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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1965-03-25, Page 41 •. .r.rar Ift4k1P4', ATIAQKTPROS*Olt, SEMPORTH, ONT., 25, 1965 East -W. ,..114. Travel Talk ThO ei1a neetlng of Kip- peu Eat WI was held at the borne oWs. Ross Sararas Wed- ItesclAY (Wolin& co -hostess be- ing Mrs, James Drununond. The roll Call was answered by sug geltiam for the instruction cif children so that they may be- ,. corae better citizens. Irish songs were sung to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. • Mrs. Robert Bell read the mot- to which was prepared by Miss , Margaret McKay. This inspir- ing motto was entitled, "The USBORNE AND HIBBERT MUTUAL FIRE • INSURANCE CO. .HEAD OFFICE - EXETER, Ont. Directors: Robert G. Gardiner R.R. 1, President ' Cromarty Martin Feeney - R.R. 2, Dublin Vice -President Wm. 11. Chaffe - Bit 4, Mitchell E. Clayton Colquhoun RJL 1, Science Hill Raymond McCurdy R. R. 1, Kirkton Tim Toohey 4 - MR- 3; Lucan Agents: Hugh Benninger - Dublin Harry Coates - - Exeter Clayton Harris Mitchell Secretary -Treasurer: Arthur Fraser - Exeter Canada we enjoy was not brought to nationhood by tim- id citizens." Mrs. Van Rooijen gave an in- teresting talk on her native Holland, its climate, social se- curity, sick benefits, farming, the war years and Christmas customs. She gave .a resume of her trip to Canada and their establishment here. Mrs. Robert Gemmell intro- duced the guest speaker, Miss Gladys Thompson, of Seaforth, who spoke on her European tour to Rolland, Belgitun, Ger- many, Austria, Italy, France, Norway, S w e d e n, Denmark, Spain, Portugal and the British Isles. She stressed the care- free abandon' with which the people enjoy themselves. Mrs. Arthur Finlayson chair- ed* this part of the meeting, and Mrs. Campbell Eyre gave the courtesy remarks. Heard about the fellow whose wife was always complaining she had so much work to do and nobody to help her? He bought her an electric washer, an electric dryer, an electric' sweeper and an electric dish- washer. Then she nagged, "Hah, and now I don't .even have a place to sit down!" So, he bought her an electric chair. Classified ads pay dividends. Changes (Continued from Page 1) with this matter that they are getting close to. a ease of paranoia over it. When I was employed with the farm organ- izations, people were forever coming to me saying: "What are we going to do to improve our image with the urban peo- ple?" "How are we going to get these people to like us?" "How can we improve our.im- age?" "Should we hire a pub- lic relations man?" My answer to this is, and has been, "I am not really con- cerned over what the farmer's image is, as long as it is ac- curate. If he is seen as a sound businessman, an honest, re- spected person—and he is— then that is fine. If he is seen as a backward, illiterate, re- fugee from the Beverly Hillbil- lies, and he is, then that's fine with me too. But let's not try and make him something that he is not." PR Not Everything As for this matter of hiring a public relations man for ag- riculture, let us remember that even the best PR Man can not, for long, at least, make you or your organization, something that in fact you are not. PR •is not a broadloom rug under which you may sweep your sins or shortcomings. The best pub- lic relations man in the world is the honest businessman who enjoys his work and tells the world about .it through his deeds and his actions. The best way that agriculture can im- • DOES SHUR•GAIN FERTILIZER SPREAD BETTER? Atla quick glance SHUR-GAIN Selected -Granulated Fertilizer may took very much like most other kinds of granular fertilizers—but there is an impbrtant difference. Most ordinary fertilizers and practically all custom bletkled ones consist of a dry mixture of fertilizer materials either in powder or granular form. As a result the different ingredients vary in size and weight. You can compare it to a handful of ping-pong balls, mixed with marbles. If you' throw out a handful Of these, the heavier marbles will travel farther thanthe ping-pong balls—and that is exactly what happens with ordinary fertilizers. When you spread your fertilizer, with a drill or even more important, with any' • broadcast -type spreader you can be sure that every particle '(from the smallest to the largest) of free -running SHUR-GAIN Selected -Granulated Fertihzeris nutritionally. balanced no matter where it lies—assuring you of complete and even intake of all the plant food by your crops. There are no excesses in one area and starvation in another with SPUR -GAIN. Another" good reason why you can be confident -of top re from sHUR-GAIN— , the finest fertilizer for your good earth! • - fertilizer • kr. ure IA 7741801489 your 82yri,ng Pert, iliwr program ...s • 'OAyourlocal Slitilt4AIN Perla' %ter dealer 1')41) „ • • eve prove its image is . to improve the industry, and to, upgrade the skills and abilities of those engaged in it. To our farmer guests tonight I would say, "When you are out in the ur- ban public, always remember you are agriculture in their eyes. Act in such a way as to give these people a favorable impression bf you and your in- dustry." • In far too many cases, the urban man's opinion of fann- ers can be traced back to some act, or some reaction, that he has witnessed. May I recite a couple of examples of how,in my own opinion, farmers and their organizations have"' miss- ed the boat in this business of image building, how they dam- aged their public relations pro- gram without thinking, for in- stance, in their opposition to meat inspection service; to workmen's compensation for farm workers; to margarine; and the continuing opposition to redistribution. Who is Farmer? Another matter that concerns me is our classification of a "farmer". This is a term that has all sort of connotations other than statistical, but I would like to use a -statistical one if I may. According to the last census of Agriculture, conducted in 1961, there were 121;000 farms in Canada. What is a farm? According to the census, • it is. "an agricultural holding of one acre or more with sales of agri- cultural products during the past 12 months of $50.00 or more." I suggest that to infer that thousands of suburban small holdings, small market gardens, and other such prem- ises, are farms in the true sense is rather a ridiculous sit- uation. I do believe that the second census classification "Commer- cial Farm" is much more ec- curate. A "commercial farm" - is one with cash sales of $1,200 or .more in the previous 12 months. Even SP, I wonder how many peopla"tht live or ()tier - ate a farm on gross sales of $1,200. In 1961 there were just over 90,000 of these. - Actually the numbers of farms in this province declined 14% between the two agricul- tural census takings in 1956 and 1961. There has been a tremendous transition in popu- lation as more .and more peo- ple move from dike rural com- Assess.- Attitude_ Another problem facing farm people is. one that must be termed as an attitude. Some- where along the way we have to -reassess our attitudes • that just because we are farmers, ,the. Lord is on our side, and we can do no wrong. This blind, unquestioning faith—the kind that moves mountains— will not, however, overcome the economic facts of life, as 13,000 Ontario farmers are finding to -their sorrow these days. However sound the cause may •be, however noble ou,r ob- jectives, the fact remains that farmers, like everyone .else in society, must abide by the sim- ple laws of ecOnoinics. When the Jaws of economic' and sound business are flaunted, even farm business will floun- der whether it be a 150 -acre operation in Hullett Township, or a farmer -owned processing plant. Before I close, I would like to take a few moments and deal with a matter that concerns both rural and urban society— the matter of adjustment. Ad- justment to this modern socie- ty where the machine and the computer have replaced men, cannot be written off as a "farrn" problem or a "labor" probleni.It is a problem of society. • May I go on record- as say= ing that I am not opposed to automation or modern technol- ogy. These measures have brought tremendous advantages to our people—rural as well as urban. The standards of liv- ing for rural and urban people have risen sharply as a result of giving practical application to these modern methods and techniques. •But not all of our people have benefitted -_-indeed, many have suffered. The semi- skilled worker in the jactory, who at 50 sees his job disap- pear because of the installa- tion of a machine or because his plant can no longer com- pete, is 'a displaced man in his own country. The small farmer on marginal land who can no longer compete with the more efficient farmer with modern equipment and a mo- dern farm faces the same prob- lem. In most cases, these peo- ple are unskilled and unable to take other jobs. In far 'too many cases they are unable to adapt themselves to, any re- training ,programs that might be ' developed, and so far we have fallen far short 'of the needs inthis area. This is the munities into urban centres. In reason 1v,hy . we have "rural" 1931, 23.3% of the populatioW as well as "urban" slums to- day, Jobs Are Challenge The greatest challenge fac- ing society today is the provi- sion of jobs and opportunities for these displaced people, ru- of Ontario lived on farms. In ,1961 this had declined to 8.4%. lam concerned over the fu- ture of farm organizations as we move on into this highly complex society With its mo- dern technology and its com- puters. In the past, We have always assumed that the ideal situation would be to have one farm organization, one farm policy. I still believe that it would be best to have one strong organization to repre- sent the needs and desiresof our farm people.- I have the same second thoughts regards farm policy. • • Competition Exists Here on the main street in Seaforth there is competition— strong competition among the businessmen engaged in simi- lar lines of business. I don't; think there are too many farm- ers in this country who fully appreciate this idea, but I sug- geet that the same type of .keen competition exists between farmers in this new agriculture. We hear a lot about American imports. American turkeys, American wheat,. and such corn- modities'depressing prices. This may be true, but I suggest th-at. if your neighbor, through VI ter management, or better stock can produce beef, or pork, or poultry for a half a cent a pound less than you can, you are in trouble. This competition among farm. ers is not only evident among individuals but it has evolved into a stratified rural society. There are big farmers and small farmers -.-good managers and poor managers ---full time farmers and part time farmers. I suggest that a farm organiza- tion in this province today can- not possibly evolve a farm pol- icy that will serve' all farmers. If the Policy is designed to benefit the more local group of marginal farmers, or those in between-, then it cannot pos- sibly serve those larger, com- mercial operators who have been successful. Conversely, any farm policy designed to benefit these larger, commer- cial farmers will be of 'little use or little benefit to the mar- ginal farmer. But it is one of the quirks of society that the more vocal membership in farm organizations usually comes from those people who being More tightly pressed by the economic pincers. Perhaps this fact alone is 'the main reason why we are losing so many of our better farmers in fare or- ganization. They tend to de- vote their time to Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Beef Cattle bnprovement • Associa- tion, Swine Improvement As- sociations and Breed AssoCia- tions; •thiS it. the exercise in futility that .faces farm organ- • tli14,:tluie, Who do the AtlinVirt,', ha Ile. ral as well as urban, who have fallen out of the bottom of 'the sieve. We need more than vi- sion here; we need develop- ment programs; ,we need train- ing and retraining programs; we need diversification of in- dustry. But more than any- thing else we need the type of joint action demonstrated here tonight, when rural and urban people get together and work together to create a society that puts the interests of men ahead of machines, and human nity ahead of dividends and dollars. We hear a great deal these days about ARDA, the Agricul- turallRehabilitation and Devel- opment. Act, and the wondrous things that are possible through this program. I am afraid that there is still a very few poo ple who fully understand what is meant by this concept of development. As one who was kicking around the Halls in Ot- tawa at the time this program was conceived, and as one who spent many- hours brainstorm- ing with some of those who were responsible for its intro- duction, I -am disturbed to find that ARDA has failed to cap- ture the imagination of many people. -To many people, ARDA is merely a program to bring about a Mass migration of rural poor into urban areas where they will become urban poor. To others, it means little' more than a community pasture. I was shocked recently to hear that One of the adjacent coun- ties here..had decided at Coun- ty Couneil level that there was no problem irt their county, and so no ARDA Committee was necessary. ,This to me is an indication that those public officials have failed to properly assess what isgoing on in their communities, and ftuthermore, they lack the vision or the im- aginatiori that is- needed in pub- lic office if we are to build for the the future.' This very community has al- ways reflected prosperity to me.- There are good farms, good roads, good schools, good people. But this Very commun- ity also has within its boundar- ies the elements of poverty, an accumulation of undeveloped human and physical resources, and a great .number of under- employed and under-priviliged people. This town, for exam- ple, needs industry. This com- munity, like hundreds of other communities like it, needs the kind of development\ that will provide opportunity 'for , the young people of this genera- tion. It has been said that the most :valuable scommodity mar- keted from rural communities is their young people. Does it not shake your faith to know that in order to obtain work, employment and opportunity that eight out of every 10 fain young peep* and more than hall of the young people from this town must migrate to oth- er centres? In far too many cases it is the ambitions and enterprising ones who leave, the very ones that these ,com- mtinities need if they are to develop. What future is there for rural areas and rural towns which have become retirement centres? ' What justification is there for communities such as this building, large training schools and centres of educa- tion, if the graduates all move out of urban centres that will benefit from your investment?. -, Must Build Programs This in itself is justification for planning, developing and building programs for your community that will encourage wider use of those human: re- sources that we , are fritterhig away. We have to, make plans for the future while it is still ahead of us, not wait trail it becomes the past. Tremendptis changes are going on in this world. Eight of every .10 dren, now attending public school, will some day be em- ployed in jobs that do upt now e*ist. At the present rate of job obsolescence, each employ- ed person in the future will have to be four times in his lifetime. Take today's farmer for example. If you were to transplant' your grandfather in- to today's enVironment,he would be lost completely. How could he cope with hydro, trac- tors, chemicals, artificial breed- ing programs? How could we expect him to deal with this vertically •integreg:: &del powered, artificialinseininat- ed, Specific Pathogen Free Monster that we call agricul- ture? We haye just scratched the surface. There is more to come, and it almost leaves one breath- less to imagine the possibilities of the future. But we must be able to cope with this change, and become masters rather than servants of this new tech- nology. That is the great chal- lenge facing agriculture. It is the great challenge facing the general merchant on this main street; it is the challenge fac- ing society. We must plan for the future, and ensure that all the people in our society bene- fits from these new develop- ments. It is fine to stage dem- onstrations in , support of the American -negroes fight -to ob- tain equal rights and voting privileges. -But we need to demonstrae to some of the un- der -privileged and under -em- ployer persons - in this and other communities that we are interested in their plight and their future as well." 11111111111111111111 Benjamin °ore paints *** ct.0 - in al) finishes interior' and exterior 1 T OLORS to match all your furnishings frond pastels, to accent • mooinis • MOOR-0:MATIC COLOR MACHINE ' custom -blends paint colors before your eyes NOW AT.. GRAVES' WALLPAPER AND PAINT • DIAL 217-10559. • Remember, it takes but a moment to place an Expositor Want Ad and be money in pocket. To advertise, just Dial Seaforth 52'7-0240. ••••.41.../...W.I.71.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• r:1;';4`.4%." 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If you haven't tried Topnotch yet, why not start this season? After all, there's nothing (especially patriotic about buying an °flied° feed for an Ontario cow. It's , just good . business r