The Rural Voice, 1985-07, Page 16A working day
with a soil
conservation advisor
by Phyllis Coulter
"A working day with ... " is a new series in The Rural
Voice which will focus on the working day of people
in different jobs related to agriculture. The position
of Senior Soil Conservation Advisor is a new job
recently created by the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food (OMAF). In this issue, Jane
Sadler Richards provides insight into a day in the life
of a Senior Soil Conservation Advisor in Huron
County.
After greeting the OMAF staff in Clinton, Jane Sadler Richards starts her
day with telephone consultations with crop specialists and farmers.
14 THE RURAL VOICE
With the exception of
morning greetings from
the OMAF staff in
Clinton, Jane Sadler Richards' first
contact with the outside world is via
telephone. By 8:30 a.m., her desk is
piled several inches thick with paper
which she will be referring to as she
makes her calls.
Sadler Richards, 28, is a great
organizer, which is an excellent quali-
ty to have in the newly created job of
Senior Soil Conservation Advisor.
Although her basic goals as a profes-
sional are clearly identified, some of
the ground rules are established as
situations arise.
Although her desk is loaded with
papers, each is organized by her "to
do" list. Today, Tuesday, June 11,
she makes a call to Harvey Wright,
Wellington, Waterloo, and Halton
County Soil and Crop Specialist, to
obtain some weed control advice.
Yesterday she received a telephone
call from a new farmer with weed
problems, and today she consults
with Wright to determine the best
solutions for the new farmer. At the
end of her conversation with Wright,
she decides the best solution is to
make a personal trip to the field to see
the weed problem. Huron and Perth
Counties are temporarily without a
Soil and Crop Specialist. Sadler
Richards says she is looking forward
to the day in the near future when
John Heard, previously a Huron
OMAF staffer, fills the position left
vacant when Pat Lynch moved on to
work in the public sector.
Sadler Richards goes through her
list of phone calls, organizing, plann-