The Rural Voice, 2004-01, Page 47RAINY RIVER dR
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
of 9 NEWSLETTER 'The Federationi meisprsdtoRainy
Federation Agriculture U1 E RAINY RIVER VALLEY River members bythe RRFA.
December 10, 2003
Winter has settled in with just enough
snow and ground frost to make chores
easier. The district is hustling and
bustling, preparing for the holiday
season.
Hundreds of people from all across
the district gathered at Emo on Saturday
to celebrate Holly Daze, an annual event.
This year there was an added attraction:
the grand opening of the brand new
Cloverleaf ShopEasy one-stop shopping
centre. featuring a deli and gas bar. They
have a 100 per cent heat recovery for
refrigeration where the massive fans and
exhaust exchangers heat the entire
building. Heat is captured in a 700 -gallon
recovery tank. It is then transferred to a
water circulatory system that pipes it
through the store floor. The same system
reverses and cools the store during the
summer. The structure paid for itself the
first time it was used. The designer is
Next Energy Solutions from Elmira.
Ontario. Construction and installation
was done by Brubacher Contracting in
Mine Centre. It's a beautiful store and the
aromatic scent of the freshly -baked
goodies gives one the incentive to want
to stick around and keep shopping.
There was no December meeting for
RRFA this month, but the next regular
one will take place in January of the new
year at Stratton. So, bear with me. no
reports makes this whole page totally off
the top of my head.
Betty Salchen faxed some items that
will be of interest. There's a new BSE
test that reduces results to a few hours,
and may also work on live cattle.
OFA Executive Committee
newcomer, Debra Pretty-Straathof, will
be the new Northwestern Ontario liaison.
She seems enthusiastic and anxious to
visit the "Far North". She may be in for a
pleasant surprise. Our new government
has made Ministry of Environment
instead of Ministry of Agriculture, the
first contact on nutrient management
issues. This could mean trouble for
farmers.
Congratulations to our new Minister
of Agriculture and Food, Steve Peters. He
is the Member of Provincial Parliament
for the riding of Elgin -Middlesex -
London. We hope he uses the real map of
Ontario and realizes that Northwestern
Ontario is located in the heart of the
Rainy River district.
A number of local cattlemen.
dairymen and RRFA members met with
Howie Hampton MPP, to discuss cull -
cow marketing strategies. It was felt that
we need an abattoir now, more than ever,
and it is hoped that a plant will be up and
running by next fall. Nault's office was
also invited to the meeting. with no
response.
It is hoped that the Sioux Narrows
Bridge will open for crossing come
January. At the moment the maximum
weight allowed is 15 tonnes. "15 tons and
what do you get, another day older and
deeper in debt" - just like the song goes,
it's happening with truckers hauling
cattle. pulpwood, and any heavy freight.
They are at this time travelling via
Dryden to reach Winnipeg making the
trip two hours longer. So. you see dear
Eastern Ontario, we are BIG Country
here and we do want to be remembered
on the whole map in more ways than one.
It's been noted that in the egg
industry. a laying hen is worth about $5.
A spent hen is worth about 10 cents.
Producers need to realize that cows aren't
worth what they used to be.
Belated wishes for happy years to
come to Ken's parents. Russell and Mary
Fisher. who celebrated 60 years of
marriage October 25. Another pioneer
couple who have left their mark with so
many contributions to the district, they
are a beautiful, warm and neighbourly
couple.
"Love cures people - both the ones
who give it and the ones who receive it".
- Dr. Karl Menninger.
A test has found that nervous cattle
give tough steaks. Australian scientists
have come up with a device that
measures an animal's state of mind. by
working out how long it takes them to
run away after being weighed. They
measure how long it takes them to cover
two metres. The ones who are scared
move a lot faster. putting nutrition into
their nervous energy and less into
building bulk. Nervous cattle are more
stressed when taken to abattoirs for
slaughter. Stress depletes glycogen. a
starch, which helps break down muscle
after death which makes the meat tender.
Ron Bonnett has been acclaimed as
OFA President for the second term. We
send our congratulations and support
knowing full well that Ron Bonnett is a
farmer working for the farmer. He wants
to remind members that agricultural
programs are not gifts and not subsidies.
They are investments designed to
stabilize rural economies which can be
sabotaged by foreign trade. weather and
disease. We urge the members to support
their local associations that play an
important role in the future of rural
Ontario and the province's farming
industry.
Brigden,resident. Dean Hodgson. who
lived at Emo for eight years farming the
old Cooper Place. has written a history
about "Tile Drainage in Lambton
County". Dean has a great passion for tile
drains and has always been interested in
the history of how it all came about. It's
quite a story: our pioneer ancestors
thought of it a way back in the 1 800s. but
was noted by Cato in 234-149 BC that
land that was wet needed to be drained by
ditches. Dean began his career in the
1950s as a surveyor in Sarnia and was
Drainage Superintendent while farming
here in the Rainy River District. It's a
very interesting book and you can obtain
a copy for $10 by contacting the
Lambton County Historical Society in
care of BettyLou Snetselaar at 519-882-
0881. Dean has always had a talent for
writing. I remember his tiny little notes
he always took at meetings when he
wrote for The Rural Voice and the heal
newspapers. Good luck Dean. Keep on
writing and remember we're never too
old to finish those projects and dreams.
"We are judged by how we finish. not
by how we start."
With 2003 coming to a close and all
the events we've experienced over the
year, we must try even harder to work
together as a farming unit. Every
provincial cattlemen's association across
the country spoke against the proposed
federal cull -cow program. but it was
introduced anyway. Ontario must take
control of its market. There are no
guarantees. Unless there is a comparable
SRM policy implemented in the U.S..
over thiny month (OTM) rules will affect
cull animals and breeding stock for years
to come. There is a definite need to look
at ways of making the industry Netter
from a producer perspective. We must
focus on having more control of our
destiny.
"It isn't that they can't see the
solution. It is that they can't see the
problem."
Peace. contentment and solutions to
all our dilemmas. are wished to each and
everyone in 2004.0 - By .Shirley Morrish
JANUARY 2004 43