Times-Advocate, 1984-04-11, Page 16Page 4A
Times -Advocate, April 11, 1984
CAN CROP GROWERS MEET — The guest speaker at Friday's annual meeting of the Huron -Perth Can Crop
Growers Association was journalist Gisele Ireland. Above, she chats with provincial director Harry Dougall,
Exeter Canners manager Joe Rider and association president Bill Opnham and vice-president Murray Keyes.
When is a bus driver a
farmer...or when is a farmer
a bus driver? When is a
farmer a farmer?
That is a question being
answered by Revenue
Canada these days. 1t is also
a question the federation of
agriculture has been trying to
answer for about 20 years
without much success.
Revenue Canada, in its in-
finite wisdom and typical
high-handedness, is telling a
good many people whether or
not they are farmers.
Meet my friends, Jim Mar-
tin. He has been raising hogs
for eight years. He is also a
bus driver: Ile has, in fact,
made more money as a bus
driver than he has as a pork
p{oducer. Right now, he .is
running scared.
"Look, all my life. 'I've
wanted to be a farmer," he
says. "I did not geta farm left
to me. I started small and ex-
panded when I had the
money. I have, fortunately,
escaped the high interest
rates because I have
desperately tried to stay out
of debt. I have used my
regular salary to build the hog
business.
"I figure there's three ways
to become a farmer: You can
have a spread left to you. You
can scrape up a down pay-
ment and go into deep, deep
debt and then scream to the
government for help. Or you
can start small, keep a
regular job and .build your
place ovet the years. I opted
for the last method and now
I'm scared."
Why? Because Revenue
Canada is systematically
searching out people like Jim
Martin and reassessing them.
One of Jim's nieghbors got
whomped with a $7,800 tax bill
under Section 31 of the In-
come Tax Act, a section that
says a taxpayer who has a
"sideline" agricultural opera-
tion cannot write off more
than $5,000 in annual losses
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ICULTURAL EQWPIMENT
V.L. Becker & Sons Ltd,
Dashwood
Sales &
Service
Letters ate appkeoated by Bob Tames Etd.Ie Rd EtrmN Ont N38 2C7
Harry Zwerver, executive
director of the 26,000 -member
Ontario Federation of
Agriculture, suggests that the
tax department should
recognize that it takes tim
get into farming and those
who want to get into it should
be given every
encouragement.
Most farmers will readily
agree that the present system
contains some generous
breaks for farmers, par-
ticularly the right to use the
cash method of accounting
rather than the accrual
method.
What the tax system needs,
though, is some up -dating.
The $5,000 limit has been in
existence since 1951. To keep
pace with inflation, it should
be around $20,000. That would
help a little.
The immediate need is for
a clearer idea of who is a
legitimate farmer and who
isn't. It takes more than some
city -horn tax official mar-
ching in and kicking struggl-
ing farmers, off the land.
from his farm.
"It could break me," he
says. "All I want to do is build
up this place and, someday,
become a full-time farmer. I
love animals. I love the land.
So does my wife. And the kids
love it here, too, but I could be
out of business if these tax
guys get me. I sure don't look
forward to being a bus driver
the rest of my life."
Revenue Canada's inter-
pretation of Section 31 is one
of the hottest issues among
farmers these days. It must
be pointed out that the section
has been abused by some peo-.
ple. More affluent citizens
buy a farm and deliberately
run it at a loss to save income
taxes. Hobby farmers, they
are, who will never become
full-time farmers.
Finance Minister Marc
Lalonde plans to set up a con-
sultative group to study Sec-
tion 31. The revenue depart-
ment says it is merely enfor-
cing the lavas it stands and
has refused to alter its
methods of assessing
farmers.
Ontario
Ministry of
Agriculture
and Food
huron farm
and
home news
Buffer use in !)airy Rations
Research has shown that
the acid balance of the rumen
can be artificially maintained
using certain minerals.
However, in nearly all situa-
tions. costs and feeding pro-
blems make long-term use of
buffers less practical than en-
suring that the ration pro-
vides enough "roughage ef-
fect' to support normal fat
test.
Consider buffers only under
the following circumstances:
Herd butterfat test is con-
tinually depressed "relative
to" the herd's genetic poten-
tial even when all recom-
mended feeding practices are
followed.
Poor appetites a problem
with many high producing
cows in the first two to three
months of the lactation.•
Sileage based rations where
large amounts of grain are
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you purchase the Model 352 or 353 Manure Spreader before
September 30. So, don't delay. Take advantage of this special
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Sales and Service Repairs (519)236-4321
fed (i.e. greater than 28-30
pounds grain per day). More
of a concern if grain fed only
two times per day.
Silage based rations fed in
combination with medium to
high levels of ensiled grains
(e.g. high -moisture corn,
high -moisture barley).
When the grain mix being
fed is fine -textured and is be-
ing offered in amounts ex-
ceeding 13 pounds per cow per
feeding. This is a greater pro-
blem in silage and
silage/chopped hay based ra-
tions than in rations where
long hay is the primary
forage being fed.
When the total dietary fihre
level falls below the
minimum levels of 17 percent
crude fihre c CF) or 21 percent
acid detergent fibre (ADF).
Just as important as fibre
level is the "effective fibre"
content. Wet, immature,
finely -chopped forages are
much less effective fibre
sources in promoting proper
rumen function and suppor-
ting fat test than long-
stemmed dry hay. Forages
falling between these two ex-
tremes support intermediate
responses.
When the daily forage dry
matter intake decreases to
near 1.6 percent of the cow's
average body weight.
When the proportion of the
total daily dry matter intake
composed of concentrates ap-
proaches the 50 to 60 percent
level.
In situations where rumen
acidosis has been a frequent-
ly diagnosed problem.
- Dennis Martin
Farm Management Specialist
By coincidence, Charles
]lay resigned his position as
chairma,p of Ilensall's
Centennial Committee, citing
health reasons. Ilay said he
had been losing too much
sleep over the jpb, because
"it's a lot more work than
people realize."
Hensall ambassador
Harold Knight has agreed to
assume the duties of Centen-
nial Committee chairman.
HURON COUNTY FARM
and
HOME SAFETY ASSOCIATION
Seminar
Thursday, April 26th
8 pm -11 pm
Family Paradise Hall
527-0629
Everyone Welcome
COFFEE 3 DONUTS
Indices increase
in area peas, corn
At Friday's annual meeting
of the Huron -Perth Can -Crop
Growers Association, Exeter
Canadian Canners manager
Joe Rider said he was op-
timistic about the coming
growing season.
Rider said, "I can say yes
to two questions. Yes, there
will be some increases in peas
and corn and yes, we will
start contracting soon."
Harry Dougall, area direc-
tor for the Ontario Vegetable
Growers Association said
most growers should be
satisified with the new con-
tracts. Negotiations are com-
pleted on all crops, but,
carrots.
Dougall continued, "Some
growers jump on me about
the new financial protection
program. This was put into ef-
fect by Ontario's Agriculture
Minister. He was apparently
embarrassed by some prior
bankruptcies. Your checkoff
will be three -tenths of one per-
cent and the processors will
each pay $200."
The guest speaker was
farm columnist .Gisele
Ireland who kept the audience
laughing with accounts of
some of the excerpts from her
two books. They are A
Farmer Takes A Wife and.
Bumps in Your Coveralls.
EGG AUCTION
Everybody who's anybody
in Ontario's egg industry is
expected to bid on the finest
eggs produced in the province
when they go up for auction
on April 18.
Egg producers throughout
Ontario enter their eggs in
any of seven classes in the On-
tario Egg Producers'
Marketing Board's egg quali-
ty contest. The winning en-
tries from each class go on
the auctioneer's block at 3:00
p.m. at the Poultry Industry
Conference and Exhibition in
London, Ontario.
Half of each winning bid
will be donated to the Easter
Seal Society in support of
physically disabled children.
The other half will be award-
ed to the entrant.
OPEN HOUSE AT EXETER FARM — A large number of area farmers attended an
Open House Thursday at Exeter Farm Equipment. Above, owner Harry Van Gerwen
demonstrates how a metal detector device on a baler works to Harry Hern and Ar-
nold Milltenberg. T -A photo
Hill NO Hill
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ONT.
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"CHECK US IN THE 1984 CORN PERFORMANCE TRIALS"
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EXETER DISTRICT CO-OP
Store Hours: Four Blocks West of Firehall 235-2081
Mon. -Fri. 8:00-5:00
Sot. 8:00-4:00 FREE DELIVERY