The Huron Expositor, 1987-10-07, Page 3Farmers need more skills today
Every resident of Huron"County is aware
crop farmers have not beep having an easy
time lately. The market prices of cash crops
are making it tough to make a living on a
crop farm, and to be successful .crop
farmers are having to have skills beyond
those used by the traditional farmer. •
• Gerrit. Van Keulen owns a crop farm just •
north of Brussels. Like most of the farmers
in Huron County, he has been a farmer all
• his life. He was raisedon a farm in Kent
County. For farmers such as Mr. Van
Keulen, farming is not simply a job, where
you put in your time from nine to five and
then go with other things.
`Ies-a-way-of-lifethatwe'veinherited-and
that we've been trained for. Bight now it's a
way of life we're paying for.".
Mr. Van Keulen was trained for his job in '
the practical sense - by working on his
parents' farm. His formal training came
when he attended=the Ridgetown College of
Agricultural Technology and graduated
with a diploma after two years of study: He
then farmed in Middlesex for 11 years
before the low land prices attracted him to
come to Huron County.
Those days were good times for farmers
and Mr. Van Keulen bought his land just
before the prices started to inflate.
`-- "Seven or'eight'years "ago : you"didn't have'
to be much of a manager to run a farm. You
• •• had good land values, you could buy tractors
and sell them a few years later for more
than you bought them' for, and your net
Worth was always increasing," he said.
"But now commodity pricesare down and
farmers ' have to become good managers
again to survive." • •
Mr. Van • Keulen sees farmers as being
very resourceful when they are forced into a
tight situation. Now they make sure they are
doing everything right. They buy quality dictates the price." •
seed, conserve soil, and watch markets. • "I sometimes wopder at the sanity of what.
' "Everything we've learned has to all • we're doing. In a business sense it is insane,
come together, all our experience and train- because you put out such a huge investment'
ing, so that we can survive." and,get such a small return. The whole thing
Buying . new machinery has become a is a gamble bigger than the biggest roulette
thing of the past as well, and run-down table in Vegas. You go to the bank, get,your
equipment has to be repaired.. • ' ' credit for the: year,above all that money in.
"The newest tractor we have is nine years the ground, and. then wait half a year to see
old," says Mr. Van Keulen, "but it looks like ,'what you get back. It makes Vegas look
new because we look after our equipment." " meagre." '•
• Mr, Van •Keulen believes farmers are Mr. Van Keulen's farm is strictly a family
right now going through•the bottom cycle of business and • it is run by himself, his two
the bad times. He thinks the end of the hard daughters,. two sons, and his wife Maria who
times are coming but that something has to does a lot of the bookwork. The family works
—be-done-to-cut-back-production-in-the-world—the`%T00 acre farm, about hall of wli►cli is
rented.
Like all • cash crop farmers, ' the Van ,
Keulens work around the clock when the sun
shines; and rest when the snow blows. In the
winter when the pressure is off the •crop
farmers look at ways of increasing their
production and improve. A',lot of farmers
take advantage of courses that are offered
at community colleges and by the Ministry
of Agriculture and Food 'to educate
themselves in, ways of making more money
on their farm. '
market. He sees the land. set-aside: pro-
grams the United States government is look-
ing at as a step forward: Subsidies,
however;, do not appeal to him;
"Right now all we're doing, is playing sub-
sidy war games, I can compete with, the
American farmer, but I can't compete with
his government's treasury."
• It takes a lot of, desire to succeed as a
farmer today. Mr. Van Keulen has'seen a lot
of discouragementall over. People who.
' were once, effluent now struggle to survive.
"There is a.lot of stress en•the operator. Everyone `needs an escape and Mr. Van
mentally. He. can handle the physical stress
as i'ofig as his mental -is good,'"saysNI'r "Vali "-- Keulenhaahis-own•method-o£ getting-away--
Keulen. He is a member of the Brussels Flying Club
"It's hard to get motivated to go harvest a and uses his time :with the club's plane to
cropwhen the whole thin is worthless'' forget day=to-day troubles.
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, OCTQBE:R 7, 1987 ZiA
Tere is also a lot of frustration that goes "Flying is a great way to escape," he
with crop farmingthese 'clays. says.
' "We're doing verything right and not "There is no time to think about anything
getting any payback, says Mr. Van Keulen.
adding that's what he finds frustrating
about farming today. But there are other
things that frustrate him as well.
"This is the.only business where the buyer
BOB ROBERTSON has a hog farm north ofDublin, and is one of the few hog farmers in
the province who is seriously engaged in producing breeding stock as well as market
animals. Corbett photo.
Free time is scarce
for area -pork. farmers
While crop farmers may be having a much money they are going to have."
tough time lately, some livestock farmers
are doing quite well. Bob Robinson owns a
hog farni just north of Dublin that is seeing
anything but hard times. .
Mr. Robinson has been at the same farm
for the last 20 years. Born and raised in
Perth, Mr. Robinson made the decision to
become a fanner, then followed that deci-
sion with the idea of moving close to either
his father or father-in-law for "financial and
moral support." He ultimately decided to
farm in Huron County, close to his father -in -
.law.
Mr. Robinson's farm Consists of 250 acres,
240 of which Is used to grow corn to feed his
hogs. The rest of his land is reserved for the
2,200 hogs. The Robinson farm employs four
people full time. Only one of these people is
not a member of the Robinson family. Mr.
Robinson, his wife Rose, their son, and one
full time employee are kept busy maintain-
• ing the farm.
There are obviously many differences bet-
ween hog farming and crop farming! some
advantageous and some not so beneficial.
For one thing the weather does not affect
a hog farmer as much as it does a crop
farmer. If the yield is not as good as it
should be on a given harvest he can buy his
feed.
"So that way our risks are spread a little
more than the crop farmer," he says.
But on the other hand Mr. Robinson says
"a hog farmer has to have a high level of
performance for 12 months of the year,
where a crop farmer only has to perform for
eight months. Our work is never done."
Mr. Robinson says however that he thinks
the risks of hog farming are just 55 great as
the crop farming risks. There are diseases
that can wipe out a hog farm as Surely as a
Crop failure does in a crop farm.
"There are micotoxins that can ,cause as
much grief as a crop failure, and when a
disease is in the herd the whole herd gets it..
There's as many risks (as a crop farmer)
but they're different ones.
The hog farming industry had its bad
years and has now worked its way back
toward the upper end of the cycle.
"We suffered for five years starting in '79
when prices where bad," says Mr.
Robinson.
"We figured that it cost us $2,000 per week
for the privilege of farming." '
Fortunately the market has righted itself
and hog farmers have been catching up
financially for about the last 15 months.
In relation to nine to five type jobs Mr;
Robinson sees a few disadvantages to being
a farmer.
"Most other segments of society have a lot
more free time," he comments.
"Most people know on a weekly basis how
He does like the independance that comes
with being his own boss though.
"You don't have someone else"breathing
down your neck, but you still work a lot of
hours."
Mr. Robinson estimates he puts; in 60
hours per week on his farm. "And it doesn't
go away on weekends," he adds.
Mr Robinson also likes the work itself.
"A hog farmer has to be a person who
likes the lifestyle and likes animals, not
necessarily just hogs. If you like'hogs you'd
like any animal,"
The work isn't as monotonous as in many
jobs.. There are a variety of chores to be
done, snCh as feeding, moving, cleaning,
and marketing every week. Every week
80-90 animals are marketed from the Robin-
son farm.
There isn't a lot of market analysis in hog
farming as far as'Mr. Robinson is -concern-
ed. When ananimal is ready you market
him. -
"I don't really understand the market,
and it's possible to lose money on futures,"
says Mr. Robinson.
"Lots of people are good farmers but
aren't good market futures analysts. I just
leave it alone."
Mr. Robinson's farm is a• little more
technical than most in Huron County.
Rather than dealing exclusively in market
animals, he has taken to producing breeding
stock as well. This adds a bit more to his
business than just farming, as he has to
advertise and promote his animals.
Another thing that sets Mr. Robinson's
farm apart from ordinary hog farms is that
one year ago he depopulated his entire herd
and built it back up' with minimal disease
hogs. The reason for this is that with the
minimal disease hogs he can use a lot less
antibiotics on his herd. Using less' an-
tibiotics does not mean he can charge a
whole lot more, but Mr. Robinson thinks
consumer's will soon be demanding pork
that is free of antibiotics.
To keep the animals disease minimum,
the Robinson's don't allow visitors to enter
the hog barns. That way n'e outside viruses
are carried into the animals.
Mr. Robinson was the president of the On-
tario Swine BreederS Association in 1980, he
was the Canadian Swine Breeders Director
for six years, and has been associated with
the farming purebred industry,
"I have something to contribute, and I
want to influence the way it goes," he says,
speaking about the breeding industry.
He has also been on provincial study com-
mittees associated with the industry, and is
also a conittlittee member on the Ontario
Pork Improirefii'ent Program cornniittee.
but what you are doing.
Mr. Van Keulen'is.also the president of•the
Brussels Lions Club, and is the past presi-
dent of the Huron County Soil and Crop Im-
provement Association.
•GERRIT VAN KEULEN a cash .crop farmer from the Brussels area is one of many -
farmers who are being recognized during Agri -food Week in Ontario. Corbett photo.
Week is set aside for rura
This week, October 5 to 12, is Agri -Food
Week in Ontario, and with Huron County
being what it is to the farm industry in this
province, this should be a time when peo-
ple really take a look at what local fanning
is really like, and what • it: means to the
well-being of the county, and the province.
No one who lives in Huron County •needs
to be told it is a major farming communi-
ty, but Statistics Canada has some infor-
mation that clearly points out just how
much of a leader Huron County. is in
agricultural production.
According to statistics taken from 1986,,
there are 3,266 farms operating in Huron
County that have an annual income of
$2,500 or more. 'This includes both the hob-
by farmers and the mass producers, with a
great number of the 3,266 farms (45 per
cent) are making $50,000 -100,000 per year..
There are 733,000 acres of farm land in
Huron County with 555,000 acresunder
crop:- All this land and the buildings on it
are worth over a billion dollars, the equip-
ment and machinery used to work it is
worth over 200 million dollars, •and the
livestock and poultry on it is worth 140
million dollars. •
This,sizeable investment has put Huron
on top of the• province in production of
many agricultural commodities,
specifically the production.of barley, white
beans, corn silage, oats, and rutabaga.
With livestock Huron is also a major con-
tender, and produces the second largest
amount of cattle, hogs, and poultry of all
awareness
the counties, and is the county that pro-
duces the third largest amount of corn,
mixed grain, winter wheat, and grain
corn.
Agri -food week is intended to make peo-
ple more conscious of what is going on
around them in terms of the agricultural
industry, and get them to see who is put-
ting the food on their tables. But here in the
Huron this week has even more emphasis "
because it is the food industry that keeps
this county going, and that got it going in
the first place. '
To help bring the farming community f n -
to the eyes of the non -rural Huron citizens,
The Expositor is doing feature stories on
three area farmers, each involved in a dif-
ferent area of farming.
.Farm best family environment
Allan Carter owns a dair ¢arm just to the
west of Seaforth. He hashed the farm since
1971 when he bought it from his father, but
he has been working on it since 1968.
This farm is another family operation and
it is managed by Mr. Carter, his father Jack
Carter, his wife Carol, and his- three
daughters. Mr. Carter also hired a student
to help out around the farm in the summer
full time for two months, as well as some
part time help for haying. -
The farm itself consists of 150 acres total
and some of the feed needed for the
livestock is grown there. There are also 80
registered.holsteins on the farm, of which 30
to 35 are used for milking on a day-to-day
basis. This is a bit below what Mr. Carter
believes to be the size of the average dairy
farm in the Huron which would typically
operate with about 40 cows.
Mr. Carter said he thinks the dairy farmer
has an advantage over other farmers
because he has a more balanced income,
and it is not seasonal. The price of milk is
very stable as is the quantity of milk thatthe
farmer can expect, and the dairy farmer
can predict with reasonable accuracy how
much he will be making. For this reason Mr.
Carter said he believes dairy farms are
easier -to manage than other farms such as
crop farms, •
But Mr. Carter doesn't think the dairy
farmer is having it too easy now either.
"The 70s were good times, you could, buy
machinery new and then sell it for more
than it was originally worth. You couldn't go
wrong. But in the 80s a farmer has to be
more of a businessman."
The dairy farmer can really have his ups
and downs, just like any farmer. Because of
the relatively small number of animals the
farmer is dependent on to make his living,
overall productivity is affected when only a
few animals have problems.
"Sometimes they'll get a virus where
drugs don't work," said Mr. Carter, making
reference to one cow as an example.
"She's my best animal, four days ago she
gave 116 pounds of milk and she averages
132-, but today she didn't give anything."
Mr. Carter explained that just losing the
one cow could cut back production for the
day by about three per cent.
"The smaller a farm is the more efficient
it has to be. You have to be a good manager
and know when to move a cow and when to
keep a cow. And you have to have heifers
coining up to fill the empty slots."
Mr. Carter enjoys animals a lot more than
he used to and has taken up showing cattle.
He had a heifer that placed fourth in the
Western Fair in London.
"It's a lot of fun but it's also a lot of work,"
he said.
"You develop a lot of pride from getting a
good animal. Anyone cart buy one, but it's
different when you breed them yourself.
Mr: Carter is getting to have what he con-
• siders to be good enough animals that he can
sell them. This year he has sold eight or
nine, and he has sold some of them to
foreign Countries. Two of them were sold to
Operators in Spain, two more Went to
Venezuela, and the rest were sold in the
United States.
Mr, Carter really enjoys working on his
_ ... «. •
farm even thouughgh it someimes requires
long hours.
"I don't mind farming at all, it gives us a
good income," he said adding, "you can't
find a better lifestyle anywhere for raising a
ALLAN CARTER is one of Huron County's successful dairy farmers. Mr. darter enjoys
farming and the lifestyle it gives him and his family. Hete he is checking on a calf that
he is concerned about ai it seerns to have vision problems. Corbett photo
family. The kids have lots of things to do.
They help lots with the chores and they.
learn responsibility." •
Mr. Carter shows other people this
lifestyle and a lot of schools go on tours of
his farm. Last year there were four or five
of these tours.
Mr. Carter said he doubta there is any
milk in the world that is up to the same stan-
dards as Canadian milk, The Canadian
dairy farmer has to meet strict standards,
and sell his product through the Milk
Market Board.
"In the United States they sell their milk
cheaper than we do, but when you drive by
Soule of the farms they have in New York
you wouldn't believe cows could live in that
kind of an environment."
For his extra -farm interests Mr. Carter
enjoys playing a lot of sports. A knee injury
has kept him out of hockey for the past few
years but he still enjoys curling and other
sports. He is also the vice-president'of'the
uron County Holstetn`Club and enjoys go-
ing to holstein shows.
All three of the farmers interviewed for
this week's agri-food feature, Mr. Carter,
Mr,Van Keulen, and -Mr. Robinson are
evidence Buten County farmers are up-
wardly mohiie and cotnpetiti've, and they
show why Huron County is one of the
agrieiil'tural leaders in this colintry. .
4