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The Rural Voice, 1993-11, Page 3R.V. Editor: 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 On-, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal marketing & advertising sales manager: Gerry Fortune advertising representative: Anna Vander Heyden production co-ordinator: Tracey Rising advertising & editorial production: Anne Harrison Dianne Josling laserset: with the Macintosh Classic printed & mailed by: Signal -Star Publishing, Goderich, Ontario subscriptions: $16.05 (12 issues) (includes 7% GST) Back copies $2.75 each For U.S. rates, add $5 per year Changes of address, orders for subscrip- tions and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Rural Voice at the address listed below. Canadian Magazine Publishers Association All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self- addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial content may be reproduced only by permission of the publisher. Published monthly by The Rural Voice, Box 429, Blyth, Ontario, NOM 1 HO, 519-523-4311 (fax 523-9140). Publication mail registration No. 3560 held by North Huron Publishing Co. Inc. at Goderich, Ontario. The Rural Voice makes every effort to see that advertising copy is correct. However, should an error occur, please notify The Rural Voice office within 30 days of invoicing in order to obtain a billing adjustment. Behind the Scenes Improving the view When company's coming, you want to look your best. So when a county is preparing to host the International Plowing Match it usually holds a beautification contest as an incentive to local farm, home and business owners to spruce up their property. Bruce County, already one of the most beautiful areas in the province, took no chances and sponsored a beautification contest for the 1993 IPM. Corinne Robertson -Brown visited some of the winners and talked to them about what they did to catch the attention of the judges (not to mention the thousands of visitors who attended the Match). Behind the beauty of our country- side there hides an uglier side on some farms. With a decade of economic pressure, a year of crop failure last year, stress on the farm has been overwhelming. In some cases, that stress has been taken out by men on their wives. As Arlene Timmins, Executive Director of Phoenix Second Stage Housing for Women tells Corinne Robertson - Brown, "The farmer doesn't hit the bank manager. Instead he comes home and hits his wife." November is Wife Abuse Prevention Month and our article tells, not only about the dangers to farm women, but the alternatives for women who need help. In the 1990s, marketing is the name of the game for farm products but few people have a more imaginative marketing strategy than Barry and Karen Mahon of Hilton Farms in Perth County, near Staffa. The couple grows hull -less oats, mills the oats on their own farm, and ships it by mail, to customers across Canada who care about a quality, healthy food. We talked to them this month to learn how this unique marketing strategy came about. In the Rural Living section, architect John Rutledge continues his thoughts on how to keep the character of your period farm house. This time he goes inside the house with advice on everything from windows to woodwork. And Bonnie Gropp's recipes look at vegetables that you can store through the fall and winter.0 —KR Looking ahead Thoughts of the future There's too often a sense of hopelessness in the country, a sense that our lives are governed by forces beyond our control. But those of us in rural areas also have opportunities to improve our lives and our communities that aren't open to people in larger centres. There are people who do a lot of thinking about the future and the alternatives for rural people. We'd like to hear your ideas on how we can turn around our rural economy and improve the rural lifestyle. With that in mind we're sponsoring an essay contest for our January issue on the topic: Towards 2000: Building a better life in rural Ontario. Prizes are $100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third. Essays should be 500 to 1500 words in length. Deadline for entry is November 19. Entries will be judged on originality of the ideas expressed rather than writing style or skills. We've had several nominations of people who are making a difference in shaping agriculture in western Ontario for the future, a feature for our February issue. There are hundreds of people out there who are making life better in their community, or for all of us involved in agriculture. If you know someone who is making an outstanding contribution through their work in the agricultural community, in farm organizations, or just in leading through innovation on his or her own farm, please let us know. We'll be looking for 10 men and 10 women involved in agriculture who are helping make a difference. We need to have the names by December 1.0