The Brussels Post, 1975-01-08, Page 6Mr. & Mrs. McCurdy
are on a vacation.
Local newspapers are everywhere. They
offer maximum local identification with
your community. More than any other
medium, the local newspaper is identi-
fied with your community and is relied
upon by almost every family in your
community.
Your newspaper's prime reason for being
is to present the news about you, and
your town.
Newspaper reading is a daily habit with
most people. A local newspaper is a
friend most people can't do without.
It's there, outside the door, every week,
with all the news, with strong emphasis
on local news.
A trip to the moon .is news anywhere.
When local citizens in your community
go on a vacation journey, that's news
too, in your local newspaper.
Newspapers deliver the local story.
CANADIAN COMMUNITY
NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION
REPRESENTING THE COMMUNITY PRESS
OF CANADA
Canada's wool production is declining
Wool is one Canadians
agricultural commodity riot likely
to be overproduced,
"Canada produces about three
million pounds of wool per year,
This is less than one Per cent of
the world produc,,on -- about five
billion pounds per year," says
Andrew Stewart, head of the
wool-grading section in
Agriculture Canada's livestock
division,
"Canada must import around
40 million pounds of wool to meet
domestic requirements."
In spite of the strong demand,
Canadian wool production, along
with the sheep and lamb industry,
The birds
and bees
has been declining steadily in
recent years.
One of the reasons is low
returns, In 1973 wool prices
skyrocketed and growers
averaged 70.9 cents per pound for
their clip. This is about a
threefold increase over the
previous 10-year average, and
represents about $5.50 per sheep.
Full data for 1974 is not available
yet, but prices to date are sharply
below 1973 levels. A producer
shears his mature and yearling
stock only once a year, Mr.
Stewart explains..
The total return to producers
for wool in 1973 was about $2.3
million. By comparison, the
return for sheep and lambs was,
$10.7 million.
"Wool production should not
simply be a sideline of the total
industry. It is an integral part of
any sheep enterprise," Mr.
Stewart says.
"Apart from the a ctual labor
needed for shearing, special care
must be taken to get high-quality
fleece. Quality,deterrnines the
price."
To be rated as top quality, a
fleece must be free from earthy or
vegetable matter, its fibers of
good length and strength, its
appearance bright and lustrous,
and its yield high after spinning.
To obtain a top grade, the
fleece also must be uniform. Each
breed of sheep produces a
different kind of wool, and if
many breeds are present in one
flock the fleece reflects this.
Buyers purchase their stock
according to set standards and
grades.
"Wool for export is graded
according to Agriculture
Canada's wool-grading
regulations," Mr. Stewart
explains..
"There are three distinct types
of wool in. Canada: Western
Range from the range flocks of
western Canada; Western
Domestic from the farm flocks of
western Canada; and Eastern
Domestic from the farm flocks of
• eastern Canada.
"The difference between these
types or classifications is based
on the estimated shrinkage of the
fleece after scouring. ,Most
shrinkage is due to the amount of
natural grease in the wool, but
earth and dirt in the fleece also
account for this loss,"
Quality classes also are
assigned to each type. Then come
the grades -- 11 for each type and
class -- to establish the general
use of the wool, whether for fine
worsteds, tweeds, flannels,
blankets or other purposes.
Agriculture Canada inspectors
check wool for export, to ensure it
is graded as required. Then the
inspector issues an Export
Inspection Certificate that clears
the wool for shipment.
Wool for the domestic market
does not have to be inspected.
The domestic trade often requires
blends of several grades, and the
buyer is on the spot to satisfy
himself about the kind of wool he
is buying.
"In recent years the emphasis
in the sheep industry has been on
the production of market lamb
rather than wool. But import
statistics show there is a market
for good-quality wool that could
be supplied by Canadian
growers," Mr. Stewart says.
There's something about the
birds and the bees that the
average city dweller may not
know.
Down on the farm it works like
this -- bees are good neighbors
who help out by pollinating crops;
birds, on the other hand, are
usually a nuisance. They eat into
a farmer's profts.
"With the increased costs of
farm production, farmers can't
afford to stand by and watch their
fruit and grain crops being
stripped," says George Wood, an
entomologist at Agriculture
Canada's Research Station at
Fredericton, N.B. "But it's not
easy to keep birds from feeding
on the crops."
For centuries, farmers have
tried to outwit the birds with
scarecrows. But dressing up
sticks of wood in old clothes isn't
very effective. After a while the
birds perch confidently on the
scarecrow, mocking him as they
survey their feeding grounds.
Aluminum pie plates and
electronic sound systems have
been tried with limited success.
Netting may be used to protect
small garden plots but' is too
expensive and impractical for
large fields
"However, the latest develop-
ment in bird control shows real
promise," Mr. Wood says. "The
idea is to treat crops with a
chemical compound which will
repel birds -- you might say it's a
Sort of invisible scarecrow."
Agriculture Canada and the
Canadian Wildlife Service are
evaluating the effectiveness of
the compound in keeping the
birds at a distance. They are also
checking the products to make
sure they, leave no harmful
residue for the humans or animals
who later eat the crop.
"The preliminary tests show the
chemicals repel the birds very
well," Mr. Wood says. "It's the
taste they hate.
"Here in the Atlantic provinces
that's good news. Bird popula-
tions have increased in recent
years and birds are now the most
serious enemies of some crops."
Some blueberry producers have
been forced out of business by b
irds, Mr. Wood notes. Other
growers report losses as high as
50 per cent. Robins are the worst
menace to blueberry crops
Apple growers are also con-
cerned about losses.
Fields of oats, barley, wheat
and rapeseed have been
destroyed by blackbirds, starlings
arid cowbirds: In New Brunswick
some Corn yeilds have been cut by
30 per cent.
" All birds possess beneficial
qtr
es and our objective in bird
getnent is., to 'reduce crop
los without destroying the
bir Ming bird repellent on
cr( ,uld be answer
proviued it is safe to man and
Other animals,'' Mr. Wood says.
6 —ME BRUSSELS POST § JANUARY S o 1975