The Rural Voice, 1983-07, Page 8FARM SAFETY WEEK JULY 25-31
Practising what he preaches
Morley Weatherall, president of the Ontario Farm Safety Association and Grey county
livestock producer, sets an example by following proper safety procedures on a day-to-day
basis.
by Mary Lou Weiser
If Morley Weatherall had his way, every
farmer in Ontario would know and
practice farm safety and there would be
no farm fatalities. He is setting out to do
just that as president of the Ontario Farm
Safety Association.
Weatherall practices what he preaches
and his beef feedlot, Maple Valley Farms
in Grey County, is an example of how
efficiently and safely a farm operation
can operate if proper safety procedures
are used on a day-to-day basis. Seven
fulltime workers employed by Weatherall
and his partner, use protective gear, from
steel toed boots to ear muffs or plugs for
excessive noise levels. An industrial
loader loading corn silage into a truck
constantly emits a beeping noise to warn
anyone in the area that it is continually
backing up and going forward.
Weatherall owns a farm at Honeywood
in Dufferin County and manages a
feedlot and 2,000 acres at Badjeros, Grey
County with his partner. As well,
Weatherall owns a 2880 acre grain farm
(wheat, barley, rye) in Manitoba, man-
aged by his oldest son. Some grain is
trucked from Manitoba to his Grey
County feedlot to supplement the feed
supply, enabling him to market 4,000
head of beef cattle annually in the past.
He has since cut back to about 2,000
head annually. Last year he had 1100
acres in corn with a pit silo holding
13,000 tonnes of silage at Maple Valley
Farms and two uprights holding 3,500
tonne at the Honeywood push-button
feedlot. Both are full. He hasn't planted
any corn this year because silage is left
over from last year, and has sown barley
instead. Western short keep cattle as
well as locals are bought at 500-750 lbs.
and finished to a weight of 1100-1200 lbs.
Weatherall is experimenting with cus-
tom feeding of cattle and is currently
feeding 900 Herefords for a 100 day
period. He supplies feed and labour and
another farmer owns the cattle.
"There is no money in cattle," Weath-
erall says, explaining his stock reduction
and he is "hoping the economy will turn
around so not too many more people go
out of business."
Fluctuating market prices caused by
an unstable marketing system have
spelled crisis for many beef operators
and Weatherall agrees with many farmers
that there is a definite need for stabiliza-
tion. He is in favour of what he calls
"tri -party support" by the producer and
the provincial and federal governments.
A system that would encompass all of
Canada seems ideal, he says. Asked
about the problem of supply exceeding
demand that must be solved if a
stabilization program is introduced,
Weatherall says "we've already had
cutbacks in the past two years although
statistics don't show it."
The Crow's Nest freight increase is a
PG. 6 THE RURAL VOICE, JULY 1983