The Rural Voice, 1993-05, Page 55RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
' The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
April 6, 1993
March came in like a lamb and
went out like a lion, just as the old
saying goes; now will April showers
bring May flowers? It's that time of
the year when farmers are preparing
the fields for seeding. It's been ideal
weather to spread the fertilizer!
The RRFA held their April 1
meeting at the OMAF office with
vice-president Wayne Flatt chairing.
Attending were Jack Elliott, Kim
Hunsperger, Jack Vandenbrand, Linda
Armstrong, Amos Brielmann, Gary
Esselink, Ralph Hunsperger, Shirley
Morrish, Rick and Sue Boersma and
Bruce Ward.
Jack Elliott reported on
membership. It totals 108, down in
number from last year.
Linda Armstrong who will be in
charge of the Farm Progress Building
at this year's Fair, reported that letters
are now out to the prospective booth
renters and some replies have already
come back. The deadline date is July
22 to rent space.
A letter from Pat Clysdale-Cornell
stated that Ag. in the Classroom
Committee would like more support
from all commodity groups in the
District. RRFA and RRCA have been
the sole supporters to date.
The entertainment committee
reported that the Spring Dinner and
Dance on April 17 at Barwick will
have MP Ralph Ferguson, author of
"Compare the Share" as guest
speaker. Tickets are available from
any RRFA director.
Ralph Hunsperger, reporting for
the board, said that the old Grandstand
is now in the process of being torn
down. The foreman is Ben Blattner.
The Grandstand was a familiar
landmark built in the early 1900s and
the vacant spot will take a while to get
used too. They hope to begin the new
structure late in June.
Debby Cornell -Darby, manager of
the Clover Valley Farmer's Market in
Fort Frances, returned recently from a
convention in Orillia. She came back
with new ideas for the local market for
the season, May 8, Mother's Day
weekend. Deb reported that there are
115 farmers' markets in Ontario and
55 of those have just started in the
past four years. Deb says to give her a
call at 486-3409 to reserve a space.
There is always room for new vendors
with new products, new displays, and
new promotions.
Stratton Meat Processors Ltd. who
opened in 1975, have added Pepper-
ettes and Beef Jerky to their 20 other
varieties of processed meats. Plant
manager, Phil Friesen is very pleased
about the growth that the company has
experienced in the last while. On an
average Monday, 20 head of cattle and
20 hogs are slaughtered. About two
months ago, the Chezerette was intro-
duced; this is a vacuum sealed pepper-
ette with a stick of cheddar cheese all
in one package and has become very
popular. The Abattoir management
has been very generous when it comes
to donating prizes to our RRFA events
throughout the year. We appreciate
their support and say, Thank You.
The Museum at Emo will open in
May and for special appointment call
Tina Visser 482-2792 or Marcine
James 482-2256.
Thirty district people travelled to
the small Asian country of Taiwan in
March. Two of these tourists were
local dairy farmers, Peter and Leona
VanHayst. They returned with much
knowledge about the heavily popula-
ted island nation around the same size
as our district. They mentioned that
the Taiwanese eat mostly fish and rice
and that there wasn't much call for
dairy products.
Because the hot sun damages the
grass, turning it brown quickly, they
have a need for compressed feed such
as alfalfa pellets. Land there is used
to capacity, growing their rice year
round with harvesting three times a
year. The Taiwanese have managed
to breed chickens without feathers to
cut down on slaughtering time. Can
you imagine naked chickens running
around in our country!
On Saturday, March 27 there was a
General Horse Care Clinic presented
by Dr. Chris Cannon D.V.M. from the
Nor -West Animal Clinic. It was held
at the farm of Gerald and Colleen
Wieringa, East of Emo. A good barn -
full of interested horse lovers showed
up to hear and learn more about these
beautiful creatures. Dr. Chris gave an
excellent talk on ancestry, make-up
and evolution of the horse and how it
fits into the lifestyle of modern man.
Our "Boundary Boots & Saddles" 4-H
Horse club members learned much
from the presentation.
The Rainy River Community
Pasture is now accepting applications
to pasture cattle for the 1993 season.
Deadline for entries will be April 20,
1993. The season runs from May 24
to October 4 depending on the
conditions of the pasture.
Dairy farmers in the Rainy River
District are to be congratulated on
their recent awards for producing
quality milk in 1992. Gold certificates
went to Mike Zimmerman, Peter Van-
Hayst, John & Shirley Vandenbrand,
Jack C. Vandenbrand, Kim Meyers,
Leo & Betty VanderWekken, Willard,
Enid, Dean and Grace Peters, and Sam
Gerber. General certificates of merit
went to John Plocgman, Guenther Rit-
tau, Byrtle Kozachcnko, Carl E. Mar-
tin, Rick & Susan Bocrsma, Nicholaas
H. Veldhuisen, and G. Martin. In the
Kenora District Gold certificates were
awarded to Fritz and Emile Kamm
and the General certificate of merit to
Peter Brunner. Congratulations and
thank you dairy farmers!
A teleconference with Gord
Mitchell and other members of the
Northern Sales Network took place at
the Agricultural Office in Emo on
March 9. At this end of the phone
were Bruce Ward, Kim Jo Bliss, Tom
Morrish and Wade Desscrrc. There
was an exchange of ideas and shared
problems with some new possibilities
and objectives for future sales at the
Stratton Salcsyard. The Northern
Sales Network held thcir annual
meeting at the Caswell Resort,
Sunridge.
Next RRFA meeting is May 6 at
Stratton Separate School.0
Shirley Morrish
MAY 1993 51