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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-10-07, Page 25The Kinette Club of Goderich is the first service club hi town to donate money towards the Intensive Care Unit at AM&G Hospital. Accepting the $1,000 cheque from Kinette treasurer Carol Davidson is Anna Melsld of the ICU fund-raising committee while Kinette president Dianne Armstrong looks on. (Photo by Cath Wooden) J 1 GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, =OBER 7,198,1 --PAGE 9A Huron Farm news Since Ontario's war on warbles campaign began four years ago, the incidence of warble infestations in beef cattle is down to nine per- cent. "It is encouraging to see such a rapid decline in the rate of infestation, but we're not satisfied yet," says Ralph Macartney, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and, Food beef cattle specialist. The ministry's campaign to promote warble treatment began when meat packers reported that 33 percent of the cattle coming into the packing plants each spring were infested with grubs. Grubs enter the cattle after warble flies lay eggs on the undersides of the animals in the summer. Dur- ing the winter, the grubs migrate up through the animal's body to . the back where they form cysts and eventually bore through the hide. "Warble infestation devalues the beef carcass tine Soot in furrow byaa Canadian farmers are among the best in the world. They have risen to the technological challenges in the last 50 years to a greater degree than most nations. Almost every area in agriculture could increase production dramatically . right now. Milk producers, if given enough quota, could expand immediately. Chicken boiler producers are even now operating at much less than capacity. Egg producers have proven too many times that they can get their chickens to glut the market. Most chicken barns are below capacity. • Many more hogs could be produced and many more cattle could be fattened but low market prices and high production costs and much -too -high interest rates mitigate against those farmers. ' Why should they produce more? To feed the hungry people in the world? Good reason, but why not teach the hungry peo- ple in the world to feed themselves? Some notable farmers from Canada have done that. 'Increasing production here; though, could cause.more pro- blems than would be solved. Farmers run the risk of turning fields from gardens into deserts. Farmers have not been listening to eggheads and pro- fessors for years. Many of them are sounding warnings now that cannot be ignored. The Agricultural Instituteof Canada has joined the chorus. This prestigious body of men and women must be heeded. • Canadian farmers, say members of the institute, may be able to increase production by 65 to 100 percent but it could ruin our soils. Land erosion, soil salinity; loss of organic mat-' ter, depletion of non-renewable energy sources, the breakdown of the system of chemical pest controls and in- creasing costs for land, credit and production inputs are all cited by the institute as reasons for caution in producing more food. Most important is the world tilth. It doesn't mean much to the city -dweller ensconsed in his high-rise apartment or the urbanite sitting in his po$tage- stamp backyard. But it has great meaning for farmers. kYou simply cannot put too much strain on the soil. When 'the good earth become silt, it becomes useless. To continue over-produeing will turn soil into a dessert. , Dr. W. D. Morrison of the University of Guelph maintains Farmers wr('$• to . • Hundreds of letters are pouring ` into the Huron Federation of Agriculture office from concerned and angry farmers demanding immediate action from the Prime Minister to save what is left of the farming in- dustry. The letters will be personally delivered to the Prime Minister's office by Murray Cardiff, M.P. for Huron -Bruce. When parliament reconvenes this fall, the Federal budget must bring relief to the farming industry which has been most • ad- versely affected by- the government's high „interest policy. There is little time left for farmers to inform the government of their plight. A personal letter from you to the Prime Minister can make a difference in government policy. The fall harvest season will be over sooner than we think and many more farmers will be unable to meet their financial commitments because of low corn prices, says the Federation. Individual comments of many farmers are included in the letters the Prime Minister will receive. An important point made by one farmer is that far- ming is the only industry in the world where everything we need for production is purchased retail and then processed or grown and. finally sold wholesale. This alone, puts farming in a very unique situation, which government must realize. Another letter writer, found it ironic that on the day of receiving the Huron Federation of Agriculture survey letter to the gover-• nment, he had met with the Trustee regarding his farm bankruptcy. Afaarrxaer said it is a frightening situation to seP neighbours losing their farms and having the ,u put up for sale, They are unable to meet high interest rates while receiving low prices for their products. We wonder who will lose their farm next. Lette,s a', aOp'e,,cited b, Bob l,otte, F,dale Rd E i,,- a Oma, w 3e 7C 7 that big is not necessarily, better. Conservation must be given more attention in research and an increase in the size of farms with resulting fewer farms is not necessarily the trend of the future. Most agricultural organizations are dedicated to preserv- ing the family farm and rural communities, to maintain and increase -self-sufficiency. Optimizing food production - the big getting bigger and the small getting out — is not compati- ble with preserving the family farm. So, agriculture in Canada can and should grow but not to the detriment of the land itself. I am too young to remember it but the stories of the dirty Thirties and the dustbowls of that day are enough to remind all of us that over -production is a sin. Only leadership and na- tional goals can. prevent the same thing happeningas more and more people go hungry in the world. It is a dilemma which cannot be solved in a few lines of type. It will take the best brains in this country to solve the many problems facing farmers. • Unfortunately, • farmers are . too busy making interest payments to address this awesome question. OVER 25 YEARS INSURANCE EXPERIENCE GEORGE TURTON 56 East Street, Goderich N7A 1N3 ' PHONE: 524-2549 HOME 524-6606 Non Smokers Life Insurance Available CHOICE E IN THE I0 WORLD" OUR. PLEASURE IS SERVING YOUR' INSURANCE NEEDS DAVE HAYLOW ELECTRICAL Serving Industrial, Commercial, Residential Needs 524-6038 MONEY CAN'T BUY SIGNT BUT. .. Your dollars help blind people help themselves. SUPPORT CNIB'S ANNUAL CAMPAIGN THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8th/'81 Please welcome members of the GODERICH LIONS CLUB when they call at your home during the month of October. Be prepared to make a donation to the C.N.I.B. Used eyeglasses will also be picked up at this time. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind SporKored by: G©dorisk Lions Club because all of the affected meat and fat must be trimm- ed away, resulting In an unattractive retail product," says Mr. Macartney. The war on warbles cam- paign encouraged producers to treat cage during the fall before the grubs caused any damage. And, in addition to reducing the grub infesta- tions, the warble treatment is showing other side benefits. "We've found that health and management unproved because of the warble treatments," says Mr. Macartney. "While the pro- ducers ran the cattle through chutes for treatment, they also vaccinated." Treating cattle for warbles also reduced the toll of other parasites such as lice, and increased rates of gain. Cur- rent information shows treated cattle gain about 10 kg (23 lb.) more over the winter than untreated cattle. Based on 1981 beef prices, this represents an additional $16 per head. Cost of warble treatment ranges depending on the size of the animal. For example, it costs about 40 cents to treat a 180 kg (400 lb.:) calf and about 80 cents to treat a 450 kg (1000 lb.) animal. Hannan to speak The annual banquet and meeting of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture this 'year features the - past president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Peter Hannan, as its guest speaker, speaking on the Canadian Grain Council. The pork banquet and meeting will be held on Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. in the Hensall Arena. Tickets are $7 per person and are available from any regional director or the uanastra HCFA office, phone 482-9642. Tickets must be purchased by October 2. "Producers should treat all growing cattle, both go- ing into the feedlot and beef heifers kept for breeding purposes," says Mr. Macart- ney. "October is the ideal time but producers can treat until the end of November." Recommended products for warble control include Neguvon, Grubex, CoOp Grub Killer, Rotenone and Spotton. • SOIL TEST This summer several corn fields showed some deficien- cy symptoms. Poor crop rotations andpoor soil struc- ture are part of the problem in many cases, but I going to harp on this issue. Now anyone who suspected a zinc deficiency can have a soil test analyzed for this micronutrient. As of October 1st, 1981 soil tests for zinc and also magnesium, will be available from the Universi- ty of Guelph. It will cost $3.00 for each test. Some special techni- ques apply when soil sampl- ing for these micronutrients. Micronutrient deficiencies frequently appear in small patches in fields. Soil au samples taken from the en- tire field areunlikely to find the problem - so sample pro - am not blew areas separately. H.S. FORD CO. Overhead Doors Soles & Service * RESIDENTIAL * INDUSTRIAL * COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC OPERATORS PHONE: 524-4198 GODERICH r VIP MOTORCYCLES — SNOWMOBILES KJ, YAMAHA Western Ontario's friendliest and most complete motorcycle and smowmoblle facilities. so II IS Ik in MI al �iLv GUMS' VARNA, ONT. (2 miles south of Varna on Stanley Stderoed No. 10) 1-262-3318 To avoid contamination, do not use soil probes and pails which are coated with galvanized zinc. Plastic con- tainers in good condition are best. A cheque made out to the -University of Guelph should accompany the sample and. information sheet. A guide for interpretation will ac- company your soil test results. D iscover? 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