and
Occasional Chairs
Repaired and
Recovered
Factory Guarantee
Free Pick-up and Delivery
Stratford
Upholstering Co.
42 Brunswick St., Stratford
For further information
enquire at
Box's Furniture Store
SEAFORTH
WILL
"COUNTING SHEEP"
HELP YOU TO
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If sleeplessness is caused by beim
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Many find that taking a tonic
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And Dr. Chase's Nerve Food is
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_-,.No winter visitor from south of
the border willingly misses a
chance to see the famous Maple
Leafs in action. But all over
Ontario there is fine hockey to be
seen. Each arena can be male an
attraction to tourists who con-
tribute so much to the prosperity
of our province. Letts all do an.
we csn':te make them want to:
come back. John Labatt Limited.
O IrirdeKtY FANS
BREWERS SINCE 1832
fi
1v.
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