The Rural Voice, 2002-07, Page 26Tractor & Combine Parts
New, Used and Remanufactured
Phone 1-800-372-7149
Fax 1-800-372-7150
• Standard 8 Reground Crankshafts
®. Remanufactured Cylinder Heads
. Engine Overhaul Kits
. Used Engines - Huge Inventory
www.fawcett.cc e-mail sales@fawcett.cc
FAWCETT
Tractor Supply Ltd.
St. Marys
Ontario
DAVID E. GREIN
LOGGING
Buyer of Standing
& Felled Hardwood Timber
& Bush Lots
• Competitive Pricing
• Quality Workmanship
• Over 20 Years Experience
R.R.#1 Neustadt (519) 799-5997
} Holstein
Rodeo
2002
i July 12, 13 & 14
Team Penning (Free) 7 p m -9 pm
Beer Gardens &
Entertainment 7 pm -1 am
Saturday
Grounds Open 12 noon
Rodeo Show 2 pm - 4:30 pm
BBO Dinner 4:30 pm - 7 pm
All Welcome! Advance Tickets at Holstein General
Store Adults 512.00 Children under 12 55.00
Cowboy Dance at
Rodeo Grounds 9 pm -1 am
Adults 510.00
Sunday
Rodeo Grounds
Open
Rodeo Show
10:00 am
2pm-4:30 pm
For More Information Contact:
519-334-3794 or 519-334-4016
01.
22 THE RURAL VOICE
market, it has made it to the radar of
the OMAF where Martin was named
lead for organic crop production with
OMAF last fall. Martin explains that
the extension work carried out by
OMAF is generally based on research
and there hasn't been a lot of
research in the organic field.
But Ontario's move to appoint an
extension lead. is just part of a
gradual change across North America
to greater recognition of organic
production, he says. Dollars for org-
anic research are slowly increasing.
Martin's job will be helping make
information on organic agriculture
more accessible. collecting it up and
making it available through OMAF's
call line and website. Those wanting
to learn about organic farming can
get general information from the help
line, he says and there are some
information sheets on the OMAF
website.
Generally, however, the approach
of organic farmers has been one of
learning a craft, more than a
scientific model that can be easily
duplicated farm after farm after farm.
It's this approach of learning how to
react to what nature throws at you
rather than conquering nature that
makes the apprenticeship model apt.
Dixon, has been learning how the
McQuails deal with the challenges of
changing weather and pests. He'd
like to follow in the McQuails'
footsteps someday, he says. He hopes
to have his own farm but growing up
in town he doesn't have a lot of
University of Guelph's course
gives introduction to organics
Dr. Ann Clark's 12 week
course at the University of
Guelph beginning last fall
has, the first time, allowed students
to learn about organic farming at a
main stream agricultural college.
The course study, according to
the University's website, includes
the following schedule:
Weeks 1-2: Definition of organic
farming; discussion of how basic
ecological principles inform and
guide farming practice; discussion
of national organic standards, the
transition process, and certification
in Canada; allowable sources of
livestock, seed, and other inputs to
production - and why.
Weeks 3-4: Internalizing flows of
natural resources to reduce
dependence on purchased inputs
and minimize off-site impacts; e.g.
using year -around ground cover not
just for yield and soil conservation,
but to immobilize and conserve
labile nutrients and to channel
energy to ecosystem maintenance
functions; "feeding" the soil to
serve as a repository and medium
supportive of timely water and
mineral nutrient retention and
release, but also as habitat for
favorable (plant health protective)
soil microbes; composting to
immobilize labile nutrients, enrich
biotic activity and reduce weed and
pathogen burden, and to return
nutrients in slow- vs. quick -release
forms.
Weeks 5-7: Harnessing the
ecological resilience of natural
biota; e.g. problem avoidance by
design, including enterprise mix
(livestock as well as crop), crop
rotation (including grassland leys),
fizld dimensions, and hedgerow
composition. all of which are
designed to employ macro- and
microbiota to retard pest
proliferation; timing and cultivation
practices, using weeds as indicator
species; avoiding human -induced
disease, insect, and weed problems;
homeopathy and animal health;
woodlot/wetland management.
Weeks 8-11: Designing
Ecologically Sound, Organic
Production Systems; e.g. to capture
positive synergies amongst
enterprises, internalize costs of
production, and regenerate natural
resource endowments; examples of
how this is done in practice, with
emphasis on generalizable vs. site-
specific decision-making.
Week 12: Marketing Organic
Produce; e.g. opportunities and
constraints of wholesale, retail, and
direct producer -to -consumer
marketing approaches; quality
standards, including GMO-free, for
local and export markets; relevant
government policies; the future of
price premia.0