The Rural Voice, 1991-01, Page 27left over when they took over the farm
from her dad. Feeding 5,000 bushels
of home-grown corn and 1,000
bushels of barley, mixed with pur-
chased concentrate, saves them about
$14,000 a year. They continue to
experiment, and admit that a similar
trial to cut starter ration costs hasn't
yet been successful. They've tested
the weaners on both rations and they
still do better with the purchased feed.
"We're learning all the time.
There's never an end to learning on
the farm," says Marg.
To keep up-to-date in new in-
novations in the pork industry, Jack
belongs to the Central Huron Pork
Club which has about 15 producers
meeting once a month.
Because they keep excellent
records, they can quickly answer
reporter's questions on their costs and
revenues. They figure the hogs
generate 65 per cent of their income,
while 20 per cent comes from the cash
crops and the remaining 15 per cent,
depending on the year, comes through
subsidies from the government.
Although they have looked at
finishing their weaners instead of
selling them, they're reluctant to
expand on borrowed money and don't
want the operation to grow any larger
than the two of them can handle. "We
may never get into it if can't be
worked out," says Jack.
They credit much of their success
to the excellent training they received
before they set up their operation in
1983. Although Jack wasn't raised on
a farm — "just lived out in the country
near Woodstock," — he is a 1978
graduate of the agricultural business
management course at Centralia.
Marg, a 1980 Ridgetown graduate of
the same management course, grew up
on the farm they purchased from her
parents, Gary and Cory Haak.
Because he wasn't from a farm,
Jack attributes his success in the hog
operation to the seven years — five
full-time — he worked for Wayne
Fear's Monoway hog operation near
Brussels. Marg knew about hogs and
cropping from her experience with her
family's operation and passed that
along to Jack. "She taught me all
about crops," says Jack.
The couple, who are strong
supporters of the Christian Church,
where Jack is a deacon, firmly believe
that they should be able to pass the
farm on to the next generation in as
good a condition as they received it,
and have been strong advocates of
preventing soil erosion and water
degradation. "We're the stewards of
this land. We want our land to give to
Jack points to the ridger that saves time, energy and reduces soil erosion.
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JANUARY 1991 23