The Rural Voice, 1997-11, Page 47RAINY R1VER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
411*
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
AiLlik, ' The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA
October 14, 1997.
Thanksgiving has come and gone for
another year. When one looks at other
places in the world and the situations that
are beyond human control, we are very
lucky and have much to be thankful for.
Today is my Dad's 81st birthday and I am
especially thankful for that.
El Nino has certainly played a few
tricks on this district. Last week we were
enjoying warm sunshine, short sleeves and
good ploughing weather. This week began
with rain, cold winds, and today we awoke
to an inch of snow covering the ground –
three weeks earlier than last year.
The October 6 RRFA meeting was at
Morley with Amos Brielman, Linda
Armstrong, Rick Neilson, Rudy Sinninghe,
Stanley Armstrong, James Gibson, Bill
Darby, Kim Desserre and Shirley Morrish
attending.
Rick reported on the recent "Tour in the
Country". Everything went much better
than last year with more preparation and
enthusiasm with the committee and host
stops. A wrap-up meeting was held at the
Devlin Municipal Boardroom. Deb
Cornell arrived with a thank -you cake and
beverages. Photos taken along the route by
Deb and Pat Clysdale-Cornell will be
placed in an album for viewing later.
Rick Neilson and Linda Armstrong are
sending letters to all farmers and rural
members concerning Bell Canada's latest
move to increase rates by $2.15 which
makes $1.51 more. It will look like rural
against urban and as if we're lobbying to
make more money for Bell, but when you
receive the sheet in the mail, please sign
and return. Thanks if you have already
done so. Quebec and Ontario are served by
Bell Canada.
A Round Table, Boreal Region on
managing Natural Resources is underway
and you are asked to submit comments on
the sheet that is available from Rick.
Planting trees and shelterbelts is a concern.
A letter from Thunder Bay was read. A
farewell party for Dael Bierworth is taking
place October 26. A letter from our
association will be sent wishing Dael good
wishes for the future.
A resolution will be sent to the annual
meeting concerning stumpage fees on
cedar posts used in the area. There should
be different stumpage rates paid out. Cedar
posts are classed in the sawmill rate at $54
a cord and are a totally different class of
material. The resolution is necessary for
support and for more people to know what
is happening.
Discussion took place on the John
Vandenbrand issue — fencing off the river
to keep cattle from going in to drink and
mess up the waters. MNR has done this
project and more information can be had
by calling John Vandenbrooke at MNR.
Bill stated that there are dollars available to
fence off creeks, but the list is very long.
It's not too late to get a voting
membership for the RRFA annual meeting.
Cost is $32.10 per person if you are
already in a family or business with a
registered number.
It's that time of year again when we
know that Ag Rep Bruce Ward is no longer
at our office. Milkweed! It's growing along
the railroad tracks and in clumps in certain
fields with the seed balls nicely waving in
the wind. Bruce warned that this could
happen if it was not controlled and after all
the wind we had, what will next year's
crop be like. Now I've heard that during
the war, milkweed was useful for the fluff
in lifejackets and the milk was used to
make rubber. Now, if that catches on like
the hemp is, there may be fields of
milkweed in our future.
Police are warning residents of the
latest phone scams telling people to send in
money for taxes to claim a prize. Scam
artists are claiming to be calling from
Canada Trust. Phone any problems such as
this to Phone Busters – OPP/RCMP task
force phone fraud at 1-888-495-8501. The
scam is spreading slowly and sporadically.
OFA Annual Convention is November
24 - 25, a Monday and Tuesday in Toronto.
Tom Morrish has been in touch with
Robert Nault's office after many,
numerous phone calls this past year. It
concerns the border crossing issue which is
NOT really solved yet. It is hoped that
seals will be placed on the cattle trucks at
our Ontario border and checked upon entry
into Manitoba, so that truckers may travel
the shorter route through Minnesota
instead of following the lakes around
Kenora, Ontario. Nault's office has
promised that legislation should go through
by the end of October and no later than
November of this year. I might add here
that Tom has been working on this
problem for 25 years and is getting pretty
upset. Hey! 1 get to listen to all of it too!
A Health Skills Training and Cattle
Handling Skills for Producers presented by
Dr. Neil Anderson, Veterinarian Health
Management Group, Fergus, was held at
Stratton Sales Barn on Tuesday, October 7.
The cost was $20 per person. Only half a
dozen people showed up. What is this tell-
ing us? Is it the wrong time? Is the cost too
high, (everyone took their own lunch and
chair)? Is the message not getting out that
courses are available. This training session
was on methods of castration, dehorning,
implanting and proper injection sites. It
also covered cattle behaviour and facilities,
as well as newest handling tools and tech-
niques. 1 congratulate the cattle people who
did attend. We must never stop learning!
Gencor is interested in holding an
Artificial Insemination course in the Rainy
River District in early November. If
interested, call KimJo Calder at 807-482-
2863 or at her workplace 807-482-2354.
There are many other courses available, so
if you are interested, just let Kimlo or the
OMAFRA office know.
Safe and happy travelling to KimJo
Calder, Simone LeBlanc and Stacey
Angus, who will be going to the Royal this
year as representatives for our local 4-H.
Kimco and Simone will have their way
paid by 4-H (only two were covered) and
Stacey is going along to help them find
their way, as well as visiting her brother
Darren at school. The Gemmell family are
also making the trip and have invited the
girls to visit with them.
The cattle sale at Stratton on October 4,
had prices matching the Manitoba market
so many were quite satisfied with their
cheques. It's a tricky business to be in;
when to sell and when to hold them.
Market manager, Russell Richards has
done a good job once again. He took time
to visit every cattleman in the District that
he could reach before the sale was held,
and that is dedication.
The giant pumpkin contest was won by
Sleeman resident, Kenny Trenchard. His
giant weighed in at 456 pounds, giving him
the grand prize of 51,000 and the coveted
"Golden Hoe", Rookie of the Year and
second in the ugly pumpkin category. Max
Lang from Vermilion Bay was runner-up
with his 417 pounder. His prize was 5200.
Don Beyak and festival organizer, Dr.
Ewan Affleck from Rainy River, were a
team taking the third prize of $100 for their
342 pound pumpkin. Many other prizes
were awarded with over 400 people
attending at Hannam Park at Rainy River.
Vacationland Dairy of Kenora has
become a division of Dairy World Foods, a
BC -based company. Vacationland was the
longest running independent dairy in
Northwestern Ontario. They don't plan on
many sudden changes for a while and plant
manager Diane Pochailo has offered to
once again send us milk for the annual din-
ner and dance on Saturday. We give them
public thanks once again for their many
years of donating and support to RRFA.
Clover Valley Farmers' Market is
closing for the season October 25. This
past Saturday, Ag in the Classroom
advocates, Kristine Carpenter, Shirley
Morrish and Pat Clysdale-Cornell, along
with the artistic talents of Elaine Aveyard
created about 15 scarecrows and assisted
with many others, as customers and
visitors watched. AITC was promoting
grains and cereals, and the straw stuffing
for the scarecrows fit right in with this
year's theme. Despite the rain every so
often, we had a fun time in the Market's
East (outside) corner. Thanks to Rebecca
Cornell for helping "stuff' our creations.
Don't forget to cast your ballot on
November 10, 1997. It's Municipal
Elections Day.
"Money in the bank is like toothpaste
— easy to get out, very hard to put back".0
Shirley Morrish
NOVEMBER 1997 43