The Rural Voice, 1992-11, Page 55RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
October 14, 1992 — What a change
from one month ago! We've had
strong winds to dry and the hot sun to
warm the earth. Harvesting is well
underway and second and third cuts
of hay have been completed.
Thanksgiving brought much to be
thankful for as we all prepare for
winter.
The regular monthly RRFA meet-
ing was held October 1 at the Emo
Agricultural Office. Attendance was
small because directors were taking
advantage of the weather to finish
crops. President, Linda Armstrong,
Kim Hunsperger, Jack Elliott, Sue
Boersma, Shirley Morrish, Gary
Esselink, and Wayne Flatt all
attended.
Jack Elliott explained about
funding and how the new logo would
be used. A small fee will be charged
on a five year basis. The RRFA will
be ordering a number of letterheads
with the new Rainy River Valley
Logo design and the new OFA Logo,
"Farmers Working for Farmers".
The Northern Ontario Heritage
Board needs Agricultural representa-
tion, Jack Elliott reported from his
meeting in Thunder Bay. There are
Crop Insurance problems with the
unseeded acreage in the Rainy River
District. Things have not been good
concerning hay and grain crops.
Gerry Carey will be arriving in
Thunder Bay October 22. On
October 23 he will visit Dryden and
Kenora. Jack Elliott plans on
meeting with Gerry and the Kenora
District Agricultural Action
Committee under the co-operation of
the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food. The OMAF newsletter
will announce what the federation
plans to do. There will be an
informal meeting on Sunday, October
25 with individuals from our area.
There are 111 paid members to
date for our local RRFA membership.
These are our own "Farmers Working
for Farmers".
Six district people are receiving
agricultural training and upgrading
through a Leaf -cutter Bee course
taught by Jack Elliott, a pollination
specialist. He is contracted by the
Rainy River Committee for Skills
Development. This 30 -week course
is funded by Canada Employment
and Immigration. Every time I see a
bee of any kind these days, I imagine
a little "Jack Elliott face" buzzing
back at me.
On October 10 the Clover Valley
Farmers' Market in Fort Frances
participated in the annual Agri -food
week with a celebration breakfast to
end the week-long events. "Celebrity
Cooks" were Bruce Ward, Pat
Clysdale-Cornell, Kim Jo Bliss and
Lisa Teeple. They cooked up egg,
ham, and cheese on an English
muffin and sold them for 34 cents
each. This is the price the farmer
gets for the ingredients used. Coffee
and juices also were available. The
venture was quoted as a "real
success". In the Rainy River District
we have 352 farms with 55,000 acres
of land in farm production. The types
of farms include beef, dairy and
cream producers, seed production,
berries, dried flowers, vegetable
farms, bee -keepers, sheep, goats, and
egg producers.
October 7, the Rainy River Farm
Business Management Club held its
first meeting for the new season at
7:00 p.m. at the Emo Library.
President is Lyle Wheatley, Vice-
president — Kim Cornell,
Secretary/Treasurer — Lisa Teeple,
and Field -man is Wade Desserre.
Four young people represented the
Rainy River District 4-H Clubs in
the "Go for the Gold" competition in
Thunder Bay. Cori Angus, Stacy
Angus, Jody DeGagne, and Jeannie
Sheppard teamed up with Kim Jo
Bliss as their coach. It's based on
"Reach For The Top" and covers a
multitude of subjects. The 4-H
Annual Awards Banquet is
November 6.
1,750 head of cattle were sold at
the Feeder Sale at the Stratton Sales
Yard on October 3. The sale began at
9:30 a.m. and didn't end until 10:30
p.m. There were two auctioneers
who switched back and forth every
hour. About 350 head were sold to
the U.S. Prices for 300-400 lb. steers
reached $1.19. Steers in the 800-900
Ib. group sold for as high as S87.10.
The high price for heifers in the 700 -
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
800 lb. group was $.86 per pound,
and $1.07 for the 500-6001b. heifers.
President, Wade Desserre feels that
future sales will only get better. Next
sale is October 24 with General Live
Stock including bred cows and
heifers. Contact Wade at 483-5412
or Gord Williams 483-5371.
With the abrupt ending of the
grant program under Red Meat II, the
question remains, "Will producers
continue to weigh calves?"
Producers have answered with
excellent participation in 1992 and
Weighman, Tom Morrish indicated
that weighing activity this fall has
been as busy as any year during the
Red Meat Plan. Rates remain the
same and remember, Shirley still
assists with the paperwork.
The Annual Meeting of the Rainy
River Federation of Agriculture was
held at the Pinewood Hall on
Saturday, October 10, 1992. The
theme for the evening was "Country
& Western". Music was by Mery
Hyatt. A delicious meal was catered
by the Pinewood C.W.L. A special
feature was the unveiling of the new
"Logo". The design was taken from
ideas presented by Amanda Olson
and Julianna Sakanec, both from
Sleeman. They were special guests at
the supper and each received $25.00
along with a certificate.
Guests for the evening were MP
Robert Nault, Marianne Rude, and
Richard McKinnon from Howard
Hampton's Office. Election was
conducted by Pat C. -Cornell. The
new president is Rick Bocrsma; past
president, Linda Armstrong;
secretary, Jack Elliott; Treasurer,
Kim Hunsperger. Directors are Sue
Boersma, Amos Brielmann, Wayne
Flatt, Tammy Hunsperger, Gary
Esselink, Archie Wiersema, Mike
Zimmerman, Jack Vandenbrand.
Next RRFA meeting is November
12 at Stratton, one week later because
of the Bus Tour scheduled for
November 3, 4, 5 in Minnesota.
"Vacations are great levelers. The
person who takes one, returns home
just as broke as the person who
stayed home, because he couldn't
afford to go away."0
Shirley Morrish
NOVEMBER 1992 51