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The Rural Voice, 1981-02, Page 18RURAL NEWS IN BRIEF FARMERS' WEEK ATTRACTS CROWDS With the exception of one day of inclement weather, the annual Grey Bruce Farmers' Week in early January was able to attract healthy crowds to most of its events. A main attraction of Dairy Day was guest speaker Dr. Gordon Surgeoner, from the University of Guelph. Dr. Surgeonor is from the Dept. of Environ- mental Biology and spoke on the "super fly". Evidence shows that there are strains of flies immune to any spray on the market place and a plague to the farmers. Dr. Surgeoner stressed a program of manure removal the same time as fly spraying to combat this problem. There are no new fly products currently on the market so fly spray rotation is still the only method available to get rid of this nuisance in the farm buildings. Many interested corn farmers turned out on Crops Day to hear Rick Upfold and Mac Bolton from OMAF speak on the problems encountered in raising corn. A representative from the Canadian Agricultural Chemical Association gave data on the fight to keep 2,4D on the marketplace. The feeling at the Crops Day was that removal of this chemical would unnecessarily decrease the crop yield substantially. Home Day held at the Hanover Town Hall was poorly attended, mainly because there was little on the program to attract the working farm wife. The general consensus was more planning would have to go into this important aspect of Farmer's Week to draw an audience. Federation Day was poorly attended due to storm conditions and two key speakers, Norm Seaguss from Environ- ment Canada and John Phillips from the Farm and Country Paper in Toronto, were not able to attend. Those who managed to make it found the program interesting. On the same evening there was a Horse Program with the theme Horse Pasture Management. A panel of local horsemen related their experience in managing their horse pastures. Swine Day was well attended but offered little new on present day pork farming. An outstanding speaker was Carl Moore, a pork producer from Embro who gave advice on how a young pork farmer could start and survive in the business. One of the points he stressed is the individual get as much formal education as possible and work in the marketplace for a period of time to develop a broader view of the possibilities and drawbacks. Sheep day was well attended and with increasing numbers of farmers going into the business there was lively debate and exchange of information. Beef Day ended the week, and little new was brought forth concerning what to expect from your beef herd in 1981. The afternoon program consisted mainly of discussion of Canadian Grade S,ta.ndards for dressing of beef and a Brussels producer, Ross Procter, gave his experience with the present system of beef grading. On the average, the panel discussions drew most comments and were well presented throughout the days' programs. This was a valuable exchange of ideas and problems farmers share in this area. Pesticides receive bad and incorrect publicity An environmental activist stood alone in his stand on the danger of pesticides when the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph held a seminar on the subject recently. Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer with the Environmental La_ w Association in Toronto, called for open public hearings on pesticide use because of indications they are dangerous to humans. He listed indications there are dangers of the pesticide 2,4 -D -a study by Dr. Melvin Reuber of the National Cancer Institute in the United States which concluded 2-4-D caused cancer in male and female rats; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1980 ordered manufacturers to conduct new studies to determine if 2, 4-D is safe for humans and the environment and Agriculture Canada in October 1980 announced scientists had found some 2, 4-D products contain dioxin contaminants which are toxic. The lawyer said the chemical companies had tried to scare both government regulators and farmers by saying food production would drop 30 to SQ per cent, food costs would escalate and food quality would plunge, if 2, 4-P wasn't available. Castrilli said a 1978 Cornell University PG. 18 THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1981 study indicated there would only be a one per cent loss due to weeds if herbicides were not used and a total of nine per cent. if all chemical treatment were eliminated. He noted that chemicals played an important role in agricultural production and would continue to do so until safer, more effective methods of control were developed, but that on the other hand they had the potential for causing such tragic effects on humans and the environ- ment as cancer, birth defects, inter- ference with biological reproduction and genetic mutations. Magazine writer Ron Arnold warned farmers they will have to meet environ- mental activists head-on in a media campaign to counteract what he says is bad and incorrect publicity about pest- icides. He attacked counter -culture environmentalists, but said all environmentalists can't be painted with the same brush. At the seminar on pesticides, it was also proposed there be a pesticide research institute, to improve research and correct public misinformation. The proposed institute would be operated by the University of Guelph and University of Toronto with input from government and industry. Freeman McEwan of the University of Guelph's department of environmental biology said such an institute would be independent, free of any bias in the debate,and would serve to train scientists and improve research. He told the seminar that at present there are no Canadian universities with toxicology programs and very few PhDs in Canada to meet the increasing need for research. McEwen chided the academic community for failing to communicate its existing knowledge to counteract much of the misinformation the public now re- ceives, but hit hardest at the media which he said had failed miserably in informing the public. Richard Frank who works with the Ontario Pesticides Residue Labratory said studies have shown that 2, 4-D breaks down quickly in Ontario's water- ways and also the human body without causing harm. He said that within 10 days, 2, 4-D will have left body tissue and if susceptible plants are damaged by inadvertent spraying or drifting of 2, 4-D, the chemical breaks down, leaving no residue, in about 35 days.