The Rural Voice, 1981-02, Page 13From Quebec to Perth County
BY DONNA THIEL
The grass always seems to be greener
on the other side of the fence - it's a cliche
but one that sometimes proves valid.
The Rose family moved three years ago
from Quebec to a Perth County farm and
are now putting down new roots.
The move brought Keith and Audrey
Rose from Sherbrooke, Quebec to a
170 -acre farm at R.R. 1, Gowanstown.
Their farm was purchased after two years
of searching for a dairy enterprise in both
southern and eastern Ontario. Keith's
son Peter, his wife Carolyn and their
three children also made the move to
Ontario, since father and son retained the
partnership they had in Quebec.
The Rose farm in Quebec was located
in the Eastern Townships.. where there
isn't an abundance of workable land.
When Keith's son joined the farming
operation, the men rented another 500
acres of land to increase their operation,
but only 250 acres of this were workable.
The Eastern Townships. in the area
south of the St. Lawrence River, have
terrain varying from generally level land
to rolling hills, with the best farmland in
the river valleys.
"One remark made by a neighbour was
that it takes twice as much land in Quebec
to grow the same amount of feed as it
does in Ontario. Some of the best
agricultural land in Quebec is under
Mirabel airport." Rose points out.
The Rose farm was three miles outside
Sherbrooke. with a 20 -acre sugar bush
that bordered the city - a problem, since
vandals often damaged the syrup pails
during sugaring off. The Roses t ppcd
about 1200 trees, and found there was a
gond market for maple syrup.
"The farm in the townships also had a
400 -tree orchard. The cooler climate
around Sherbrooke produces better
tasting Macintosh apples." Rose adds.
Last spring, the Roses had their
planting on their new farm completed by
May 5. In Quebec planting is never
started before May 24. The machinery
used isn't as large and the combining is
done straight since the grain would rot in
the fields if swathed and left to dry, duc
to the rains. Wheat isn't a good crop for
Quebec soils, which aren't rich enough
for the crop.
The Rose's Perth farm includes
timothy and clover crops. They also grow
alfalfa - a perfect protein feed to use as
haylage. Last summer, in one of the
partners' 23 -acre fields, 20 loads were
taken off in the first cut. The second cut
was equal to this and the third cut
produced hal f the yield of the first and
second. Feeding alfalfa to the Rose cows
cuts down on the extra protein feed, and
the cows are also fed a mixture of oats
and barley. powder molasses and oil
cakes. Oil cakes are a mass of
compressed flax seeds, with all the oil
removed. Keith finds now he uses only a
quarter of the protein he used to feed his
cows in Quebec.
"There are no areas in Quebec where
protein feeds are grown. This protein
feed is bought from Ontario, Western
Canada or the United States. The cost of
feed was twice as high as it is here in
Ontario," Rose says.
Soil in the Sherbrooke area is very
acidic and four tons of limestone are add-
ed to neutralize the soil before any crops
could be grown. Keith said only certain
fields are suitable for ensilage. Also, corn
is a marginal crop because it doesn't
produce well each year in the province.
Rose, since moving to Perth, has
become an active member of the local
Ayrshire Association and was elected
deputy -reeve of Wallace Township in
November. Even though he's a newcomer
to the area, his involvement in the
community is already quite evident.
The issues in the province of Quebec
which influenced the Rose family in their
decision to leave their home are complex -
Rose says the French-speaking residents
are now the oTily ones serving on boards
controlling the farming industry and the
English have little or -no say in factors
controlling their livelihood. With an
uncertain future ahead. Rose and his son
decided to leave the province where they
were born and plant new roots. It's a
decision they haven't regretted.
Northwestern Canada: the last frontier
"Northwestern Canada is the last
frontier for farming in this country, but
before we can make a better go of it we
must -have more accurate climatic infor -
mation."
This is the strongly held opinion of a
man who is in a position to know-- Bill
Bailey, climate specialist at Agriculture
Canada's Beaverlodge Research Station
in the Peace River region of northern
Alberta.
"There is no adequate summary of
climatic resources for this part of the
country. How can a farmer make .a.
decision on what to grow and when, if he
doesn't have good weather information?"
Dr. Bailey asks.
"This is particularly important in the
Peace River region and other northern
areas where climatic conditions can
change dramatically within a few kilo-
metres because of the influence of local
topography."
That's why he and his technician Peter
Mills are now doing something to remedy
the situation.
A new meteorological station was
opened recently at the research station. It
has instruments to collect information
that will help farmers already cultivating
land in the north as well as help in
pinpointing new areas with agricultural
potential.
"The climate stations that already exist
in this arca collect the same basic
information as in other parts of the
country such as temperatures and
precipitation. But, because we are in a
more marginal agriculture area, we need
much more detail," Dr. Bailey says.
And detail is what they will get from
the new meteorological station. In
addition to normal weather readings, the
instruments at the new station measure
automatically, on a continuous basis,
such things as solar radiation and soil
heat. As well, soil moisture levels to a
depth of two metres are monitored daily.
"All of these factors affect how well
plants grow, and in this region any one
could tip the scales in the ability of the
land to grow commercially successful
crops," the scientist says.
The radiation readings are particularly
important because they are the first such
observations for northwestern Canada.
Dr. Bailey and his colleagues will use
the information to aid in the construction
of maps outlining the climatic resources
of the area.
"The climatic maps now in existence
are simply not drawn at a scale that can
give a farmer the information he needs to
make the best crop -growing decisions,"
Dr. Bailey says.
"By using them along with soil maps,
farmers can decide if they should be
growing cereals, oilseeds, forages or
whatever, and be fairly confident they
can harvest a crop."
THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1981 PG. 11