The Rural Voice, 1997-10, Page 551
RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
414R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA
September 15, 1997
A month has gone by and it's still
very dry. Not much rain has fallen in the
District which helps the harvesting along,
but the pastures are suffering and many
cattlemen are already feeding their
precious hay supply. Grain crops are
looking great in the west end of the
District. Brielman's, Stafford's, Martin's,
Zimmerman's, Cates', Teeple's, Szeder's,
Fehr's and McLean's were all crops that
we've noticed waving like gold in the fall
sunshine.
At the September 8 RRFA meeting,
Amos Brielman, Kim Desserre, James
Gibson, Stan Armstrong, Rick Neilson,
Rudy Sinninghe, Brent Miller and Shirley
Morrish attended. Secretary Judy McCoy
has resigned and once again someone will
be needed to fill the position.
Rick will be renewing his contract as
Member Services Rep for Rainy River -
Kenora and Dryden for another year. He
did a terrific job at the Farm Progress
Building RRFA display booth. The
contest, "Do you know your area
director?" complete with photos went
over very well. It's not easy standing in
the same place for two long days with a
smile on your face, especially when one
is hungry, tired and thoughts of all the of
all the jobs that need to be done at home
are on your mind. Good job done, Rick.
This Sunday, plan to take a "Drive in
the Country", anytime, between 12:30
and 5:00 p.m. Visit farm animals,
equipment and crops. The children will
be allowed to do crafts and fall
decorations. The passports may be picked
up at McDonald's Restaurant and at the
Emo Research Station for $5 per vehicle
between 12 noon and 4 p.m. The tour will
highlight five different farm businesses
between Fort Frances and Emo. The
event is sponsored by the RRFA.
Rick is still working on the Prairie
Farm Rehabilitation program. He will
have more on that at a later meeting.
OFA members are asked to fill out the
reply card in their OFA Members' Digest
concerning Nutrient Management. The
card is postage paid and takes only two
minutes to fill out.
Farmers are advised to thoroughly
read their insurance policies before
signing anything. There are different farm
policies and different underwriting rules
in each company. Everyone should be
fully aware of what their policy covers
and allows. The office of the Insurance
Ombudsman has been created to assist
with any problem. They may be reached
at 5160 Yonge St., Box 85, North York,
ON M2N 6L9 or fax 416-590-8480.
Congratulations to Orval Woolsey of
Barwick for placing fifth with his Black
Angus Bull in the Steak Builder Category
at the Rainy River Bull test station. BIO,
along with researchers at the University
of Guelph, and Canadian Beef Sires,
introduced new genetic selection tools for
young beef bulls. If you are interested in
becoming a Genetic Leader winner in
1997-1998, call BIO at 1-800-373-2253.
Watch the mail for postcards
reminding landowners or tenants of the
new 25 per cent taxation rate in 1998.
Application deadline for the 1997 farm
tax rebate is December 31, 1997. If you
do not have a registration number,
register as soon as possible to identify
eligible properties.
After 57 years in the sugar refining
business in Manitoba, the Rogers' Sugar
Ltd. is closing its doors. They were
blocked from U.S. markets, therefore, no
sugar beets were planted in Manitoba this
year. One more Canadian industry lost.
Kim reported for the Community
Pasture. She stated that Wade Desserre,
manager, received a letter saying that the
pasture will not be up for sale this year.
The government is restructuring, so is
backing off for the time being.
Kim would like to see more people
assisting with the setting up of curtains
and frames at fair time. She said her little
group was there until midnight on the
Wednesday. Dismantling was a different
story; there was ample help on the
Saturday in the Farm Progress Building.
Dufferin Federation of Agriculture has
come up with a great new idea to replace
the SMV (slow moving vehicle) signs
that some people are using as gate or
driveway markers. The replacement sign
is a 4" x 12" red and white sign made of
diamond grade reflective tape on
aluminum backing. The Federation at
Dufferin is also supplying reflector tape
at base cost to area farmers for marking
farm equipment used on local roads.
Maybe, some of our other Federations
can use this idea as well.
About 1,250 head of cattle were sold
on Saturday, September 6 at the Stratton
Sales Yard. Good cattle went at $1.10 to
buyers from Saskatchewan and Southern
Ontario. October 4 is the next sale,
featuring calves, and cattle that are
moving out because of hay shortage in
the District.
A new product has been designed
called a sachet marinade that works in 20
minutes to tenderize beef that is
otherwise not so tender. The Beef
Information Centre can provide more
information on this new item.
This year the Canadian Western
Agribition at Regina's Exhibition Park
will be held November 23-30. Planned
events are trade shows, beef cattle, horse
shows, exhibitions of other livestock and
stock dog trials, carcass class, egg, butter
and cheese show, processed meat
competition, displays of pedigreed seed,
hay and silage, wheat weaving and grain
processing. It's an event that you won't
want to miss.
The World Dairy Expo is October 1 -
5, 1997 at Dane County Expo Centre,
Madison, Wisconsin. It features 1,000
trade booths and over 2,000 cattle
including Ayrshire, Holstein, Brown
Swiss, Guernsey, and Red and White.
Further info can be obtained by phoning
608-224-6455.
The third annual Rainy River Valley
Giant Pumpkin Festival takes place
Saturday, September 27 at Hannam Park
in Rainy River. Registration is from
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Heaviest
pumpkin gets $1,000 and the Golden
Hoe; second prize is $200; third prize is
$100. Many other awards, prizes and
events take place throughout the day with
a potluck meal at 1:00 p.m. A pumpkin
pie and dessert contest takes place at 2:00
and all entries will be the dessert. Weigh
off and judging is at 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. with
the award ceremony at 3:30 p.m. A
Monster Bingo rounds off the evening at
7:00 p.m. at the Rainy River Arena.
At the annual OFA Convention in
Toronto on November 24 - 26, 1997, a
Child Care Centre on premises will be
provided so that young delegates with
families can still participate in convention
activities without worries.
Once again, a reminder that the weigh
scales MUST be cleaned before returning
them.
Tickets are now available from any
one of the Directors for the Annual Fall
Dinner and Dance that the Rainy River
Federation of Agriculture holds each
year. It will be held at the Barwick Hall,
Saturday, October 18, 1997. Social hour
is from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., dinner at 7:15
p.m. and dancing begins at 9:00 p.m.
Entertainment committee chairperson,
James Gibson, reported that the evening's
entertainment is planned and everyone
should have a great time visiting and
making it a GOP.
The pleasure you get from life is equal
to the attitude you put into it.0
By Shirley Morrish
OCTOBER 1997 51