Times-Advocate, 1982-12-01, Page 31Sees it as way to cut feed Toss
roman�rui
hopes there's. profit in in.the bag.
makes his calculations on'
feed loss, amount of grain,
and all the other factors that
add up to a plus or a minus.
. He recalls the words of one
visitor this fall who told him
"if anyone is going tb make
money in this depression, you
will" and hopes those words
.prove prophetic.
People driving pastthe the enormous white sausages
Douglas farm next to the beside the farmhouse. Closer
church at Cromarty slow inspection would reveal a
down to have a good look at double plastic casing (outer
white layer, inner black)
stuffeu with either ground
shelled corn, whole plant
sileage or ground ear corn,
COMPLETE 18 PROJECTS— Receiving -certificates for completion of 18 4-H pro-
jects at Friday's Huron 4-H Achievement Night were 801 Gibson, Bill Kinsman and
David Townsend. T -A photo
Leadership is a rare quali- .
ty, not found in every person
nor sometimes, even -in those
who seek to be leaders.
isolation. derision; aban-
donment even, •are bat-
tlefields for leaders:.
charisma, adulation, even
adoration, are offered when
the leader is at the top. But
obscure leaders who get no
adulation are a part of the
.agricultural fabric of this
nation.
•
u,un.+r •0000c•aderd o,..00 how, ldaY Rd time. On, 041311 2C1
One of the reasons the On-
tario Milk Marketing Board
has been so successful is
because of its leaders.
When the board was form-
ed to bring order out of chaos
about 15 years ago.. George
McCullough was the man
fingered to be the chairman.
For 10 years, he labored
sometimes in obscurity,
sometimes in the limelight.
Ile showed tremendous
calmness under fire. And he
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certainlytook a great deal of
flak in the -early years. '
I. can . recall when milk
routes' were being rationaliz-
ed, some older milk . pro-
ducers were incensed when
the board told them who could
and who could not drive cer-
tain roads.
At a milk board meeting in
those -years, one of the best
producers in theprovince--an
irascible, old Scotsman-- rak-
ed every member of the
board's executive with vitroil,
sarcasm and condemnation.
The verbal attack could have
been a case of slander but the
board. led by the unflappable
George, took it in their stride.
' Some years later, that
same Scotsman apologized
.publicly at another meeting
.for his words and I'm sure the
apology was spontaneous.
The board has beenable to
attract excellent leaders since
McCullough retired.
Ken McKinnon who
represents Grey, Bruce and-
Huron Counties, stepped in as
chairman in 1977. Although
perhaps not as articulate as
McCullough, McKinnon has
been just as effective with his
calm, pragmatic approach to
problerps.
He has also proven to be an
effective. sometimes
brilliant, mediator for the
board with its producers. I
have heard him speak on a
number of occasions and he is
always patient. and
reasonable.
' Many times. other pro
vinces, even other countries,
have come to the Ontario Milk
board for advice. The board
has attracted a staff of ad-
ministrators over the years
which has been more co-
operative than almost any
other farm organization i
have ever dealt with.
They ``have also attracted
excellent representatives
from the various count les •in
Ontario. For instance,' Peter
Oosterhoff representing
Wentworth, Niagara, Haldi-
mand and Brant was re-
elected for a third term; and
Bill Schouten of Carleton,
Lanark and Renfrew will
serve his first full term.
Both these gentlemen arc
representative • of the new
breed of farmer. They carry
their dignity with them.
wherever they go and almost
every other member of the
hoard could be described in a
similar manner.
Which is not to say that.
everything is perfect.
The thorny problem of
quota prices which are
skyrocketing will have to be
solved. Group 1 pool quota
Was selling at $146.75 the last
I looked and that is 30 percent
higher than it should be if the
hoard can continue to justify
the belief that quotas should
be bought and sold.
As well, the closing of the
Silverwood plant in Peter-
borough is causing great con-
cern in the justification of
milk pickups and deliveries.
Challenges have been met
and solved before by the
()MM. With the leaders it
has, I'm convinced theywill
continue to make it the envy
of revery supply -management
board in Canada.
the end -product of 29 -year-old
Andy Douglas' Ag -Bagger.
Douglas, who runs a
300 -head beef finishing opera-
tion with father Charles and
younger brother George on
their 150 acre family farm
(plus another 71 they rent)
was disappointed with the
feed loss from the farm's pit
silo, an average of 15 percent
dry matter and ten percent
nutrition. When he saw an Ag-
Bagger for the first time at
the IPM in Lucan, he applied
his own rule for successful
farming: keep your eyes and
ears open and investigate.
The innovative machines
were introduced into Ontario.
two years ago, and Douglas
owns one of the few in this
part of the province.
The concept of storing feed
in horizontal bags rather than
in conventional upright, glass -
lined, steel, oxygen -limiting
towers originatedin Germany,
where a silo press filling long,
single layer bags ofeight
millimetre plastic eight -feet
in diameter was first
developed.
The design was further
refined in the 'U.S. The
American -manufactured, Ag -
Bagger uses a double bag 130
feet long, nine feet in
diameter, capable of storing
150_ tonnes of silage com-
pacted at up to 1.5 tohs per
running foot.
The two layers 'are a'con-
cession to North American
weather: The' outer white
plastic deflects the sun's rays
in the heat of summer, keep-
ing the contents relatively
cool. This layer should be.
peeled back part way in the
winter a few days before dig-
. ging out some feed, to expose
the heat -absorbing black -
layer to the thawing effects of
that same obliging sun. The •
double layer has another
benefit. It hides the contents
from the prying eyes of grain -
loving birds.
A recent sample of whole -
plant silage taken from the
edge of one of the bags gave
•
a pH reading 0E4.0, but Andy
will take a core sample to get
a more accurate overall
picture.
(Though the Ag -Bagger
was purchased loo late for
this year's hay crop, Douglas
is anticipating next season.
He wants to see what his
machine can do . with
haylage.)
The bags must be stored on
a cement pad` or on high
The surrounding area
s ould be kept clean so
rodents will not be attracted
to a winter feast. '
The bags, which cost $400
each, can only be used once.
Even so, "that's less than the
interest you'd pay on money
borrowed to build an upright
silo," Douglas maintains:
Each ,bag takes about an.
hour to.properly place on the
Ag -Bagger, and approximate-
ly six hours for an experienc-
ed operator to fill. One end of
the bag is knotted and sealed.
Filling begins slowly at first,
with the operator gradually
increasing the pressure.
Douglas has found the hop-
per must be fed evenly to
keep the mactline moving
away from the bag in a direct
line; one crooked bag in the
pit silo whose surface area
wouldeasilyaccommodatc two
straight ones is a constant
reminder of this. .
When the bag is filled, the
other end is sealed off, and
Douglas piles earth over it to
push out any air, protect the
seal, and 'keep 'out harmful
bacteria.
"A lot of management is in-
volved", Douglas remarked.
- "I was overfilling at first. and
didn't gain any extra space.
The bag just got shorter. '
No special equipment or
adaptations are needed with
the • machine. An ordinary
silage unloader feeds into the
Ag -Bagger hopper, and the
machine can be driven by a
50 -horse tractor with 540 rpms
on the PTO, or geared up. to
1,000 rpms with a tractor of 80
horsepower or more.
Next year Douglas will of-
fer custom service at $1,000
per bag. He is willing to teach
interested farmers to use the
Ag -Bagger themselves, and
will reduce the price accor-
dingly if someone wishes to
rent only the machine,
without hiring him or his
brother as operator.
Douglas calculates he will
soon recoup the $28,000 _pur-
chase price by eliminating
feed loss, improving feed ef-
ficiency, and getting more
pounds of beef per planted
acre.
• Andy Douglas will not know
the bottom line of the ledger
until next year, when he
AG -BAGGER — Andy Douglas puts a possessive hand on his Ag -Bagger, a storage.
system that compacts feed into horizontal plastic bags.
Huron farm and home news
Time to declare war
December 1,
Page 5A
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According : to Andy Bunn, open or in :the middle of farm equipment in the winter.
Swine .Specialist, O.M.A.F., rooms. . Why? Replacement parts for
. this is a good time of the year Baits should be placed farm machinery can be hard
to declare war on these un-' under cover whenever possi- to get. 'Suppliers of farm -
wanted guests. • - ble. A board can be- leaned machinery often have a huge
There are a number of com- against a wall to cover a backlog of parts ordered that
mercial baits available from runwway. A permanent bait haven't been delivered.
your farm supply centre. The station can be made from an - During the winter slow
placement of bait is probably inverted box with a 3",to 4" down. it is a good idea to
the most important factor in hole in each end at the floor check all your farM equip -
rat control: Ratshave regular level. Keep bait away from ment for wear. If you need a
travel routes between shelter, children, pets and other replacement part, order it
food ndt They refer livestock. Keep grain and now.
a wa erey. p
protected routes usually
along walls. under floors; or
through thick grass or litter.
Baits placed in 'rat travel
ways and shelters aretar more
likely to be found and sampl-
ed than those exposed in the
•
•
INNOVATION — Andy Douglas is storing silage and ground corn in Ag -Bags on
his family's form at RR 2 Staff,. The gate, o part of the Ag -Bagger machine. is .in
front of the bag on the right. When filled,the bags are 120 feet long, 9 feet in
diometer, and capable of storing up to 150 tonnes.
Farm assistance plan
extended for next year
The Ontario Farm Adjust-
ment Assistance Program
slated to expire December 31
will be extended for a second
year, Ontario Minister of
Agriculture and Food Dennis
Timbrell announced this
week.
Ile told producers attending
the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture annual meeting
that the Ontario Cabinet had
approved an extension of the
program until December 31,
1983.
"Because weak commodity
prices and high interest rates
persist. one year will not be
enough to achieve a turn
around in the financial posi-
tion of many pariticipaling
farmers," he said.
"In addition, the steep slide
in some prices, particularly
for cash crops, means that ad-
ditional farmers will soon
need assistance."
Since the program was an-
nounced. more than 3.000
farmers have received finan-
cial assistance through the
program's three options. The
total value of the assistance
under each option to date is
5267.768 under the interest
deferral option A; $570,894,488
under the interest rebate op-
tion B and S38.808,147 under
the loan guarantee option C.
Timbrell said that the
overall thrust of the program
will remain unchanged.
although 11 will be tempered
by t1Lc fact that interest rates
while still high by historical
standards have declined
significantly in • . recent
months.
"The farm adjustment
assistance program remains
an emergency measure.
designed as a bridge to a bet-
ter system of farm income
security."
McCann Redi-Mix Inc.
DASHWOOD, ONTARIO
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MANGERS STEPS 237-3647
SLATS - CURBS Lloyd 236.4619
• He said that the provinces
are now. asking the federal
government to join.t hem and
the producer groups 1,,
establish a voluntary. trtpar
Me. farrti • income stahilir:+
tion -program.
"'In this period financi.;;
constraint. this continued sup
port reflects Ontario's cant
mitment to preserving t.;nn
Is farm enterprises. w inch
are the foundation to our 100(1
and agriculture industry.- he
said.
mixed feed away from rats if
possible;.
-Stan Paquette, Associate
Agricultural Representative
Winter maintenance
It pays to maintain your
A careful check of your
equipment now, will help you
• avoid many frustrations that
happen with breakdowns in
the spring. -
• - Farm Safety Association.
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