The Rural Voice, 1980-05, Page 12Roots
Writer Adrian Vos
takes a look at rutabagas
today's turnip, and
at the potato industry.
BY ADRIAN VOS
When the hardy pioneers arrived in the Huron Tract some 150
years ago, one of the first crops they planted was turnips.
Settlers had to, for they needed this staple to survive the first
winter.
That first crop was a far cry from the 4,350 acres grown in
Huron, Middlesex and Perth counties today.
The off -spring of the pioneers don't eat much of the annual
crop of 2,400,000 bushels grown in the area, though. Most of the
crop is exported to the United States.
Today's turnip is different too and is called r utabaga after its
Swedish seedstock.
The planting is done as early as the grower can get on the
land. To spread the season, planting continues until early July.
While formerly as much as a pound of seed per acre was put in
the rows, today's modern planters are able to drop one of the tiny
seeds at exactly the space the grower wants.
The early rutabagas are planted from 8 to 10 inches apart.
These are destined for the immediate market.
Later seeded ones are planted as close as 5' inches together
and are used for storage, to be taken out during the winter and
early spring.
George Hubbard, 43, operates a rutabaga washing and waxing
plant in Blyth, where he processes his own production and some
more from area farmers. Three more of these plants are in the
Exeter area, and two in Lucan.
When a Rutabaga Marketing Board was voted on a few years
PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1980
harvester, converted for turnip use, digs the bulbs from the
ground,shakes off most of the soil, and dumps the product in
trucks.
The trucks draw the rutabagas to the plant where the
processing commences.
From storage the tubers are washed, sorted by hand,
trimmed, waxed and packed, either in bags or in cartons.
ANIMAL FEED
The trimmings and rejects are hauled away for animal feed.
The temperature in the storages room is kept at a constant 33 -
34 degree F. (1 U C.)
Mr. Hubbard and one son run the farm and the plant, with a
number of hired helpers.
He doesn't know yet what his other four children, 2 sons and 2
daughters, will decide to do.
Likemost tarmers, Mr. Hubbard is unhappy with the income
from his enterprise. He is unhappy with his marketing board as
well. "What is the use of good high prices if you can't sell the
product?" he complained. "And that is what our marketing
board is doing. They have set the price so high that we are
undercut in our main market in the States by turnips from
Quebec, P.E.I., Alberta and Manitoba."
As much as 80 or 90 per cent of Canada rutabagas are sold in
the United States, going as far away as Florida. Mr. Hubbard is
finding it increasingly difficult to maintain these far-off markets
due to increased transportation costs.
QUOTAS?
He shudders at the thought that quotas may be imposed. The
yield is too unpredictable and too varied from year to year. In
1978, the yield was an average 738 bushels an acre and the price
$1.90 a bushel. In 1979 both yield and price were down,
according to Mr. Hubbard.
The crop needs the herbicide treflan for weed control and
takes 500 pounds of 7-28-20 for fertilizer. In addition rotation is
necessary to control "black rot", an under ground fungus.
POTATOES
West of the town of Zurich. in Huron county, the firm of
Theodore Soudant and Sons cultivates, sorts and packs potatoes
and some cooking onions from 300 acres of light loam and muck
soil .
While the senior Soudant is semi -retired, his three sons,
Frank, Gus, and Hank, with their wives, are busy year round.
Most potato growers in the area of Zurich and Grand Bend
Produce tubers from 50 to 60 acres. and most of these are bought
by the Soudant brothers for further processing and sale.
Frank Soudant is clearly worried about the future of the potato
industry in Ontario. He would like the marketing board to
assume agency powers on a national scale.
For three years potato growers have been producing below the
cost of production. Highly specialized farms, such as the
Soudant's, can't easily switch to another crop. All their
investment in equipment and barn machinery is unsuitable for
other crops.
The Soudants pay $2.80 for 100 lbs. of potatoes they buy from
their neighbours. They wash, sort, and package them in 10 lb.
bags and the store sells the bags for 90 cents to $1.05. It is plain
to see that the profit doesn't lie on the farm.
Still, Frank said that California potatoes are sold in Ontario for
four times that amount.
It is hard to understand the consumer, for according to Frank
Soudant , the Ontario potatoes are at least as good.
IRRIGATION
The Soudants use irrigation on their crop. Only once in the
past ten years has there been enough rain to skip that practice.
They have two different systems of irrigation. One is the more
or less familiar one, on rollers; the other one is pulled along a six-