The Rural Voice, 1987-09, Page 74RAINY RIVER Federation of Agriculture N EWSLETTE R
The District Fall Fair
Large crowds at the annual Rainy
River District Fall Fair at Emo enjoyed
the exhibits and midway through hot,
muggy weather, with no rain until Satur-
day night.
Once again the Rainy River Federa-
tion of Agriculture's Farm Progress
Building was one of the top attractions at
the fair. Nearly all the commodity
groups in the District participated in
Agri -Food Week in co-operation with
the local OMAF staff.
Kristine Carpenter did a tremendous
job heading up the Farm Progress
Committee, and the entire operation
functioned smoothly. Kristine received
a lot of help from Ralph and Jacquie
Hunsperger, Bill and Donna Gibson,
George and Beverly Hyatt, Linda Arm-
strong, and various others at various
times. Les Hoskins supplied a trailer
which Kristine used as her office during
the week.
The cattlemen's booth, organized by
George Hyatt, featured films and infor-
mation on satellite sales and marketing.
A VCR and TV were donated to the
Rainy River Cattlemen's Association
by Tompkin's Hardware in Emo. It was
a busy booth, visited by most District
farmers and city dwellers alike.
Bob Locking, Andy Carpenter,
Keith Neilson, and Barry Hartry were
some of the directors helping to man the
booth. The Cattlemen's Association,
however, needs more co-operation from
members when seeking volunteers.
Once again, Tom Morrish was on
hand helping at both the cattlemen's and
federation booths when needed.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Romy setup the
display booth for the Rainy River Dis-
trict Milk Committee.
Bruce Ward and his staff had a lot of
information on Agri -Food Week at the
OMAF booth.
Sifton Upland Farms had a display
featuring their freezer beef business.
Crop Check North, the Charolais
Association, and Bill Irvin's Farm
Safety Committee were among the Dis-
trict farm groups participating in Agri -
Food Week.
There were also many businesses,
both local and from Manitoba, among
the 41 booths in the Farm Progress
Building.
The Rainy River Federation of Agri -
72 THE RURAL VOICE
Box 416, Emo, Ontario POW 1E0 807-482-2051
culture booth featured pictures of local
farms, machinery, and produce, both
past and present.
Many interesting pictures of the
McCulloch, Zimmerman, Morrish,
Comell, Hunsperger, and George Hyatt
farm operations were on display.
It is hoped that more Di strict produc-
ers will become involved in this display
another year.
Once again, Bill and Donna Gibson
headed the committee setting up the
federation booth. The federation re-
ceived a great deal of help from both
members and directors this year. There
were about 20 volunteers for set-up and
to man the booth. Many volunteers find
they meet more people and friends while
in the booth than wandering around the
fairgrounds. The more people involved
in all these volunteer projects, the easier
it is for everyone.
All in all, the fair was a tremendous
success. The weather, the midway, the
displays, 4-H exhibits, square dancers,
and ball tournament all contributed.
After a long, hard week, fair board presi-
dent Ken McKinnon can be congratu-
lated on another successful year.
Federation Meeting
The Rainy River Federation of Agri-
culture held its regular monthly meeting
on Monday, August 10. President Bill
Gibson and secretary Norman Cain at-
tended, along with directors Kristine
Carpenter, Linda Armstrong, George
Hyatt, Bob Locking, Paul Heyens, Les
Hoskins, Ralph and Jacquie Hun-
sperger, and Dean Hodgson.
Work committees were established
and plans finalized for the Farm Prog-
ress Building at the Emo fair.
Problems concerning predator dam-
age in the District were discussed. A
committee of Les Hoskins, George
Hyatt, and Ralph Hunsperger is to meet
with MNR officials to discuss solutions.
An election committee of Bill Gib-
son, Allan Teeple, and Dean Hodgson
was established to present farm issues to
the three political candidates in the pro-
vincial election. The committee ar-
ranged an all -candidates meeting in
Stratton on Thursday, August 27.
Donald McCulloch, a past -president
of the RRFA and the present reeve of
Chapple, was moderator for the meet-
ing. Some of the burning issues are
predator control, insurance, high fuel
costs in northern Ontario, postal service,
and affordable interest rates for Ontario
farmers.
Seed Growers' Association
In other District news, a seed grow-
ers' association was formed in Emo on
August 6. This association hopes to
build a seed cleaning plant and encour-
age seed production by District farmers.
Interest in seed production has been
growing since the July 23 twilight meet-
ing at the Larry Lamb farm. Larry Lamb
has been producing forage seed for
about four years, and this year expanded
to oats and peas.
The Rainy River District was once
noted for forage seed production, but
eventually farmers were discouraged
because of poor marketing experiences.
Larry Lamb believes that this produc-
tion could be resumed if the District had
cleaning and marketing facilities avail-
able.
Agricultural representative Bruce
Ward thinks that forage seed production
could be combined successfully with a
cow -calf operation. Most District pro-
ducers have the experience and machin-
ery necessary for top forage production.
Little extra investment would be needed
for most cow -calf operators to expand
into forage seed production, and the
residue could be used to winter beef
cows.
Bruce Ward says there is about
1,000 acres of forage seed being pro-
duced at present, and this would be ex-
panded if opportunities increased.
District farmers are now well into
the grain harvest, and as of fair time, the
weather was co-operative. Yields are
running from poor to average to excel-
lent. The dry weather combined with
the spotty rain showers have given Dis-
trict farmers varying crop production.
Some top yields have been reported by
Jack vandenBrand, Gerald Gouliquer,
and Cornie Fehr, all in the more central
area of the District.
As Stratton sale time approaches,
calf prices are once again looking astro-
nomical. Cow -calf producers are view-
ing the future with optimism.
With good weather, good crops, and
good calf prices, 1987 is turning out to
be a good year in the Rainy River Dis-
trict.0
Dean Hodgson