The Rural Voice, 1988-03, Page 491
1
NEWS
HARD TIMES TEACH
HARD LESSONS
Whether it's to hold on to an ideal or
to let go of a dream, farmers in financial
trouble need to be courageous.
This was the message brought by
four speakers at one of the recent Faith
and Agriculture talks organized by the
Christian Farmers Federation of On-
tario: a lay preacher who lost his farm,
a farmer who almost lost his, a farmer
who drastically changed his approach to
farming, and a missionary to Latin
America.
TROUBLES INCREASE TOLERANCE
John King, a lay preacher in the
United Church, told an audience of two
dozen people in Guelph how he actually
held two mortgages on his farm. One
was with a financial institution. The
other was with family history.
King's farm was hit by the tornado
that ripped through Oxford County in
1979. It took his barn and the orchard of
120 trees on which he had set his hopes
for the future. His father urged him to
rebuild the barn exactly as it had been
for generations. He also urged King to
stick with outdated farming methods,
appeals that were hard to resist.
King recalled that before his troub-
les he was often intolerant of others who
didn't make it, but his economic prob-
lems made him much more tolerant.
MAKING ENDS MEET
Wally Zomer had a dream. He
wanted to be his own boss. To that end,
he bought a greenhouse with surplus
acreage which he was going to develop
into a nursery.
But the tomatoes produced at a loss,
the nursery took more investment than
the cucumbers could supply, and debts
slowly piled up. Zomer couldn't get
help from govemment. He couldn't
sever a lot which would have paid off the
bank. All the experts told him he was
finished.
Then there was the gossip: "It must
be your own fault," people said.
To make the payments on the mort-
gage, Zomer said he decided to rent out
the greenhouse. He also took apart -time
job while building up the nursery.
Today, he is holding on with just enough
(cont'd on following page)
FARM SAFETY
FACTS
from
West
Wawanosh
Mutual Insurance
BACK INJURIES account for
nearly 20% of all agricultural
injuries in Ontario.
SAFETY TIPS:
• Position the feet for balance
• Bend the knees: DO NOT STOOP
• Keep the back straight
• Grip the Toad with the palms of the
hands and the fingers
• Lift by pushing up with the legs
• Do not twist the body
When you need Insurance call:
Frank Foran, R.R. 2, Lucknow
Lyons 8 Mulhern, 46 West St.. Goderich....
Kenneth B. MacLean. R.R. 2, Paisley
John Nixon, R.R. 5, Brussels
Donald R. Simpson, R.R. 3. Godedch
Delmar Sproul, R.R. 3. Auburn
Laura Carnpbell. Brussels
Slade Insurance Brokers Inc.
Kincardine
528-3924
524-2664
368-7537
887.9417
529-7',67
529-7273
887.9051
396-9513
Dungannon, Ont. NOM 1R0 (519) 529-7922
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MARCH 1988 47