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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1988-05-11, Page 3THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MAY 11, 1988 — 3A Staffa woman taps Independent female operators are a minority in agriculture, and goat farmers are something of a rarity as well. But Donna Waddell of RR 2 Skaffa has been making a living for the past two years, by shipping goat's milk. Miss . Waddell likes working with goats because she says "they are something I can handle myself." She has over 130 head, 59 of which are milked on a daily basis, twice per day. The common image of goats is they are belligerent beasts who want nothing more than to butt any unfortunate who unthink- ingly bends over in front of them. But Miss Waddell says nothing could be further from the truth, and she enjoys working with goats. ' "They're just like dogs," she says. "They're smart and they love affection. They'll fight over who's going to be petted when you come into the barn, or give you a kiss on the face when they're up in the milk- ing parlor." Goats are also as intelligent as dogs ac- cording to Miss Waddell, who has taught her animals to do tricks like walk on their hind - legs. Each of her goats is called by an in- dividual name. Another misconception people have about goats is they will eat anything. Goats are very inquisitive and along with having to see what's going.on they like to taste what's go- ing on. So they'll grab almost anything in their mouths - like parts of clothing or a reporter's notepad, but they'll just mouth it and not actually eat it. Although she has been shipping milk for two years Miss Waddell has 10 years ex- fierience with these animals. When she growing market started she would buy kids and raise them for holiday meals for ethnic groups. Young goat is a delicacy for Greeks and Pakistanis and they eat it for their Easter and Christmas dinners. Miss Waddell was strictly marketing meat, but two years ago she found she had excess milk from what the kids used. In June of 1988 she decided to sell this extra milk, and by the first of July she had a milk- ing parlor arranged. By August she was shipping milk. Goat's milk is getting more popular, and goat's milk cheese is a common product. The primary difference between goat's milk and cow's milk is in people's ability to digest them. Both milks are basically the same and both contain fat globules. But goat's milk contains finer globules than cow's milk, and is therefore easier to digest. The cream in goat's milk also stays mixed in with the rest of the milk more readily than it does in cow's milk, where it rises to the surface. Babies and people with stomach problems are often fed goat's milk, as it is easier to digest. Miss Waddell generally produces about 500 litres of milk per week, but last summer was a hot one and her milk produc- tion has been down around'3 t I litres. The reason for this is the bucks wouldn't mate last summer due to the heat, and the female goat milk production proportionately went down. In addition to this the price of goat's milk has gone down and goat farmers are taking a beating. The price Miss Waddell now gets for her milk dropped from 54 cents per litre last year to 45 cents per litre this year. The reason for this is it was recently found goat cheese can be imported from overseas cheaper than its cost of pioduction in Canada. Fluid goat's milk still sells at a pretty reasonable 77 cents per litre, but most of the market is for cheese. Goats are pretty easy animals to take care of, and Miss Waddell can get her chores done in about three hours every day. On occasion she has to do additional chores like disbud the young goats, trim hooves (twice a year), and clean the barn (periodically). Young goats require little extra care as well, and they are up and around about an hour after being born. Care has to be taken they are kept from excess dampness or cold, but they are generally all right on their own. Miss Waddell has been leaving them to feed from their mothers to try and increase their growth, and they are weaned at six months. Miss Waddell has plans to better her goat farm in the future. She is currently living on the farm of her brother Allen, and she would like to get a farm of her own. She would also like to have her milking set up on a pipeline system rather than hauling it by the pail. The size of her herd is where she wants it now, but she hopes to increase milk produc- tion by weeding out some of the low pro- ducers. Unlike dairy cattle goats have many years of production. They start milking at one year of age and continue until they are about eight or nine. The oldest goat in the Waddell herd is 12 years old, although Miss Waddell admits she keeps her around more for sentimental reasons than because of her productivity. Miss Waddell is a 4-H leader and a leader with the Mitchell Goat Club. IN THE MILKING PARLOR - Donna Waddell milks each of the 59 milking goats in her herd twice per day, and usually gets about 500 litres of milk per week. Miss Waddell has been involved in selling goat's milk for the past two years, and she is shown here hookng up the last goat of the morning's milking. Corbett photo. DONNA WADDELL, a shipper of goat's milk from RR 2 Staffa, en- joys working with her animals and calls each of the over 130 of them by name. She says goats are Just like dogs In their in- telligence and their want of attention, Corbett photo. Brucefield area farmer honored A Brucefield area man has been named as one of 100 Ministry of Agriculture and Food Centennial Award winners. Robert P. Allan, born, raised and still living at RR 1 Brucefield, was one of the more than 400 individuals and families nominated for this special award, created to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food by the Ontario government in May 1888. "Those honored have made a significant contribution to the Ontario agri-food in- dustry," commented Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell. "And that is the purpose of our Centennial - to pay tribute to those, past and present, who have made our Ontario agriculture and food sector one of the finest in the world." Although he retired in January, Mr. Allan -nominated by Ken Carochan of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board, Cecil Desjardine, Director of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board, and Murray Dawson, a bean producer since 1954- was honored for his operation of a successful farm, demonstrating good farm practices and implementing new ideas. "I started farming when I was 12 -years - old," recalled Mr. Allan. I was in Grade 8, and used to go to school for half the year, and farm for the other half - but it was the war time and you could do that then." A year later at age 13, Mr. Allan began doing custom farming with a tractor when his father, then aged 63, purchased his first modern convenience but refused to operate it. There's been no looking back since. Initially Involved in livestock farming, Mr. Allan converted fropo purebred Shor- thorn cattle and Yorkshire pigs, to purebred Lacombe pigs - and in the pro- cess taught other farmers the values of cross -breeding. CENTENNIAL AWARD WINNER Bob Allan of RR 1 Brucefield, does what he says is expected of a retired farmer, sitting on his riding lawnmower. Mr. Allan was honored by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food for his contribution to agriculture over the years. Mcllwraith photo. BUCKET BY BUCKET Is how Donna Waddell takes the milk from the goats in her milk. ing parlor to her 400 gallon tank. She has a few Improvements in mind for her opera- tion, one of which is to continue improving production and the other is to replace het current pail -system with a pipeline system. Corbett photo. Later, after breaking his back on two separate occasions, Mr. Allan went into cash cropping and the production of pedigreed seed. On his 330 acre farm, he demonstrated new production techniques - winning pasture competitions and high yield competitions in corn, beans and grain. He also demonstrated the quality of his production methods by winning several World Championships in bean, pedigreed seed and hay. Neighbors also won 14 World Championships in hay by employing Mr. Allan's curing method. Over the years, Mr. Allan has helped test and introduce many new grain varieties in Ontario, among them Sanilac white beans, which dominated the industry for many years. Mr. Allan was with the founding group that started the Ontario Pedigreed Seed Growers, and Agency Marketing Board for white beans. He was a member of the On- tario Bean Producers Marketing Board for 20 years and president for six years. He travelled extensively, selling Ontario white beans to 72 countries around the world. Mr. Allan was involved in a number of other organizations, including the Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Ontario Federation of Agriculture and its Com- modity Council, and the Canadian Seed Growers Association. He was superinten- dent of Field Crops at The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair for 10 years, and was also a consultant for many organiza- tions, such as the Ontario Government, the opposition parties, the agricultural col- leges and Ontario Hydro. He encouraged farmers to work together towards better production and marketing practices through his involvement in a a number of farm organizations such as 4-H, Junior Farmers and The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. He gave freely of his time to help others in such things as judging, public speaking, debating, lobby- ing governments and negotiating with world brokers. "I guess I was on at least 10 boards at one time, all the time, " recalled Mr. Allan. "I was away three-quarters of the time, but I enjoyed it. We (the farmers) were always in some controversy with the government over legislation and it was very rewarding, if you felt you were on the right side of something, to win." Mr. Allan said he didn't expect to receive the honor bestowed on him by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. I expected ag. reps and the leaders at the University of Guelph had done a lot more than I had. There are a lot of dedicated guys at the University of Guelph," he said. "They've spent their life at one thing - but I guess in narrower fields, whereas I got mixed up in all of it. I tried everything - some things worked - some didn't" Turn to page 14. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Heart foundation's funds up $7000 Dear Editor: On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Huron County Chapter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, I would like to thank your paper for the excellent coverage given our annual campaign during February; $64,385 has been raised so far, an increase of more than $7,000 over last year. This increase is due not only to the newspaper coverage given but also to the outstanding efforts of all the canvassers, captains and area chairs in all the corn - If you walk your dog, stoop munities in. Huron County. The residents of the county in turn responded to the work of the volunteers by giving generously to this worthwhile cause. The Board of Directors also wishes to acknowledge the time and effort spent on the campaign by this year's campaign chairman, Chuck Rowland. Sincerely, Margaret MacLeod Public Relations Chair To the Editor: This was in your Clinton paper and should he in the Seafortb paper. The dogs are taken for walks, and on the outskirts of the town as well as in the town, they let them go run loose to make a mess and also do errors. The public school area is bad. "Dear Editor, January thaws reveal many things and this past one is no exception. During the thaw I had on occasion to walk along On- tario Street. There in the expanse of more than two blocks I saw beside each driveway and walkway, almost without exception, and in some places in between, as well as in front of the church, a pile of used dog meat. It is easy to deduct that someone walks his or her dog on a leash along this route, pro- bably daily, and no doubt under cover of and scoop darkness. BUT they are NOT stooping and scooping! Had I taken time to 'follow the piles' I would have undoubtedly come to one pro- perty, neat, clean and lacking deposits, namely the home of the dog owner. The sight on the street is repulsive, and I would hate to be the homeowners who must clean up these messes.I can only hope no child stumbles into it first. Surely these animal lovers could be as concerned about sanitation and cleanliness in this town as they are about their dogs and their own property. Have they no feelings of guilt? I am A disgusted citizen COMMUNITY CALENDAR If you're organizing a non-profit event of interest to other Seaforth area residents, phone the recreation office at 527-0882 or the Expositor at 527-0240, or mail the information to Communi• ty Calendar, The Huron Expositor, Box 69. Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1WO well in advance of the scheduled date. Space for the Community Calendar is donated by The Huron Expositor. Wed., May 11 9 a.m. - Yoga at Arena 1:30 p.m. - Senior Games, Table Tennis at Arena 8:30 p.m. • Seaforth Horticultural Society, tour of Cosyn's Greenhouses, Stratford. Cars leave from Seaforth Public School. Sf mon., A®n. r May 1 Meeting at school upon return. 7:30 p.m. - Senior Games, Crokinole at Arena 8 p.m. - Seaforth Hospital Auxiliary Meeting NOTE CHANGE OF DATE 1:30 p.m. • 2:30 p.m. • Story Hour at the Library Sun., May 15 12 p.m. - Walkerton vs. Seaforth Merchants Thurs., May 12 8:30 a.m. • Fitness Is Fun 7:30 p.m. - Bolleramith vs. Beachwood Tues., May 17 8:30 p.m. • Brewers vs. Team Maul 8:30 a.m. - Fitness is Fun 9:30 p.m. • Seahawka vs. Topnotch (Men's Ball Hockey) Sat., May 14 Wed., May 18 9 a.m. • Yoga at Arena 10 a.m. - Horseshoes - Senior Games at 10 a.m. • 12 Noon - Plant Sale, Seaforth Arena Grounds Horticultural Society, formerly Marty', 1:30 p.m.- Carpet Bowling, Senior Games Place (opposite the library) at Arena