Last month, the federal Senate committee on banking proposed merging the FCC with the Business Development Bank of Canada to become a lending agency for small business.
Federal Agriculture Minister Ralph Goodale thinks the idea might help cut duplication, but he doesn't want to see FCC lose its farm flavour. "I think there is an overpowering need in the agricultural community...for there to be a financial institution with a specific focus upon the needs of agriculture," he told CTV's Sunday Edition in Ottawa last month.
As farmers are weaned off government support, they will need new tools to adapt, Goodale said, be it "equity capital...im-mediate commercial capital...[or] patient capital over the long term", giving farmers credit "in a user-friendly fashion, not a heavily- subsidized fashion".
As for merging with the business development bank, Goodale said he sees some "synergy...We don't need duplication and overlap. We don't need to waste a lot of effort with both sides trying to reinvent the wheel."
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson sees nothing wrong with eliminating waste as long as FCC remains intact: "It's critical that FCC does stay in existence...As long as we have a board with some significant policy input into the direction of FCC, [the proposal] doesn't have to mean the beginning of the end.
"We're looking aggressively to find ways to get rid of duplication and crossover."
Wilkinson says FCC has "done well in the marketplace", and its recently-released financial results prove the point. Begun in 1959 to offer farmers an alternative to the commercial banks, FCC posted positive results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1996. Loans were almost double the previous year, $1.03 billion versus $629 million.
Nor does Wilkinson see anything wrong with Goodale's plan to expand FCC's mandate into areas other than straight mortgages. Farmers today, for instance, need quick credit when landing export deals. FCC now offers credit for machinery purchases, and shared-risk mortgages, helping to "keep more tools out there in the marketplace," says Wilkinson. - JMM
Wilkinson takes on world
Jack Wilkinson has come a long way from his days on the farm in Lambton county.
Wilkinson, who today farms in Temiskaming, now walks the world stage in farm politics as vice-president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers.
He was elected to the position at IFAP's meeting last month in Paris, France, along with two other vice-presidents. Wilkinson will represent North America, French producer Jean Sapin represents Europe, and Zimbabwe's Garry Magadzire stays on as African vice-president.
Wilkinson says the move up can only help farmers back home, where he heads up the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Many of the issues are similar, he says. With a full-time president, Graham Blight of Australia, IFAP runs on a modest budget, similar to CFA, says Wilkinson.
He will concentrate on environment and trade, two key issues heading into the next round of trade talks in 1999, says Wilkinson, noting the question of "eco-labelling".
"It's useful for us to be involved" at the international level, he says. IFAP has standing with United Nations agencies, "advancing our cause at the international level." The vice-president's term is two years, and Wilkinson doesn't reveal where his aspirations lie after that: "Two years away is a lifetime." - JMM
Bare school bus stacks those big bales
It looks, sounds and rides like a bus - it must be a bus.
Wrong. It's really a five-ton truck waiting to be uncovered.
Sell the seats, use the windows for a greenhouse, and the roof
shell makes a great hay feeder. You're left with a five-ton
cab and chassis that's ideal for hauling big bales around the
farm.Using a retired school bus for hauling big bales isn't new but you may be interested in a little wrinkle that makes this truck different. If you'd like to eliminate a second loader tractor at the delivery end of your haul, and a lot of time - read on.
Side View, Top View
At the barn the whole load slides off as a unit and stays stacked. The 26-foot-long, original floor has been fitted with roller conveyor sections that allow the load to be pulled off the back as you drive the truck ahead - just as a lumber yard delivers a load of lumber. Before bales are loaded, a three-quarter-inch poly rope harness is laid on the rollers. After loading (12 bales on the first layer, five on the second), the rope is looped around the bales, holding them securely for transport. At the barn, the same rope acts as a harness to pull the load off.
Attach a steel cable to a stout post. Hook the rope harness to this cable, and then drive ahead. The load slides off the back. Yes, folks, it's just that simple. With a well-located post, it's easy to fan out the loads, dropping each load side by side. In this application, 17 bales were drawn per load and 14 loads were slid off side by side before the one and only loader tractor was brought back from the field to stack.
Sections of roller conveyor are sometimes found in scrap yards and factory demolition sites. I know it's humbling to forage around like this, but in the Ontario cattle business, we must be thankful for any crumbs that fall from the chalice on its way to the more worthy.
The rollers shown are in 10-foot channel frame sections that allow for the replacement of damaged rollers. If you are short of roller sections, place them towards the rear of the truck bed; the bales near the cab can be on waxed planks. As you pull ahead in low gear, most of the rolling activity occurs on the rear half of the truck bed.
Oh yes - to retrieve the harness from the cast-off load, hook the undone rope harness to the rear truck bumper and drive ahead. The rope will pull out from under the bales. This project requires some out-of-position welding: vertical, horizontal and perhaps overhead. If you can, rotate a small project so welds are done in the flat position; overall quality and appearance are better.
There are four tips for welding out of position: correct electrode type, machine heat setting, puddle size and arc length. You try to keep the liquid weld puddle small and allow it to solidify quickly before it has time to drool and dribble its way down the joint. A great rod for this type of welding is E6011, a deep digging rod with a small puddle that solidifies quickly and is known in the trade as a "fast freeze rod".
Machine heat settings need to be adjusted with each position you weld in and for each joint design and metal thickness you select; you want good, complete penetration on one hand and control of the liquid puddle on the other. Practice on scraps pays off.
Arc length, the distance from the end of the burning electrode
to the surface of the metal, should be kept as short as
possible; a long arc will allow the liquid in the unsolidified
puddle to sag, distorting your weld and resulting in poor
penetration.
Ken Valiquette is a cattleman and welder in Prince Edward
county.
Virtual Farm Show
By ANNE DOUGLAS Special to Farm and Country
When dairy producer Brian Kerby of Stirling, Ont., finishes night milking, he makes a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal, then settles at his computer to talk with other farmers by e-mail. Now, he'll be able to hobnob at a the Virtual Farm Show.
The Virtual Farm Show is exactly what it sounds like - a farm trade show - only instead of taking up physical space, it takes up cyberspace. That means it's located on the World Wide Web, a location accessible only by personal computer and modem.
Launched in April at the "First Canadian Agricultural Internet Marketing Conference" held at the University of Guelph, the Virtual Farm Show is owned and run by a new Internet agricultural marketing company called agribiz.net. The cyberspace trade show is designed to offer farmers all the benefits of a regular trade show - shooting the breeze, catching the latest trends, inspecting and purchasing parts, supplies and services at exhibitor tents - without having to leave the farm.
"A farmer needs one place that has everything he needs," says Ginty Jocius of Ginty Jocius and Associates, co-founder of agribiz.net. "We have that place and it's called the Virtual Farm Show."
Kerby says the Virtual Farm Show will be useful because it pulls together all Internet farm services such as weather forecasts, commodity prices, news from producer organizations and discussion groups for farmer networking and communication. That way, he says, farmers won't have to search through information traffic jams on the superhighway.
Kerby is also the founder and manager of Farmers Online, a Web site and Internet discussion group, which is a project of the Hastings Federation of Agriculture. He believes the World Wide Web can be a valuable tool for farmers, if it offers more than advertising. He would like to be able to order supplies and parts by modem, and that's one of the services the Virtual Farm Show plans to offer.
But none of that will happen until more companies become exhibitors. At presstime, the Virtual Farm Show had only nine exhibitors, including the Royal Bank of Canada, First Line Seeds of Guelph and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Until there are more, Kerby says, it won't work.
Exhibiting at the Virtual Farm Show works just like traditional trade shows. Companies buy space from agribiz.net which offer various exhibitor packages. Those packages include the creation of a web-site or computerized "tent", with room for information and images.
Farmers visit these virtual exhibits for free via their computers, to find out about products and services or e-mail the company for more information. They can also order products by Internet with their credit cards.
A "Bronze" package includes five "pages" or screens of information plus five graphics whereas the "Gold" package, at $10,000, offers 20 pages of information, 20 graphics, 12 hours of update service per year and various other perqs. Also offered are ads in the "Ag-Yellow Pages."
Kerby says he's got mixed feelings about the whole idea. Although the Virtual Farm Show may prove to be a helpful service to farmers, it will dwarf farmer-run Internet initiatives. To go to the show: www.agribiz.net
Hay producers can't cope with soaring exports
By ROBERT IRWIN
The Ontario Hay Producers Association has grown steadily in recent years but needs a lot more than its current 175 members to cope with recent export opportunities, says newly-elected president Sam Greydanus. In addition to the normal demand from American race horse owners, the association was recently approached to supply hay for Italy and Japan.
The Italian request is particularly large. "You just look at it and shrug your shoulders because you can never come close," says Greydanus.
Japan imports about one million tonnes of hay annually for dairy animals. Sixty thousand tonnes came from Canada last year. Most originated in Alberta.
A representative for exporter Wilbur-Ellis told the hay producers' recent annual meeting that the firm is looking to Ontario to overcome quality problems with some Alberta hay. Says Greydanus: "There are quite a number of farmers and dealers who have used the association to find a relationship and now they've got this little marriage. The dealer picks up the farmer's hay and now he doesn't need the Ontario Hay Producers any more and they're on their merry way." Membership in the association costs $20 annually.
Greydanus, a Napanee-area hay grower, says one export order his group is studying would require a timothy-sudan grass mix. He expects prices for top-quality hay will continue at $100 to $120 per tonne. But prices could rise if recent reports of declining forage seed sales are accurate. Evidence is starting to emerge that growers, driven by current high corn and soybean prices, may be planting those crops on hay acreage. The Ontario hay association hopes this summer to sponsor local demonstrations of microwave hay drying equipment developed in Florida. "We want to know if this technology has any value for Ontario," explains Greydanus. The unit picks up fresh-cut hay in the field, and discharges it ready for immediate baling.
Farm groups to face public scrutiny
By BERNARD TOBIN
Ontario's stable funding for farm organizations legislation will be under the microscope this month.
Both the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario will have to show they have played by the rules set out in Bill 42, farmer registration legislation passed by the New Democratic government in 1993. Under the legislation, Ontario farmers must annually submit data on their farm operation to the agriculture ministry and submit a $150 cheque to one of the two farm organizations. If farmers don't wish to support the organization, they can request a refund.
Both organizations will appear this month before the Farm Organizations Accreditation Tribunal seeking re-accreditation. The OFA hearing runs for three days at Toronto's Regal Constellation hotel from May 14 to 16. The CFFO hearing will be at the Walper Terrace hotel in Kitchener from May 28 to 30. Inger Tai, secretary to the tribunal, says the farm groups are required to demonstrate to the tribunal that they met the criteria set out in the regulations of Bill 42.
Some of the rules include contributing to local affiliations, providing agricultural education or training, and giving advice and analysis to governments on agricultural issues. It's a public hearing and people can speak their minds, Tai says. A decision will likely be handed down within a month after the hearings are completed.
The seven-member Tribunal includes: chairman Charlie Broadwell of London; Normand Demers, Earlton; Brigid Pyke, Wolfe Island; Anne McKenzie, Englehart; Gordon Hill, Varna; Hilbert Rumph, Drayton; and Betty Semeniuk, Thamesford.
The debate will likely heat up this fall, the deadline for a legislative review. Provincial Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve has the option of reviewing the legislation, but has yet to make a decision on whether he will.
"If there's a problem, perceived or real, and it comes to me in vast numbers, it's my responsibility [to review]," Villeneuve says.
"I certainly won't look at it if there's no need, and if there's a great need we will have no choice." For now, he's reserving judgment.
Both the OFA and the CFFO say they're pleased with the process, but the Ontario chapter of the National Farmers Union will be pressing Villeneuve to review the legislation. The NFU took part in preliminary discussions when the legislation was being hammered out, but after its request for a farmer vote on the issue was denied, it opted out of the process.
NFU's Ontario co-ordinator Peter Dowling says the organization will be pushing Villeneuve to revisit the legislation. "We've put it on his agenda," Dowling says.
When the legislation was passed, then Agriculture Minister Elmer Buchanan, the CFFO and OFA all argued that farmers had the right to vote with their cheque books, and could request to have the $150 fee refunded.
The law "is tied to a process that is not a voting process," Dowling says. "It's not comparable to a vote we're used to in a democratic society."
OFA vice-president Ed Segsworth doesn't share Dowling's view. He says farmers can vote with their cheques. "People see the work OFA is doing, the benefit, and are prepared to support it," Segsworth says.
He says the system is at times cumbersome and requires tinkering. "The Health Act wasn't perfect to start with, but it improved."
Segsworth also points out that OFA's refund rate went down last year, the second year of the program. Final figures for 1996 have yet to be calculated.
Christian Farmers research director Elbert van Donkersgoed says stable funding is "an excellent way for the farm community to provide excellent representation."
He maintains that, despite some headaches, "the vast majority of farmers have found the process simple."
If the minister does reopen the legislation, the CFFO would like to see a fee scale based on farm size, van Donkersgoed says, but the government and the OFA would have to approve.
Seaway Valley lands $3m
Seaway Valley Farmers Energy Co-operative president Bud Atkins announced last week that the general contract for a $40-million ethanol plant has been awarded to Laframboise Group, Cornwall. As expected, Raphael Katzen and Associates will be process designer and Simon Carves Fenco has been selected as engineer.
Both companies have extensive ethanol experience. Atkins says May 13, 1996, is the official launch date.
Seaway directors have been sorting through proposals since learning last month that their financial arrangements met the criteria for a long-awaited $3-million grant promised by Agriculture Minister Noble Villeneuve. Although share sales failed to meet targets specified by the Minister, two unnamed companies stepped forward at the last minute with pledges of $3 million each.
Atkins predicts the plant will begin generating ethanol in August, 1997. He maintains record-high corn prices won't slow the project. Prices of outputs such as distillers grains and ethanol have climbed since the project was first conceived. "We could pay over $200 per tonne for corn right now and still show a profit," Atkins calculates. He points out that futures prices for corn are around $170. - RI