The Rural Voice, 2006-10, Page 14BARN
RENOVATIONS
• Renovations to farm
buildings
• Concrete Work
• Manure Tanks
• Using a Bobcat Skid Steer
w/hydraulic hammer,
bucket, six -way blade &
backhoe
BEUERMANN
CONSTRUCTION
R.R. #5 BRUSSELS
519-887-9598
or 519-887-8447
KELLY PORTABLE
SEED CLEANING
Wheat, Beans, Grain & Forages
Bag or Bulk
Convenient and
Economical
Serving Mid -Western
Ontario
Ripley, Ontario
NOG 2R0
519-395-5960
1-888-844-1333
10 THE RURAL VOICE
Mabel's Grill
The
world's
problems
are
solved
daily
'round
the table
at
Mabel's.
"Glad to see that gas price out
there down to double digits," said
George McKenzie to Molly one
morning after the price at her gas
pumps dropped unexpectedly.
"Yes, I decided to do it just for
you," said Molly, "being as how you
guys gripe in here so much about the
cost of gas,"
"I can't figure out whether the
price of gas going down is a good
thing or not," said Cliff Murray.
"Oh, now we're going to have to
listen to you complain about the price
going down?" wondered Molly,
"No, I like the price going down
for the short term," said Cliff. "It
means I won't lose quite so much
money harvesting my corn if the
price of diesel fuel drops. But on the
other hand, all these opportunities for
growing crops for energy are based
on high energy costs. The higher the
gas price, the more likely people are
to make ethanol and biodiesel and
use manure for methane."
"So what?" griped Dave Winston.
"You won't make money even if you
do grow crops for fuel."
"Please, give me something to
dream about," said Cliff.
"Look at the situation with ethanol
down In the States," said Dave. "I
mean the ethanol companies are
making so much money they can pay
for a new plant in a few years, but the
farmers would be going broke from
the corn price if it wasn't for their
government support."
"Yeh, I figure no matter what we
grow the big guys will find a way of
taking all the money and leaving us
to do all the work,"' sighed George.
"There's only one crop that seems
to make any money these days," said
Dave. "I mean the cops took a
million dollars of marijuana out of
my neighbour's corn field and it all
fit in the back of a pick-up. He'll get
maybe $30,000 before expenses on
the other hundred acres." •
"Yeh, but just see what would
happen if they made it legal," said
George. "Then somebody else would
get all the profit like other crops."
"No chance of that happening
with this government in place," said
Cliff. "Did you see they even
cancelled the reserach program for
marijuana for medical purposes."
"I guess that makes sure there'll
be a market for the illegal stuff for all
the people who think it will help
them through their pain," said Dave.
"All the more reason I should mtybe
be looking to grow it."
"Yes but where would you market
it?" said Cliff. "You know enough
drug dealers to get rid of a million
dollars of pot?"
"Damn marketing always gets in
the way," said George.
"Oh well, if we can't find any
crops that we can afford to grow, I
guess it leaves more land for Toronto
to put its garbage on," said Dave.
"Yeh, we can change those signs,"
said George. "Not only do farmers
feed cities but we pick up their
trash."
"Sounds like a wife," said Molly
as she refilled the cups.
"Maybe these guys down in
California are going to be looking for
a new crop too, after they lose their
spinach crops," said Cliff.
"I mean you don't like to see
anybody get sick but I gotta say the
idea of some vegetarian getting E.
coli from her spinach salad has a
certain ring of vengeance to it after
how they made every case of
hamburger disease into a reason to
stop eating meat," said George.
"Yeh but we're all taking a hit,"
said Dave. "I mean they keep talking
about ttte cause of the infection
being 'unsafe practices' by farmers.
It's like Walkerton all over again."
"I truly think city people get
nervous about the idea that food
grows in nature," said Cliff. "I don't
think some of them will be happy
until it comes from factories."
"Yeh, then our kids can move to
the city and get a job in the food
factory, join the union and make the
money we never could on the farm,"
said Dave.O