The Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-09-09, Page 27art
cological agriculFure his goal .........
(continued from page 1A)
plowing. Crops of oats, barley and corn
were planted but . an overdose ' of
Atrazine, applied the year before, killed.
off much of the small grain. Considering
the cost of s,eed arid rented machinery he
sustained a loss On this part of his crop
but the orchard .crop at least paid for
itself, though jt was "only fair".
"I had worked on farms before," Tony
admits, "but I had never been respon-
's•ible . for.. management, for the actual'
raking,• and that didn't help how it
ither."
in the face of
We are' else
increases or scarcity. organic basis," he explains. "It takes
•covering that the use of`""" some time to wean the soil away from
chemical. fertilizers, herbicides and • chemical fertilizer and restore the
insecticides can disrupt the environment natural metabolism:
in ways which we hadn't anticipated," Tony admits using some fungicide in
says Tony, his orchard but says, "Lreally.quesition
"One of�the reasons I bought this farm , the practice as the label says hot to
is- that. it is a.'diversified environment, pasture a sprayed orchard or use 'the
There are• fields,o•prchard , marsh, a apple pulp as feed.' Makes me wonder
wood. lot etc. It takes a .Tong time to • how safe the apple's are for people's food'.
successfully farm ecologically, you have Our apples are sprgyed less than.. most
to get to know each part of the land and but we would - likke to phase this. out
is different At thispoin jntime-I ' ' toot"`
am' no example of an . "ecological far- VARIETY•OF CROPS
During the same summer he worked,
out on neighboring farms andsfriends
arrived to help, pitching in to get the new
house. underway and pet the farm into
shave:
Tonyfeels there is a lot to be learned
by working for other fanners.
-"There are many urban' people who ..
would like to -get closer to Wining and
learn about:food production. They will
never be able to buy a farm and • work it.
But they can work for farmers and find it
enjoyable and learn a lot about
agriculture inthe process," he says.
It -had been decided to build the house •°
--frbtrutorwaridthis was a slow project so
the •loft was further insulated. The
second winter it made a cozier home.
That fall Tony's 'fiance (nowhis Wife)
oversaw the apple harvest when _Tony,.
went back to school to study forage
• crops, weed science, pomology,
livestock production and. a .special en-
vironmental science
n-vironmental'science course dealing with
chemicalfertilizers and natural fer-
tilizers such as manure and compost.
In. May of 1975 :Tony. and Fran Fuson
married. duringi.4„, Quaker Meeting for
Worship' held under blossoming apple
trees in their orchard.
During his final year at University •
Tony helped. prepare „briefs for sub-
mission to the Royal --Commission on
Electric Power Planning as part of his
involvement with CANTDU.
"Nuclear Energy concerns me for .it
poses a great threat •to all living
creatures and is a manifestation .of our •
energy gluttony:" he observes.
ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE •
His fourth year project ., was an'
Agriculture and Environment Paper,
Ecological Agriculture, His degree
completed,' he has returned to the farm -
full time and hopes to operate it under
the precepts of Ecological Agriculture.
Simply, this means, trying to fit
agricultural practices into . larger.
natural' patterns which, influence soil
fertility; -crop pests and livestock health.
It also means taking care vat! •to in-
troduce .materials, in agricultu3ire which
are foreign to nature or cannot be
recycled. •
"I don't read the crop spraying and
production manuals as the final word.
Farming with_ chemicals can be a
package deal but it has made the
farmer dependent on the -Petrochemical
Industries which is an insecure position
•
•
mer" to paradein front of people," - This,year the fano is growing 17 acres
Tony doesnot: use chemical in- of red clover; 10 acres of trefoil seeded
secticides, at least not synthetic ones. • - out last season, 1.5 acres of the same crop
"One reason is," he explains, "that I put in this season and five• acres of
don't want to be sprayed with ;them'. . alfalfa,
Most et my equipment is antique, and if The 10 acre orchard consists of five
something -gees' wrong. I, can get dren acres of mature trees, three acres of.
ched with•whatever.'I'm spraying." dwarf trees and two acres' stili' to be
Another reason is that many of the planted. The McQuails. also' work 'a
chemical sprays have wider effects than ' three -acre orchard atnearby St. Helens.
are explained in the manuals or on the- '" ' There are 23 different Varieties in the
labels: orchards but the majority are Red' Spy,
"In the past, chemicals have killed :McIntosh and Golden Russetts; When
beneficial insects as well as pests.. The The crop is ready in. mid 'September
spray . may 'kill the pest but' it kills' the. ' apples will be marketed from the farm
parasite and predator too. People often andto the cafeteria at the Environ-
don't have .a good grasp of the natural: • . mental Studies complex , at the
balance between insects," Tony points University of Waterloo. Tony also plans
out. rh ---- to press some of his apples for cider as
• "For example, after spraying, a few ' well: ,"
pests manage to survive. Of course.a few NcAt year he hopes to build. a storage
pest predators manage ..to survive as shed which will also house the cider(
well, but whereas the pest still has the press, and someday a new barn.
fruit or leaves of my apple trees to live - Though the central thrust of the
on and can survive and multiply, the 4 operation may he in the orchard, the
pest's predators has verylittleleft• to McQuails also keep some livestock.
live on. Most of the'pests, the food of the "Before coming here. I had worked
beneficial predators, are gone andthose with dairy cattle, some beef and hogs.
thatsurvived the 'spray are con- The barn here was small so the only cow
taminated and may poison the predators we bought was a heifer calf which served
' that eat them. Maybe the predators even as an; engagementpresent for my wife.
become totally killed off in the orchard -.--. When Fran came to join me, she brought
and pretty soon the pests are ten times
the problem they were before spraying.
"Chemicals can make 'problems that
weren't seven there inthe first place," h•
• notes.
Goat herders
' invited to show'
Tony also explains that hedid use is The 121st of the North
little Cytrol (Amatrole - T) a few, years Dorchester Fairof the Agriculture
ago to kill milk weed: During •his studies Society for the first time will
.at Guelph, however, .he. learned that offer Boar judging classes.
' cancer:
Cytrol is carcinagenic,. that it cart cause This c goatdes with recent
"That fact," lie points out, "was not popularity of .goats • around
published in the manual or on the label. I the farm or hobby farm
have to ask myself is killing milk weed barnyard. Goats have
worth the risk of cancer?" become known as a friendly
Tony admits that chemical fertilizers easy to manage animal good
give, results in crop yields but goes on to , with children and hardy milk
point out that the soil builds up a producers. , 0,
dependence on them.- The chemical' This year's Donnybrook
action kills out some of the natural ac- Fair .will be held on the
tivities in the soil which produce natural Tha.nksgiving: 'Weekend
fertility. Farmers then have 'to go on . October • 9 and 10. The. goat
• using suchfertilizers and that can hurt classes will beheld -on the
as the cost of the product continues to Sunday beginning at 1:00
p.m. Six classes and 30
rise, ignoring any other damage it has
done in upsetting - :the natural soil
balance. o
--"Phis-has been one of 'iny problems '
here with getting this farm to work on an
Canada: Pension Notes
b• K:r•. E, n.: .� __..:..r__.,.,>.� >'o , °...o...e3 ,,; x...: ..—..ova - ..:. '._...cm.,+ea•.cexl : .._,
The residents of the counties of Huron. and Bruce are
served by the district office at 546 N.•Christima-Street,
Sarnia, Ontario, N7T 5W6. Phone (519) 344-5229.
- There are two local offices in -the- area. at' -Federal
Building 35: East St., Goderich, Ontario; Open every
Wednesday from 9:30 a.m;'to 3:00 p.m. Phone 524.6588;'
and: Federal -Building. 100 Scott Street, Walkerton,
Ontario. Open every Thursday from 9:00. a.m. to 3:00
p.m. Phone 881-0871.
• Thefollowing is one of the most often asked questions
of Canada Pension Plan. .
• Q. Who is eligible. .for a
retirement pension under- the
Canada Pension Plan -"and
• how long would one receive
such a pension?
A. If you have made valid
contributions to the'Plan and
will be 65 years.of age within 2
months, you are eligikfle to
apply for your benefit. Upon ,
approval, your pension would
• be payable for life:
Q. My wife died in January,
1968. At that time the Canada
Pension Plan paid m'ea death
lenefit only. I am now 55
years of age and still
working; Can i% receive. a
surviving spouse's pension?
A. Yes. A recentamend:
ment to the Canada Pension
Plan Legislation provides
that the surviving spouse and
children of a deceased female.
Contributor qualify for
benefits. under . the same
conditions' as the ' survi.ving.
spouse and childrenof a male
•
contributor. Although the
amendment looks retroac-
tively to - establish en-
titlement, it does not allow for
retroactive payment . that
_would go • back beyond
January 1, 1975:' This means
That' the surviving male
spouse whose wife had met
the contributory qualification
would qualifyfor a• survivors
pension, but with an effective.
date no earlier .than January
1.,. 1975. You should contact
your nearest Canada Pension
Plan Office immediately for
specific information:
}
-1-
Q. I have been a heavy-duty
mechanic for most of my
working life and am now 62
years of age. •I recently had a
-serious illness -and have been
told' I am only fit for light
work. Can' Icollect my.
pension?
A. You _are not eligible to
apply for your retirement
pension asyou are not 65
years of age. Hd'wever, you
might be eligible to receive,a
disability benefit• providing
you are deemed disabled
uvitllin"' file fit afrli�g " of :the
Canada Pension Plan
legislation. You ` should
contact your nearest Canada
Pension Plan district office as
soon as possible, for More
information.
If you have further
questions on this point, please
contact your Canada. Pension.
Plan District • Office at
Canada Pension Plan,' 546
North Christina 'St., Sarnia,
Ontario- N7T 5W6 or phone
519-344-5229.
•
sections offer a wide variety:
of competitions for both pure
fired and grade animals. The -=
highlight.will be the junior
showmanship. judging open to
boys and girls from 6 to 16
years of age.
Early results indicate that
' 'there will be approximately
100 .goats -entered in the
competition
herdsman or . herdswomen,
Hopefully exhibitions will
come from as ..far away as
_Toronto: The Society however
would like to warmly
welcome even the exhibitor
with only one or two animals..
Complete details and.entry
forms are available by
writing . the - Secretary -
Treasurer, North Dorchester
Agricultural Society, P.O.
Box 117,' Dorchester, Ontario
NOL 1GO. Entries close on
*Saturday, October 2, 1976.
.
Open.ng rs
.o small
usiness
1AG
r®
• AUTOMATIC WASHERS & DRYERS. -
• PORTABLE -WASHERS & DRYERS
•• WRINGER •WASHERS' "
• PORTABLE 'Si BUILT-IN DISHWASHER
• IN. SINK FOOD WASTE DISPOSERS.
From the Dependarbility. People• at:-
HUTCHINSON :APPLIANCES
rt' TRA INS, ACIetEiO ::.
30i1,HUflON IID:. 524.7531
Fy ;
Financial assistance
Management. counselling
Management training
Inforr ationon government -
programs for.business
Wayne Rounding
one of. our representatives
will be at
The Bedford Hotel, GODERICH
on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of each month.
-
• Tuesday, :September T41h
If you' require financing to start, modernize or
expand your business and are unable to
obtain it elsewhere on reasonable terms and
conditions or if you are interested in the
FBDB management services of counselling
and training or wish information on
government programs available for your
business, talk to our representative.
FEDERAL
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT BANK
For prior.loformatloii call' 271.5650 or .•
write 1036 Ontario Street, Stratford
•
along dairy goats."
GODERI;CI•I SIGNAL -STAR, THU
GOATS THE BEST
Tony sees the choice of livestock on a
farm- as •often 'corning front' a 'personal
preference. Hechoseto stay away from
pigs• as they eat 'people food' and are
therefore not . the : most efficient
producers of protein. Cattle he con-
, sidered large, not the most efficient
of ruminaiit5 and the. producers.. of very_
wet manure. Goats on the other hand
were ; effieierzt•:and•produced much
easier handled dry droppings:
The McQuail goats were as much pets
as anything else -at first. .
"Pets' should be productive," Tony
observes., "I earaeo: at goats from a
negative point of view buil have come to
like them: • They are intelligent animals
andcan serve as productive pets.
like to think that the -market for
goats is, expanding. They are as easy to
keep as a large dog and 'two goats'could-
prodtite enough dairy products:to-meet
theneeds of a family "and: still serve as
•'their pets. Goats are also browsers, they
eat things, that other animals look down
their noses at, burdocks, brush and
weeds: -You can have a fair. number of
them. in.asinall spaceandI think many
farmers would be surprised at their
market. value. This spring, 'a six week
registered doe kid was selling for as -
high as $300. Farmers weren't getting
that for cattle!'"'
Inaddition to the goats are some
chickens and rabbits. .
A RESOURCE CENTRE?
Iri the future Tony would like to share
his experiment with others.
"I'd' like to see the place become an,
educational resource centre, Maybe,if
we .,ever find time, we could put 4116
walking trail .through the property, set
"up soi'ne picnic tables and people could -
come • out and see what we're •trying
here," he says. • .
Already the farm has. been visited by
school 'tours which have given .the
youngsters a'close look at •the orchard.
and°in time there will be much more to
see.
SDAY, SEPTE
BER 9,1979' -ZEA
W'e nsil have a goody stock
of Baler Twine in hand
And Remember :.. Our Prices are the
Lowest around!
>rder Your
EED
aid FERTILIZER n_w while
` supplies -are
high
At
;****************
also
-SPREADERS
Available
• tt.
(Chatham, Gide rich) i.td. '
a. 52'9 1135
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