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THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1998. PAGE A-15.
Agriculture '98
Ontario's dairy farmers reach out to help own
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
It was a story of coping with a
difficulty, of neighbour helping
neighbour and strangers doing any-
thing they could.
When the ice storm hit eastern
Ontario and southern Quebec in
January, the tales of more than a
million people without hydro was
the top story on the nightly news
for weeks.
However, the difficulties faced
by dairy farmers across the region
were not so well publicized. To a
degree, it was left to those in the
agricultural industrial to help their
own.
With 2,000 producers (one-quar-
Berettas
look
to future
CONTINUED FROM .\-14
into that."
Hoping that the farm and
Berettas Butcher Shop will be
something that he can offer his
children in the future, Mike again
credits the Mennonite community
for its insight.
"In terms of sustainable agricul-
ture I believe to be truly sustainable
means passing it on to the next gen-
eration. I think that's key to what
we're trying to do. There the Men-
nonites have most of us beat."
ter to one-third of Ontario's dairy
farmers) out of production for vary-
ing lengths of time, the province
lost 1.5 million litres of milk.
Approximately 700,000 litres were
dumped because of poor quality or
there was nowhere to process it into
the dry product, said John Core,
chair of the Dairy Farmers of
Ontario, at a meeting of Huron
County producers, in Brussels, Feb.
23.
When the power grid went down,
it took two of Ontario's major milk
processors, a plant at Winchester,
which handles 600,000 litres per•
day and another at Ingleside which
takes in three- quarters of that.
The first blast of ice hit on a
Tuesday with the second coming
on Thursday.
The situation deteriorated as stor-
age space for milk rapidly filled.
By Sunday morning, producers
began sending milk to Michigan for
processing.
By Harold House, Engineer
Beef and Dairy Structures and
Equipment
While Ontario dairy producers
continue to build new free stall
barns, new options for bedding,
milking, manure handling, and
virtually every aspect of barn
design are making open houses an
increasingly popular event.
"The barns are probably less
uniform today than a few years
ago", according to Jack Rodenburg,
OMAFRA's dairy systems
specialist. Rodenburg thinks that as
they gain more experience with
free stall housing, dairy producers
and contractors are less reluctant to
try new ideas which address
problems and preferences.
Some projects focus on a low
cost approach, with the option of
spending more later. Others look
for maximum cow comfort and
minimum labour with less concern
for cost. New developments, such
as sand bedding, sand manure
separation, lower cost swing
parlours, special areas for transition
cows, robotics, portable double
bunker walls and farmstead
planning based on nutrient
management are also influencing
new barn design.
These and more conventional
design concepts will be discussed
at OMAFRA's free stall design
seminar , in Woodstock, March 24
and 25. This runs from 10 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. and is designed for dairy
producers who plan to build in the
next three or four years.
A separate seminar for engineer-
The usual back up location of
plants in Quebec and northern New
York state had been affected by the
same storm.
There was a plan in place for
trucks to head for Indiana Sunday
afternoon, but fortunately, the
ing consultants, contractors, and
barn and milking equipment
suppliers will be held in Wood-
stock, March 26 and 27, 9 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Those who complete the
course will be listed in OMAFRA
free stall housing manuals.
Registration is $75 per person
and includes a course manual, and
Winchester plant came back on
line, said Core.
Core thanked local farmers for
their contributions of generators
which helped pull eastern Ontario
dairy farmers through/ trying days.
lunch. The OMAFRA Office in
Woodstock, 519-537-6621, has
more details.
This is the fourth year that
OMAFRA specialists have led
these practical seminars. Based on
the comments, the programs have
helped many producers develop
well planned and efficient facilities.
Expanding
From farm to consumer, Mike and Cynthia Beretta are
involved in all aspects of the meat business from their
own livestock operation to their recent opeing of Beretta's
Butcher Shop in Brussels.
Free stall seminars to
explore design options