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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-05-11, Page 32PAGE 10A—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY. MAY 11, 1978 Cattle go on TV to help farmers bargain By Keith Roulston Television has become the newest weapon used by farmers to seek a better deal for themselves in the marketing of cattle. Video tape recordings of market cattle are now being used by the Ontario Beef Exchange, a marketing company set up by six Bruce county beef producers. Harvey Davis, head of the exchange (OBEX) told members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture Thursday night in Belgrave that the tapes give cattlemen a chance to sell the way any other seller does, on his own property. In the past he said, the farmer has, been at a disadvantage because he has had to load up his cattle and take them to a community. auction or ship them to Toronto at con- siderable expense and with resulting stress on the cattle: If he didn't like the price offered, he had little choice but to sell. But OBEX's video tape system allows a farmer to keep his cattle on the farm while buyers in Toronto bid on them. If he likes the offer he can sell. If he doesn't, he can wait until the next week. Mr. Davis explained that a farmer wanting to sell cattle through OBEX would list the cattle with the exchange at the end of,one week, the truck with video tape facilities would be sent out to photograph the cattle from front, side, rear and an overall shot then the tapes,' are taken back to Toronto where they are on view to buyers from all packi.pg houses. On the Thursday of the second week OBEX telephones the farmer with the top bid and the farmer either accepts the bid, or holds the cattle over for offer again the next week. If he accepts the bid, the cattle are FARM P then shipped to their destination where OBEX will have them weighed before being processed at the packing house. The cattle can be listed by live weight, carcass weight and grade and yield. There can be up to 11 bids on the cattle, Mr. Davis said, and OBEX usually gets at least five. About 95 per cent of the 35,000 head sold in the first nine months of operation have been sold on the first listing. • Because of the danger of bankruptcy on the part of a packing house, Mr. Davis says, OBEX is bonded and Jne loof in tJM furrow, b raag'�r Letters are appreciated by Bob Trotter Eldale Rd Elrn ,a Ont N38.2C7 • Every 'tree, every branch, every bush, every salleygad couple of kingbirds have just arrived and the bluejays° is bulging around our place as this is written. around all winter long, are becoming much more vocal It seems to me spring is the headiest season of the year now that a few' trees are getting leaves and giving these in the country. City dwellers see the snow disappear, saucy fellows more protection. splash through a few puddles on the road or in the yard It will be some weeks yet before the Baltimore orioles and watch a few trees budding. They may even' feel the arrive. For four years .now, a couple has built. a nest sun warming up for a day or two. along the fenceline at the back of our acreage. Shy birds, But in the country, it's different. The grass gets green- I have only seen them through the field glasses. The male er every day. Farmers get itchy feet waiting for the land to dry enough to plow and seed. Many gleefully prepare machinery for :that wonderful thrill of getting the good earth ready for the planting season. What really heralds spring in the country are the bir''cls, I suppose many country people would say it is the water. As' the snow melts. the ditches build up' and team with the happy gurgle of the spring run-off. The little streams and creeks come to life chuckling with glee to be greeting the growing season. The chuckles grow to giggles and then to clear spring laughter as the surge to life becomes'overwhelming. Grass all around changes from brown to the life-giving green of new growth. But the birds make it real to me. Six weeks ago 1 poked my head out the bedroom window early one morning to look at the horse barn, a habit from away bac.k.when the mares were in foal. We haven't had is beautifully colored: Speaking, of laughter. a column a few, weeks ago about how valuable farm wives are must have=hit a responsive chord around the province. Few columns have sparked as much mail. More than a dozen letters arrived from harass- ed farm wives across Ontario. right from Goderich to Eganville. The best came from a sweet lady who reads the Gana- noque Reporter: "Just a note to say hurray for you for the column on farmers' wives. I know all too well what it's like to get a meal ready in eight or 10 minutes or come from the barn at seven o'clock and be dressed and ready for a meeting etc. by 7:30...We have two boys, ages three and five and I am expecting a baby in May and believe me, that doesn't warrant any special consideration. The work goes on. the milking and feeding etc, and I am ex- pected to keep up my share of the work as usual. "Don't get me wrong. I'm really not complaining, just them bred for five or six years, The snow was still on the emphasizing how much I agree with your article and wish ground although receding, every day. At the snowline in ) we had more of them. the yard were dozens of robins, "I, too. know of many farm wives who should be the recipients of production awards because more often than' not, it is they who have kept the records and actually done much of the work to warrant such awards. "Let's not leave out the men, either. There is no harder working lot around than today's farmer and it is -not just physical work anymore. It is mental strain and head - worm in the lawn, reared back a couple of times trying to aches. pull the thing loose, Suddenly. it came free and the robin "Again. thank you for noticing us. I'm sure there are actually fell on its back. many farm wives who felt the same after reading One The songbirds are only now coming back. I saw a fe- Foot in the Furrow. I do hope they take the time to write. male from the group of three or four cardinals yesterday. I would write more, too. but it's time to do the chores and She is not nearly as colorful as her bright -red husband but 1 must close." - slie needs to be camouflaged as she guards the nest. A Thank you for writing. I usually see a couple before the hordes arrive•. But not .this year. Suddenly, one morning. they were there like a small arrny. With them came the blackbirds and the grackles, strut- ting around like pregnant ducks. One robin reached for a New manager at Wingham A new manager has been „ named for the" Wingham and district office of the Ontario ministry of natural resour- ces. He is Norm Richards, who will be transferring from the ministry's master planning department in Toronto May 15. The former district manager, Dan Mansell, was transferred to the Huronia district at Barrie last month AGRICULTURAL STEEL ROOFING ANDSIDING • 10 Colours • Galvanized • 30 ga. - 28 ga. - 26 go. • 3 Different Rib Profiles. • Custom Cut lengths; Buy Exact Length Required • Complete Fascia & Soffit Systems • Best Possible Prices • For That Complete Building Call JIM MARTIN CONSTRUCTION 129 BRITANNIA RD. EAST, GODERICH = 524-9042 Ilia 1111111111111111111111M MOM MIMI NOW, PATORAN® FL LIQUID SUSPENSION AT PRICES COMPETITIVE TO PATORAN W.P. (wettable powder) Contact your local Chipman dealer. Keep the Good Things Growing PATORAN is 9 registered trademark of Ciba-Geigy Canada Ltd George Wraith . M.J.' Smith Goderich (Goderich). Ltd. guarantees payment to the farmer within 48 hours. OBEX started out making a charge of $3.75 per animal, he said, but now with the use of expensive videotape equipment, has increased the charge to $4 for heifers and $4.50 forsteers. This is still very competitive or lower than other methods of marketing, ' Mr. Davis claimed. Because of the expense ' of the videotape truck's travel, small lots of cattle a considerable distance from Toronto are not taped but are listed and sold by dressed weight. He said the concept of videotaping the cattle has been received well by buyers and some packers are setting up their own playback units to use the OBEX. tapes in their own plants. Mr. Davis said that while the success of OBEX has been encouraging, the six .partners must get more listings to make it a viable operation. "If we can get to the point where we handle a minimal part of the cattle trade in Ontario then there will be a spinoff effect in the entire industry," he said. In other business, the Huron Federation passed a resolution that woutdeask that a deposit of 50 per cent of the value of the product be placed on the glass container for any soft drink or liquor sold in gtass bottles. It was noted that the damage done on farms by broken glass is a major problem to farmers. It was hoped that a high deposit would make people think twice before hurling bottles out the windows of speeding cars into ditches or farmers' yields. Another resolution passed called for farm implement manufacturers to be com- pelled to put a second point of attachment on farm equip- ment. Farmers complained that while the law says they must have a second method of attachment when towing a piece of farm equipment, there is often no place to make that attachment. Paul Ross was present representing the Clinton merchants to urge farmers to take advantage of the op- portunities to sell produce through the Clinton Farmers market. Tony McQuail said there will also be a farmers market in Lucknow this summer. # .. 8,000 answer farm survey Agriculture and Food Minister Bill Newman has announced that 8,800 farmers have been asked to par- ticipate in a survey of pesticide use in Ontario. The survey is required every five years under' the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of the Canada - U.S. International Joint Commission to determine the amount of pollutants, in- cluding. agricultural chemicals, in the Great Lakes basin. Chemicals to be sur- veyed include those applied to control weeds, insects, mites, _nematodes, rodents and fungi. In making the an- nouncement, • Mr. Newman said, "The information will'' SEED CORN M. W. DURST PHONE 4482-7309 17-19 also be useful to ministry staff in detecting trends of pesticide use and in gauging the effectiveness of our extension work in pesticide control." Record forms have been mailed to 8,000 ;field crop farmers and 800 fruit and vegetable growers, who have been asked to record the crop sprayed; the amount and kind or 'pesticide used; and the acreage to which it was applied. In the fall, par- ticipants will receive questionnaires on which they will be asked to summarize the information recorded over the summer. The last such survey under the IJC agreement took place in 1973. PIONEER SEED CORN Ray. Brown. 529-7260 Sharron Brindly 524-8114 Engine Rebuilding Services Employ our facilities and skilled manpower to help you completely rejuvenate gas or diesel engines...or the components if you have already torn flown the engine. ,rinding crankshafts, pin fitting and rod alignment are just a few of the recon- ditioning services we can perform. Or take a complete engine — we'll tear it down — recondition or replace parts — reassemble the engine — check it and deliver it to you in a short time. Let US do the work COMPANY LIMITED 145 HURON ROAD, GODERICH 524-8389 FARM CLASSIFIED SECTION A. For sale 13 FT. TURNCO Packer, 1,000 gallon water tank, on a ten ton wagon, with 3t/2" tap. Phone 482-7564.-19,20 HAY for sale. Phone 526- 7719.-19tfno H&N "NICK CHICK" leghorns, 20 weeks old, available for spring or summer delivery; also Hubbard Golden Comets (brown egg layers) for early June delivery. Orders now accepted for heavy "roaster" cockerels day-old, for spring delivery. Call McKinley Farms & Hatchery Ltd., 262- 2837,-10-22ar PIONEER SEED CORN VARIETIES AVAILABLE 3990 (3W) 3977 (3W) 3965 (3W) 3975A (SC) 2600 H.U. 2650 H.U. 2750 H.U. 2700 H.U. 80 DAYS 82 DAYS 87 DAYS 82 DAYS Also other varieties available JACK MAYHEW RR3-CLINTON PHONE 482-3176 Your representative for Goderich Township and Clin- ton Area. *Any former customers of Mr. J. Fischer - please feel free to call me.• B. Custom work BULLDOZING, Allis- Chalmers No. 650, with six • way hydraulic blade. Bill Robinson, RR 2, Auburn, 529- 7857.-16tf E. Farm services FOR RENT, for CASH CROP — 40 acres. Phone 524- 7632.-18tf CLAY — Silo Unloaders Feeders Cleaners tabling Leg Elevators Liquid Manure Equipment Hog Equipment BUTLER — Silo Unloaders Feeders Conveyors FARMATIC — Mills Augers, etc. ACORN — Cleaners Heated Waterers W=ESTEEL- ROSCO Granaries B & L - Hog Panelling LOW RY FARM SYSTEMS RR 1, Kincardine, Ontario Phone 395-5286 WATER WELL DRILLING 4, "76 YEARS EXPERIENCE" • FARM • SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • • FRESS ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED 4 Rotary and Percussion Drills PHONE 357-1960 WINGHAM Collect Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELLS SINCE 1900" Better yields start and finish with Green Cross Patora herbicide for white beans. Green Cross Patoran controls weeds from the start of the growing season. And it - maintains that effective weed control right up to harvest. You get clean fields and better yields. When applied pre -emergently, as directed, Patoran is safe for beans -white, lima, snap, kidney and others. Green Cross Patoran. The quality herbicide more and more bean growers depend on. For more information, write to Green Cross Products, 1 Westside Drive, Etobicoke,.Ontario. M9C 1B2. GREEN CROSS GREEN CROSS PRODUCTS 1, Westside Drive, Etobicoke, Ontario Division of �CIBA-GEIGY CANADA LTD. MONCTON • MONTREAL • TORONTO • WINNIPEG •'CALGARY • vANCOuvER Registered tradt'l1T;lr'k EITIM e