The Rural Voice, 1987-01, Page 14To save the soil
while saving the farm will certainly be
a challenge to farmers in the coming
year. Soil management practices that
produce maximum economic returns
on a short-term and Tong -term basis
can form the cornerstone from which
this challenge can be met.
What types of changes are required?
Perhaps we must realize that ideals of
crop production such as 100 per cent
weed control or maximum yield may
not be economically attainable or de-
sirable. Likewise, excessive tillage,
which creates a finely worked seed bed
with no residue on the soil surface,
may not be economically viable in the
short or long term.
Soil managers must first ask them-
selves, "Is this trip over the field really
necessary?" or "Will the cost of this
treatment be paid back by increased
crop yield?"
Long-term productivity must be
considered as a necessary part of an
effective cropping program. Soil
stewardship will help to ensure that
the soil is maintained where it be-
longs. Saving the soil and saving
the farm are really one thing.
Robert Traut
Conservation Agronomist
Ausable-Bayfield
Conservation Authority
MILK
What we will be watching with
definitely a great deal of interest are the
free trade talks. In my opinion, any
free trade can only have a negative
impact on our segment of agriculture.
The report on the quota prices
could definitely have a bearing on our
industry, because let's face it, a lot of
our capital that is tied up on our parti-
cular farms is in quota right now. I
don't think any of us say that's a good
thing.
I think too were concerned with
this bovine growth hormone. I think
much of our industry feels that we al-
ready are getting all the milk we need
with our current production abilities,
and we don't need this hormone to
increase our output.0
Bruce Saunders
Director, Region 11
Ontario Milk Marketing
Board
12 THE RURAL VOICE
Farm business decisions will have to
be based on the existing economy and
not on the hope that it will improve.
There will be many opportunities and
temptations to expand in the near
future. The big challenge is to choose
the right option — make sure you use
all the information sources even if you
have to pay for them.
If you want to be generous to your
descendants, look after yourself first.
Mac Bolton
Agricultural Representative
Bruce County
My own feeling is that there are
not the haves and the have nots.
There are three classes. There
are the industrial nations that we
(Australia, New Zealand, and Can-
ada —America to some extent)
used to supply. They are nearly
all self-sufficient. The whole of
the common market is now self-
sufficient, where 30 years ago
when I went to college England
produced about a third of its
consumption of food. Now it's
something over 80 per cent and
the rest of it they can get from
the common market.
Then there are the bread-
basket nations and the have
nots ... the bread -basket nations
are in a very difficult position. We
can only sell to the have nots.
And they don't have any money.
Sure the food is needed, but we
can't afford to give it away forever.
There's the crunch.
Ian Clarke
Sheep Producer
Bruce County
1'11 be concentrating my energy on
our heifers — that's our future herd.
I'd like to see them calving at 24
months, weighing in around 1,500
pounds and able to produce 60 to
70 pounds of milk a day for 5 to 6
months.
I'll continue to use the best
bulls. I may invest in a larger
computer to allow us to do more
financial planning on our own.
And very important — stay on the
dairy herd analysis program with
OMAF.
Shawn Drennan, Huron County
Dairy Farmer
$100,000 FROM
25 ACRES — ?
Some ideas from a recent conference in
Des Moines, clo Dr. Stan Young of
the Ontario Agricultural College:
• Christmas trees • sorghum molasses
• mushrooms • gourmet vegetables •
maple syrup • natural beef • pumpkins
• process tomatoes • harvesting your
woods for landscape plants • on-farm
cheese production • trapping • bed and
breakfast • pick -your -own • corn for
cereal • selling livestock wastes •
sweet corn • edible soybeans • blue-
berries • black walnuts • retailing
specialty beef • kidney, garbanzo, and
navy beans • mail-order sales • corn
snack foods • ginseng • selling eggs
directly to retailers • herbs • selling
your farm skills • farmers' markets •
rabbits • angora goats • raising hunting
dogs • crayfish • flowers • selling
ducks to restaurants • cubing straw
into fuel logs • specialty seeds • wild
rice • white potatoes • selling grain
alcohol for lighter fuel • earning
premiums for organic products • pro-
ducing laboratory animals • oats for
food • hydroponics • moonlighting
with computers • selling game birds •
direct exports • sod • bagging and sell-
ing birdseed • extending the growing
season with plastic • selling your
machinery ideas • fishing bait • raising
deer for venison • bedding plants
Dr. Young: Everything starts as
a sideline ...
Our biggest problem in agriculture
is merchandising, not marketing.
Merchandising is changing a product
to put it on the market and make it
the product that people want.
The agricultural industry is not
going to disappear, so what we have
to do is save it for those people who
are going to be in it in terms of being
viable. Growing more corn and soy-
beans on an export market that doesn't
exist isn't going to do it.0
Farmers can't just be
strong and silent
anymore.
Sharon Weitzel
Co -Chairman, Perth
Women for the Support
of Agriculture