HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-08-02, Page 3te.
1,000 FISH KILLED!-Pigmanure spreadon: a.
flood plain of the South Maitland River is
'thought to have polluted, the water and killed at
(east 1,000 bass, suckers and catfish recently. A
three mile stretch of the river wasaffected in.
Beef p
McKillop and Hullett townships. Ministry of the
Environment dfficials from London investigated
the incident, but say they have made . no
decision to lay charges in.the incident.
(Expositor photo)
(Continued from Page..)
break even, let alone make a reasonable
profit.
Mr. Procter, who is a cow/calf man,
explains the situation in the following. way:
Today, he said, were starting `to breed for
our 1980 calf crop, which will be•born in May
of 1980, It takes approximately two years to
grow them out. So the action we're taking
now won't be reflected.in the markets until
1982. •
`We're always operating on three years
lead time ordrag time," said Mr. Procter.
GOOD BUY
Three years ago, there was an abnormal
. low in prices, and consumers got ,,an
extremely good: buy. he said. , So between
1974 and 1977, producers slowed down their
operations. Thot reduction is showing now,
after the three year drag . time.
The im licationa of the present price drop
• are long term, he said.' The signal he's
getting. as a cow/calf man is that there will
not be as much confidence in farmers to go
ahead and rebuild their herd • after the cuts.
And the longer the price stays down, the
higher beef will: go in the future, he .said..
• Consumers should understand that, said
Mr. Procter. "I'm not damning the people
who try and do something about . beef
prices," he said, by substituting other` foods.
or buying economical cuts, but they should•
realize that it's a "three-year deal.''
In addition to the iron:' law of supply and
demand,1h ere are a "whole host of
reasons",for P thepresent'rice cu;
e t he said: a
P
soft economy,; :the truckers' strikein the
•U t U ni e
d States whichdisrupted'. the marketing:,
of cattle . and ',other agricultural products,
gr
consumer resistance to _the . earlier rise in
beef prices and the publicity surrounding the
price of beef.
Also, said Mr. Proctor, "if the porkcycles
don't happen to coincide (ie. if pork and beef'..
prices aren't high at the same time), then
the consumer does have an alternative,"
thereby decreasing the demand for. beef. '•
DEMAND.DOWN'. Canadian�s' could compete
Brian Miller cited a number of reasons for
the price drop. "In Ontario and Canada in_,. •
'
general, as ellas in the States, the demand.
for beef is down considerably." wh
W;'t 'rn o rt e e e o b I e S'
Carcass weights are higher, he said, and p = .
T
mething t
by Susan White.
•
I M
“Anti -c ipation"', goes ;the
song by Carly Simon. "`is.
.Makin' me crazy,"° l forget
what Carly was ,anticipating,
but I know just how she feels-
There are exactly six working
days left until my, summer
holidays, and 1'm, :finding it
difficult to think about much
else.
Yes.I've read that advice
from the psycholigists who
say the key to •a great
vacation is not expecting. too
much. But i ignore, it, re-
gularily, every year.
Browsing through our
daughter's baby book the
other night (what else do
proud parents need to read?)
1 came upon a description of
Correction
A photo; in last . week's
'eliaikpositor was. -incorrectly
identified. It showed Mrs
Yvonne Haney and daughter
Yvette browsing for bargains
at Seaforth's sidewalk •sale,
The :Expositor apologizes for
the error.,
a
THE a HURON 'EXPOSITOR, Auottirr
last yeares summer vacation
,you ;know, under :the
heading "baby's first
holiday,"
Until I:read it I'd forgotten
what an :unmitigated disaster
we'd had last year. And :this:
year we're going to exactly,
the same place, a cottage on
Lake Huron, but and this
may save us, in mid-August
instead of early September,
We had two weeks of rain
and gloom there last year,
you see. Well, there was one
nice day, right at the
beginning but I' squandered
it on a trip to Stratford, with
my sister- instead of staying
on the beach like any -
sensible person.
The babywas teething
during our holidays last
summer and she woke up at
least once in the night. ever
night. As much as 1 hate to:
even think about this there
are three molars poking their
way into place in her mouth
right now and they could be
causing trouble by holiday
mers
Despite losses, real and potential, area weeks price reductions in stride.
beef producers, though not welcoming the As Don McKercher said, "We've recov-
market situation,' seem to be taking this, ered;'before."
so -:there is more beef available for this
reason,and not just because of the sheer
number ; of animals on. the market. The .:
increased weight is related to the cost of
replacement cattle, he said, because from
February through to now, the prices for
them have' risen dramatically.
"'Instead' flow" in more ca " e"
o til said Mr.'
Y g . t
Miller, farmers are keeping what they have
longer and feeding them.a little differently.'"
Because the price of corn was • not that high,
B
more farmers were feedinghigh-energy
g gY:
rations, he said, although; the price of corn
has now risen dramatically (S20 a ton ina
three-week period). '
In` addition, there has been a :`"big
increase in pork production in eastern_.
Canada as well as in the States" he said; and,
broilers are a relatively attractive alter-
native to beef for the summer season."
What does all this mean for the cattle
farmer and ultimately the consumer?
"The' long term trend is towards a. rise in
the price," said Mr, Miller, "but that may
take six months to a year:" This will depend' •'
on when the supply'dro s or when a cut-back
in pork production occurs, he said.
"The crop,; isn't over yet,Mr.
Ether -
in toi said, "it(the price)isn
going to
jump back up next week:"
Canadian fruit and vege-
table growers need to under-
stand better the market place
in which their products .com
pete. , with •.imported' .goods,
need improved transport-
ation •. and ; storage facilities
and must ust ,make better use of
their production resources.
P s
These were someof the
thoughts expressed to an
industry ` study session in
Ottawa recently by Prof. I.L..
Nonnecke, Chairman; of the
Department of Horticultural'
Science, at the University of
Guelph.
Prof,, Nonnecke was key-
note ;speaker at the opening
session of a "three day sem-
inar sponsored 'by Agricul-
ture Canada and the .Canad-
ian Horticultural.. Council.
The Council is an industry-
wide
Y
wide co-ordinating body
devoted to the interests of
• the fruit.. and : vegetable
industry. '
He noted that, of the fruit:
and vegetable crops grown in
Canada, this country imports
more than it exports. In total,
overa quarter of the, nation's,
fresh fruit and 'vegetable
needs are imported, but
these imports have wholesale.
value almost .equal: to the
value of the other three
natters that are grown at
q :
home.
Dr. Nonne ke pOinted out
that the success of a fruit and
vegetable . production unit
will ' depend more on the
"plantsinanship" of the
operator than en' his ability
as an accountant. He stated
that there is no substitute for•
intensive production of horti
cultural crops; and ' while
some large :corporate pro-
ducers have appeared, the
grower -owners generally
provide thebest production
returns.
Thea University of Guelph
scientist noted the record .of
the. fruit and Vegetable Ind!
ustry in constantly applying_
new production technology
but pointed out that this
must be stepped up to keep
the . domestic industry
competitive.. "'This means
that researsch .effort, partic-
ularly at the mission -oriented
level, has to be stepped up."
he said. He went
e on to note
the need for new "break-
throughs throw hs. in. research"
He suggested that govern-
ment extension officers, who
aid. farmers" should spend
• less time on "present
bureaucratic functions" and:
more ' on applied' research
with: farmers, "We
suffer more from inefficiency
in communicationand in
meeting . transportation
needs than in . not having
production capability," he
said. •
noticeable i
of ceable chapga in
the demands • of the market-
place that Prof. Nonnecke
noted is the trend for more
fruitsand:veg etables to be
purchased in the fresh state
rather than processed,
!
started this
arm,, of min e
Pioneer erected
"Was in 1849 when I star-
ted on this farm of mine and I
look behind and see the farm
tools that I done the work so
fine."
This message is pro-
claimed on bricks inserted,.
into a stone pillar, one , of.
three such "monuments"
which stand Mysteriously on
a grassyaot about five miles
north of Chiselhurst,'
Some of the words on the
posts are now illegible, but it
Another Af the three mysterious monuments
is obvious . that they were
erected with pride by Bob'
Bell who built them topro-
claim this land his " farm
when he homesteaded it in
1849.
Lloyd Ferguson, who lives
on a neighbouring farm re-
members walking by the
posts on his wayto school
and stopping to • read'. the
inscriptions which were still
readable at that time: Mr:
Ferguson says that there
usedto be an axe and
harrows with the monument,
probably "the:farm tools that
1 done the work so fine."
A big barn stood on the
land until it burned in 1943 or
'44. according to Mr. Fer,
guson: The brick house was
torn down around 1955:
The largest of the three
pillars. the one bearing the
major proclamation, stands
on a corner of the lot, at a
crossroads. The other two
posts' probably marked the
gate "'and the edge of the
yard,
One quite clearly says
"Stirling Farm," the other is
Worn but like the big pillar,
mentions the foundingof the
farm in 1849.
Jack Britnell, RR 2 Staffa,
owner of the farm and nep.
hew of the founder's con,
does not remember much
about the mysterlotts pillars
which stand, partly hidden
by grass, hinting at the life of
one of the pioneer farmers of
Huron County*
Wordy al lost worn of pilar 11eel
Chiselhurst
time thea year.
Then there was the ;dog.
Last year a couple of hours
after we'd gotten Gabrielle
settled down and collapsed
back to sleep, he'.d Want out
for an early morning run on
the beach. About at 5«30, say
or 6 a.m., And he's as:
persistent as she is, with, the
added threat that we did not
want him performing some-
where in the borrowed
cottage instead of outside.
Too: we had laundry pile up
at an alarming rate, as the
cool weather meant clothes.
for, baby, instead of the
diaper and= or bathing suit
we'd planned she'd spend:
two weeks in. That meant
one trip to the latndrarnat
town and one home, all ,day.
jaunts that cut still further
into precious vacation time.
Because. bey,. itreally is
1
precious,: those two or three.
weeks out of a long, long
year's work. And last year
two pretty tired and ornery
parents went home at the
appointed time, wondering if
it would have been more of g•
;;est to have eaneelled: it ail;'
;and staYed home,
But, hope springs eternal,
and here we are, nearly a
year later. Planning to do.
much the same thing all over
You're
invited
Members of the Seaforth
W.I are invited to be guests
of the Londesboro W.I. on
Wednesday, August. 8 at 8
p.m.
again.
However, a my typical
bluffing fashitm, I've been
telling the better half' that if
there's one speck of rain, or
any other indication that the
weather for those two, weeks'
will be anything less than the
perfect sort that aq of fust
deserve for our annut
vacations, we're getting out
of there.
And we're heading,,
quickly, on credit cards or
borrowed funds, to warmer
climes. "Sure dear" he says
in that abstracted way that.
means it's not worth getting;
her all upset about this:
again.
So we'll see. Andnow that
I've got alternative weather
arranged for,. how do we deal
with a little girl who might be
teething and an over-anxious',
dog?
FATHER LAR. AGH'' MOVING -Father Laragh. will be leaving the: St.
James' parish to go to Our Lady of Mercyarish Sarnia on Aug. .
. Y parish., 15. Here...
Father Laragh sits beside someof the mementos of his years in Seaforth,
includingske ch of S
a .. t. James church:, . : • •; (Expositor tstor holo
(Continued from Page 1)
Father Laragh . dm'
g admits its he, has divided
feelings about -caving the 'communit
- a
little like the man who sees his brand
new
Cadillac'beindriven over r a cliff by his
mother-in-law. Thee priest said he will
miss both the community and, the people
he's met, but also looks forward to meeting
his new . parishioners in Sarnia. Another
benefit of the Sarnia move will be that "the
Detroit Tigers, and the Lions and the .Red .
'Wings will havea new fan" when Father .
Laragh is within driving distance of the
Motor City:
The 'man who has been appointed to
succeed Father . Laragh in Seaforth is
Reverend W.C.CooneY, presently pastor of
Ad Saints' parish, Strathroy. •
Father 'Laragh said Rev. Cooney, who is
about 50 years, of age, served 'for .Many
Years as one of the diocese missionaries in
Peru, before helping to build a church•
in the Strathroy parish. .
Father
Laragh h
saidRev,
Cooney is ,
"peppy, lively, and a great. preacher."
One
of Father Cooney's first #asksin the
parish will beto help settle ,the family of
Vietnamese refugees St. James' Church is
hoping to bring to Seaforth •
Father Laragh said;. the parish has
decided' to sponsor a family or families and.
house them in the former Macmillan home,
which is now owned by the church.
'Father Laraghsaid the church .must
guarantee to support the refugees for one
year. He said the next step in, bringing a
family to Seaforth is an interview with the
Canadian immigration department officials
Father ',Laragh will be leaving Seaforth
on .August. 15 to join Our Lady of Mercy
parish in Sarnia.
Behind the sc •
eves...
by Keith Roulston
(Continued from Page 2)
sometimes did' years ago or an aged
-chicken rubbery enough to bounce off walls
even after hours of cooking but there is
Something to be said for a little more aging
than most of our meats get in foday's
agricultural food factories.
The less for more realities of inflation hit
in so many other places too. You pay more
for a car and get one that falls apart faster.
You pay more for taxes only to find services
have been cut back. You pay, more for, a
gallon of gas but it probably takes you. less,
distance than it .would 10 years ago
because the car burns more.
it happens in liesurc :activities too, You
pay more for books these days but many of
the books seem to be getting. thinner.
Down in New York on Broadway people are
paying up to $25 for a ticket to get in to see
the traditional Broadway musical but
because of the costs the musical: is seldom
the lavish spectacle it once was with dozens
of dancers and expensive costumes and full
orchestras playing lush music.
There' is only one area lately when I've
seen the trend reversed. On a recent visit.
to the. beach I see that the ladies, unlike a
couple of years ago when they were paying
more and getting less and less material in
their bathing suits are now getting much
More for their money. We men aren't
though
Sugar arcd sp%c
By Bill Smiley
(Continued, from Page 2)
And we have something Romans didn't.
We have an almost -instant' view of disas-
ters all over the world. So 1 guess mankind:
has made one giant step backward its the
past. 1500 years.
It looks as though the hand-in-hand
waitz of theoil companies and the Car
Manufacturers, which has lasted' nearly
half a century, is going to become, "Geed
Night, Ladies."
But the merry Walpurgisnacltt of the
western world continues its mad Whirl as
oil companies and airlines and car manus
facturers and boat makers furiously adver
tise their wares. And the rest of tis just atil
wildly rush out to buy them,
Of Course, 1 dont mean ti +Word of ail
this, Somehow, the human spirit, titatsit et
one of its lowest points in centuries, will
survive and prevail. Well find somedt q
But in the meantime, I'ni souse ► t'
sharpen my axe and get batty itistsilias a
windmill, See yetll:lfl the bush ltd'