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Times-Advocate, 1982-08-25, Page 9•. l• .. , . s: s- • KONGSKILDE DEALER DAY - Dealers from Ontario and the statesof New York attended a Kongskilde Farm Machinery demonstration Wednesday at the Charles Kernick farm in Usborne township. Kongskilde president John Burke said more than 60 dealers were in attendance. Above, sales representative Gerry Smith ex- plains workings of one ole the machines to the visitors. 4. The debt the rest of Canada owes to the agricultural com- munity is beyond comprehension. In Aisa, for example, one farm worker produced an average of 44,000 pounds of food crops last year. In Russia, a farm worker managed to produce. 33,000 pounds of food. Sounds good? The average Canadian farmer annually supplies 375,000 pounds of food, more than 10 times that of his Rus- sian counterpart. It has been long established that the Rus- sian farmer on his private plot produces far more than the communal farms. Which is why the Canadian farmer has become so efficient. He produces on his own land, us- ing his own equipment arid risking his own money. Without this exceptional production capacity, Cana- dian would be importing far more food than they do. Even then, we import too much but that is another story. Canadians have been proud of the fact that our' factories croduce a great many goods but productivity growth in farming has been five times greater than the non-farm sector in the last five to 10 years. Yet some publications, especially the large metropolitan newspapers, constantly refer to farmers as not being able to keep up with the technological and produc- tion advances of other major industries. ' Why farmers get tarred with this unproductive brush is beyond me. All that is necessary is to look at the pro- ductivity figures. One Cana- dian farmer supplies enough. food to feed about 70 people. Thirty years ago, one farmer fed approximately 16 people. Eighty years ago, one farmer produced enough food for about five people. Who could, in all fairness, suggest that the Canadian farmer is not producing as much or more than his city counterpart? What sets the farmer aside, what makes him/her dif- ferent from any other pro- ducer is his/her investment. The factory worker has little or no investment in a job; that is, no investment in land, buildings or equipment. But that factory worker makes, on average, more than a farmer. The factory worker has not made an investment; his employer has made the in- vestment. But the farmers in Canada have invested more than 8115 billion, most of it in land. It is Canada's largest in- dustry. It has been said by bne lo�t in furrow' by�ac better economists than me that if you were to group together the assets of the top 20 industrial corporations in Canada, the total figure would still fall short of what Cana- dian farmers have invested to produce food and fibre. So when farm leaders sug- gest that farming is different and that farmers should be • • - . . • le • . •. . • Huron farm and home news Times -Advocate, August 25,1982 Page 9 ReViewlngthe 1982 wheat harvest field basis./ Johi' Heard, Assistant Agricultural Rep. This year's winter wheat cent to 15 percent. That's harvest is flow complete. In eneral;;the quality was quite ood with yieldsdown 5 per - history and now you have to plan for next year. There were on farm wheat demonstrations this year, but the weather has reduced most of the trials. One interesting demonstration was done by. Hibbert Soil and Crop Direc- tor, Jim McLagan. He was trying two met ods of nitrogen application. He was 'comparing a conven- tional spring nitrogen method to fall applied anhydrous. This fall applied anhydrous has a nitrogen inhibitor ( N - serve) added to the anhydrous. This product held the nitrogen in a form that was. not lost over winter. The results - the winter wheat with anhydrous, fall applied was just as good as where am- monium nitrate was applied this spring. These results were similar to those obtain- ed by Don Lobb and Jack MacGregor from Huron County in 1981. The advantages of this system include an inexpen- sive source of N, even ap- plication of nitrogen and one more job done in the fall. The obvious disadvantage is tying your money up for an extra six months. Wheat Varieties Fredrick still appears to be the best. Many of the side by side comparisons of Fredrick and Favor were lost last winter. However, again Jim McLagan had a comparison where the two'yielded about the same. Dennis Dow had one field of 50 percent Fredrick and 50 percent Gor- don mix. This mix yielded a bit better than Fredrick and only about one pound less in bushel weight. The theory of a Fredrick plus another varie- ty mix is to gain some yield of the other variety, but still Maintain an acceptable bushel .weight. Houser is a new variety be- ing promoted by W.G. Thompson's. In the individual fields in'1uckersmith, Huliet and McKillop it yielded quite well. Most of these fields were seed fields so were treated better than average. I have heard reports of 70 to 85 bushels per acre of this varie. ty in some' of these fields. Houser is shorter than Fredrick. It also has awns which is rumored to make Letters ire apprecuNM by Bob Troller Miele Rd Elmira Ont N30 2C 7 dp treated in a different manner from other sectors of the economy, they are not just whistling in the wing. They have a great deal to be proud of. They are different and should be given some favors. When it is suggested that the rest of the country can not allow subsidies, for instance, for farmers, to be paid forever out of the public purse, perhaps those detrac- tors should look around and be grateful for what agriculture has done and will continue to do. Farmers are a precious resource and should be treated that way. They are different. They are special. • KONGSKILDE DEALER DAY --- Dealers from Ontario and the state of New York attended a Kongskilde Farm Machinery demonstration Wednesday at the Charles Kernick farm in Usborne township. Kongskilde president John Burke said more than 60 dealers were in attendance. Above, sales representative Lawrence- Amos ex- plains workings of one of the machines to the visitors. Study indicatessmaller was better for pig setup By Rob Lindsay Twenty-three farrow -to - finish hog farms were sum- marized in 1981. When sorted by sow numbers it turned out there were 15 farms with less than 85 sows and 8 farms with greater than 85 sows. For analysis purposes, let's name the less -than -85 group `LT85' and, similarly, the greater -than -85 group 'GT 85'. When averaged, the LT85 group had 56 sows while the GT85 group had 113 sows - almost exactly double. Interestingly, it is the LT85 group which made more money on both a net cash in- come basis and on a net farm income basis. (The difference between these two figures is the non-cash expense of depreciation_ and the non-cash adjustment for inventory change in swifts and cther livestock, and feeds, crops and supplies). The Value of Farm Produc- tion Production figures in- dicate that the GT85 group is only 13 larger than the LT85 group despite the fact that it has twice the number of sows. Value of Farm Production is another economic indicator, calculated by subtracting swine purchases and feed purchases from gross farm income.) Each group has nearly $300,000 of equity in the business but the ,GT85 group controls 8112,000 more in assets. This $112,000 dif- ference in assets consists of 2. main items - building and livestock. The investment in machinery and equipment is about the same for both groups, as one might have ex- pected since acreages are also similar. On a per sow basis, the LT85 group produced 14.5 pigs vs the GT85 group which pro- duced 14.1 pigs. Of note here is the fact that the LT85 group marketed 14.2 hogs and .3 weaners, as opposed to the GT85 group which marketed . only 13.0 market hogs per sow and 1.1 weaners. In addition, the LT85 group were able to achieve an average sale price per market hog of 82.00 more than the G'r85 group. Individual expense items can be compared relative to the value of farm production. For example, interest as a percent of value of farm pro- duction for the LT85 group amounted to 20.4 percent. But s - CANNERS BUSY - The 1982 sweet Canadian Conners plant in Exeter. • packing season is well underway at the T -A photo interest was 32.4 percent of V.F.P. for the GT85 group. The larger percentage of in- terest for the GT85 group helps to explain why this group has lower net income. Normally, larger farms need more labour to handle the workload and this is the case here as shown by the number of 'man equivalents' available - 1.2 for the LT85 group and 1.8 for the GT85 group. The expense for 'wages and salaries' also shows this fact. The hired labour item constitutes 6.9 percent of the value of farm production for the larger farms but only 1.4 percent for the LT85 group. What can we conclude from all this? Bearing in mind that there were only 23 farrow -to - finish farms in the study, it would appear that in 1981 the • smaller operations were bet- ter off than their larger counterparts. They had higher net farm incomes, more hogs produced per sow (with more income per hog), and less debt on the whole farm. Houser more prone to sprouting. Sprouting was not a problem this year. I am not suggesting that you should plant only Houser. Fredrick will still be our main wheat. But, Houser is another new variety that deserves a look. Seed Wheat' As I write this there are many backroom negotiations about the price of seed wheat. Sensitive compromise is trying to be negotiated. It must be high enough to com- pensate the seed growers, but not too high to discourage commercial producers from buying pedigree seed. Now as always pedigree seed is a wise investment. However, 1 know some of you will sow your own or your neighbours uninspected seed. If you do, make sure it is treated. It should be treated with a fungicide containing thiram, maneb or metiram. Probably the most common fungicide for this job is Vitaflo 280. Generally pedigree seed is treated with a fungicide. This treatment makes pedigree seed worth the premium price. Some of the seed trade has switched to Vitaflo 280 from Vitaflo 250. The 280 has thiram which pr-ptects the_ plants from seedling blights and fusarium. However, 280 has less vitavax than 250. The vitavax is responsible for con- trolling loose smut. The 280 may not control loose smut. Recently loose smut has not been as great a problem as fusarium and some of the other blights. This is a logical compromise to make = use the Vitaflo 280 instead of the 250. In the future you may be able to have the benefits of both of these seed treatments. Fungicides protect wheat plants from some of the seedl- ing blights. These diseases are especially bad in fields with a long history of wheat. Because bf these diseases wheat should not be planted after wheat or after barley that is following wheat, Planting Dates There was a tendency a couple of years ago to inten- tionally delay wheat planting until late October. This resulted from a number of farmers having exceptional SEAMLESS EAVESTROUGH °n" Ste"SIDING Ask About Our SAVINGS • St•lco Shutters • The energy window • Aluminum Storm roll shutters System Doors & Windows • Renovations General • Aluminum Awnings Construction FREE ESTIMATES JIM BEAKER CONSTRUCTION DASHWOOD 237-3526 ct the co-opera/0A - INSURANCE SERVICES * LIFE * NOME * AUTO * FARM * COMMERCIAL 1 Call Verna Gingerich Bus. 235.1109 Res. 235-1109 32 Nelson St. McCann Redi-Mix Inc. DASHWOOD, ONTARIO ALL TYPES OF CONCRETE WORK REDI-MIX CONCRETE & FORMWORK PRECAST PRODUCTS DEALER Phone Office 237-3647 MANGERS STEPS SLATS CURBS Lloyd 236-4819 FOR SALE Plough Match Display Buildings 1 - 40' x 80' Pole Type Building (0 P A Headquarters Budding) 1 - 24' x 32' Pole Type Utility Budding (Agri-Utban Display Building) (W111 Ss wilt Wook of August 16th) ATTRACTIVE IISCOMNTS Buy Now. Have Your Choice of Colours 8 Options. Contact: AGRI.URBAN BUILDINGS INC. • 160 Man St ftcs' n Onta S Or Co Collet r , 5 wheat yields when they were forced to plant wheat late one year. There have been numerous on-farm trials of different seeding dates. These have generally confirmed research on planting dates. Summarized they indicated that wheat should be sown in Perth and Huron during late September to early October. Later seeding is successful, . but some yield is sacrificed. Aerial seeding Aerial seeding is a fairly new technique being pro- moted especially. in Oxford and Lambton counties. The wheat seed is flown into soy- bean fields just before the soybean plants drop their leaves. The mulch of the soybean leaves appears to hold enough moisture to allow the wheat to establish. The seeding rate has been at about three bushels per acre (200 kg./ha.). I have heard documented yields of over sixty bushels per acre on a Best interest 16/4% We represent many Trust Companies. We ore often able to ar- range for the highest interest being of- fered on Guaranteed Investment Certificates 'subject to ,chat Te 6aiserekasale insurance Brokers Inc. EXETER 235=2420 GRAND BEND 238-8484 CLINTON GODERICH 482-9747 524-2118. WANTED Corn & Bean Growers Join us for a tour of our corn. soya and white bean plots. on Tues. Aug. 31, 1982 from 2-8 p.m. at BILL BELL'S FARM '/2 mile south of Hensel) Rain Date: Wed., Sept. 1 W.G. Thompson & Sons Ltd. IttioINIUTRITE MC SIIIAGI N;,T�ADOITIVI This UREA -BASED . MINERAL PACKAGE is formulated to boost the, . protein of corn silage 3% and balance out the mineral content to fit the animal's needs. I Except for vitamins, it makes a COM • - PLETE FEED out of your silage at a frac- tion of the cost of most other systems. YOU CAN SAVE SO .1O/HEAD/DAY or better. FLEXIBILITY: can. be applied' at either ensilage or feeding time. SPEED RATE OF. GAIN, . REDUCE HEATING, EXTEND BUNK LIFE, REDUCE MINERAL COSTS. 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(Joiner Cattle Feeders Incl John runs a beef lot lust outside of Ayr He now has proof N.S.A. works and has lowered his feed cost Three trials were made and here's the proof Type of Cattle - Hereford Average piny Days Lw or Lbs or Gem on treed Oran gsIn Stlege gain 2 5 115 5.3 12 Number of H.0 a l 11.0 Head 182 119 Head 298 86 59 7 .3 86 Head 22 128 54 12 Average of the three trials was 2 56 pounds daily gain Additive cost 09C ped head per day N.S.A. added at feeding .time Contact your local Nutrite rep for early booking Elmira 669-5401 Welland 735.5563 Hanover 364.2060 (Or o dealer in your urea) NUTRITE INC. td- 05 .40gtui � ltA NUTRITE 41' ti 1 '414.4g 00i%