The Rural Voice, 1993-07, Page 3Editor: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
John Heard, soils and crop extension
and research, northwestern Ontario
Neil McCutcheon, farmer, Grey Cty.
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor,
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Adrian Vos, Gisele Ireland, Cathy
Laird, Wayne Kelly, Sarah Borowski,
Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton, June
Flath, Ian Wylie-Toal, Susan Glover,
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Darene
Yavorsky, Peter Baltensperger, Sandra
Orr, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal
marketing & advertising sales manager:
Gerry Fortune
production co-ordinator:
Tracey Rising
advertising & editorial production:
Anne Harrison
Dianne Josling
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Behind the Scenes
Tough times call for innovative minds
People who think farming is
boring and not intellectually
challenging have obviously never
looked at the amount of innovation
that goes into keeping a farm
competitive. Somebody keeps
changing the rules, leaving farmers
no choice but to change their
management practices in order to
survive.
This month we have three stories
about innovative farm families who
have challenged the accepted way of
doing things. Bruce and Grace
Schmidt started out with nothing in
the dairy business, a field that
requires a high capital investment in
land, buildings, cattle and quota.
They had to look for innovative ways
to get more for less. They found their
edge in distillers corn as feed for their
Jersey herd and have seen production
soar ever since.
At Kincardine Mark Stewart was
trying to find some way to expand his
hog housing at a time when pork
prices were so volatile it made getting
a profit out of an expensive building
a very hazardous proposition. He
tried a Biotech shelter, really a
heavy-duty tent. He's been happy
with the results.
Looking at the way the market has
been giving less and less to the
farmer while the consumer got more
and more distant from the producer of
her food, some farmers have felt
there has to be a beuer way. Some
farmers, like Bob Budd of the
Goderich area, have found an
alternative. It's called Community
Shared Agriculture or Community
Supported Agriculture. Budd
produces food directly for a group of
consumers in the nearby towns and
they come right to the farm to pick it
up ... and they put down their money
in advance. It's a concept that can be
enlarged to take in most areas of food
production.
These three farm families prove
just how innovative people in
agriculture can be.
Also this month, our gardening
columnist Rhea Hamilton -Seeger,
takes a look a how to add an extra
splash of colour to your garden by
planting annuals. Bonnie Gropp's
recipes this month are for your
barbecuing pleasure.0
Update
Centralia's survival fight goes on
The tight to save Centralia College continues on several different fronts.
George Thompson, chairman of the Friends of Centralia group won the
support of Huron County Council in early June for a move to prevent the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food from stripping the college of its assets.
Thompson claimed there is a chance for the community to find alternative ways
of making the college pay for itself if the facilities are left intact but the Friends
are worried that OMAF may "cannibalize" the buildings first, taking reusable
equipment to other colleges. By the time the closure comes on May 1, 1994,
there may be nothing left but empty buildings. With money already made from
programs like continuing education and the conference centre, plus new user fees
for activities like lab services, the Friends feel the college might be viable.
They also claim OMAF overstated the savings by closing the college. For one
thing, they say, moving the Veterinary Technology program to Ridgetown
College will result in building a new $4 million building. For another, while
OMAF may save in closing the buildings, the Ontario Development Corporation,
another provincial body, will lose a tenant and pick up extra costs.
The Friends of Centralia also project the cost to the local economy of $21.844
million with 69 direct jobs and 29 indirect jobs lost.
Meanwhile a group of students have taken the government to court for breach
of contract. They point to letters of acceptance at Centralia received from OMAF
and the fact they had made deposits on their tuition.0