The Citizen, 1988-09-21, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1988. PAGE 23.
Riddell missed chance as best ever: Roger George
Jack Riddell has missed his
chance to be one of the best
agriculture ministers in Ontario’s
history, Roger George, first vice-
president of the Ontario Federa
tion of Agriculture told a meeting
of the Huron County Federation
Thursday night in Clinton.
“I believe Jack Riddell is
missing a golden opportunity to be
a good agriculture minister,” Mr.
George told the 50 farmers present
at the meeting which also nominat
ed directors to OFA from the five
regions in the county. He said Mr.
Riddell had a premier and a
Brussels Stockyards
treasurer that had an understand
ing of agriculture and he should
have used that opportunity to
really accomplish things for farm
ers. Instead, he said, the civil
servants seem to have a strangle
hold on 801 Bay St. (the Ministry of
Agriculture and Food headquar
ters).
Mr. Riddell doesn’t see how
important the proposed automatic
checkoff to support general farm
organizationsis, Mr. George said.
OFA, he said, must have more than
the $200,000 budget it currently
has for its research department if it
is going to do the job it should be
Choice beef dips by $1
on Friday's market
doing for farmers. The check-off
would help provide that kind of
funding to OFA (and the Christian
Farmers Federation and, poten
tially, other general farm organiza
tions) by making all farmers pay to
support a general farm organiza
tion.
* * All we ’ re asking J ack Riddell to
do is to acknowledge the concept, ’ ’
he said. Instead Mr. Riddell keeps
throwing out objection after objec
tion. The objections are just
smokescreens because he doesn’t
want to do it, Mr. George said.
“We have to get to the minister or
we have to get a new minister,” he
said, hinting that Mr. Riddell was a
captive of the bureaucrats in his
ministry. If OFA can’t get action
from Mr. Riddell it will have to go
straight to premier David Peter
son, he said.
Lack of action by Mr. Riddell on
promises to change the Ontario
Crop Insurance program were
cited by Mr. George as one reason
why the government should help
out farmers hurt by this summer’s
drought. Mr. George, who served
on the minister’s crop insurance
review committee last year, said
Mr. Riddell has promised mem
bers of the committee he would
take action on their recommenda
tions. Those recommendations
included 90 per cent coverage
instead of 80 per cent; that farmers
pay one third of the premium with
the federal government picking up
one third and the province one
third; and separate farm coverage
so that if a farmer has bad damage
on one farm but not another, he will
get insurance payment on his
losses, not have the whole farming
operation pooled to determine the
percentage of loss as is presently
the case.
If these reforms had been
carried out as promised, he said, he
didn’t think farmers would have
much reason to complain they
needed aid on top of theHL^rop,
insurance.
There is nothing wrong with the
crop insurance plan except that it’s
20 years old, he said. It was
designed for the 100 acre farm not
the 2000-3000 acres some cashcrop
operators have today.
Dealing with the Ontario Family
Farm Interest Reduction program
(OFFIR) he said he didn’t hold out
much hope of changing Mr.
Riddell’s mind to cut the program
to40 per cent this year and phase it
out by next year but he thought the
Continued on page 29
Choice steers and heifers met an
active demand on Friday, at prices
50 cents to $1 lower at Brussels
Stockyards. Cows traded $2 lower
and pigs sold steady. There were
770 cattle and 511 pigs on offer.
Choice steers sold for $82 to $86,
with sales to $90; good steers
brought $78 to $82.
A steer consigned by Jim Howatt
of RR 1, Londesboro, weighing
1110 lbs., sold for $90, with his total
offering of 20 steers, averaging
12481bs., sellingfor an average
price of $81.91.
A steer consigned by Dennis
Dolmage of RR 1, Londesboro,
weighing 1100 lbs., soldfor $89.50,
with his total lot of three steers,
averaging 1107 lbs., selling for an
overall price of $86.16. Nine steers
consigned by Lome Eadie of RR 1,
Holyrood, averaging 1271 lbs.,
sold for an average price of $84.56,
shall of RR 3, Fergus, averaging
1134 lbs., sold for an overall price
of $81.52 with sales to $85.25.
Five heifers consigned by Bob
Rice of RR 2, Staffa, averaging
1076 lbs., soldfor $82.11, with
sales to $84.50. Ten heifers
consigned by Alvin Grainger of RR
2, Wroxeter, averaging 1147 lbs.,
sold for an average price of $82.70,
with sales to $83.75.
Choice cows sold for $51 to $57;
good cows went at $47 to $50; and
canners and cutters brought $43 to
$46.
Twenty to 30 lb. pigs traded to a
high of 48 cents per lb.; 30 to 40 lb.
pigs traded to a high of 48 cents per
lb.; 40 to 50 lb. pigs traded to ahigh
of 51 cents per lb.; 50 to 60 lb. pigs
traded to a high of 59 cents per lb.;
60 to 70 lb. pigs traded to a high of
62 cents per lb.; and 70 to 80 lb. pigs
traded to a high of 55 cents per lb.
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with sales to $89.
Thirty steers consigned by
Frank Domage of RR 1, Seaforth,
averaging 11871bs., soldfor an
overall price of $82.69, with sales to
$87.50. Five Limousin steers con
signed by Murray Shiell of RR 3,
Wingham, averaging 1141 lbs.,
sold for $85.85, with his total lot of
34 steers, averaging 1194 lbs.,
selling for an average price of
$83.63.
Fifty-six steers consigned by
Wm. Bennett & Sons Ltd., of RR 1,
Gorrie, averaging 1315 lbs., sold
for an average price of $83 with
sales to$85.75. Two gold steers
consigned by Bob Blackwell of RR
1, Ripley, averaging 1075 lbs., sold
for $85.75 with his total offering of
19 steers, averaging 1197 lbs.,
selling for an overall price of
$82.72.
Thirty-one steers consigned by
Jim Murray of Hickson, averaging
1279 lbs., sold for an overall price
of $83.43, with sales to $84.50.
A white steer consigned by Ron
Gross of Londesboro weighing
1020 lbs., sold for $84.75, with his
total offering of 28 steers, averag
ing 1121 lbs., sellingforan average
price of $82.95.
Choice exotic heifers sold at $83
to $86, with sales to $87.25; good
heifers went for $80 to $83.
A gold heifer consigned by Wm.
Bennett & Sons Ltd., weighing
1000 lb., sold for $87.25 with their
total offering of 30 heifers, averag
ing 1085 lbs., selling for an overall
price of $83.20.
Five heifers consigned by Phillip
Eadie of RR 1, Wingham, averag
ing 1136 lbs., sold for an average
price of $84.43, with sales to $86.
Three red heifers consigned by
Terry Murray of RR 2, Clifford
averaging 970 lbs., sold for $86
with his total lot of 10 heifers,
averaging 980 lbs., selling for an
overall price of $83.38.
A grey heifer consigned by John
Dorsch of RR 2, Bluevale, weigh
ing 1140 lbs., sold for $85.25, with
his total offering of six heifers,
averaging 1017 lbs., selling for an
average price of $82.26. Five
heifers consigned by Fred Mar-
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