The Rural Voice, 2006-01, Page 49PERTH 11T
County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER
Are farmers complainers?
Any opinions expressed herein may
not necessarily reflect the views of
the Perth County Pork Producers'
Association.
At one of our regular monthly
meetings, one farmer raised the
question of whether we, as farmers,
have become complainers. I have
reflected on that very thought many a
time and would like to see if I can
turn those ruminations into an article
worthy of print. (If not, my delete key
will see some heavy use).
I wonder if our farm papers
(actually newspapers in general) may
bear part of the blame for stressing
the bad to the detriment of the good.
As I recall reading in one periodical
(as I was sitting in my favourite
reading room), they called it a
challenging summer with little rain
and too much heat, but didn't we get
some great yields from our corn and
soybean fields? The fall was pretty
nice for getting the work done with
no ruts in the fields and everything in
good shape for next year. Oh yes, the
prices were nothing to write home
about ( even in these days of e-mail),
with some comparisons made to corn
prices of 40 years ago, and I'll admit
I can't remember that far back, but
how many bushels came off an acre
Perth County
Annual Meeting
January 19/05
at the
Mitchell Golf Club
Meal at 6:00 p.m.
Meeting at 7 p.m.
Leona Dombrowsky
Minister of Ag and Food is
the guest speaker.
back then and how long did it take to
harvest a 100 -acre farm?
I wonder if looking at the negative
happens more often when we're
tired? When I am beat after too many
late nights, every problem is
magnified and little difficulties
appear larger than they really are. A
life without margins, getting up early
to work and going to bed late with no
breaks from the jobs could make
anyone a little growly (no,
spellcheck didn't like that word, but
take growl and put a y on the end and
that sums up how some people can
act). Some farmers may keep a dog in
the yard that never gets to run free,
always on a chain. This makes the
dog a better watchdog, actually more
vicious because it never gets to play.
I think people can become that way
too, if they never take time to play.
Our lives are busy, and isn't it us that
make them that way?
I wonder if the saddest thing about
always complaining about how hard
it is to make a living farming is that it
blinds us to the thankfulness we
should feel for the great blessings in
our lives. Walking out to the barn in
the early morning quiet, watching
Russ Danbrook, President
519-356-2385
- The Rural Voice is provided to Perth
County Pork Producers by the PCPPA.
new life blossom in the spring with
animal babies born or plants getting
their start, enjoying conversations
with friends and family about new
things we're trying on our operations
or even just the routine of chores. Do
we realize, as we focus once again on
$1.25 hogs or $6.50 beans, that we
are a very uniquely fortunate few,
even in our great country of Canada,
that enjoy many things daily that
downtown Torontonians can't even
dream about because they hardly
know they exist?
I don't actually think farmers are
complainers, overall. As an industry
we do seem to be asking for money
fairly often. We do want a level
playing field with our counterparts in
other food producing regions, (that's
the USA for anyone that missed it)
we do face numerous challenges as
hog farmers (PRRS and Circo virus
could be examples of those) and life
on the farm is getting more
complicated (stay with me, NMP's
and CQA) but let's not lose sight of
all the great things that go along with
being a farmer in Canada in the year
2006 and have a Happy New Year.O
— Submitted by Ron Van Bakel
PERTH COUNTY PORK PRODUCERS'
PORK PRODUCTS
• Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops
• Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage
• Smoked Cheddar Sausage • Bacon Burgers
• Teriyaki Pork Steaks • Vittorio's BBQ Sauce
AVAILABLE FROM:
Steve Hulshof (Kinkora) 348-8167
Walter Bosch (Monkton) 356-9000
Ted Keller (Mitchell) 348-9836
JANUARY 2006 45