The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-09-26, Page 171972," Mr,. Graham says.4'He
attributesthe increase to better
feeding and' management, com-
bined with improved buying
and selling practices and higher
market prices in 1973.
• "Possibly the most important
requirement of ' anyone con-
sidering taking -part in the
study is that •he keep accurate
records," Mr. Graham states.
"When the program was
;initiated in 1969,information
was recorded using the Ontario
Farm Record Book. However.,
since 1972, we've ,been making
:use of data provided from Can-
But through the official plan people in a certain area who.
,which is enforced by the County have answers to planning
Lands Division' Committee,. problems.
not
,.This type of planning,-'
especially in the 52 hamlets
within the county becomes im-
portant as only a few areas can
accept growth, notably
Goderich and, Exeter. '
-Planning to ..kee�i'`�i"a-tuTal
resources plentiful also come
into play to keep agriculture
sound in the county. The plan-
ners ,point to woodlots, which
a
prevent erosion`, and birds,
which are the best means of in=
no-rural
uses, • the , planners sect control at a farmer's.
are helping farmers protect disposal, - as playing decisive
huge investments they put into `roles in farming.
their operations. A man with Slow careful planning in
over. (200,000 invested deserves Huron County will give farmers
some protection. " something like . preventative'
The' ' planners advise the medicine, ',that if applied early.
lands division 'committee on enough will keep. ill's from
decisions \to achieve this end. arising in the industry.
In planning, to keep Stephen Rodd, a professor at
agriculture strong in the the university of 'Guelph, says
county, they recognize the need that future agriculture will-
to
ill-to preserve the small villages need space which is not clut-
and �ha,mlets which plot." the tered with non -farming areas.
countryside. - . These com- Careful -planning 'Must be.
rnunities are important- to
agriculture as they provide ser-
vices to area farmers.
these disruptive lots are
, spreading as fast''as they once
did. There are exceptions
made for retiring 'farmers and,
persons actively' in agriculture.
Mr• Davidson and, Mr. Hill
sayts however, that there are
many houses uninhabited.
They find it difficult at times to
see the need for .further
severances and buildings.
Hy keeping large areas of
• len
d free from fracturing by
.farm- -records of the- co
;operating 'farmers.
' 'Taking part in the beef -
feedlot study could Ife"
beneficial for Ontario feedlot
'operator's. As well as being able
to compare their operation with
' ,
others in the area, beef farmers»
should be able,; to pin »oint
- where improvement is
necessary in management and- ' -
production. ' -
Anyone interested in par-
ticipating should contact the
local or county district office of
the Ontario, Ministry of
Agriculture and Food, '
Q,
Ty
ttl
,
OODEBICH SIGNAL -STAR,' T URSAAY, SEPTR�IVERRR, 2e, 974 RAE'
n ,
Huron agriculture . rote c to d
Proper planning steins tide of urbanization
Unlike many areas of On-
tario where the surge of ur-
banization eats up prime' far-
mland, Huron Cdunty con-
tinues' to remain mostly rural.
Farmland is protected :here
by the direction of the county
Official • Plan: Now, about 90
percent of the county is
cultivated, nine percent is still
in a natural -state - swamp,
wogdlots, .rivers, ponds, - and
one percent is urban„ It Pwill
probably remain that way,
especially since thecounty is
one ;sof the most important far-
ming areas in Canada. -
There is one danger to the
harmony farmers now enjoy,
however, that comes., not from
expanding towns and sub-
, divisions but from non -farmers
who occupy small lots of one
acre , or two, according to
county planners Gary Davidson
and Nick Hill.
These small scattered lots
Wet spring, dry summer
slowly fracture farmlands. Like
small clumps - bf weeds, these
lots are easy to miss but when
,it comes tithe to reap, the land
of its. bounty, they are a
nuisance.
' The county planners say
people who build residences in
the middle ,of productive farm
Bad weather threatens area bean crop
•
Some Huron County bean
producers this year may face
financial hardships as a result
of poor weather and com-
petition from Michigan:— -
It ht's been • estimated that
lower yields per acre may cost
• county farmers up 4o $3
million. ,. ,•
John Hazlitt,county director
for the Ontario white Bean
Growers Marketing Board, said
last week that a wet spring
delayed planting and a dry.
summer kept beans from
reaching maturity.
Although estimates are dif-,
ficult to make because about 50
percent of the cp is yet to be
harvested, he anticipated 'that
yields per acre would be down
this year. '
He placed this year's crop at
about 1,600,000 hundredweight
compared with the 1973 crop of
1,594,000:
The number of -acres -planted
this year increased however,
and the yield, per acre is down,
he added.
In Michigan, bean producers
planted 14Q,Q00••acres this year,
up fro.th\i'21,000 last year. This
means more beans will go onto
the market.
Some bean producers here
may change over to corn next
year, Mr. Hazlitt said, as it is a
safer crop.
The producers have more
problems than' : possible
depressed prices and poor
yields because their' costs in-
creased tremendously this year.
The' price of fertilizer went
up. 300 percent and farm
machinery prices went up 27•
percent; Mr. Hazlitt said:
—These increased'" costs of
''production can't be passed CO
consumers, he said. P
Chairman of . the bean
producers marketing board,
Phil. Durand said . estimated
yields in Ontario are 1,200
pounds per' acre this year com-
pared with a 1973 average of
1,350. .
These figures apply to'HUron
County which -produces 4'5 to 5'0,
percent of the crop
(Z,
•areas•-"otten have' little or' ,no
sympathy with farmers and,
Complain, about smell, dust,
and .noise'farmers create during
the course of earning a living.
But the biggest danger, they
stress, is the fracturing of land,
The agriculture code of practice'
dictates that a' 1,000, to 2,000
foot radius must be left around
a residence where no intensive
farming may occurr.
example, a farmer would
.not he, able to open a pasture as
a feedlot ,just across the road
from his non -farming neigh-
'hou r..
a
The " services are not just
economic, such as banking and
sho.p`ping facilities, but social as:
well. The Villzages and hamlets
give. farmers` places to meet, go
to ,church and generally get
'together:
These communities have to
support this /function anal' the
• county plan gives. them the .
tools to do it. To make plan-
ning take the proper direction,
Mr. Davidson and Mr. Hill try
to meet people in public
meetings and individually to
find out what they have to say
aboutblems. Often, it is the
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pounds per acre but in other
areas, 'producers are reaping
800 pounds.
Low yields combined with
possible low prices may force
some 'producers to 'cut ' back on
acreage next year, , he .said:
As the Ontario marketing
board 'exports 60 to 75 percent
of its beans the increased
Michigan crop is bound to af-
feet producers here.
. While Ontario beans will be
sold, prices; could be affected.
He said that younger farmers
who have just paid high prices
for land could be affected the
He, too, blamed the weather '
or ower yields. most,If their returns don't keep
There are some bright spots ,,pace . with rising costs, they
in the province producing 1,800 could go broke.
OMAF wants to -boost feed lot profits
Businesses, large or small,
must be as efficient as possible
to , rernain viable. To help
°-ope'ra"tore increase beef feedlot
profits, the Extension and
Economics Branches of the On-'.
tario Ministry• of Agriculture "
and .Food are presentlyconduc-
ting a study of: beef feedlots] in
the province„
The Beef Feedlot Cost Study,
is a voluntary program to
determine the cost -return ratios
OFA warns
farmgroups
r,v
• ,
special study to be.made
of feedlot expenses and to
provide operators with data
comparing each feedlot to the, •
top 25 percent, says D. N.
Graham,,agricultural represen-
tative with the ,Ontario
Ministry- , of: Agricultt1re and
Food. "
Nineteen- farmers from' "c
'tral and western Ontario
finishing an average, of '100 or.
more head of feeder cattle par-
ticipated in the study in 1.973.
Using determined market
values for homegrown feeds,
the group found that feed, costs
rose rapidly over the 17 cents
per pound average of previous
years, up 10 cents to 27 cents.
• Direct expenses, such as
medicine, bedding, `and
trucking,' totaled $2.35, and
toUflity • 'overhead, including hired
• labor, repairs, interest • and
taxes„ remained slightly over 10
When farmers -orfarm
organizations quarrel among cents per pound. 'Total average
themselves, they play "into the costs in 1973. ,for the group
harnds of anti -organized tested was 43.5c per'pound ,of
marketing groups that surface beef produced. ..
"Returns for owner's labor
.every time a new marketing increased to 14 cents per
board sets up shop. 'Found,- compared to 9 cents in
This was the consensus of a
' 'free -wheeling marketing
discussion at a recent meeting
of directors_..of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture.
Directors were warned by
speaker after speaker that the
crucial point. in the egg uproar•
is who will set the price of°farm
.products • farmers them-'
selves, dr wholesalers and
processors. . • • '
,"It is every ' -bit as much a
struggle...for bargaining power
as was the ."recent strike by
'transit workers in Toronto, or
any 'other strike situation bet-
ween management and 1,abour.
"Farmers must . be it a
position to price their owns
products. Nobody else can . be,
allowed to'do that for them.'
"Be'cause1- established
• marketing- boards are' working
Well and- - doing 'a satisfactory
job for producers, farmers tend
to becopie complacent , about
the boards. They forget the
knock-doWn, drag -out fights
.that' prIceIed the establish-
ment of most boards. They ey fail
to see the need for ,eternal
:vigilance to ward off attacks on
the boards.,
"Trying to blaritb one group
or another for C);MA's dif
faculties' is simply' providing
ammunition .for those who
would like to see.:all" boards
wiped ou"t. This is a time for
• o farmers to stick together and
supper"t the marketing
legislation they fought so hard
to
The board agreed that far•
mers are easily geduced by the
-lkind .,words of cot}stinter
"Spokesmen 'Who say they don't
'expect farmers to bp, underpaid
but are, 'bitterly, ° critical of
positive actions by farmers to
try to t`het'a fair recut,
r
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You and your family.::
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