The Rural Voice, 1995-06, Page 1284 Kingston Street
Goderich, Ontario N7A 3K4
Phone: (519) 524-9671
Fax: (519) 524-6962
CABLE
• Galvanized Aircraft
Cable 1/16" to 3/8"
• Wire Rope 3/8" to 3/4"
• Stainless Steel Cable 1/4"
• Clear Coated Cable 1/8" - 3/16"
ROPE
• Polypropylene - 1/4" to 1/2"
• Nylon 1/4", 1/2", 5/8", 1"
• Hemp 1/2", 3/4", 7/8" 1"
CHAIN
Grade 30, 3/16" to 1/2"
Wide range of thimbles,
shackles, cable clamps, etc.
Above are stock items
Other sizes and grades
available by order
519-524-9671
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
SPECIALIZING IN:
• Farm Drainage
* Municipal Drainage
• Excavator Work
' Dozer Work
* Erosion Control
' Backhoe Work with Laser
WE OFFER:
• Personal evaluation of your protect
• Detailed plans and design work
• State-of-the-art equipment
• FREE ESTIMATES
• Qualified and expenenced personnel
• Guaranteed workmanship 8 customer service
For that personal touch, pride in workmanship,
experience and FREE ESTIMATES call
MARQUARDT
FARM DRAINAGE LTD.
(ESTABLISHED 1968)
R.R. #3 STEVE CRONSBERRY
Palmerston, Ontario (owner)
"We install
OFFICE
343-3233
drainage tubing"
HOME
338-2373
8 THE RURAL VOICE
Prairies
Robert Mercer
look prosperous this spring
This spring I have had the
opportunity to drive from Ontario to
BC, spending more time in the Prairies
than anywhere else. We went through
Manitoba in mid-April and it was wet
from the runoff
and the rains.
The Red River
and the
Assiniboine were
flowing fast but
not crowding
their banks, and
although there
was no snow
left, the land was
far too gummy to
work.
Spring has
been late on
many farms
across the west,
but even in the
early April days
when the sun was warm during the
days, the tractors were out on the edge
of the fields all set to roll.
The further we went west the more
evident it became that the Prairie
tractor fleet looked newer than the cars
we were passing on the highway.
There has been a lot of capital invested
in power over the last five years, and
from our very limited windscreen
survey, any loss in income from
drought would quickly show up at the
farm equipment dealership. Farm
equipment is not in need of immediate
replacement and when push comes to
shove, new purchases can easily be put
off. It is not that farms are over
powered, just well powered and
looking capable of many more years of
reliable service with a little
maintenance.
The other sign of capital investment
was the shiny new grain bins for
storage and the reinvestment by the
line elevator companies in their grain
and farm supply elevators. Having
come from Ontario I was impressed by
the size and interdiscipline
combination of equipment and
fertilizer on the same lot. Ontario
supply companies could do well to
increase their cash flow by greater
services tied to the equipment business.
To the extent that Manitoba was wet
in the south east, Alberta from
Medicine Hat to Calgary was dry. The
soil was still cool, but some early
grains had been worked in by April 23,
with hardly a fenceline in sight. What
one did see instead was line upon line
of round hay bales across the horizon;
one, two or even three bales high. In
Saskatchewan it was the rolling grain
trains of 100 cars or more dieselling
their way across the landscape.
We drove across the TransCanada
highway for much of the journey,
stayed in small towns and not the
major centres and were pleasantly
surprised by the lack of "for sale" signs
on the road side. Maybe it was just
that the farms were not posted or that
we were in the wrong areas.
There was no getting round it, the
Prairies looked prosperous. The grass
may have been as brown as the soil,
but agriculture did not appear to be
suffering. There has in fact been
enough confidence to see land rental
prices rise, even in face of the
elimination of the Crow Rate
transportation subsidy, and seeded
acreage remains high.
As we entered BC down the Fraser
Valley we went from winter in the
Rockies one day to full spring the next.
The ginseng farms were active and the
bulb nurseries in full bloom. BC was
green and lush compared to the
previous two weeks of observation.
In one way or another I have
travelled the west quite a bit, but this
was the first time that I travelled across
by car in one trip. It is something
everyone should do to experience the
diversity of the country. But it is far
more than just that, it is an education.
First of all I was amazed by the size of
Ontario and then the continual vastness
of the Prairies and the foothills. I knew
Canada was big, but now I understand
why those living the other side of the
rockies feel Ottawa is too far away and
too much out of touch.
One has to be very positive about
the agricultural potential of Canada.
The land base is vast and given the
right incentives ... a good market
price ... farmers across the land could
step up production to fill many an
empty belly in less fortunate
countries.°
Robert Mercer is the founding editor
of the Broadwater Market Letter for
which he continues to write market
and ag-political commentary.