Miracle Man

Dairy farmer David Chant thought he was going to die

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AWARD WINNERS OTTAWA VALLEY SEED GROWERS' MARCH 14, 2007

01 Brian, Robert Nation Valley Potato Growers' Trophy for the Championship Exhibitor of Potatoes Won byVogeldale Farms, Leeds County accepted by Max Vogel Presented by Daryl Acres	02 Gail, Jim, Susie, Grahame Class 1 Alcyon Oats - won by Barclay Dick & Son accepted by Jim Arbuckle, OVSGA Director Class 4 Sable Spring Wheat – won by Grahame & Steve Hardy, accepted by Grahame Hudson Class 8 OAC Championship Soybeans – won by Marc Bercier, Accepted by Susie LeSauteur
03 Brian Hudson, Bob Dick Barclay Dick Challenge Trophy for the best exhibit of Red Clover Won by Bruce & Brian Hudson, Carleton County accepted by Brian Hudson Presented by Bob Dick, OVSGA Director	04 Susie, Jim Lanark Mutual Insurance Company for the most points in the pedigreed Classes   Won by Marc Bercier, Prescott County accepted by Susie LeSauteur Presented by Jim Lowry
05 Gail, Grahame Robertson Associate Trophy awarded to the Champion Exhibitor in the Pedigreed Coarse Grain Classes Won by Grahame & Steve Hardy, Dundas County accepted by Grahame Hardy Presented by Gail Harris	06 Phil, Graham SECAN Trophy most points in Pedigreed Wheat Won by Grahame & Steve Hardy, Dundas County accepted by Grahame Hardy Presented by Gail Harris
07 Brent, Phil Bishop Farm Seeds Plaque Exhibitor winning championship in the Barley Class Won by Mount Airy Farm, Leeds County, accepted by Joe Modler Presented by Brent Cochrane	08 Gary, Keith Mrs Ed Wallace & Issac Wallace Challenge Trophy for the Championship Hay Exhibit Won by Gary Gordon, Frontenac County Presented by Keith Lackey, OVSGA Director
09 Brian, Jim Hal Botham Memorial Trophy warded annually to the Championship Exhibitor of Forage Seeds Won by Bruce & Brian Hudson, Carleton County accepted by Brian Hudson Presented by Jim Arbuckle, OVSGA Director	10 James, Keith OVSG challenge for the Champion exhibit of Haylage Won by James Foster, Lanark County Presented by Keith Matthie, OVSGA Director
11 Jim, Daniel E.H. Wallace Memorial Trophy for the Champion exhibit of Soybeans Won by Daniel Lillico, Dundas County Presented by Jim Arbuckle, OVSGA Director	12 Daryl, Max synAgri Trophy for Championship open & 4-H ear of Corn Won byVogeldale Farms, Leeds County accepted by Max Vogel Presented by Daryl Acres
13 Dave, Don Embrun Agricultural Co-Op Trophy for the Champion Exhibit of Shelled Corn Won by David & Allen Hess, Grenville County, accepted by David Hess Presented by Don Lortie	14 Lois, Mack, Trevor Mack & Lois James Award for the most points in the 4-H section field crop classes Won by Trevor McDiarmid, Dundas County Presented by Mack & Lois James
15 Gary, Bob Hay Quality Competition (Class 49 First Place won by Gary Gordon, Frontenac County Presented by Bob Dick, OVSGA Director	16 France, Bob Second Place won by Ferme Gascon accepted by France Gascon Presented by Bob Dick, OVSGA Director
17 John, Keith Special Export Hay (Class 50) 1st cut won by Rob Nanne, Twin Peaks Farm, Lanark County accepted by John Nanne Presented By Keith Matthie, OVSGA Director	18 Cecil, Keith 2nd cut won by Cassbrae farms, Prescott County accepted by Cecil Cass Presented By Keith Matthie, OVSGA Director
19 Melanie, John John Posthumus Award for the most points in the 4-H section Life Skills classes Won by Melanie Briscoe, Renfrew County Presented by John Posthumus

     THEY SAID IT:       

"Farmers this year have made a lot of money on wheat."

OPINION 

• Green fuels: Up to task?   Go to story

Good agricultural business ideas don’t necessarily follow from sound principles of science.

OPINION 

• For animal activists in battle of ideas, any lie will do Go to story
  Recent reports on climate change are being used to vilify livestock farming like never before. Over past years there have been studies and reports, some credible some not, linking global warming to livestock and poultry. Such reports have always been used to prop up the arguments and credibility of those opposed to livestock production. Animal rights groups in particular hitch their wagon to any convenient truth that fits their mantra. Generally, though, these studies have gotten little notice other than an occasional headline or stand-up routine about belching cows. That is until now.

 ARTICLES 

• 81-year-old farmer dies in field   Go to story
  BELLEVILLE — An 81-year-old Prince Edward County farmer was killed while working in a field a few hundred metres from his home on the morning of Thursday, August 2.

• Farmers skeptical but say Risk Management is for real Go to story       Using Lloyd Crowe’s farm as backdrop, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that an Ontario Liberal government would forge ahead with a Risk Management Program (RMP) for the grains and oilseeds sector, without the hoped for 60 per cent funding from the federal government.

• How much will I get from RMP Go to story
  Here’s a simple example of how the new Risk Management Program works.
   

• Wheat leading way to good prices Go to story              
  Plant wheat. It’s easy to sell, in demand, and with the price over $200 per tonne a farmer can make a good profit, says Colin Reesor. Past editor of the Grain Newsletter and former Ministry of Agriculture economist, Reesor is now a crop farmer near Walkerton. He says he’s planting 50 acres of winter wheat, more than in past times, a trend reflected by farmers in his region.

• Brian Enright wins first Tri-County Holstein show Go to story              
  SPENCERVILLE— The inaugural grand champion at the Leeds, Dundas, and Grenville Holstein show — also named cow with best udder — was a five-year-old owned by Brian Enright, of Winright Farms near Winchester, in Dundas County.

• Dedicated to saving you money  Go to story  
  Wayne Davis is on a mission. As sales representative for Farmers of North America he says his western-based non-profit group can get you a better deal on a lot of things. He’ll sign you up for $250 a year and if he doesn’t save you that amount of money in one year, you get your money back.

• Eastern Ontario home to first digester to sell energy to power authority Go to story  
  ST. EUGENE — George Heinzle now has 150 dairy cows that are turning on kitchen lights and heating homes. That’s because last month, Heinzle’s methane digester was connected to the power grid. He’s the first farmer in Ontario to sell power back to the Ontario Power Authority, using methane gas, separated from the seemingly endless supply of manure from his cows.

• Rural Ottawa improved since amalgamation? Go to story  
  OTTAWA— A recent report by the City of Ottawa’s Rural Affairs Office says rural Ottawa residents, including about 1,400 farms, are better off since the 2001 amalgamation that swallowed up surrounding townships.

• Burning hay wagon sets fire to man's front yard Go to story  
  NORWOOD — Glen Cymbaluk was wakened at four o’clock in the afternoon by someone pounding on his door and hollering: "Call 911." The baby sitter made the call and Cymbaluk left his bed to see his lawn on fire and the flames headed for the house.

• Hiring foreign workers may not be easy  Go to story  
  IROQUOIS — Smyth’s Apple Orchard has been relying on foreign workers from the Caribbean for close to 40 years to get their apples off the trees and into stores. But as owner Sandra Beckstead explains, it is not as as easy to get workers as one might think.

• Morty becomes EBI's best seller  Go to story  
  KEMPTVILLE — Stouder Morty never made first place on Canada’s Lifetime Profit Index (LPI), which measures the worth of sons and daughters, though he did make the top 10. Nonetheless, in a barn filled with champions he’ll become the first bull at Eastern Breeders in Kemptville to join the millionaire club.

• Clarence learned to read at 93 Go to story  
  Clarence Brazier was too busy working on the farm to learn to read. Then his wife died. He was 93. There was no one else to turn to and he ended up spending hours on the front stoop reading junk mail and memorizing the letters for words such as "pizza," "hamburger" and "fries."

Stories for our subscribers:
 

• Ethanol construction underway near Prescott
  The much talked about Greenfield ethanol plant is now well under construction, just east of Prescott along the St. Lawrence River, in the tiny village of Johnstown.
   

• Pick a crop, leave some cash                                                                David Alguire doesn’t want to be tied to his farm gate vegetable stand. So he has a sign at the highway that reads "self-serve".He relies on the honour system. The prices are listed. You pick what you want and put your money in a box.

• Local farmers cautious of new ag minister        
  OTTAWA — Saskatchewan Conservative MP and former farmer Gerry Ritz, is now the new federal Minister of Agriculture. Former Minister of Agriculture Chuck Strahl moves into the Indian Affairs portfolio.
   

• Mobile cheese maker and health unit at odds over illness
  Cheese maker Remi Levac is standing his ground. The owner of a mobile cheese factory – a trailer he pulls with his van – says his cheese, made from unpasteurized milk, was not the cause of 24 people falling ill in Russell County and he now has the results from an independent lab to prove it. He faxed a copy of the results to Farmers Forum. The Silker Canada lab in Markham tested a cheese sample from Levac on July 25. Campylobacter was "not detected," test results show. Levac says the sample was from the same batch of cheese that caused 24 people to get sick back in early June.

• On-farm revenue bounces back
  Canadian farm cash receipts increased to a record level in the first six months of this year, as most crop, livestock and animal product prices rose.
   

• Number of beef producers drops 11 per cent in Ontario                              
  Though the size of the average cattle herd in Canada had increased from 127 head in 2001 to 144 head in 2006, the number of cattlemen has plummeted everywhere. But nowhere as much as in Ontario where, according to the latest census, the number of producers dropped 11.2 per cent to 25,040.

• 'Green' cheese plant on stream at Picton
  The Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company is building a 4,200 sq. ft. cheese factory in Prince Edward County. Production of small batches will begin in November and is expected to continue for several months until the plant works the gremlins out of the system.

• September Crop Report
  Corn: Eastern Ontario, Corn looks good. East-central, Yield potential extremely variable. Yields will definitely be down for the guys who didn't get enough rain. Renfrew County, Corn on well-drained soils looks excellent. Soybeans: Eastern Ontario, Looks like a good crop. East-central, Yield potential below average overall. Renfrew County, Some good looking fields with pods filling quite well. Early yields have high yield potential. Forages (hay): East-central, 1st-cut yields were very good, but 2nd and 3rd cut yields are significantly reduced. Ever since first cut, it's been too dry. The result: not much hay. The lucky ones got 2nd and 3rd cut. Northumberland, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, Final cut is near completion. Yield greatly impacted by dry weather. Renfrew County, Most 2nd cut came off in good condition. Cereals (wheat, spring grains, oats and barley): Eastern Ontario, Good test weight and yield for wheat. East-central, Winter wheat yields were close to normal, with excellent quality and good straw yields. Wheat yield was just below average. Northumberland, Hastings and Prince Edward Counties, Wheat yields were average to below average.