The Rural Voice, 1979-10, Page 15Guest Column
Young Farmers
Farm populations go in cycles and at the present time in Bruce
County there is a new wave of young farmers coming along.
This is encouraging for the future of agriculture and is an
indication that farming as a cover is becoming more attractive. It
is also an indication that more farmers are giving their son the
encouragement needed to help them on the farm.
A lot of the young men are preparing themselves for a career
in farming with post secondary education in a 2 or 4 year
course in Agriculture. This extra education won't necessarily
make them richer farmers but it removes many of the mysteries
for them. Understanding the workings and capabilities of a
computer is a big plus in this age. Understanding the chemistry
in plant and animal nutrition makes the task of choosing products
easier using your own knowledge rather than sales claims.
The amount of knowledge is increasing at a fantastic rate and
recently doubled in a 6 year period. Because of this phenomenon
a person with grade 8, 50 years ago probably had acquired as
high a percent of the knowledge of his day as a person with a
bachelor's degree in 1979 has of the present knowledge.
Chemicals for weed control are a good example of what
knowledge from research has done for farming. In 1950, we had
2.4D,MCPA and Sodium Chlorate. Now it takes a 100 page book
to cover the subject.
Farmers who want their sons to farm would do better by them
to invest in some extra formal education for them rather than a
high powered sports car.
M.R. Bolton
Agricultural Representative
Bruce County
The Farmer
in the Fall
The busy fall season and the busy men is all we ever hear
about around the house these days. The men muse as to whether
the frost will be late or early or whether the winter will set in
before the fall ploughing is completed. Understandably these
things are what will make a farm successful for the winter
months but what about the lady of the house?
They should rename this season the "bringing in" time of the
year, for the homemakers anyway. Who other than squirrels or
chipmunks stores away more goodies for the next few
months? ... We can, preserve and freeze, anything we can lay
our hands on. The house has a lingering odour of vinegar and
spices and all surfaces are littered with recipes cut from here and
there to make the same old thing a bit more interesting. Who but
the women know what a kitchen floor feels like after cutting corn
from the cob for the freezer? You could be gummed there for life
if you didn't get down on your knees and scrub the stuff off. We
are trundling up the cellar step with empty sealers and carting
full ones down. It gives us a special feeling to see the shelves
lined with all the good things summer and our gardens have had
to offer. About the same feeling I expect the man gets when he
surveys his grain bins and hay lofts full to the groaning rafters.
And we certainly can't forget the little feet that scamper down
the lane to the school bus. Someone has to get the shoes for their
feet, preferably the most expensive and advertised pair, or at
least one that "all the other kids are wearing." The children
have a strong dislike for anything that would set them apart from
their peers. You don't make a pair of slacks unless they are a
copy of a pair someone else has. It gets to be a real act of
diplomacy on the mother's part to juggle the budget and still
give the children the satisfaction of owning Levis or GWG jeans.
I've often thought of just buying the name tags and sewing them
on "bargain brands" when I find them. You couldn't find a kid
that would part with his label unfortunately.
When you sit there for your second undisturbed cup of coffee
after having cleared the house in the morning you can bet your
boots one of them has forgotten something or they are at the end
of the lane having a slanging match about who gets to sit with
who. You can also figure on doing the jobs you had lined up in
the yard and garden alone because your husband just informed
you that he has to drive thirty miles for a part that he just broke
and needs desperately. What do you do? Heck, grab your coat
and go with him, he needs someone along so he can explain to
you all the way how important "fall" is to him.
THE RURAL VOICE/OCTOBER 1979 PG. 13