Clinton News-Record, 1975-04-10, Page 18M
r #� S1 , N !RIL 1O 1075,
URAL UT
w " 'l ou wall. pay r>rxar ,for food:in 1975, ou di:servelo know
why. It 84rte at the fain gate. Statistics Canada puts the luta
on the tabiCIt will; Cost more for farmers to produce°food th 5
year fuel. -,,costs are up. So,, is'the cost of farm znachitiery, fsr-x
ulizer, hydro -- and mist other everyday farm Inpgta; The Pixel `;
bill alone i$ rnarrtrnoth - about $370 milliozi each, year. It tales
2/5 of .an imPerial gallon of as .to produce a. bushel of wheat.
This dO*'t include the f> el, used to'make fertilizers fed to the
crop, or for the drying or tis'nspfarting oil the grain. Most farm-
ers have
arm`ers'have Muck more than a $1,00,,000 investment in land, equip*
ment and livestock.. At today's interest, fanners are paying an
arm and a leg simply to Garay{ debt charges. In 1974, they paid
about half a billion Just in interest on their debtsT
These are real costs. As they go up, So will the price of
food. This is the way it;; has to be. Farmer$ theniselves hive
geared 'up to pr;oduceadequate: supplies of food. We have never
seen supermarket shelves empty, of .beef, eggs or vegetables.
In fact, our producers are so efficient that they not only
supply our !market, but they are also 'giant exporters. One out of
every three dollars the farmers are -paid. for their produce conies
from abroad. On top of that, the high productivity of our farm-
ers enables. Canada -to' do' more .than its fair share to: help feed
the hungry in' this world. In each of the next three years,
Canada will be giving a minimum of 100,000 tons of food grains
to food aid programs. That's 10 per cent of what the United
Nations officials'- estimate is needed to feed the world's starving
people.
Canada's farmers `are great providers. But they cannot
afford to keep up production unless they get a fair return for
their labour and their investment,
This year is not going to kbe a good -one for farmers. Statis-
tics Canada, says the signals point to an 11 per cent walloping
increase in the cost of producing farm products. This is so much
of an increase, in fact, that even though gross farm incomes are
expected to increase by 4 per cent -"net farm incomes are ex-
pected to nosedive by 12 per cent. In plain language, inflation
will take a big bite. out of the farm income this year.
The farmer gets only 40 per cent of your food dollar. Pro-
cessing and marketing oosts make up the remainder. Costs, in
these sectors too, are heading ifp. Unions are demanding higher
wages. The cost of transportation, packaging and promotion
have been increasing.
What does this mean to consumers? A lot. The top food
economists estimate that Canadians will be paying 15 per cent
more for food in the first six months of this year, than they did
last year.
That's where we " stand. Let's put it into perspective.
• Canadians spent an average of 18.2 per cent of their disposable
income on food in 1973. That's less than in any other country
in the world other than in the U.S.. We run neck -in -neck with
the U.S.
Is there 'just reason for Canadians to haggle over payltig
few more cents for a quart of milk or a pound of carrots today
when there are ample supplies of fresh high-quality., food on
supermarket shelves at reasonable prices? Whether we continue
to have a fie -Why farm economy in . the future hinges on how
Canadians answer this question.
I would like to hear what you think.
A thorough cleaning, some grease, and possibly a weld here or there, are all part of a farm
machinery Maintenance program. Regular maintenance is important for the proper per-
formance ofcornpiex farm!. Machinery today. Many Ontario farlpers take advantage of the
slower winter months to seryictheir tractors, combines and outer machinery in the con-
venience of a dry, well-equipped workshop. By replacing worn or damaged parts and by
making sure all is in good working order before the critical plant#flg and harvesting seasons,
farmers can cut back on the in -field losses caused by down-time. (Photograph by Ontario
ministry of agriculture and food)
Ministry approves grants for
materials in learning metric system
The Ministry of Education
will make $1.5 million in grants
available to school boards this
year to assist them in con-
verting learning materials to
the metric system, Education
Minister Thomas Wells an-
nounced last week.
In a policy " statement to
school boards,. Mr. Wells urged
boards to give increasing
priority to the metric con-
version program so that the
goal of conversion to the metric
system may be achieved in
Ontario's schools by 1978.
Metrication will apply to all
areas oft -the cu riculum. The
system to be used will be the
International System of Units,
commonly known as SI.
To assist the program, the
Council of Ministers of
'Education, Canada, will
produce a Metric Style Guide
which will be available . to
Ontario teachers later this
year.
The Minister said the
publication is a reference book
on modern metric terminology
and symbolism, and does not
involve teaching techniques.
The imperial system will not
be phased out in a single
magical Metric M Day. Tlfe
quart of milk and the, pound of
butter will be with us for
sometime to come. As teachers
introduce metric conversion,
they are not expected to
abandon all reference to im-
perial units.
"In spite of ingenious
modifications and creative
thinking, metrication will
inevitably create some expense
and frustration. The answers to
many questions cannot yet be
given. However, the Ministry
expects school boards to,plar ,
carefully and, tee , grgid'tiaipy
phase out imperial usage,
keeping in mind that many low-
cost changes can be.made over
a period of several years," Mr.
Wells said.
ral Tii'dbits?
we aft hed,lot lately "about
the pz'eservatiolri of agrr'icultlaural
land, land use planning and the
restrictions that can be placed
upon the' livestock fanner by
the encroachment of urbanites.
in rurai,areas.
It seems that many farmers
themselves don't see the
danger of this' encroachment,
Often they are the cones who
want non-farm residences -built
on their land in order to get a
fair sum of money which will
benefit them in the short run so
they can pay off a good part of
their mortgage or pay for that
expansion they have in mind.
In other cases it is the
retiring farmer who wants to
stay close to the Itlace where he
has lived most of his life and
wants to sever a piece of land to
build his retirement home.
Both cases are shortsighted.
The farmer who wants the
money for expansion is really
painting himself into a corner.
-It's possible that the 'persons
who build in the first placer
won't object to the odours from
his livestock, but who can
sea our
1#5414
to*VIANTAAI
promise. what the next owner
will do? It is quite possible that
the fanner will be forced.out of
the livestock business. This has
been proven last month in the
Niagara area where a chicken
farmer will have to spend
$27,000 for elaborate pollution
control equipment or lose his
business by court order.
When a person buys a piece of
land he has, by law, the right to
enjoy that land and if odours
prevent him from this en-
joyment he can force the
livestock man out of business.
If the retiring farmer severs a
corner of his land it is unlikely
WITUARRIAT4Volt
that he will sue his son fOr
country smells, but if and when
he dies or moves to the old
peoples home, the house will be
sold and he did hie son or the
chap he sold the farm to a real
disservice because of the
severance. ¢.�
If he wants to retire without
having to buy an expensive lot
in the village he can make an
arrangement with the person
who buys the farm, be it his son
or a stranger to build a house
without severing. This way the
house will 'be part of the farm
and it, precludes future It -
troubles.
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