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Times-Advocate, 1982-03-31, Page 21Chinch is involved i'he United Church is responding to the many fanners looking to it for help as their financial plight worsens, according to an ar- ticle in the February issue of The United Church Observer. A special task force in Hamilton Conference of the United Church has examined agricultural problems and urged the federal and On- tario governments to help farmers suffering from high interest rates. The task force was criticized by people who don't think the church should directly lobby the govern- ment. To that, the Rev. Allen McDowell, a member of the task force, says "Of course it's not the church's business as long as the church is willing to stay within four walls; (but) wherever there Is injustice, the church has need to speak with clarity. I do not think the church can close Its eyes to what's going on." McDowell, who serves a two-point charge in rural On: tarso; ministers to a diverse group including angry farmers who have formed vigilante groups, well- established •farmers weathering the storm with minor difficulties, and bank- ing officials who have or will foreclose on some farm operations. Cecil R Squire Sales & Service Repair Shop Equipment 92 Waterloo St. Exeter 235-0465 • HIGHEST SCORE IN SECOND DRAW - The Exeter Curling Club finished the season on Saturday with the mixed bonspiel. The top team in the second draw was, from left to right, Murray and Beatrice Dawson, and Jerry and Ann Gray. • ^ 1 It comes every year as the wonder of wonders. The snow, although heaped and piled and blown and dirty, has met the enemy, the inexorable heat of the spring sun, and everything comes slowly to life. Those of us who live close to the soil could bend, kneel and touch our brows to the bare soil. It seems so exciting to see it uncovered again. Why are so many people in this social structure of ours ashamed of the earth? To those in fine raiment, it seems Indelicate, the good common coarseness of earth. Instead of seeking an association with earth which - Is the renewal of life every year, we devise methods to Home a ,rd ware Swift Feed • Delivery, Bagged & Bulk - Bulk 40% $oyb�eai Meal Deliver - Home and Cottage Estimating - Fertilizer Blending and Delivery - •Chemical Sales - Beauti-Tone Paint Mixing - Glass Cutting - Pipe. Threading - Soil Analysis CENTRALIA FARMERS SUPPLY Centralia Phone 228-6638 $2.00 Off Power Pack Dog Food Until April 3 If other lenders are giving you the run-around, come straight \ti to us. See us at The Devon Building, Exeter, Ontario REPRESENTATIVE: Rob Swim ON: The 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each Month (Next Visit Date): April 6 We're FBDB, and our mandate is to support and encourage businesses in expansion and development. We offer financing, counselling, management training, plus information on government assistance programs for business. So come see us. FEDERAL BUSINESS BANQUE FEDERALE DEVELOPMENT BANK DE DEVELOPPEMENT Your success is our only business. For an appointment for further Infor- mation on the Bank's services call 271- S650 (collect) or write 1036 Ontario ' St., Stratford, Ontario (,aila(ri ne foot in the furrow' tip f.....pr.i.wd ,sar,ot* EWW Ib Ins() 147112C, obliterate it. We cover It wi concrete and asphalt though ashamed to have stick to our shoes, let alo our hands. The spring runoff gurgl through the ditches. crows are calling and the robins are back: At least, braver members of t flocks are chirping on ground as the snow recede The moist, cool'freshn of the air renews the ve marrow of the bones. Assuredly, this is a r time of year: fine, sparkling spring weathe The sap is running in th ample bushes but that is no all that is happening. There is plenty of life in the woods The young skunks- are i their burrows and th squirrels are busy tending their new families. The raccoons have bee scurrying about at night fo two or three weeks. Underneath what is left the snow there is a veritabl city. You can see the "streets" in the ground when the snow melts. They are the channels used by the mic throughout the winter, jtis as complicated -as th overpasses, underpasses and cloverleafs along Highway th But spring affects the as farmer more than any group it of people in our society. I ne remember my grandfather - we called him Grumpy es because he was gruff on the The outside and tender inside - would walk across the the muddy fields in early spring,tu he smelling the air and actually the feeling the ground. s. He was a born farmer. and ess had an instinct that told him Ty when to plow and when to plant. Neighbors in the area oyal would watch to see when•old coo 1, ' W.W. would start plowing his r. gardens. He knew when to e plant just by smelling the t air, he said. He knew if a sudden storm was coming. He just knew. n It is a thrill for farmers to e get on the land, to start another year in the great and n glorious cycle ordained by c ✓ Itfs easy for. me to un- derstand why farmers, as a a of group, are more honest and t e genuine than almost any a other in the nation. All the more reason I think, that their plight should e be studied and understood by t the rest of the nation. e la h SS c ba Huron farm and home news Timis -Advocate, March 31,'1982 Rage 21 Attitude can affect crop yields Many farmers are phoni in asking about the March 3 deadline for the retroactivit part of the 5 percent interes subsidy. Good news! Thi deadline has been extended until June 30. This means that a person applying for the interest sub sidy can have it apply to the 12 month period from the date of application or can ask to have it apply tothe 12 month period starting January 1, 1982 to December 31, 1982. This is providing the applica- tion is in, by June 30, 1982 and that you specifically ask for it. It gives you a choice to get the subsidy on the period of time you are paying interest on the most bank debt at a floating rate. • D. Pullen, Agricultural Representative Attktude affects crop yields Once upon a time there was a hotdog salesman named Doug. Over the years Doug worked hard and efficiently. He increased' his business from a smallhotdogcartto an outdoor booth, to an all - season buildigg. Doug used all. the techniques to increase his business. He was friendly; he advertised; he ordered the right amount of buns . and wieners; and always served fresh products. Soon Doug's business -expanded so he needed a partner. At the time there was a man named Bill who worked for the government. But the people were demanding government cutbacks because of recession. This man had been "cut back" and now needed a job. By and by Doug hired Bill. After Bill was hired he told Doug how hard times were. He told Doug that people were suffering and cutting back. The more Bill talked about bad times the more Doug belie ed that times were hard. Doug decided if times were so bad be should start utting back on his supplies. Buy cheaper (week old) buns nd cheaper (smaller, more fat) wieners. He also started o add water to the mustard nd ketchup. Before . long Doug's \ business changed. The hotdog tand started to lose ustomers. First Doug had to i y Bill off and eventually sell is hotdog stand. Bill's Predidtons had come true. He onvinced Doug things were. d and thene der bad. I can see Perth and uron county corn yields llowing a similar pattern. ou are expecting poor prices ng and a poor crop and will tree 1 your crop that way. In fact, I y will predict now that the 1982 t corn yield will be below the s 1981 corn yield. (This is a fair- ly safe prediction since we had extraordinary yields in 1981). However, 1982 corn - yields will be down. The size of this yield reduction will de- pend mostly on the attitude of the people who plant it. If you expect a poor crop you will get a poor crop. You will cut back on the inputs - especial- ly herbicides and this will lower your yield. This herbicide cutback can affect your yields moreso than a fertilizer cutback. If you are applying more than 40 kg./ha. of Phosphorous or 60 kg./ha. of Potash you can safely cut back on P & K without a drastic yield reduc- tion. Of course, if you soil test but that's another story, You see, the first dollar you spend on fertilizer gives you your highest return. Each dollar after that gives you a slightly lower return. You eventually reach a point where one dollar spent on fer- tilizer returns you one dollar of crop. Herbicides are different. You have to spend a certain number of dollars per acre to get any return. For instance, if you need two litres/acre of herbicide and you apply one. and three-quarters litre per acre you will not have satisfactory weed control. That last quarter litre per acre could make the dif- ference between 75 and 100 bushels/acre. The botton line is -- don't reduce those her- biciderates. Alternatives to reducing crop inputs If you are tempted to reduce inputs because of financing there is another alternative. Use the money you have to buy sufficient materials for so many acres. The land that you can not buy sufficient materials for; rent it out or share crop it. You will make more money that way. The other alternative is just not to plant a percentage of your acreage. If you have 100 acres and only enough money, to buy supplies for 75 acres you will make more by leav- ng 25 acres unseeded. Or seed it to red clover for ploughdown. Save 2-3 percent on your pesticide bill I recently read an article front'the U:S.' bn'ttte amount of chemical left in pesticide containers. There were soine containers with a • lot' of t pesticides left. The averag amount was 2-3 percent of the chemical still in the contai when it was thrown out. Yo can get most of this chemica by rinsing all containers times with clean water before you throw them out. These containers are then con sidered safe to be taken to a land fill site. Pat Lynch, Soil and Crops Specialist and John Heard, Assistant Agr. Rep. e ed, then the petition is valid and it may be filed with the ne 401. \ Ate, whole psiglborhopd poises with 'action and life The horses seem full of extra vigor when they can get through the muck -and -mud of the barnyard corral. The colt, patchy and ratty - looking as he sheds his winter coat, is showing signs of becoming the thick - necked, broad -backed quarterhorse we hoped for when he came Into the world less than a year ago. Spring is gainingbut winter does not leave without a fight. Night frosts and late flurries of snow - sometimes even a major storm - reminds us that winter is a powerful force. But never too powerful for spring. Summer is sweet'and fall is a beautiful time of year but spring seems to bring out the best in all of us. • The popularity of maple syrup festivals is an in- dication that the newness of spring even touches those who have been spending the winter at other things. The big boom began in Elmira 17 years ago and now a dozen or more towns and villages across the country have carried on the idea. To d C coins'' " ing H fo The topic of the April Y Huron County Federation of Agriculture- monthly meeting will be 'Farm Energy Conservation'. Itwill be held April 1 at 8:30 p.m. at the Huron Centennial School south of Brucefield on high- way 4. The guest speaker is Helmut Spieser, OMAF Energy Specialist from Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology. He will present a slide presentation on energy conservation on the farm and provide information on ,the different grants available to farmers to promote energy con- servation. Tony McQuail, HCFA first vice-president and chairman of the Foodland Hydro Committee will present an update on the Consolidated Hearings currently going on in Stratford about the Hydro Corridor proposed from the BNPD. The farm groups made their presentations to the Board on March on 22 and 23. Everyone is invited. KJ M WE'RE JUST BEGINNING Our 14th Year of Business WE NEED YOUR JOB We're Back CONSTRUCTING: - Farm Buildings - House Additions - Renovations or Repairs WE'RE STILL - Eavestroughing - including cleaning or repair instal siding, soffits, windows doors, awnings, etc. SPECIAL 10% off 1981 prices For Eavestrough until April 10, 1982 KEN MCCANN ENTERPRISES LTD. RR 2 Crediton, Ontario Phone 234-6401 r clerk of the local u municipality. 1 The Drainage Act states 3 that a road superintendent or the Director of the Foodlarid Development Branch can in- - itiate a petition, but these two ways are very seldom used. • From this point, the clerk of the local municipality will handle the paper work in- volved, the hiring of an engineer to make out the revrt and the collection of paaAnents. There is a 3313% grant paid by the Provincial Govern- . ment with no maximumon a municipal drain. If neither of these approaches work - there is a third way of acquiring an outlet through a neighbour's Drainage law In a previous article. I discussed water rights per- taining to surface water and underground water., If you need an outlet for drainage water there are basically three ways of achieving this. 1) An Agreement Drain. 2) A Municipal Drain. 3) A Requisi tion Drain. If there are three or less farmers involved an agreement drain is sometimes the answer. If everyone can agree on the route this tile will take, the tile size and if a suitable breakdown of costs can be worked out; then an agree- ment form can be filled out,. filed with the Registry Office and becomes binding upon each party. This is the fastest way of obtaining an outlet. Although, if there are three or more people involved it sometimes becomes difficult to reach an equitable settlement. One landowner usually becomes the treasurer and is therefore saddled with the sometimes unpleasant task of collecting money from other parties. If one landowner refuses to pay it can turn into a nhsty situation. A municipal drain can solve a lot of these problems. There are four ways to get a municipal drain started. The Petition must be sign- ed by:, l) The majority of peo- ple in the watershed. 2) The 'people with 60 percent of the acreage. 3) A road superintendant. 4) The Director. A landowner should go to the clerk of his 'municipality and pick up a petition form. After defermining the total area of the watershed con- tributing to this drain, the lan- downer should .then take this form to his neighbours in the watershed and ask them to sign it therefore stating that they wish an outlet. If after visiting everyone in the watershed the majority of owners have signed the peti- tion or the owners owning 60 percent of the land have sign - property. This is called re- quisition drain. A requisition drain could be used where a neighbour will not go along with the above two procedures. The landowner requiring drainage would deposit $300.00 with the clerk of his municipality. The clerk will appoint an engineer to maize an examination of the area and to, make a preliminary report. If the engineer deems that the drain is necessary, the drain will go through much the same as it would a municipal drain, although there are limitations. Only lands lying within 2500 feet from the sides of the drainage work and land lying within Please turn to page 23 Keep Farming Profitable Corn Production MEETING Centralia College Huron Park Huron Hall Wednesday, April 7, 1982 10:15 a.m. 10:15 - Coffee 10:45 - NK Jim Davis - Keep Farming Profitable Niagara Chemicals - Micro Nutrients Chipman Chemicals - Weed & Insect Control \ HOT LUNCH 1:15 - Bob Forest - Use of Plowdown Clovers Pat Lynch - Problems in Corn Production Merrill Lynch - Corn Marketing To enable reservations for lunch, please confirm your ,intentions with your local dealer by April 3, 1942. Durk Bakker 235-0192 Elwyn Kerslake 229-6132 Gordon . Scott 234-6751 iagara 9 LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU THERE. WHEAT GROWERS Spring is fast approaching NITRATE? UREA?or 28%? We can help!! • CUSTOM APPLICATION: WE ARE EQUIPPED WITH 10 FLOATER UNITS available to you through MITCHELL, HEN- SALL, GRANTON, & PORT ALBERT. Each unit is capable of doing UP TO 500 ACRES PER DAY. • Nwowheat is the time to make arrangements for Nitrogen Application to your • Custom Application • or use a Rental Spreader • Apply Nitrogen or have it mixed with clover or grass seed. The choice is yours. "We have almost 60 years experience serving farmers" "Let us serve all your 1982 crop needs" It E S SEE D S Mitchell 348-8433 Hensall 262-2327 Granton 225-2360 Port Albert 329-7700 or 529-7135