The Rural Voice, 1999-02, Page 3l
R.V.
Editor: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
John Heard, soils and crop extension
and research, northwestern Ontario
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor,
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Gisele Ireland, Mary Lou
Weiser -Hamilton, Lisa Boonstoppel-
Pot, Bonnie Gropp,
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Sandra
On, Carl L. Bedal, Janice Becker,
Allison Lawlor
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advertising representative:
Merle Gunby
production co-ordinator:
Joan Caldwell
advertising & editorial production:
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Anne Harrison
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Behind the Scenes
Dreaming of perfect crops
Ah farming in February. Sure
there can be headaches trying to keep
the lane blown out or thawing frozen
pipes in the barn but it's also a timc
of dreaming. In February, the yields
of those crops we're planning to plant
in the spring are all record-setting,
and the prices are profitable. This
year, we're certain, will be better than
last. Reality has yet to set in.
This month our Profit$ section is
on crops. Mery Erb has been looking
at the cropping scene for many years
and has his own unique take on
what's happening out there. He
comments in that section.
Once white bcans were one of the
big crops in western Ontario. An
entire industry was built around them
and the tourism and farming
businesses joincd, each year, in the
annual Bean Festival in Zurich. But
white bean acreage has plummeted as
returns on other, less risky crops,
increased. Now there arc fears
Ontario may lose the infrastructure
supporting the bean industry unless
the acreage decline here and increase
in Manitoba is reversed. We talked to
some industry experts about how the
industry got into this situation.
There was also lots of cropping
information available at this year's
Crops Day at the Grey -Bruce
Farmers' Week in Elmwood. The
controversial "terminator gene" was
the topic of a discussion by Dr. Gord
Surgeoner from the University of
Guelph. And, as might be expected in
the heart of cattle country, there was
a good deal of information on pasture
and forages. We have coverage in the
News section.
Farming is changing so quickly,
it's mind-boggling for younger
people to imagine the changes seen
by couples who have been farming
for 50 years. Greg Brown brings us
the story of Marshall and Bessie
Saunders who were the winners of
the 1998 Heritage Award given
annually by the Euphrasia Township
Federation of Agriculture.
An example of the rapid change in
agriculture is the use of computers to
get information. In her AgriTech
column this month, Janice Becker
looks at a new CD-ROM for maple
syrup producers who want to fine-
tune their operations.°
Update
Forage insurance to be revised
One of the greatest problems with the drought in Grey and Bruce Counties last
summer (focus of an article in our September issue) was the fact few farmers had
found it practical to take out crop insurance for forage crops. As a result only
1,888 producers in Ontario were enrolled in the program. Of these, 56 per cern
received payments in 1998, totalling S4.6 million. The majority of payments
went to the hardest hit areas of Grey, Bruce, Renfrew, Wellington, Huron and
Elgin counties.
Answering the concerns of farmers, Agricorp's Crop Insurance Committee has
accepted a recommendation to continue evaluating a plan to meet the specific
needs of forage growers. Agricorp says it will commit the resources to continue
the evaluation with the goal of introducing an insurance plan which will better
reflect actual conditions at the farm level and meet the needs of the federal and
provincial governments.
"There are a great number of issues to work out before a plan can be
implemented," said Tom Schmidt, chief executive officer of Agricorp. "But we
will make the commitment that we'll work towards the goal of an improved crop
insurance plan for growers of Ontario's largest crop."
In the meantime, Agricorp says, a number of improvements to the current plan
are in the works for thc 1999 crop year. The company pledges to improve the
quality of data collected to make thc plan more responsive to local weather
conditions. This will, it says, help improve the accuracy of claim payments in a
drought year.°