The Rural Voice, 1980-08, Page 31Shown above from left to right are the directors of the Ontario Swine A.I. Association taken at the recent Annual Meeting at Woodstock.
Jim WIIkons, General Manager; Don Henry, Bluevale; Paul Bayer, Woodstock; Bill Crowe, Cambridge; George Proctor, Belgrave; Peter
Webb, Spencervllle; Judd Martin, St. Thomas; Ron Urquhart, Arva (new elected president); Gerald Hope, Moseley, (Vice-Presldent);
Bill Budd, (secretary -treasurer); Missing from the picture Is Chris Cockle, Woodstock, one of the newly elected directors.
SWINE A. I. ASSOCIATION
How to survive
'It's white knuckle time for
pork producers," Ron Urquhart told
members of the Ontario Swine A.I.
Association at their annual meeting on July
2nd, "but there are some management
ideas which might help you to survive this
current economic slump."
Ron suggested that producers should
dose their herds (if they haven't already
done so) and set up separate quarantine
quarters for new animals. Using the Swine
Artificial Insemination Unit would enable a
producer to bring new blood into his herd
without any risk of disease. Using superior
boars with excellent production figures is
the best way to improve the grades and
feed conversion of your market hogs.
Another suggestion was to get into the
R.O.P. program which would tell a
producer what direction to go in order to
improve his herd. Ron also suggested that
the Canfarm computer records system
could be a real asset for any pork producer
as it would save him time and give him
complete information about his herd.
Ron urged producers to weigh every pig
before it leaves the barn in order to prevent
shipping those "light" hogs which grade
at 90. If 10 %of your shipments are "light"
hogs, you are losing money unnecessarily.
Ron Urquhart owns a 440 -sow operation
near Arva, Ontario where he also has 700
acres in crops. In addition to being a
director of the Ontario Swine A.I.
Association, he is a member of the R.O.P.
Advisory Board. About 25% of his time is
spent as a consultant on sow reproduction
and herd management in Canada, the U.S.
and Europe. He is presently acting as a
consultant to the Hutterite Colonies in
Western Canada.
Ron told the audience that it is high time
Ontario pork producers learn to take pride
in their accomplishments in the pork
industry. "We have something to offer the
rest of the world," he said, "and people
are coming from all over Canada and
Europe to buy breeding stock in Ontario.
They are also coming to study the
marketing methods of the Ontario Pork
Producers Marketing Board, which has one
of the best systems in the world."
The three new directors elected at the
annual meeting for a three-year term were:
Chris Cockle, Gerald Hope and Peter
Webb.
How the weather has
BY DONNA THIEL
Western Ontario's cool spring has caused the crops to be not
as far advanced as usual for this time of year.
The corn growth was retarded by the cool days and nights in
the early spring. The frost came on the evenings of June 9th,
10th, 11th and 16th. Some fields had 10 to 25 per cent plant
damage. There was not much replanting done, so the corn crop
will have a lighter yield.
The agricultural representatives from Perth, Huron and Bruce
agree that the corn is 10 days to two weeks behind.
"With warm weather and adequate rainfall, the corn can make
affected crops
a good recovery," reported Don Pullen, the agricultural
representative from Huron.
"There are weed control problems evident. There was a week,
when we had the first frost, that the farmers could not spray the
herbicides," says Allan Scott.
"The cereal grains are looking good and should have an
excellent yield. The harvest could be a week or less behind other
years," reports Mac Bolton, the ag rep in Bruce.
The winter wheat crop is very good and there appears to be no
winter kill.
The hay and haylage crop has been excellent in all three
counties. The pasture grasses are excellent for the cattle.
THE RURAL VOICE/AUGUST 1980 PG. 29