The Rural Voice, 1980-05, Page 31Brussels
woman
awarded
half of farm
A Brussels woman was recently awarded
half of the farm business, a first under
Ontario's Family Law Reform Act.
In Goderich, Judge Francis Carter
awarded Jane Badley half of the farm's
assets making it the first farm case in
Ontario (under the act) that gives half of
the farm business to the wife.
Richard Harold Badley was sued for half
of the family and farm assets accrued
during their 10'/2 year marriage, which
ended in separation on April 13, 1979.
The couple had owned two dairy farms in
Morris Township near Blyth so Judge
Carter divided the assets by awarding the
second farm to the wife and the first farm
to the husband.
Judge Carter set another precedent
when he said the type of contribution a
wife makes to a farm business doesn't
matter. He said that as long as she worked
towards acquiring the assets, she is
entitled to an equal share.
Mrs. Badley worked away from the farm
and her earnings covered household costs,•
not farm expenses. She also helped with
farin chores until 1977, when she
developed an allergy and her farm work
was curtailed.
In his judgement Carter wrote 1 am
satisfied that the contribution of the
applicant (wife) here, by using all her
outside income on the maintenance of the
family - by her work in the fields, the barn
and the milking parlor and by her work in
the home- was a contribution towards the
acquisition of the non -family assets equal
to that of the respondent (husband)."
One of the reasons the judge gave for his
decision • was that the couple were joint
tenants of the two farms. Judge Carter
wrote that under the act, joint tenancy
means each spouse has "one-half
beneficial interest in the property."
Pipeline spill
contaminates hay
About 20 cattle which fed on the land
were to be destroyed after a lubricant spill
from a Trans -Canada Pipeline pumping
station near Barrie contaminated nearby
pasture.
Dr. David Korn, medical officer of health
for Simcoe County said about 65 other
cattle were detained bec,au e they may
have eaten hay contaminated by the
lubricant which escaped last October from
a leaking valve at the Shanty Bay station
about 10 kilometres north of Barrie.
Two dead cattle were found near the
station then and five others were destroyed
later when they began to show signs of
paralysis in their hind quarters.
Autopsies on the dead cattle showed
they died of lesions on the spinal cord
which indicates phosphate poisoning but
further tissue analysis showed no traces of
the substance.
Korn said authorities have advised that
the lubricant called fryquel be treated with
extreme caution because little is known
about it.
A pipeline spokesman said the company
has agreed to compensate farmers for all
27 animals which fed in the field and to
have the 20 cattle destroyed and incine-
rated.
Korn said the other 65 animals have
been detained because it appeared air-
borne emissions from the station have
contaminated the area for some time.
Traces of the lubricant were found on
samples of hay cut from the field in July,
several months before the leak was
discovered.
Mailbox of the month
ra
(Nelson McClure, McKillop twp.,
Huron County.)
Any innovative
pork producers?
It's common practice for most farmers to
tinker with commercial equipment or
design their own equipment to meet
particular needs; pork producers are no
exception.
';,Many Ontario pork producers are
saving devices, building and equipment
design.
"We don't really know what to expect
from the entries," says Mr. Lawson.
inventing equipment and modifying Farm contractors
com-
mercial products to increase the efficiency
of heirtoperations."says Art ►.awson, establish code
ass�.ciate agricut ur.• 1 representative for the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The Ontario Pork Congress plans to hold
a special competition - Innovations for the
1980's - this year to recognize the
innovative efforts of Ontario pork pro-
ducers. The Congress, which attracts
12,000 producers, breeders, consumers
and allied industry representatives is being
held June 17 to 19 at the Stratford
Coliseum.
"The main purpose behind the com-
petition is to provide farmers with a vehicle
to share their ideas and inventions with
other farmers," says Mr. Lawson. "But it
may also help allied industry people learn
more about the types of products producers
want."
Entries to the competiton can cover
almost any aspect of pork industry from
feedint. breeding. production or financial
management, to disease prevention,
manure utilization, ventilation, energy -
A new association, the Canadian Farm
Builders' Association, has been launched
to promote high-quality work standards
and establish a code of business ethics
within the industry.
Close to 100 farm building contractors,
suppliers and extension workers met at the
University of Guelph recently to establish
the group.
The executive elected are: president -
Jack Benzil of Braeman Farm Construction,
Cayuga; vice-president - Tim Orr, Oranco
Ltd., Kitchener and secretary -treasurer -
Edward Brubacker, head of extension
engineering, OMAF. The other directors
are: Jack Bush, Riverside Construction;
Ray Martin of Ray Martin Structures Ltd.;
Bob Evans, United Co-operatives of Ont-
ario; Barry Sklar, Bulldog Construction;
Gary Van Bolderen, Pro Plan Buildings and
Glen White of Glen White Industries.
THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1980 PG. 29