The Brussels Post, 1974-04-03, Page 22Opening of their new office, warehouse
and receiving facilities
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Rebuilding started almost immediately after a fire last winter' caused, damage- in the amount of about $300,000 to the W.GahompSon and Sons Ltd. grain handling and storage facilities and fertilizer warehouse near Highway 8, between Dublin andMitcbell, The, fire broke: out early Sunday morning, February 11, 1973. Firemen from Mitchell and Seaforth, answered the call at about2 a.m. Sunday morning and remained-on the scene until about
4 TY. in. Sunday afternoon.t
Sub-zero temperatures hindered
the firemen in: their battle to save
surrounding and adjoining
buildings.
The large complex is located
south of Highway a on the
Ftillarton-Hilbert Town fine, and
Cattle herds. grazing peacefully
in the midst of the hustle and
bustle of a nation's capital?
Where else but in Ottawal
Each summer two herds-munch
quietly in lush pastnres in clear
view- of hectic rush hour traffic
and- hundred& of tourists- passing,
along, one of the city's important
thoroughfares.
The animals are still there lit
the winter — housed insidebright,
spacious barns or outside in.
exercise yards on Agriculture
Canada's Central Experimental
farm which has, long since 'been.
surrounded, by an expanding city.
They're our dairy and beef
National. Showcase Herds. And if
the daily commuters hardly cast a
glance any more, there are
thousands of others who: do..
That's, more than 20,000 special
visitors: in 1971-7a, to. be exact,
plus. thousands, of casual visitors..
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was purchased from Mitchell Fertilizer Ltd. in 1970, Tony Bouw, manager of the complex stated that losses, consisting mainly of bagged fertilizer, could run to $300,000 or more-. Losses included the firm's office, but records were saved. Mr. Bouw, who arrived just before' the firemen, said at the time he arrived he was able to enter the office which was separated from the warehouse by two fire doors and remove records
stored in his: desk,
All orders for fertilizer and
seed: were filled. A large
warehouse at the front of the
complex was used and a
temporary office was installed in
this area until rebuilding was
completed.
At the height of the fire, flames were shooting more than 100 feet in the air and were visible in Seaforth, 10 miles. away. The Mitchell branch serves more than 5,000 area farmers within a 40-mile radius. Cause of the fire was unknown but Mr. Bouw said it apparently started in the central part of the warehouse. Firemen continued to spray water over the 'area of an underground gasoline storage tank beside the burning building for several hours. The tank which
contained about 1,000 gallons of
gasoline fed to a pump beside the
office and fears were expressed it
might explode at the height of the
fire.
Loss included 500 tons of
bagged fertilizer and about 35 per
cent of 4,000 tons of bulk
knowledgeable foreign buyers,"
Mr. MacKechnie says.
"Work and wear traits 'of the
breeds over a number of years
count in the marketplace. We
have a vast country, too large for
most foreign delegations to visit
at one time. Ottawa is a
convenient location for
centralized herds that can be
examined by travelling buyers on
tight schedules."
In addition, foreign
livestockmen have their own
diplomatic connections located in,
Ottawa as well as the services of
Agriculture Canada's Health of
Animals Branch which provides
health standards for cattle
exports and imports.
Animals in the herds come
from across Canada. Farms in the
Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, the
Prairies and British Columbia
have sold stock to the federal
department's livestock division
for use in the showcase herds..
Replacement animals also come
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fertilizer, 300 bushels of seed corn and a quantity of seed grain. More than 300,000 bushels of corn and 20 bushels of white beans in silos separated from the fire area were not affected. The firm's loss was covered by insurance. The Mitchell plant employed 12 full-time workers plus students on a part-time . basis on weekends. Mr. Bouw said no one would lose his job. Cleanup operations began almost immediately and Mr. Bouw stated that fertilizer would
be blended as soon as power was
restored.
Mr. Bouw said that he very
much appreciated the efforts of
the firemen, who remained on the
job for almost 14 hours in extreme
weather conditions to battle the.
fire.
available for viewing by the
public. This affects their
performance slightly so that a
herd of similar quality would do
better under normal, well
managed farming conditions."
This serves to strengthen buyer
confidence that the types of
animals on display in Ottawa will
give at least matched
perforMance under more typical
management practices.
Some 25 countries are
impressed enough to keep a
strong market going for exports of
Canadian registered cattle.
Japan, Mexico, the. U.S.S.R., the
United States, several African
countries, Cuba, other Latin
American - and European
countries imported our stock in
1972 for a total value of
$67,222,000.
Exports -of registered cattle
remained strong during 1973,
although total numbers were
slightly lower than in 1972.
So the grazing herds in Ottawa
are much more than a tourist's sity pace __ TI-ray ara tt.c raaia
sa—spgme SUPPLEMENT to THE HURON EXPOSITOR, THE BRUSSELS POST,1974 Damaged by fire a year ago, W G Thompson plant rebuilds
and supervisor of the showcase
herds..
"They are a sample of the
better herds in the country."
The two herds of about 50
animals each are a living sales '
promotion for Canadian exports
of live cattle as foundation
breeding stock for foreign
countriei..
Such export sales have become
an important source of cash
income for Canadian livestock
breeders.
The major breeds of dairy and
beef are included in the showcase
herds.. Thirteen cows each of
Ayrshire, Guernsey,
Holstein-Friesian and Jersey
make up the bulk of the dairy
herd'while 15 animals of each of
Aberdeen-Angus, Hereford and
Shorthorn comprise the beef
herd.
A herd sire is maintained for
each of the beef breeds. Dairy
cows are bred by artificial
insemination from Canadian A.1. units selected in consultation with
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Tourist attraction
Showcase herds help sell cattle overseas
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