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The Rural Voice, 1985-07, Page 66RAINY RIVER FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE Highlights The Rainy River District lived up to its name in the month of May. It was rain, rain, and more rain. By June 1 less than half of the spring crop was seeded. Some farmers who had seed- ed very early were forced to cultivate and re -seed. The Ontario Crop In- surance adjusters have been very busy, and hopefully most farmers had bare ground coverage insurance. Even the crops that were seeded into the wet, cold ground will be lucky to yield up to average. It is also reported that most of the winter wheat crop is looking very sad. However, all this rain is certainly making the hay and pastures grow. District cattle herds will once again thrive on the lush grasses of the Rainy River District. Many District cat- tlemen have been expanding their herds, contrary to the national trend, and October will see another excellent calf crop offered to buyers at the Stratton Sale. Cattle are still the backbone of agriculture in the Rainy River District, and a spring like this proves they probably always will be. On Saturday, June 1, about 40 peo- ple attended an open house at the Heifer Test Feeding Station at the farm of Kim Cornell, north of Devlin. About 15 District producers entered 50 replacement heifers into the Test Station in the fall of 1984. The heifers were fed an OMAF recommended protein diet consisting of grain and free choice hay, and weighed every 28 days. Average weight gains were a bit under the pro- jected 1.5 lbs/day. It was pointed out, however, that they suffered through an extremely cold and severe winter followed by a wet spring that turned the clay feed yard into a quagmire. Thirty-one of the heifers had been bred Al at the Test Station and the balance was to be bred on the home farms. These heifers will be weighed again in the fall of 1985 and a follow through on their calving per- formance will be recorded in the spr- ing of 1986. In a general wrap-up chaired by Ken McKinnon of the Cattlemen's Association, Agricultural Represen- tative Bruce Ward explained the details involved in wintering replace- ment heifers. Indexing under the Red Meat Plan was praised as an aid in selecting for herd replacements. Bruce felt that perhaps some of the heifers were carrying a lot of condi- 64 THE RURAL VOICE tion for breeding, and perhaps a lower protein diet than recommended could still achieve adequate growth. Dr. Brenda Meyers explained the details in the Al breeding program. Dr. Meyers' past experience with Al programs was invaluable to this pro- ject, and she gave an informative resume to the audience, along with some personal recommendations to individual farmers. Kim Cornell gave a short summary of his experience as the Test Station manager. Although he was hampered throughout by extreme weather con- ditions, everyone felt that Kim had successfully completed the project. The Rainy River Cattlemen's Association is considering even more changes to the Stratton Sale. They are presently investigating the possibility of televising the Stratton Sale to the Kitchener Sales Yard by satellite. This would expose Rainy River cattle to many more buyers. Total costs, benefits to District producers, and transfer difficulties are all problems presently being considered by the Cattlemen's Association. On Monday, May 13 the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture met at the OMAF office in Emo. Vice- president Dave Packer chaired the meeting as president Ed Fisher, a councillor for Emo township, was de- tained on municipal business. Also attending were secretary Norman Cain, treasurer Jacquie Hunsperger, directors Rudy Sinninghe, Bill Sieders, Bill Gibson, Bill Romyn, Andy Carpenter, Wayne Flatt, Ralph Hunsperger, and Dean Hodgson. Sandy MacDonald from the Co -Operators Insurance at Thunder Bay was a guest. Bill Romyn, chairman of the membership committee, revealed the April membership drive had more than attained its goal. This commit- tee, under the leadership of Bill Romyn, has brought the membership of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture back up after it declined slightly during the financial squeeze on farmers. However, the $75 membership fee is small when com- pared to other farm costs. This averages out to less than 21e/day, and when a farmer receives his land - tax rebate, he could easily return the $75 to the OFA so that it can continue to work on behalf of all farmers. The District directors had a short discussion on parity pricing and were strongly in favour of following this course of action. The Farm Progress Committee chaired by Ralph Hunsperger reported that they had set out their goals for the 1985 Emo Fair. A letter was received from the Fair Board re- questing that the Farm Progress Building be kept open on Sunday. The Federation directors were not in favour of a Sunday opening. However, the committee felt that to be co-operative with the Fair Board they should survey participants of the Farm Progress show for their feel- ings. Committee secretary Jacquie Hunsperger has mailed out brochures and survey forms to all former par- ticipants. To anyone interested in renting a booth for the Emo Fair, August 15, 16, and 17, the rent re- mains at $70 plus utilities. A motion was passed requesting that Jack Wilkinson and Roger George of the OFA executive be in- vited to attend the Emo Fair and be available for discussions with District farmers at the Federation booth. Both these OFA directors made a favourable impression on the Rainy River District during previous visits. Sandy MacDonald of the Cooperators Insurance in Thunder Bay outlined the details of the new liability insurance now available to OFA members. Mr. MacDonald pointed out some of the perils which could occur, and the possible conse- quences. The situation keeps changing rapidly at Queen's Park in Toronto. District farmers were optimistic after the May 2 election, believing the new Rainy River MLA Jack Pierce would be working closely with the Minister of Agriculture, Philip Andrewes, who had impressed many farmers in the District. Now, however, Mr. Andrewes is no longer the Minister of Agriculture, and MLA Jack Pierce will find himself on the opposition benches. Actually, the attitude of govern- ments and their employees during these recent financial difficulties in agriculture makes it appear that if there were about 25 per cent less farmers, the problem would solve itself. These are the same employees, although it is always vehemently denied, who urged farmers to expand wildly during the 1970s. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now. The next scheduled meeting of the Rainy River Federation of Agriculture is Monday, June 10 at the OMAF office in Emo. Dean Hodgson