The Rural Voice, 2004-04, Page 71RAINY RIVER
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R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER - The Federationi vomer providedsbytheto Rainy.
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River members by RRFA.
March 15, 2004
The icy cold of winter has passed, the
herculean winds of March are here. The
accumulation of drifted snow is slowly
shrinking, and another season is upon us.
Again the District has lost three more of
its pioneers: Steve Caul from Fort Frances,
Robert Smith (KimJo's great uncle). and
Hubert VanUden, formerly of Emo. Each of
these men have left their mark on the land,
and each will be remembered in a special
way.
The March RRFA meeting was held at
Morley with Bernie Zimmerman, Linda
Armstrong, Marvin Smith, James Gibson.
Clayton Teeple, Angela Halvorsen, Kristine
Carpenter, Shirley Morrish and Susan
Boersma all attending.
Kristine reported for Ag Awareness. Our
committee will be promoting beef
throughout 2004.
Bernie has stepped forward and he and
the committee of Larry Lamb, Clarence
Haak and Gary Sliworksy are planning Ag
Days April 7-8. They have lined up
speakers. designed a tradeshow. found a
caterer. and are giving guests the
opportunity to renew. or become members
of the Soil and Crop Association in the
Rainy River District. With Clayton, Marvin
and James on the Entertainment Committee.
the two days should be filled with plenty of
information and some enlightening
entertainment. Thanks to Bernie's
enthusiasm, we'll have Ag Days 2004.
Clayton reported for the Cattlemen's
Association. Peter Spuzak has been elected
as this year's president. Clayton also
presented an excellent report on the annual
OCA meeting in Toronto. This year's theme
was, "The Road to Recovery". Having
attended the same meeting myself and
watched the daily events unfold, these old
"Granny eyes" picked up a few incidents
that made me smile. The cattlemen were all
told to hurry with the latest debate as
Premier Dalton McGuinty would be
arriving. Silence followed, low whispers,
people turning and watching the doors; it
honestly reminded me of the old Christmas
concerts when the kids were anxiously
awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. He
arrived, all was hushed. He gave his speech.
Everyone listened. All 20 minutes of it. It
was like jumping into the lake and waiting
to hit the water. He was then presented with
an "I Support Canadian Beef" sweatshirt,
and a box of boneless beef. He then left with
his entourage alongside. All eyes followed
and some gaped, either stunned by his
statements or like myself, just plain
adrenalized by being in the same room as a
real celebrity. It's the first time a Premier
has ever spoken to a group of cattlemen at
an OCA meeting. It will probably be the
last.
We listened to the other speakers,
Minister of Agriculture and Agri -Food
Canada. Hon. Bob Speller; Ontario Minister
of Agriculture and Food, Hon. Steven
Peters; Chief Veterinarian for the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency, Dr. Brian Evans.
Each one pretty well said the same thing.
and nothing that the press hadn't already
told us. It was the quietist. calmest OCA
meeting that 1 have ever attended.
It was not all wasted. We were reminded
that the Americans eat more beef than
Canadians. and in much larger portions.
There has been some recovery from the
BSE problem and they are still progressing.
There are literally more people who die just
thinking about it.
Premier McGuinty did say "You stand
out. but you don't stand alone."
CAIS (Canadian Agricultural Income
Stabilization program) has a new deadline.
It has been moved back to April 30. Call
Gary at 482-1921 to help fill out your CAIS
forms. It will become a permanent disaster
coverage program. and coverage will be
based on need. If you do not participate in
the 2003 CAIS program. you will be
required to pay back the full amount of the
2003 Advance Ontario Agricultural
Payment that you may have received within
the past three months. President Jahnke
stated. "There's light at the end of the
tunnel."
United States wants livestock ID to
begin this year. The system will trace the
history of livestock within 48 hours. It's
their first step to protect food safety and
animal health in the event of an outbreak of
a disease in their country.
Remember the tattoo letter this year is 'P'.
This year's Agribition in Regina is
November 22-27. Last year drew 2,000 live-
stock entries and 400 trade show exhibitors.
"People used to smoke inside and go to
the bathroom outside. Now. people go to the
bathroom inside and smoke outside."
Canadian Agricultural Safety Week was
March 10-17. The theme is "Farm Safety
means Farm Safely". Be careful while
working with livestock, machinery.
chainsaws and your daily living. Calving
season is here and some of those moms are
very protective. Work -safe. Drive -safe.
Play -safe.
In the fair board report by James. he said
the new president is Emily Watson from
LaVallee. Emily is also the new reeve for
the Municipality of LaVallee. The secretary -
treasurer of the fair board is Jan Judson of
Emo. Angela Halvorsen has come up with a
great idea for one of the events - barnyard
olympics and more horse activities. More on
this later. as the fair draws closer.
Take a drive up LaVallee Road North
some Sunday. and see for yourself the
beautiful restoration job on Cornell's big red
barn. Growing up next door. that barn has
always been a special landmark to me. and
I'm pleased that Kim decided to restore the
edifice. a part of our history.
February 2004 marked the 200th
birthday of founder John Deere. John was a
man who grew up in povert}. worked hard
as a blacksmith. and was the man who
satisfied customers with the steel plough
that would clean itself in the sticky black
soil. He went on to create a company that
would become a leader in agriculture all
over the world. building products that got
more done in less time. John Deere.
founder's birthdate - February 7. 1804. The
company has continued over the past 167
years.
How come we never hear about crop
circles in the snow'' Why are they always
reported in grain fields'' Wouldn't snow be
easier to make those beautiful patterns in''
Sorry. it's been a long winter.
Changes are coming in the price of
electricity effective April 1. It means we all
have to start thinking about ways to lower
the amount of electricity that we use. I guess
using candles oftener and showering in pairs
won't be so bad. The Customer
Communications Centre can be reached
Monday to Friday at 1-888-664-9376. For
emergencies. anytime. call 1-800-434-1235.
The Bull Sale at Douglas Manitoba is
April 3 at 11:00 a.m. The station is located
17 miles east of Brandon on Hwy. #1 -
1/2 mile south on #351.
Gunton's Bull Sale is April 8. It is
located 24 miles north of Winnipeg on Hwy.
#7. Rd. #88. Sale begins at 12:30 p.m.
After numerous phone calf. letters and
We are here 7
Our Drstnct extends east to
Quebco Provincial Park
west to the Manitoba border and
south to the Minnesota border
questions while in Toronto. I would like to
include this map. Yes - we do have
electricity. No. we are not Inuit. Yes. we do
have shopping nearby. Yes. we all have a
postal code. Yes. we do have TV. radios.
newspapers and e-mail. Yes. we have four
seasons. No. we are nowhere near Sudbury
or Sault Ste. Marie. No. we are not even
close to Timmins or New Liskeard. but we
do have highway access to any place in
Ontario. Rainy River District is 70 miles
long and 30 miles deep and that's just the
farming area known as Sunset County
- Subm;ited by SMr/et tlr,rn,h
APRIL 2004 67