Newfoundland - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative
Newfoundland - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative
Newfoundland - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Today's teacher<br />
meets the challenges<br />
of today and tomorrow<br />
... challenges for the teacher, and even greater<br />
challenges for the students.<br />
Today's students need much more than the basics <br />
reading, writing, and arithmetic. They must be prepared<br />
for a different tomorrow. The future they inherit will<br />
hurtle them into the 21st century ... an era where<br />
technological developments Of awesome dimensions will<br />
occur with ever accelerating frequency ... a new world<br />
where ideas, notions. plans and dreams are assessed,<br />
analyzed, communicated. accepted o r rejected at<br />
frightening speed.<br />
A simple fact of life is that life<br />
will never again be as simple<br />
as it is, even today.<br />
That's something to think abo ut.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Teachers' Association
DICKSavvash<br />
Volume 14, Number 4, July-August 1985<br />
To our subscribers<br />
e don't usually air our concerns in this colum<br />
n but this time we' re driven to ma ke an<br />
W<br />
except ion.<br />
We a re app roaching renewal time for most subscr<br />
ibers and we are worried that some of vou. becau<br />
se you may not have been getting your copies<br />
of De-cks Awash regularly. may decide not to<br />
contin ue.<br />
To cite just one example, a Iady who lives on<br />
Bristo l Street, S1.Jo hn's ca lled July 19 to say she<br />
hadn 't received her May-June issue. We checked<br />
the reco rds. Her copy had been mai led J une 20.<br />
A half hour later she ca lled again to say the postman<br />
had just deliver ed her magazine. That 's 29<br />
day s for a n item to tr avel four miles within the<br />
same city! This is not an isolated case. Would that<br />
it were !<br />
If you have complaints abo ut your postal serv <br />
ice, we urge JOU to write Canada Post - don't forget<br />
your 3H sta mp. Only you ca n help improve<br />
what appears to be an incr ea singly inefficient<br />
service. With the recent postal rate increases<br />
necessary to help defer Canada Post' s $400 mil-<br />
DECKS AWASH -<br />
lion deficit - yes. S-IOO, OOO. (H)() - we as Canadians<br />
deserve bette r.<br />
Fortunately, one thing that has not cha nged is<br />
our subscription rates. They remain at $9 a yea r.<br />
Since for many of you this is re newal time , we<br />
urge you to check your address label for your expiry<br />
dale. Do renew your subscription in plent y<br />
of time to avoid missi ng a n issue. Our continued<br />
survival depends on you, our subscribers.<br />
Thank you for continuing to support us.<br />
Subscription Renewal<br />
Reminder!<br />
Your subscription expiry date appears<br />
on your address label. Subscribers .<br />
should renew on or before that date by<br />
sending a cheque or money order for<br />
$9.00to Deck. A.llb.<br />
Please include your address label with<br />
your subscription renewal.<br />
Subscribers will Dot be notltied that<br />
their subscriptions have expired.<br />
Table of contents<br />
Special Section _ 3<br />
History 5<br />
Farming today . 9<br />
vegetables . _. . . . . . . . . 9<br />
dairy . 18<br />
beer cattle .. . . . . . . . 29<br />
hogs ... .. . . . . .. 32<br />
sheep .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . .. .35<br />
chicke-n and e-ggs . . . .-12<br />
gre-enhouses .. .. .. .. .. . .. 46<br />
berries 52<br />
Iurs 56<br />
trout . . , 61<br />
support systems . . . . . . . . . . 62<br />
editorial .. . . 68<br />
Features 69<br />
Home gardening 69<br />
Actin g to the Power of two . 70<br />
Ocean Ranger Report .. . 72<br />
Secr ets down the- Labrador coast. . . 75<br />
The loss of the Drake . . . . . . . . . . . 76<br />
Birds or . .ewfoundland _ 1j<br />
Letter-s 79<br />
Edi tor : Sally Lou Le ~t essu rier . Writers: Clifford Grinling. Roger Burrows Photographers: Clilford Grinling. Roger Bur <br />
fO\/Io·S. Sally Lou te Messurie r Production and Advert ising Manager: Anne Conway. Circulation: Hazel Harris. P hotogra pllic<br />
Process ing: linin"nit)" Photography. <strong>Memorial</strong>linin'nity of :"N1ound1and; Chlfon:l.Grinling Layout and Printing: Robinson<br />
Bla ckmo~ Printing & Publishing Limited. St. J ohn's.• ·F Cover Photo: Yicki Ililliard . ("ape Anguillf'. by Roger Burrows<br />
For advertising. contact Tom Follett. 737-1H86 or 579-7304 Decks Awash is published six times annually b)' the Division 0{ Extension<br />
Service. School 0{ Continu ing Studies and Extension. <strong>Memorial</strong> University 01, 'ewfoundland, Canadia n second-class<br />
postal per mit No.5933,Postal Station A. No mat erial contained herem may be ~prodoced without permission from the editor,<br />
Unsolicited manuscripts will be returned only when accompanied by a stamped seU-addressed envelope. Subscriptions are<br />
nailable at $9 per yea r by writing to Decks Awash , ~!emorial umversuy of ~ev.·foundland. SI. John's. N{"\/Io·foundland. AlC<br />
5S7.or te lephone 737-8484. Cheques or money orders made payable to Mf"morial University must accompany subscriptions
2 - DECKS AWASH<br />
n.~<br />
~<br />
HARVEY<br />
FISHERY SALT<br />
SERVING THE FISHING INDUSTRY IN<br />
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR<br />
HIGH QUALITY SOLAR SALT<br />
BAGS AND BULK<br />
Prices quoted are FOB Argentia and St. John's<br />
or<br />
Delivered to the customer's door anywhere in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> and Labrador<br />
R. HRRVEY RND COMPRNY LIMITED<br />
:OUITE 200 0. f OI T W I LL I A.M BUilDING fACTORY lANE<br />
5 T J O H N"S NEWfOUNDlAND CANADA<br />
Building 12, Argentls<br />
Phone 227·5603<br />
Telex 016-3109<br />
Harve y Industr ial Estat es<br />
Torbay Road 51.John 's<br />
Phone 576·4722<br />
Telex 016·4907
special section<br />
DECKS AWASH - 3<br />
Farming in N ewfoundland
Enter the experience oJ.<br />
a new financial era with:<br />
PERSONAL LOANS<br />
• In person or by mail<br />
• Fixed or variable rates<br />
• Insurance available<br />
PLAN 24<br />
• Daily intarast savings<br />
accounts<br />
• No service charge<br />
CHEQUE MATE SERVICE<br />
PACKAGE<br />
• Unlimited free chequing<br />
• No charge travellers cheques.<br />
money orders. utility bills.<br />
• monthly interest.<br />
• $10.000 insurance.<br />
* Everyone Welcomel<br />
* Full Range of f;lanking Services.<br />
4S0Av.lonDnvl"<br />
Men'hell BUIlding<br />
L.brador Citv, Nltd ,<br />
A2V IK7<br />
Phone 944-7101<br />
)41 Freshwate r R Odd<br />
St . John' s, Ntld<br />
A18 i c..<br />
PhonfO H4 ·'lJl1<br />
JIMalnSlreel<br />
Corner Brook. Nlld<br />
A2H 6Z1<br />
Phone 634 ·5141<br />
28A Cromer avenue<br />
Grand Falls . NlId<br />
A,A 1)(1<br />
Phone 489 .90SI<br />
NEWFOUNDLAND and LA8RADOR<br />
~ CREDIT UNION<br />
~ WELCOME TO YOUR WORLD!
DECKS AWASH - 5<br />
history<br />
A<br />
gricult ure in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> and Labrador has always<br />
played. a secondary role to the fishery, partly<br />
because of poor soils and a short growing season, but<br />
also because of government policy. John Guy at Cupids<br />
and Sir George Calvert at Ferry land were the first to<br />
establish fanning colonies in the early 16005.Other small<br />
settlements followed on the Avalon Peninsula, perhaps<br />
lured by over-optimislic accounts such as that wr itten<br />
by Captain Whitbourne in a report to King James I about<br />
the settlement at Cambrtol Crrepassey) in 1622:<br />
..the soyle of this countrey...is so Irui teful...the<br />
summer naturally produeeth.... without the labour<br />
of man's hands. great plenty of green pease and<br />
fitches, Caire. round. full and wholesome as our<br />
fitches in England ... (they' are good fodder for<br />
cattell and other beasts in the winter. with the<br />
helpe of bay. 01which there rna)' be made gr eat<br />
store with little labour."<br />
There may have bee n local successes with crops, but<br />
livestock generally did poorly because of a lac k of feed<br />
and a failure in raising cereal crops. England also opposed<br />
permanent settlement of <strong>Newfoundland</strong>. which<br />
was governed solely for fishery interests. The pleas of<br />
the few remaining colonists fell on deaf ears so that by<br />
1700Carbonear and Bonavista were the only remaining<br />
English agricultural settlements. Some fishermen did<br />
cultivate vegetable plots and raised a few an ima ls. In<br />
17.Jl.500acres of cleared cultivated la nd, 300cattle, 200<br />
sheep and 300 swine were reported , just a dozen years<br />
after the first governor, Captain Henry Osbor ne, was<br />
sent to Newioundland in 1729.<br />
F ree Farms<br />
For Thousands<br />
Reminder of a pa~ era allhe Hilliard farm in Cape AngUilie<br />
The American Revolution was the major catalyst for<br />
agricultural expansion around St. John's and on the west<br />
side of Conception Bay. Cutbacks in food imports from<br />
America forced residents to increase local production<br />
A similar situation prevailed in the early 18005when Britain<br />
was at war with France and the United States. This<br />
brought a further expansion in acreage under cultivation.<br />
As $1. John's developed into a major trading port<br />
and military base, the market for farm prod uce grew,<br />
and local immigrants of Irish fanning stock were idea lly<br />
equipped to work on the land. A committee set up by the<br />
British parliament investigat ing the situation in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
after three disastrous fires and a frigid winter<br />
in 1816-18 still considered farming imp ractical. La nd<br />
ownership remained insecure until Eng lis h Commo n<br />
Law was upheld in 1lll9, making it possi ble for man y<br />
squatters to gain legal title,<br />
By 1836 the population of Newfound la nd was ap prox i<br />
mately 75,OOOand ma ny fis he rmen had tur ned to sma llscale<br />
subsistence farming, having cleared between them<br />
some 11,200acres of land. There were also a small number<br />
of wealthy landowners in farming se tt lements<br />
around $1. John's and at nearby Conception an d 51.<br />
Mary's Bays. The larger farms were located near the<br />
forts within a mile of St. John's, but, as roads were built<br />
in the early lSOOs. commercial farms were established<br />
at Quidi Vidi, Bally Ha ly, Brookfield Roa d an d Virginia<br />
Waters. The 18+1Crown Lands Act brought some stability<br />
to land title and encouraged a further expansion<br />
in ether parts of the Avalon Peninsula.<br />
In 1825,Cape Bretoners settled the Codroy Vall e)' and<br />
the southern shore of Bay 51. George, establishing long,<br />
narrow homesteads along river valleys. Marketing of<br />
products from the Codrcy was a major problem, but the<br />
establishment of a regular trading route with 51. P ierre<br />
and the remainder of the southwest coast of <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
attracted merchants and allowed more rapid expansion<br />
after 1850. The area still remained largely<br />
undeveloped by U57, when 42,167acres had been cleared<br />
on the Island. About half of the Island's 1700farmers<br />
....ere located in the 51. John's area and half the remainder<br />
on the southern shore of Conception Bay, The<br />
well-being of commercial agriculture was det er min ed<br />
by access to relatively large, local markets. Government<br />
assistance to the first Agricultural Society founded in
6 - DECKS AWASH<br />
Mare ready 10 loal at Cape Anguille<br />
1842 was meagre and few farmers were able to main <br />
tain themselves solely on their farm income.<br />
Agricultural practices varied according to the status<br />
of the farmer. Most of the first Irish farmers were also<br />
fishermen, loggers and laborers on the many road<br />
projects of the lSOOs.Seventy per cent of the farms on<br />
the Avalon Peninsula were established by Irish settlers<br />
who made clearing the land a family affair. It normally<br />
took three times as long to clear land as it did on the<br />
mainland and the thin soils required intensive fertilization,<br />
usually fish offal, caplin. kelp and organic peat.<br />
Around 51. John's. drainage projects to improve the<br />
cleared land allowed commercial operations to flourish<br />
supplying fresh produce and milk to a growing market.<br />
Elsewhere, farmers raised livestock and grew hay, potatoes<br />
and turnips for local consumption. Many of the<br />
planting methods and crop rotations developed in the late<br />
Spencer Bridge - specialized a
a research station of its own, but the school was discontinued,<br />
The Commission of Government established a number<br />
of farming communities throughout the island and<br />
encouraged existing full-time fanning in the Codroy Valley,<br />
Deer Lake and Green Bay areas. Pasture improvement<br />
and animal husbandry schemes helped increase<br />
the cleared acreage and productivity of <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s<br />
farms.<br />
World War It had a debilitating effect on farming.<br />
Employment created by the establishment of military<br />
bases, together with men joining the armed forces<br />
caused a decline in the number of farmers to just 2,809<br />
in 19-15. Tbe post-war land development policy. however.<br />
led to the establishment of many farms in the Humber<br />
Valley with ex-servicemen laking advantage of a preference<br />
policy.<br />
Confederation in 1949 brought a number of changes,<br />
the most profound and enduring being the removal of<br />
tariff restrictions on mainland agricuJtural produce.Tbe<br />
high costs of production on small <strong>Newfoundland</strong> farms<br />
and high winter feed costs for livestock made many<br />
farms uncompetuive with mainland imports. By 1955<br />
some 50 per cent of the farms in operation in 1945 had<br />
closed. The only farmers able to compete successfully<br />
were the dairy and egg producers who also benefited<br />
from federal freight assistance for feed grains.<br />
In 1955, a Royal Commission on Agriculture undertook<br />
a two-year study of <strong>Newfoundland</strong> agriculture and concluded<br />
that government programs should be directed<br />
towards commercial rather than part-time fanning. This<br />
focus on commercial farming has been the policy of successive<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> governments working in conjunction<br />
with the federal government on agricultural policy.<br />
The Canada/<strong>Newfoundland</strong> Agriculture Development<br />
Subsidiary Agreement signed in 1978brought new programs<br />
in soil and feed improvements, marketing, landuse<br />
planning and development, and agricultural facilities,<br />
About half of the province's farms are located between<br />
St. John's and Musgravetown. One third are found on<br />
the west coast from the Codroy Valley to Port au Port<br />
and inland to Cormack, and most of the remainder are<br />
located in the area from Green Bav to Gander. A few<br />
farms are also located on the Northern Peninsula and<br />
in Labrador. Dairy and beef cattle operations are the<br />
most common, closely followed by root crop and mixed<br />
farms. Poultry, hog and sheep farms and a variety of<br />
specialized operations can also be found across the<br />
Island.<br />
Taylors Bay, Burin Peoinsuta In 1969 cuttlVated land reda,imed<br />
from bog - sacks contain lenllizer and seed potatoes (photo<br />
Peter Crabb)<br />
Searslon -<br />
1969 root cellar (photo Peter Crabb)<br />
A number of popular myths have been advanced toexplain<br />
why farming in Newfoundlarx:lhas not grown more<br />
rapidly. These include the non-farming nature of its<br />
population and the problem of the French Shore. While<br />
it is true that the emphasis has always been on the fisher)',<br />
there is likely more substance to the explanation<br />
that a short growing season and poor soils have made<br />
development difficult. Until more land is cleared and<br />
used for farming, it is hard to determine whether <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
could support itself in all but a few farm<br />
products.<br />
Soilfonnation and development are inhibited by <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s<br />
humid climate, acid bedrock and largely<br />
coniferous vegetation, all of which contribute to poor soil<br />
conditions that restrict crop development. Spring is<br />
delayed by the Arctic pack ice on the east coast and<br />
by the prevailing westerlies elsewhere. 1be growing season<br />
is generally delayed until late May and is up to a<br />
month shorter than in the other Atlantic provinces. In<br />
addition. drainage is poor, except on the west coast and<br />
in river deposits in the interior. Most fannlands require<br />
large quantities 01lime and fertilizer to remain productive.<br />
raising costs and resulting in higher market prices.<br />
The major factors that have slewed agricultural development<br />
include the pattern of settlement close to good<br />
fishing grounds. the late development of a transportation<br />
system, the lack of commercial markets, the
8 - OECKS AWASH<br />
difficulty in obtaining credit and the arrival oftariff-free<br />
mainland produce followingConfederation. Another factor<br />
has been lack of a united voice for farmers, partially<br />
solved by the 1974 formation of the <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Federation of Agriculture. This organization has acted<br />
as the liaison between the government and about 30%<br />
of the island's fanners and has been influential in some<br />
aspects of provincial and federal farm policy. Further<br />
development would be assisted by the signing and implementation<br />
of a new subsidiary agreement between<br />
the federal and provincial governments.<br />
818I.JOGRAI'II\<br />
AlI:riull,,", c......: "'.. I_DIll....
DeCKS AWASH - 9<br />
farming today<br />
vegetables<br />
Give us the same advantages<br />
om Lester is a big, solid man<br />
T and looks every inch a fanner.<br />
He should. The Lesters have<br />
been farming <strong>Newfoundland</strong> continuously<br />
since 1836.At one time<br />
there were over a dozen Lesters<br />
farming in the Brookfield Road<br />
area; now there are just Tom, his<br />
brother Jim, and Jim's three<br />
sons.<br />
" I went to work in 1937. I was<br />
16," says Tom, "It's changed<br />
quite a bit since then. In 1938we<br />
were self-sufficient in potatoes,<br />
today we are only 15% selfsufficient.<br />
Confederation knocked<br />
the vegetable market quite hard.<br />
Now we get a lot of vegetables<br />
sent here at lower than our price<br />
of production. Prince Edward Island<br />
10 - DECKS AWASH<br />
the costs to us were $375-$400 an<br />
acre. Our competition, like Nova<br />
Scotia, gels a subsidy or something<br />
like $500an acre.<br />
"It should be possible to grow<br />
all the forage we need for dairy<br />
fanning, enough for summer and<br />
plenty for winter to cut down on<br />
your grain consumption. Right<br />
now hay costs us $60 a ton and<br />
$140freight to bring it in. H you<br />
have to bring in cattle, hay, and<br />
grain from outside you might as<br />
well bring in a tanker load of<br />
milk, it'd be cheaper.<br />
"Then there's machinery,<br />
that's where we really get<br />
rooked. H your tractor breaks<br />
down in PEl, there's a dealer<br />
there ready to supply you with<br />
one if he hasn't got a part. Not<br />
here. We have had to wait as long<br />
as six weeks for parts to come in<br />
from Europe on a Canadian International<br />
tractor that was<br />
made partly in Germany and<br />
partly in France.<br />
For a moment words fail Tom<br />
Big Mac of the Highlands<br />
ituated on a side road off the<br />
S Sl. Davids road, Highlands is<br />
a Scottish and Irish settlement on<br />
the coast between the Codroy<br />
Valley and the Robinsons area.<br />
MC6t of the inhabitants are inshore<br />
fishermen, but the fields<br />
lining the road indicate that<br />
farming also takes place here.<br />
If you see a tall figure aboard<br />
a farm tractor near the church,<br />
chances are you've met up with<br />
Ed Macinnis. Ed and his wife,<br />
Elin, are fairly typical of the<br />
younger farmers in the province<br />
in many ways. They value the independence<br />
that farming provides<br />
them and they realize the<br />
total commitment that it demands.<br />
Elin is willing to combine<br />
her farm schedule with the demands<br />
of her year-old son, Matthew,<br />
and is an equal partner in<br />
every aspect of the farm<br />
operation.<br />
"We're just beginning our<br />
fourth crop year," Ed informs us<br />
after taking us on a guided tour<br />
of the farm, which consists of<br />
several separate areas. "Capital<br />
is the biggest problem for most<br />
farmers. We used our own savings<br />
to buy land that was cleared<br />
but badly run-down, which gave<br />
us an advantage over people having<br />
to clear the land from<br />
scratch. When we started, a lot of<br />
vegetable growers were getting<br />
out of farming. We've increased<br />
our acreage each year up to now,<br />
but I don't see us doing any extra<br />
this year. We started orr with cole<br />
crops, then two years of potatoes,<br />
Elln and Ed Macinnis<br />
out of production for a year and<br />
then back into cole crops again.<br />
It could bea better rota tion with<br />
more land.<br />
"The sandy soil here responds<br />
well to limestone and we don't<br />
have any long, dry spells. Our<br />
growing season is certainly as<br />
long as anywhere else in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
At this point, the third<br />
week in June, we're on schedule<br />
with last year. It was a bad<br />
spring, but we're at the point that<br />
we can get a lot done in two days.<br />
We have all our own equipment,<br />
mostly brought second-hand, and<br />
there are a few non-essential<br />
items I would like to get. We can't<br />
become fully mechanized to the<br />
point that someone with four or<br />
five times our land base could,<br />
but we can cut costs."<br />
as he reflects on the multinational<br />
character of his tractor. Then<br />
he sums the farmer's position up.<br />
"What we want is the same<br />
treatment farmers in other<br />
provinces get. Nova Scotia farmers<br />
get a fertilizer subsidy and<br />
their limestone and land-clearing<br />
subsidies are better than ours. If<br />
we have to be competitive with<br />
fanners from Nova Scotia, PEl<br />
and Quebec, then give us the<br />
same advantages so we can<br />
compete. "<br />
Now the farm is at a point<br />
where Ed would like to consolidate<br />
and expand.<br />
"I'm planning to go with just<br />
vegetables and hay from next<br />
year on. We won't have cattle because<br />
they don't really offer us<br />
any income and we don't have<br />
room for sheep here. If there is a<br />
subsidiary agreement and land<br />
subsidies become available, I<br />
would like to get some land for<br />
hay, which would work in with<br />
our vegetable rotations. We're<br />
juststarting land with annual rye<br />
grass for one year to prepare it<br />
for vegetables, but I'd like to<br />
grow a crop of hay before planting<br />
vegetables."<br />
Farming is a business and decisions<br />
ha ve to be made on a<br />
business-like basis.
"We hire labor at harvest time<br />
and last year we had someone for<br />
25weeks," Ed comments. "Quite<br />
a lot of the work done by hired<br />
help, start-up and building for instance,<br />
is not related to field<br />
work. We're a bit better organized<br />
now and have cut down<br />
labor costs as we become a little<br />
better at what we're doing. It's a<br />
shame with unemployment so<br />
high, but you can't afford to take<br />
onextra costs in this kind of operatjon.<br />
There's nothing wrong with<br />
technology and the way I look at<br />
it. a lot of young people have been<br />
turned off by the long hours of<br />
back-breaking work. We have to<br />
use the technology as it becomes<br />
available and build up viable<br />
farms for young people to take<br />
over."<br />
Ed sees the knowledge and<br />
management side of farming<br />
just as important as the time<br />
Growing and prospering<br />
E<br />
lvis and Marion Gillam of<br />
Loch Leven are another ...<br />
young couple who have taken up<br />
farming fairly recently. With the<br />
help of Marion's neice, Mary Ann<br />
Downey. and daughter. Sally<br />
Ann, they now run a vegetable<br />
farm and sell their produce in<br />
Corner Brook.<br />
"I came from Frenchman's<br />
Cove 17years ago," Elvis tells us<br />
after the day's work is done. "My<br />
father had to retire three years<br />
early and I gave up my plans to<br />
go to college. He put the 98acres<br />
he owned, including 21 acres on<br />
the river flats, up for sale but he<br />
couldn't get a decent price, so I<br />
decided that I would buy it. There<br />
was $10,000 of pulpwood on it,<br />
anyway, but I wanted to farm. I<br />
had to wait until I was old enough<br />
to borrow money. The money I<br />
did have in the bank went into<br />
putting in the road so that I could<br />
get the tractor in.<br />
"I started farming about seven<br />
years ago when the subsidiary<br />
agreement was in place. I<br />
couldn't get a farm loan the first<br />
year because I didn't have<br />
spent out in the fields.<br />
"In any type of specialized<br />
fanning the farmer needs to be<br />
good at it," he contends. "The<br />
time I spend on reading about<br />
hay production and with my<br />
pocket calculator is just as important<br />
as the physical work out<br />
in the fields. If I have a management<br />
decision to make I'll drop<br />
what I'm doing and get into the<br />
filing cabinet. If you have a fann<br />
that keeps up with the times and<br />
you can predict with a reasonable<br />
amount of accuracy how the<br />
business is doing, then you have<br />
a business that's just as good as<br />
any other. It's easy to kid yourself<br />
you're doing well if you<br />
don't keep your books up-to-date,<br />
Elin and I work full time and we<br />
employ other people through the<br />
year. We started from scratch,<br />
but we make a good living while<br />
some businesses take five years<br />
to get on an even keel.<br />
DECKS AWASH _ 11<br />
"You have to decide what<br />
branch of farming to get into and<br />
realize it is your only source of income.<br />
This year we'll have<br />
produce to sell year round and<br />
this is something that the<br />
province can improve on. In<br />
winter the weather is not all that<br />
co-operative and you need good<br />
storage. We have two stores that<br />
we have built ourselves and we're<br />
planning another one this year.<br />
Communal storage doesn't work<br />
for full-time fanners. If you have<br />
a large portion of your income<br />
tied up in stored vegetables, you<br />
want to have control over it. We<br />
get our buildings cooled off and<br />
sealed if we hear that there is going<br />
to be a week of warm<br />
weather. You can't afford to have<br />
someone open up the storage for<br />
a few bags of vegetables." ~<br />
Greenhouse grown plants in a rocky outdoor environment.<br />
enough land cleared. Over the<br />
next two years I borrowed $30,000<br />
and that doesn't even buy a halfdecent<br />
tractor. There weren't<br />
many funds available, but they<br />
did get us started,<br />
"We tried to followthe policy of<br />
clearing what land can beusedin<br />
a year, but, by the time you clear<br />
five or six acres of virgin forest,<br />
you're already in a financial bind.<br />
You can apply for loans under the<br />
Agriculture Loan Board in April<br />
to get working capital and get<br />
your crop planted. but that fall<br />
you have to start paying the<br />
money back. Like any other<br />
business, you should be given<br />
some time to get on your feet<br />
before you start paying back<br />
funds. I was expected to make a<br />
mortgate payment from my first<br />
crop."
PUT Ii. LITTLE CUSS IN YOUR LIFE THIS FALL.<br />
12 - DECKS AWASH<br />
Finding financing is not the on<br />
Iy problem new farmers have to<br />
face. There is only a limited<br />
amount ofsuitable land available<br />
and many landowners are unwilling<br />
to sell or lease land to<br />
farmers.<br />
"Land base is our main problem<br />
and that affects everything<br />
else," Elvis sighs. " I can't buy or<br />
rent land in the area. There is a<br />
lot of excellent land that is<br />
becoming reforested or infested<br />
with weeds and the available<br />
Crown land is not suitable for<br />
agric ulture. Only about half of<br />
the land wouldsupport crops. We<br />
have about 25acres in root crops,<br />
everything from potatoes to<br />
Chinese vegetables which we sell<br />
to families on the west coast.<br />
"We want to expand; the<br />
markets are good. We have our<br />
own farmers market in Corner<br />
Brook and we sell everything we<br />
grow there except for the last<br />
part of the year when we have<br />
late cabbage and turnips we sell<br />
through a wholesaler. Our<br />
customers are Corner Brook<br />
residents and we're only open<br />
Thursdays and Fridays and<br />
maybe Saturdays this year. People<br />
wait and shop at the end of the<br />
week. We do impor t apples,<br />
plums, and pears from Nova<br />
Division of Con tin u ing Studies<br />
SCotia, so that we can have the<br />
variety."<br />
Elvis has a clear idea of what<br />
he wants to achieve in the next<br />
few years, but some problems require<br />
some help in solving.<br />
.. If I could upgr ade my<br />
machinery I could get my yield<br />
up, which is importa nt for someone<br />
with only 25 acres under<br />
cultivation," he reaso ns. "Our<br />
potato and tur nip yields are<br />
above the provincial aver age and<br />
our beet yields are high too, but<br />
the az-tnch seeder we use for<br />
-<br />
ATIEND UNIVERSITY I<br />
c_<br />
AT HOMEI AT YOUR CONVENIENCEI<br />
CORRESPONDENCE COURSES - FALL 1985<br />
o.or- CredIt eour- In...<br />
e..trfk-.er.dtte--II\...<br />
a.-- Adm< .r-.on<br />
......... "-<br />
e.- '-<br />
ForturttwrIntOJ....eIon•..<br />
StJohn'.<br />
.,.,.....<br />
-G_<br />
-<br />
_cao Gr8AdF....<br />
StAnthOny<br />
e.-_<br />
GoooeBoT<br />
J<br />
Manon, Sally Ann and Elvis Gillam<br />
planting all our crops means<br />
that the yields on specially crops<br />
are lower than I would like. We'll<br />
be moving into bulk bins as well,<br />
so I'll need a set of forks for my<br />
front-end Joader. That way we<br />
can load the bins right in the field<br />
arxllift them ontoa trailer. At the<br />
marketing end of things we've<br />
improved our sales building each<br />
year to make it more attractive<br />
to customers.<br />
"A nother problem fac ing<br />
farme rs is the limestone policy.<br />
Five years ago, the crop<br />
specialists suggested that two<br />
tons of limestone an acre would<br />
be enough to b. Lancr the pH.<br />
That was when limestone was<br />
$2.50a ton. Right now the lab in<br />
St. John's recommends using six<br />
to eight tons per acre and the<br />
price is $17a ton with the government<br />
subsidy. Still, that's probably<br />
one of the best bargains<br />
around. The only problem is that<br />
we have to unload the bulk<br />
limestone ourselves or used<br />
bagged limestone from the<br />
mainlan d that isn't the qua lity of<br />
what we ha ve "nea r by at<br />
Aguathuna. E ven the bul k<br />
limestone from Daniel's Harbour<br />
may come with enough water in<br />
it to make snowballs! ,-<br />
Some of the problems could be<br />
alleviated with some short-term<br />
help.<br />
" I would like to see some help<br />
for small farmers from the<br />
various government work pro-
DECKS AWAS H - 13<br />
grams," says Elvis . "I have Ir----------------------,<br />
about 2S acres we'll probably<br />
never grow crops on because<br />
there are so many rocks to<br />
drip.<br />
remove. I'm lucky if I can get two<br />
acres cleared each year ; that<br />
would mean 12 years to get 25<br />
acres under cultivation. We have<br />
a big investment in buildings and<br />
machinery and the rocky ground<br />
here is beating up the ••<br />
machinery; it's not designed for<br />
the land here . We're taking 30<br />
loads of rocks off an acre with a<br />
machine that's designed to take<br />
off 10loads. Wecan't all be blessed<br />
with good land, but there is a<br />
lot that isn't being used for<br />
agriculture and I would like to<br />
see the government move to free<br />
some of that for farming."<br />
To stay in business, a farmer<br />
has to be prepared to put in long<br />
hours and find imaginative ways<br />
of getting his produce to market.<br />
" Farming probably went Intoa<br />
decline here on the west coast<br />
The s ound of a sick faucet.<br />
because there was only a limited<br />
number of markets you could sell<br />
It's kind of hard on'Reddy when<br />
to," Elvis surmises. " It was<br />
the \..ate r he 's heating is wasted<br />
much cheaper for the storeowner<br />
through faulty outlets. He'd<br />
to buy from the mainland. People<br />
much rathe r~. not an empty<br />
got out of farming rather than<br />
sink. were getting the full<br />
struggle at it. Alot of people who<br />
benefits of his heating se rvtce,<br />
received development money 10<br />
years ago are no longer in farming.<br />
In this area the vegetable<br />
firmly and check your water<br />
Help him out; turn off faucets<br />
farmers tried V-Mal and then<br />
facilities periodically so Reddy<br />
started a co-operative. If people<br />
can do the best Job for you -<br />
had stuck with it, it could have<br />
heat-wise and money-wise.<br />
worked, but now the building is<br />
empty and there's talk of it being<br />
used for something else. There<br />
isn't enough produce in the area<br />
to support a big operation and<br />
there are no new markets, which<br />
is the only reason why any<br />
eNc.w{oundfand<br />
farmer would want a marketing<br />
co-operative.<br />
"The first two years we<br />
couldn't sell our produce even at<br />
LIGHT &POWER<br />
the same price as the Imports .<br />
That's one of the reasons I<br />
CO. J:imUui<br />
started the roadside stand in Corner<br />
Brook. I was determined to<br />
stay in farming and we saw the<br />
potential there. We can sell broccoli,<br />
cauliflower, spinach and<br />
string beans in Corner Brook for Remember. Reddy supplies the electricity - only you can use it wisely<br />
a decent price. Potatoes are still<br />
our biggest item, followedby cabbage<br />
and turnips, but you don't I L .J
14 - DeCKS AWASH<br />
get the high unit price that you<br />
can get with the specialty crops.<br />
We can't even grow enough carrots<br />
to meet the demand.<br />
although we hope to have more<br />
this year . The market is 60miles<br />
away and we pretty well have to<br />
be on the road by 6 a .m. to beset<br />
up at the market for a 9 a.m .<br />
opening. Weoffer fresh farm produce<br />
and most of it is harvested<br />
the night before, or in the case of<br />
broccoJi and cauliflower, the<br />
same morning . They have such a<br />
short shelf life.<br />
"Getting agriculture to the<br />
point where <strong>Newfoundland</strong> no<br />
longer needs to import farm products<br />
is an unattainable goal."<br />
says Elvis.<br />
"There just aren't enough<br />
funds to put agriculture on a firm<br />
footing in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>. Enough<br />
money would have to be put in to<br />
bring farming in line with that in<br />
the Maritimes and you have to<br />
ask if we need agriculture in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong>. People buy at the<br />
best price and YOU'll see the price<br />
go up as soon as local produce is<br />
all sold. Our land use, machinery<br />
and technology all have to be<br />
The secret is in the storage<br />
M<br />
elvin Rideout's house is<br />
situated in the centre of<br />
Cormack, but most of. his<br />
farmland is located beyond the<br />
end of the paved road that continues<br />
on to Sir Richard Squires<br />
<strong>Memorial</strong> Provincial Park. It's<br />
one of the largest farms in the<br />
area and Melvin just recently<br />
took over the whole operation<br />
from his father, Sandy, who<br />
started the operation nearly 30<br />
yea rs ago.<br />
"He retired last year and this<br />
will be my second crop year on<br />
my own," Melvin informs us as<br />
he wails for his fields to dry out<br />
from a heavy afternoon shower .<br />
"Last year he shared in the hay<br />
Melvin Rideout with a transplant<br />
crop. but this year it's all up to<br />
me. He was one of the first set <br />
tlers here after the war. It was<br />
hard to make a living with a<br />
horse-drawn ploy. and cultivator<br />
when he started. so he worked on<br />
projects in Labrador and with the<br />
Western Pioneer Company when<br />
the first chainsaws came to the<br />
Island. When he came back to<br />
farm again I was still at school<br />
and we built up from there .<br />
"We started off in vegetables<br />
and hay with a few beef cattle on<br />
the side - they took care of the<br />
hay! As we increased vegetable<br />
production, the cattle became a<br />
bit of an inconvenience so we got<br />
rid of them and made our money<br />
brought up-to-date.<br />
"The people in Agriculture<br />
Canada and the pr ovincial<br />
government are doing the best<br />
they can with the funds they have<br />
and I can't commend them<br />
enough, but there has to be more<br />
development mo ney made<br />
available. A million dollars is not<br />
going to be enough to bring our<br />
soil fertility up, purchase more<br />
machinery, or im pro ve<br />
buildings and land drainage. Fifty<br />
times that wouldn't do<br />
everything that's needed.<br />
from hay. We have upgraded our<br />
hayfields. but there is still a<br />
weather problem with drying the<br />
hay. In the Maritimes you can get<br />
two good cuts of hay, but here the<br />
season is too short to allow that<br />
unless the second cro p couId probably<br />
be taken for green silage<br />
(or 'haylage') by a dairy farm er<br />
set up for it. A few people here<br />
are trying haylage on a small<br />
scale. Most of the hay is sold right<br />
here to Woodfords Dairy and I<br />
have my hay booked for the next<br />
three or four years. Our hay is<br />
cheaper than anything that can<br />
be brought in and it's the best<br />
available.<br />
"We usua lly plow down a<br />
hayfield, have one crop of turnips<br />
or cabbage, then a crop of<br />
potatoes and back into hay for 4-5<br />
years. That way the organic matter<br />
is high and there is good soil<br />
fertility. When we firs t sta rted<br />
out we were pressed for land and<br />
went with one crop of turnips or<br />
cabbage and then four of<br />
potatoes, but that made it ha rd to<br />
rebuild the organic ma tter .<br />
We've been growing a trip le mix<br />
of 70%climax timothy grass, 15%<br />
alsike clover and 15%doublecut<br />
red clover . The last two or three<br />
years we've been usi ng a<br />
timothy-alsike clover mix that's<br />
a little easier to dry. This year<br />
I've seeded just timothy grass<br />
and dispensed with the clover<br />
completely."<br />
The 215acres of hay is one half
of Melvin's operation.<br />
" This year I have 35 acres of<br />
potatoes, 16 acres of turnips and<br />
abo ut 10 acres or cabbage<br />
planted," he informs us after a<br />
moment's reflection. "Marketing<br />
hasn 't been a problem for me.<br />
Wholesalers prefer to deal with a<br />
bigger producer who can supp ly<br />
their needs for a crop rather than<br />
having to deal with a number of<br />
small producers who might be<br />
able to meet the demand for two<br />
or three weeks. I don't have any<br />
trouble getting orders as we store<br />
most of our vegetables and sell<br />
them over the winter. Weconcentrate<br />
on the harvest in fall and<br />
use our refrigerated storage if we<br />
have to.<br />
" We've had up to 65 acres of<br />
potatoes, but we weren't making<br />
any money on them. Now we<br />
ha ve the choice of selling the<br />
pota toes or holding them for<br />
seeds. This year has been really<br />
bad for potatoes and seeds, but I<br />
did bette r tha n most because I<br />
had plenty of foundation stock<br />
seeds. I sold a lot as table<br />
potatoes when I went into market<br />
with my other vegetables. 1sold<br />
3,000 50-lb. bags that way and<br />
e nded up with some ex tra<br />
money."<br />
It isn't that simple, of course,<br />
as Melvin quickly points out.<br />
" We ha ve lost complete crops<br />
to frost. If you get a frost around<br />
flower ing time you lose your<br />
stoc k and by the time you<br />
estab lish it's too late in the growing<br />
season. Fro sts later on in the<br />
seaso n might dam age a rew exposed<br />
root crops , but they a ren't<br />
so much of a problem. There are<br />
ways of reducin g the risk and<br />
avo iding the short-season problems.<br />
We placed an orde r for<br />
62,000cabbage transpla nts from<br />
Barony Nurse ry but the lat e<br />
spri ng put the count down a bit.<br />
The ma in thing wit h th e<br />
transplants for us is the late cabbage,<br />
which we couldn't grow<br />
from seed because of the short<br />
season. The transplants a re<br />
alrea dy six weeks old when we<br />
get them and most years you ca n<br />
get a good crop."<br />
Melvin's big expense each year<br />
is for fertilizer and he is trying to<br />
cut down that cost by mak ing use<br />
of the soil testing laboratory in St.<br />
J ohn's.<br />
"You could use a general pur<br />
'pose fertilizer for all crops except<br />
turnips, but I prefer to use special<br />
ferti lizers for eac h field based on<br />
the res ults of the soil testing," he<br />
comments. " We've been able to<br />
get the testin g done for two yea rs<br />
now. If you follow the recomendations<br />
you cer ta inly see a sa v<br />
ing. This will be the first year that<br />
I've dealt with each field differently<br />
. Even if the yield is the<br />
same the costs are way down. We<br />
were putting a bout 1,000pounds<br />
of 12-24-24fertili zer on an acre of<br />
The Joy of vegetable farming<br />
hen we catch up with Alex<br />
W J oy, 37, of Picadilly. he is<br />
in the process of painting a<br />
friend's car. As the paint dries we<br />
are able to learn about Alex's experience<br />
in root crops and sheep<br />
farming.<br />
" My grandfather started the<br />
farm here and my father followed<br />
him," Alex tells us. "I've live<br />
in a number of towns in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
I was in the fishery<br />
originally and tried to do some<br />
farmi ng along with it. I actually<br />
got into farming through repairing<br />
equipment out in the fields.<br />
Eventually I got into fanning full<br />
time, but I do any kinds of jobs<br />
that come up except ca rpentry<br />
work. We had a fire four years<br />
ago when somebody set fire to the<br />
bar n. That put us back $70,000<br />
and we haven't been a ble to<br />
rep lace a ll the livestock we lost,<br />
al though we' re building them up<br />
again. We were just at the point<br />
of ma king money and now we' re<br />
back to scratching a living aga in.<br />
" We have about 500 ac res of<br />
fa rm la nd in crops, hay a nd<br />
pas ture. We just have a few beef<br />
ca ttle for our own use apart from<br />
the sheep. Our sheep are Cheviots<br />
hred with Suffolk ram s. I bought<br />
DECKS AWASH 15<br />
potatoes and this year most of our<br />
potat oes are taking 700pounds of<br />
17-17-17 per acre. There's not<br />
much difference in the cost of<br />
each fertilizer and we're saving<br />
300pounds of fertilizer per acre.<br />
That will add up, although I don't<br />
ex pe ct to grow any more<br />
potat oes.<br />
" I will have vegetables for sale<br />
right thr ough the yea r this year<br />
because I still have some seed<br />
potat oes for sa le before my hay<br />
is sold in Ju ly. Most of my cash<br />
crops are sold in the winter<br />
months when the pric es are<br />
higher . The thing with turnips is<br />
you need refrigerated storage to<br />
make some money even when the<br />
pr ice is low as it was last year."<br />
Melvin's farm is an important<br />
em ployer in the community a nd<br />
he hopes it will continue after he<br />
retires.<br />
" We have around 600 acres,<br />
about half of which is suitable for<br />
root crops in rotation and another<br />
quarter just for hay," he tells us.<br />
" We a lready use quite a bit of<br />
hir ed help at planting and<br />
harv est times and when we're<br />
haymaking there's a few jobs for<br />
the area. I have a 52-week job<br />
myself that is difficult to fit into<br />
a year at the best of times . I have<br />
five boys and one girl and the<br />
third oldest boy is just finishing<br />
Grade 12and I think he'll stay on<br />
the farm." "<br />
an American ram four years ago.<br />
We grow ca bbage, potatoes , a littl<br />
e bit of beets, broccoli,<br />
cauliflower and a few greens this<br />
year. The broccoli and<br />
cauliflower go mostly to Stephenville<br />
and the local fair and we sell<br />
in Corner Brook. We produce a<br />
good amount of wool that is sold<br />
locaUy and we send the lambs in<br />
to St. Joh n's."<br />
At certain times of the year<br />
marketing is a problem .<br />
" Here, the first one on the<br />
market is the one that sells his<br />
vegetables," Alexsuggests . "The<br />
biggest problem for a farmer is
16 - DECKS AWASH<br />
to know what the market wants.<br />
Two years ago people wanted<br />
small turnips and last year it was<br />
the medium size that sold.<br />
"This year nobody knows what<br />
size wiII be wan ted. At one time<br />
you could sell lots of cabbage. I<br />
have a store for my vegetables<br />
attached to my barn but no<br />
refrigeration. I've stored right up<br />
until April. I grow standard<br />
varieties and some years they<br />
work out and some years they<br />
don't. I've had a couple of really<br />
good years and two not so good;<br />
it all depends on the frosts .<br />
"I liked V-Mal" because I could<br />
load up a truck with whatever I<br />
produced and it was all sold.<br />
Even with the lower prices we<br />
were getting, it was worthwhile if<br />
you had the volwne, but I was only<br />
able to use it for a year. Now<br />
I have to find my own market. I<br />
find right nowthat early potatoes<br />
bring the best price and I can gel<br />
a bit more before the PE l<br />
potatoes come in."<br />
Alex is making other changes<br />
in his operation as he rebuilds,<br />
but there are limitati ons on what<br />
he can hope to do in the short<br />
term.<br />
"I can put a field into turnips<br />
two years in a row and then leave<br />
the field for three years and put<br />
it into cabbage. At the moment<br />
I'm changing my hayfields over<br />
to crops . Transplants would take<br />
too long for me to put in without<br />
special equipment," he concludes<br />
. ~<br />
• Vege tabl e Marketi ng Auocia tes Ltd .: a<br />
vegetabJe marketifllil boerdnoklnge!' inexi5tence.<br />
mETROBUS<br />
,.=r,CHARTER<br />
iiIiII1SERVICE<br />
INFORMATION<br />
The St. John 's Transportation Commission has been arranging bus charters for well over 25 years. Over<br />
this time It has earned a reputation for PROFESSION AL and DEPENDABLE SERVICE to the travelling<br />
puauc Every size of charter both large and small is carried out in a manner which IS tndicattve of a FIRST<br />
CLASS chart r service. From the airport to the hotel or from city to city your group will enjoy a pleasant<br />
and safe tnp<br />
• CALL or WRITE<br />
(709) 722 ·9400<br />
St. John's Transportation Commission<br />
Metrobus Transit Centre<br />
245 Fresh water Road<br />
St . John's, Nf<br />
AlB B3<br />
Attn Mr Tom Rice<br />
• 72 buses wi t h 45-se at capacity<br />
• Two--way radi o com municat ion<br />
• Som e buses wit h PA systems<br />
• Professio nal uniformed drivers<br />
• Lim ited notice needed
DeCKS AWAS H - 17<br />
Feisty'f ar m er<br />
ernard Tucker , a vegetable<br />
B farmer at Markland is a<br />
man of very definite ideas . When<br />
he first visited Markland in 1959,<br />
the inhabitants were convinced<br />
their community was about to be<br />
resettled. So Bernard, in his nonconformist<br />
way, chose that moment<br />
to buy 34 acres of local land .<br />
"I got it for a song and I wasn 't<br />
even able to sing ," says Bernard<br />
with a chuckle . "I saw this land<br />
lying idle. there was no electricity,<br />
the road was only two ruts and<br />
the people were moving away ."<br />
At that time Bernard, a native<br />
of St. Phillips, was working in<br />
J .J . Baron 's carpenters ' shop at<br />
St. John's. Two acres of his new<br />
land was partly cleared, so in<br />
1960 he set some crops . Then ,<br />
commuting and working part<br />
time, he gradually took up fulltime<br />
farming.<br />
"I started with a $65 mare called<br />
Queen, an old plow and a<br />
brand-new $75 cultivator. That<br />
was my start off. For seven years<br />
I filled out applications to the<br />
farm loan board for a tractor.<br />
Everyone of them was turned<br />
down. I finally got one in 1973.<br />
"Turnips, potatoes, cabbage,<br />
and hay is what we grow now. 1<br />
own 78acres. 1had a lease on 200,<br />
but they cancelled it on me <br />
after 1paid $2,000 to have the land<br />
surveyed. When 1 took out the<br />
lease the govenment told me<br />
there would be lots of funds for<br />
development, but all I got was<br />
$625. That was supposed to be<br />
enough to clear 5acres. 1was expecting<br />
$500 an acre."<br />
Bernard persevered, clearing<br />
Bernard and Win nie Tucker<br />
22acres at his ownexpense while<br />
hoping government would adopt<br />
a more equitable land-elearing<br />
program. One method he suggested<br />
was for government to call<br />
a public tender for contractors to<br />
clear 50acres for him . That way<br />
government could choose the<br />
lowest price. Unfortunately , Bernard<br />
wasn't able to use the land<br />
he had cleared.<br />
"I cleared some land, then I<br />
needed limestone. "Sorry boy,<br />
limestone budget is gone, they<br />
said. Next year I applied again<br />
and got a car-load in July - too<br />
late to set out my garden."<br />
Completely frustrated, Bernard<br />
refused to sign the lease.<br />
The government retaliated by<br />
.lanseredcHAIN SAWS<br />
Ii<br />
~<br />
We have openings in certain areas 01NewtoundIand<br />
and l..BbradOr for franch6ae d\aJn<br />
~ sa~;::=~estab6ished business and<br />
, are interested in joini ng our Jonse red Deal·<br />
er Networ1t, please contact by writing:<br />
JOSA CORPORATION LTO.<br />
CP Box 5500.<br />
180 H8mlord, Lachute, Quebec. J8H 485<br />
or Phone (514) 5624872
18 - DECKS AWASH<br />
after 10years it would, and if the<br />
farmer were allowed to sell his<br />
land at $100,000 an acre to<br />
developers instead of $4,000 to<br />
farmers, he could afford to improve<br />
it.<br />
"What's the point of a St.<br />
John's dairy farmer having 50<br />
cows on 5 acres of land and buying<br />
every bit of feed? Why not<br />
assist him to move to Bay Bulls,<br />
even give him 150 acres so he can<br />
grow his feed?"<br />
Bernard runs his own farm<br />
pretty much by himself.<br />
" I've no full-time employees. I<br />
hire gangs of 10 to 20 people to<br />
pick up potatoes and turnips, but<br />
that's only a week or two a year.<br />
We grow our own seedlings and<br />
last year we put out 45.000 cabbage<br />
and only got 750 sacks. less<br />
than half the crop we should<br />
dairy farming<br />
Keeping a daily dairy<br />
J<br />
ack and Daphne Tay lor of<br />
Cormack now run a farm<br />
based on dairy cattle after experiencing<br />
the headaches that<br />
put their local hog operation out<br />
of business.<br />
"It was just a ques tion of not<br />
getting the support needed,,.<br />
Jack Taylor and friend<br />
have. We struck a dry season<br />
when we were planting. This year<br />
so far has been so wet we can't<br />
get any work done.<br />
"I'd say vegeta ble farmers a re<br />
the poorest on the Island . How<br />
much pay can you have from a<br />
$40,000 crop when you have<br />
$30,000 worth of e xpe nses?<br />
You've got to keep a tru ck and a<br />
tractor going, a nd a full fleet of<br />
machines. Even with 20acres you<br />
need enough equipment to farm<br />
100 acres an d t he re's no<br />
neighbors handy to borrow from<br />
around here."<br />
Bernard's wife Winnie, mother<br />
of three, has been listening to the<br />
conversation. She works a t the<br />
localfishplant. Us he didn' t, Bernard<br />
is not sure they would<br />
survive.<br />
J ack says. " Peo ple were barely<br />
gett ing enough to keep them going<br />
and some farmers a re so<br />
committed financi ally that they<br />
can't afford to get out. I sta rted<br />
farming beca use I wanted to be<br />
indepen dent and not have someone<br />
else teU me what I should<br />
"T hat program 'Land and sea'<br />
they have on CBC-TV, I don' t<br />
know why they call it that," says<br />
Winnie. "It's all sea, there's<br />
never any land on it."<br />
Bernard, never short of new<br />
ideas, continues.<br />
"Most of the problems come<br />
down to insufficient farm land.<br />
You've got to have acres. I don't<br />
have enough land to rotate my<br />
crops. I've got five jobs to myself<br />
and I can't afford to pay anyone<br />
to do them because my farm is<br />
too small. I'd say 75% 01 <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
is unemployed and we<br />
could make thousands of jobs<br />
clearing land, but you'd have to<br />
have money available. If that<br />
land was cleared, it would be<br />
cleared forever, then there would<br />
be jobs for everyone in farming.<br />
~<br />
do.<br />
"A million dollars isa one-year<br />
dea l for hog farmers. Those that<br />
have been in pigs for awhile will<br />
rea lize that, but there may be a<br />
few newcomers that will see an<br />
opport unity to start a business.<br />
The a bsence of an overall program<br />
is what is hurting farming.<br />
You need a five-year plan rather<br />
tha n something for one year.<br />
When I was in pigs every other<br />
province was subsidizing ham<br />
and bacon producers. Pork<br />
production in Canada is way over<br />
domestic conswnption and seIling<br />
on the American market is<br />
becoming a problem."<br />
The situation for dairy farmers<br />
is a little bit different.<br />
"Land is the big problem for<br />
dairy farmers here," explains<br />
Jack as he is working on putting<br />
up a fence to contain his cattle.<br />
"I'd like to be able to grow my<br />
own hay, but the pig operation<br />
put us behind as far as keeping<br />
the land up to par went and now<br />
I find myself just starting to pick<br />
up on it now. Growing hay is a big<br />
problem. We're milking 38 cows
at the moment and there are 6<br />
other cattle. There are four of us<br />
with dairy cattle in the immediate<br />
area.<br />
" All my milk goes to Corner<br />
Brook. At the moment not enough<br />
milk is produced on the Island to<br />
supply St. John 's and there's not<br />
the incentive to expand. Island<br />
production is only about half of<br />
what <strong>Newfoundland</strong>ers consume .<br />
If there was some assistance with<br />
duce well. You keep a record of<br />
the amount of milk produced for<br />
each cow. If you 're selling<br />
breeding stock you need to know<br />
things on a daily basis . Ideally,<br />
each cow had a 305-day lactation<br />
period with 60 days dry, but<br />
sometimes one of your better<br />
cows might have trouble getting<br />
bred and you have to be patient.<br />
I have seme cows I wouldn't butcher<br />
and some I would love to,"<br />
OECKS AWASH - 19<br />
concludes Jack la ughingly as he<br />
eyes some of his poorer producers.<br />
"We've been here 12years and<br />
I've clea red all the land here<br />
myse lf. It's a hard way to start<br />
for a first generation farmer, but<br />
my son, Robbie, might be able to<br />
do better. He's still young and has<br />
lots of time to make up his mind<br />
about whether he wants to be a<br />
farmer."<br />
I!I<br />
transportalionormilk going to Sl. 1..------<br />
John 's there could be 15 dairy<br />
- - -------------.. 1<br />
farmers here or wherever the<br />
major agricultural land is avail <br />
able . Milk is a very perishable<br />
product that has to be moved<br />
fast. What's needed is a fleet of<br />
large tractor trailers instead of<br />
the smaller trucks we have now,<br />
"People shop for dollars and<br />
cents and there is fierce competition,<br />
" Jack is the first to agree,<br />
"Our costs are much higher for<br />
hay than in Nova Scotia , perhaps<br />
three times the cost per ton, and<br />
the growing season for<br />
everything is shorter."<br />
There's SO mucb<br />
to discover<br />
this summer!<br />
Jack's dairly cattle are all<br />
Holsteins , which are the best L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Park<br />
milk producers in most <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
conditions.<br />
Site of the earliest known attempt to European<br />
settl ement in the New World.<br />
"There are a few Ayrshire cattle<br />
aro und, but Holsteins are very<br />
good here," comments Jack,<br />
whose herd has a few red and<br />
white cows mixed in with the<br />
more us ual black and white<br />
SI. Mary's Seabird Sanctuary<br />
The second largest nesting colony for gannets<br />
in North America offers a spectacular op<br />
animals. " The biggest Ayrshire<br />
her d is nea r Corner Brook. We<br />
like to breed.our cows for the first portun ity for photographers.<br />
time when they are 750-800<br />
pounds in weight and that's<br />
usually around two years old. Signal Hill National Historic Park<br />
Youhope to get four or five years'<br />
milk production, but some of our Originally a signalling centre and later used<br />
first cows are 7 years old now. to defend the harbour and city of SI. John 's.<br />
You have to know your cows to<br />
find out when they are in heat.<br />
It's hard to know right away , but<br />
See where Marconi received the first transatlantic<br />
wireless signals.<br />
you need to breed them 18-24<br />
hours afterwards for the best artificial<br />
insemination program.<br />
"You sell the calves at four or<br />
five days old. especially the bulls.<br />
I've raised and sold heifers, but<br />
it's really not worthwhile unless<br />
you've got enough facilities. I<br />
keep the heifers from the best<br />
~ <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
~ and Labrador<br />
cows<br />
ca n be<br />
for<br />
fairly<br />
milk<br />
sure<br />
production;<br />
they will pro-l you l. ..1
20 - DECKS AWASH<br />
The real Jiggs<br />
e was born Edward Franklin<br />
Grant Borland III, but<br />
H<br />
his schoolday antics quickly<br />
earned him the nickname of<br />
"Jfggs" after the comic strip<br />
character who couldn't manage<br />
to stay out of trouble. Born in<br />
Toronto, his family moved to<br />
Reading, Pennysivania when he<br />
was six weeks old. Reading was<br />
a fanning district and his interest<br />
in agriculture was sparked by<br />
contact with local farmers. He<br />
later moved back to Canada.<br />
Jiggs was among the first<br />
Canadian soldiers into Dieppe for<br />
the liberation in 1945 and he was<br />
present when the first photographs<br />
were taken of the German<br />
concentration camps. The experience<br />
affected him profoundly<br />
and he looked to farming to try<br />
to get his mind off what he had<br />
seen.<br />
"I came back in 1946 and after<br />
awhile I decided I wanted to<br />
homestead," he recalls. "At age<br />
28or 29 I had to make that one important<br />
decision in life without<br />
romanticizing things. My first<br />
youngster came in 1948. I had a<br />
farm just outside Erindale, Ontario,<br />
but I couldn't get my mind<br />
off the war. I met my wife, Alma,<br />
in Toronto. The fact that she was<br />
born in Bishops Falls was one of<br />
the reasons I chose to homestead<br />
Jjggs Borland<br />
in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>. I asked her<br />
where we would live and she said<br />
we could build a log house like<br />
hers. 'Stand the logs up straight,'<br />
she said.<br />
"<strong>Newfoundland</strong> had 50-acre<br />
grants, so I came over in 1953 and<br />
took some soil samples. I went to<br />
the local wholesaler and found<br />
out all the local prices and what<br />
was available. That gave me the<br />
idea that feed was relatively<br />
cheap and the sale price was<br />
high. I couldn't believe it, but I<br />
checked it and it was true. By the<br />
end of 1953 I was ready to roll and<br />
the next year I started buying<br />
things for the move. Alma left for<br />
Bishops Falls and I started on<br />
my master plan. I finally rented<br />
out my house and lived in a tent<br />
with an Indian from just outside<br />
Montreal."<br />
In 1955, J iggs bought 50 acres<br />
of land from the <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
government for $4. The 186 acres<br />
he now owns and leases near<br />
Bishops Falls is worth considerably<br />
more than that after 30<br />
years of tough times and hard<br />
work.<br />
"I brought everything I could<br />
from Ontario by rail," Jiggs<br />
relates with a broad smile on his<br />
face. "We put together seven<br />
calves. two cows, a young bull,<br />
seven ducks, four pigs, 20<br />
chickens and ISO bales of hay all<br />
around us in the tent. The day<br />
after I finished working on<br />
August 15I started to load a boxcar<br />
in Toronto and nearly two<br />
days later I had the tractor, farm<br />
equipment, the livestock and<br />
everything else I had collected in<br />
it.<br />
"At that time you had to load<br />
everything on the deck of the<br />
Burgeo or the Cabot Strait to<br />
cross from Sydney to Port aux<br />
Basques. By the time we arrived<br />
in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> I had three boxcars<br />
fuJI, including one that just<br />
had my bees in it. I can sUUsee<br />
them unloading that boxcar on a<br />
forkJift in a tremendous hurry!<br />
My stakebody truck was moving<br />
about on deck. The deckhand told<br />
me not to worry; if it was lost<br />
they would give me another one!<br />
It was my first exposure to the<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong>er's lack of worry<br />
and haste. The Encyclopedia<br />
Britannica attributes long life to<br />
a lack of worry."<br />
The truck was unloaded onto a<br />
flatcar and we met it at Corner<br />
Brook. It took ages to get it of!<br />
and then there was the drive to<br />
Grand Falls with the road getting<br />
smaller and smaller.<br />
"There was a CBC car and<br />
driver at what is now the Birchy<br />
Narrows and he must have been<br />
checking the reception," Jiggs<br />
relates. "I stopped and asked him<br />
if I was on the right road to Grand<br />
Falls. He looked at the licence<br />
plate and said, 'Son, if you're on<br />
any road, you're on the road to<br />
Grand Falls'. When I got there I<br />
realized I had forgotten a saw<br />
and an axe. Four years of planning<br />
down the drain.<br />
"The first area I cleared was to<br />
put the cows in. Three days later<br />
the boxcars came into Bishops<br />
Falls and caused quite a stir. The<br />
old highway ended right here, so<br />
everything you can see now was<br />
cleared by us. I guess you can<br />
call me a pioneer. My friend<br />
stayed until just before<br />
Christmas and helped me build a<br />
shack."
Not everything survived the<br />
first winter, but Jiggs was<br />
resourceful by nature.<br />
" A lot of what we had was<br />
thrown out ," he admits, "but our<br />
wedding presents were packed in<br />
seven steel ba r rels and stayed<br />
outside in the woods all winter.<br />
The first shack was 8 foot by to<br />
foot and then we started putting<br />
up one 14 foot by 20 fool. By<br />
september I coul d move in and I<br />
The Maidstone milkman<br />
M<br />
aidstone is a small fa rming<br />
community just outside St.<br />
Davids. On our visit we go by a<br />
group of goats cropping the<br />
grass, unencu m bered by the wooden<br />
collars designed to pr event<br />
the ir escape through the fence .<br />
Nex t door is the dai ry farm of<br />
Wilson a nd Marie Chaffey.<br />
Wilson has bee n farming for<br />
abo ut 20 years, but he has not always<br />
been a dairy farmer.<br />
"My father was a vegetable<br />
farmer and I also grew vegetables<br />
for five or six years when 1<br />
started a farm at the age of 17,"<br />
Wilson tells us during a break in<br />
his working day . "I worked on<br />
contracts for Bowaters at the<br />
same time. When mechanical<br />
logging came in, 1 had to decide<br />
whether to go into farming full<br />
time and that's how we got into<br />
dairy cattle. We started with four<br />
cows and the first few years 1<br />
continued to do some woods<br />
work , but eventually the cows<br />
took over completely.<br />
" We've been milking cows 13<br />
or 14 years now. It 's interesting<br />
work and lots of it, but not much<br />
money, Still , there's more security<br />
than in some other types of<br />
stored the hay by stac king it<br />
around a big aps (aspen) and<br />
then sawing off the top . That<br />
stayed there unti l March.<br />
..Anyone with a shack in the<br />
woods was considered a bootlegger<br />
or hermit, so one night in May<br />
a ca r came by at 3 o'clock in the<br />
morning and a guy said he<br />
wanted some 'fresh' . I didn 't<br />
know what he meant, but they<br />
soon made me realize they wanted<br />
a drink. We were 10 mile s<br />
away from anywhere, so I fir ed<br />
off the ri fle a nd they scattered.<br />
Jack Clark, the local Mount ie,<br />
came down and he helped me out<br />
by passing the word that I was a<br />
wild man. We used to hav e a s ign<br />
up in the field 'Survivors wiJl be<br />
Prosecuted'."<br />
Things are a lot calmer now in<br />
the self-contained community of<br />
"Jiggsville".<br />
"We started off with cattle, but<br />
finding food for them wa s a<br />
never-ending struggle," says<br />
Jtggs. "so we switched the em <br />
phasis to hens , which remain our<br />
main business. We have hogs ,<br />
and some ducks out on the pond .<br />
We have a quota of 6,000 lay ing<br />
hens and another for our hogs .<br />
Our products are shipped to 51.<br />
John's. With pigs and chickens<br />
we have a Jot of liquid manure to<br />
DECKS AWASH - 21<br />
be spread and 1 need the<br />
grassland for that. We keep 40<br />
cattle on the grass. We also have<br />
14ponie s, which the children use<br />
for pony rides and learning to run<br />
their own business. The pony<br />
rides started back at the Botwood<br />
Day festivities in 1969and we enjoyed<br />
it so much it just sort of<br />
gr ew on us ."<br />
Despite his individualism,<br />
Jiggs likes to maintain a<br />
longstanding family tradition.<br />
"All my children's names start<br />
with B; the three boys have part<br />
of my name as their middle<br />
names and the three girls owe<br />
their middle names to Alma," he<br />
informs us . " I also plan to keep<br />
providing a piece of land and help<br />
in building a house as each of<br />
them grows up . We have nine<br />
gr andchildren now and there's<br />
more to com e." ~<br />
Mar ie and Wilson Challe y WIth a happily retired friend .<br />
farming. If you ran into some<br />
prob lems vegetable farming, the<br />
yea r was over before it got sta r t<br />
ed. At least with cows you can get<br />
yourself back on stream with a<br />
few adjustments. We 'r e farming<br />
350acres and we hav e a lmost 200<br />
cows, of which around 85 are being<br />
milked at the mom ent : '<br />
Occasionally Wilson will brin g<br />
in cattle from the ma inland, but<br />
most are born and rai sed on the<br />
farm.<br />
" 90% of our breeding is by artificial<br />
insemination. but we keep<br />
a bull for three years that we use<br />
for heifers and for cows we're oot<br />
interested in raising a call from ,"<br />
he explains. "\Ve usually pick up<br />
bulls from other farmers when<br />
we need them. When we were<br />
down in Wisconsin on a visit, we<br />
found out about embryo transplants<br />
and some time in the future<br />
it should be possible to pretty<br />
well guarantee a female calf,
22 - DECKS AWAS H<br />
which is what you look for in a<br />
dairy operation. "<br />
Feeding ZOO cattle is a big ex- 1 ~~~iilIII••"'I!l~_<br />
pense and the Chaffeys raise as<br />
much forage as they can on the<br />
farm.<br />
" We plant quite a bit of forage<br />
for silage and that' s the important<br />
part for a dairy farmer,"<br />
says Marie , who is also taking a<br />
break from farm chores. " We<br />
usually mak e it late August or<br />
early September, but the wea ther<br />
is often not good for making anything<br />
then . We plant hayseed on<br />
new land for green feed and add<br />
oats, peas and vetch to the silage.<br />
The following year we'll cut hay<br />
when the grass comes up.<br />
Goats on pasture nexi to Wilson's farm<br />
" I think this bas been the-worst<br />
year for weath er that I can May.but this yea r we were about Iearly Jul y had bad weather,<br />
remember" We usually have our a week later and the grass wasn't though, so we won't beall that far<br />
cattle on pasture by the end of all that good. Last year. June and behind." 11<br />
An equal voice in the Cormier destiny<br />
erard Cormier may not be<br />
G as well-known elsewhere as<br />
his singing sister, Loretta. and<br />
brother . Gordon. but in the<br />
Ccdroy Valley he is one half of the<br />
farmers Cormier. Gerard takes<br />
care of the dairy cattle end of the<br />
bus iness at Searston, while<br />
brother Calvin tends the henhouse<br />
at neighboring Upper<br />
Ferry.<br />
As we approach Gerard's farm<br />
just south of the Grand Codroy<br />
t -ivermouth, we see his dairy cattle<br />
obeying the "Ca ttle Crossing "<br />
sign just as the milk truc k arrives<br />
to take delivery of tile day 's<br />
production. Gerard takes us on a<br />
short lour of the operation while<br />
the truck is filled. Like other<br />
farmers he is concerned about<br />
the lateness of the spring.<br />
Gera rd Corm ier by Holste in bull.<br />
"This year we're about two<br />
wee ks behind schedule with getting<br />
the cattle out into Ute fields, "<br />
he expla ins. " Tha t' s because of<br />
the weather we've been having.<br />
That meant $5,000more hay than<br />
usual and , when the cows did get<br />
out, there was hardly any grass.<br />
The season is so late this year<br />
that I'm just putting in my crops .<br />
This time last year I was getting<br />
ready to harvest the first hay. I<br />
grew oats, barley and clover for<br />
silage, but you can 't get the dry<br />
content you need , so I'll be going<br />
wit h haylage this year."<br />
The Cormier family has a tra <br />
dition of farming in the area.<br />
"We'd always farmed the old<br />
way," says Gerard, " seven or<br />
eight ac res of mixed vegetables,<br />
12-t5 head of dairy cattle, :ro beef<br />
cat tle, 60 shee p, a few hens and<br />
pigs a nd a horse to do the work .<br />
Tha t' s the family background in<br />
fa nning. My father took over the<br />
fa rm from my grandfather in<br />
1961 and decided to try the hogs .<br />
We didn' t seem to begetting anywhere<br />
with them, so he wrote off<br />
for a quota in milk . At that time<br />
all the milk went to Grand Falls<br />
or Gander. The following year he
got a Quota for 50 gallons a day.<br />
"He renovated the barn, borrowed<br />
a little money and started<br />
milking 12 cows in 1963. wehad<br />
to wait for the electricity to come<br />
in. He kept building up the herd<br />
in the 1960s and I took over the<br />
{ann in 1971 when I came out of<br />
school. In 1965he had built a new<br />
henhouse and put in 7,000 hens .<br />
He ra n that end of the operation<br />
until Ca lvin took it over after an<br />
expansi on in 1976. In 1974we built<br />
the barn over here for the dairy<br />
cattle. That year all the dairy<br />
farmers on the west coast formed<br />
a co-opera tive, westco, and<br />
shipped to Corn er Brook . Brookfield<br />
took it over a few years ago<br />
and we ship the milk to them."<br />
Gera rd is a ware of the current<br />
situa tion in central Newfoundla<br />
nd.<br />
"Transporta tion costs are a big<br />
problem for dairy farmers," he<br />
stress es. " The Lethbridge fanners<br />
a re paying 6¢ a litre to get<br />
their milk to market and it's costing<br />
us S¢ a litre here. The fanners<br />
in Wooddale are at least 100<br />
more miles from the St. John's<br />
plant, so the Lewisporte plant is<br />
very important to them. You<br />
ca n't transport milk that far.<br />
Milkis coming in from Nova Scotia<br />
and that milk is almost a week<br />
old by the time it goes onto the<br />
shelf'."<br />
The dairy business does have<br />
advantages for a farmer.<br />
"One thing about dairy cattle is<br />
that your milk cheque is coming<br />
in once a month ," Gerard comments.<br />
" Poultry and pigs are<br />
yea r round as well and don't need<br />
the sa me kind of help as other<br />
operations that are much more<br />
seasonal. Farmers don't have the<br />
benefit of getting government<br />
help if the y have a bad year.<br />
FIshermen don 't have to feed<br />
their fish either and they 're there<br />
the next yea r. I'd like to have a<br />
few bee f ca ttle, but we're only<br />
85% self-sufficient in hay. You<br />
can 't afford to bring in hay at $150<br />
a ton . Beef cattle eat the same<br />
amount of hay, but you're not getting<br />
any return through the year.<br />
"All but two dairy operations in<br />
"Iewfoundl and are milking Holsteins.<br />
With a dairy operation yoo<br />
M<br />
Holstein call and protective bull<br />
don 't want twin calves, especially<br />
from your best milking cows .<br />
You want them in the best possible<br />
condition. I keep a bull for<br />
cleaning the calves off and to<br />
breed with the heifers and an y of<br />
the cows that don't take with ar <br />
tificial insemination."<br />
DECKS AWASH - 23<br />
Gerard has also branched into<br />
aoother aspect of farming.<br />
" We' re growing strawberries<br />
right now, about six acres, Zl,OOO<br />
plants, and then there's the old<br />
field , which we didn 't plow over<br />
this year. There are so many in<br />
our family that we can pick them<br />
ar k Dominey , 68, of Musgravetown has been cutting hay<br />
grass for over 50 years. We discovered him by the side of<br />
the road weighing bales of hay . Last year he cut 6696Ibs.<br />
"I use a scythe. At one time I had a mower on a garden tractor,<br />
but I gained too much weight, over 200Ibs. This is some exercise,<br />
I'm down to 190 Ibs. now.<br />
"A crowd called the Triple G takes this hay , the y are in the dairy<br />
business. The price of hay doesn 't change much, it' s four cents a<br />
pound, but it' s something to do.
24 - DeCKS AWASH<br />
ourselves. This year we may<br />
have a big crop, perhaps three<br />
times our usual one - 15,000<br />
quarts. We've been growing them<br />
for five years nowand the prices<br />
are quite good. Wehad gooseberries<br />
that come out in August by<br />
the henhouse at Upper Ferry, but<br />
we haven't had any the last two<br />
years. "<br />
A visit to Calvin Cormier's<br />
farm at Upper Ferry confirms<br />
this. Also missing is Calvin, who<br />
is taking a well-deserved fishing<br />
trip for the weekend. When he<br />
returns he will be expecting his<br />
new hens to be ready to contribute<br />
to the Cormier family income.<br />
Andthat will be something<br />
for all the Cormiers to sing<br />
about! ~ A strategICally SItuated road Sign by Gerard Cormier 's dairy farm<br />
Dairy farming at M usgr avetown<br />
W<br />
e walk up the cart track<br />
towards Ivan Greening's<br />
barn, through ruminating Holsteins<br />
that eye us suspiciously,<br />
until we reach Ivan who is at the<br />
evening milking.<br />
"You walked rig ht past my<br />
bull," says Ivan. " I'm surprised<br />
he didn't bark at you."<br />
We look back and see a very<br />
large bull. He looks like a host<br />
who has been trying to decide<br />
whether to eject an unwanted<br />
guest. With his mind now made<br />
up, he lumbers forward. With<br />
feigned casualness, we retreat<br />
into Ivan's barn where the last<br />
dozen or so cows are being<br />
milked. Heather Greening, a<br />
remarkably knowledgable and<br />
pretty to-year-old. tells us about<br />
the farm while her father finishes<br />
up.<br />
"We have 125cows and calves<br />
including one red Holstein ; 80of<br />
the cows are milking, but 10are<br />
dry at present. It depends on<br />
when they calve as to which one<br />
is the highest milker. At the moment<br />
it's number 36, she' ll go<br />
about 9 1 2 to 10 gallons a day.<br />
That's my brother Tony, he is always<br />
working here ."<br />
"I had3days ofl last year, that<br />
was my holiday," quips Tony, 18,<br />
as he walks by driving cows out<br />
of the barn.<br />
Heather's mother Katie is<br />
pushing a cart loaded with feed<br />
grain. She uses a scoop to drop<br />
measured amounts in front of<br />
each cow. Their individual diet is<br />
ma rked up on each stall as a cow<br />
occupies the same place at milking<br />
time.<br />
"Cows are not stupid, no sir,<br />
You be nice to her and she'll be<br />
nice to you," says Ivan as he<br />
leads us towards the pump room.<br />
There the last of the fresh milk is<br />
squirting into a glass sphere before<br />
entering a 1500-gallontan k<br />
that agitates then cools the milk<br />
to:rl F. (3.9 C.)<br />
~ <strong>Newfoundland</strong> Egg Marketing Board<br />
P,o . BOX t3te ST. JOHN'$; NFLD . A1A 2Y3 • PHONE 722·2953-2954<br />
EAT RIGHT· FEEL RIGHT<br />
HAVE EGGSlNSJEAD
"We were root farming and<br />
keeping a few cows ." says Ivan.<br />
"That was back in 1979. We<br />
milked by hand and sold it door<br />
to door. Then the Department of<br />
Health said we had to do one<br />
thing or the other. Get a licence<br />
or go out. Root crops was a racket,<br />
so I said I'm going to be milking<br />
cows, that's it.<br />
"We built the barn for $75,000<br />
-around St. John's it would have<br />
cost us over $200,000but we had<br />
a sawmilJ and cut all our own<br />
lumber. That cost doesn't include<br />
the equipment. A dealer put that<br />
in and the milk goes straight to<br />
the tank, no handling. In 1983we<br />
put an extension on the barn,<br />
another $30,000. When I started<br />
dairy farming here I was by myself.<br />
Now there's 10 in the area<br />
and two more every year.<br />
" For a family operation you<br />
really need a minimum of 50<br />
cows. I may get a few more. I've<br />
got 127acres of pasture and 135<br />
acres for hay . I'll be clearing<br />
another 10 acres this year and<br />
another 100r 20 next year, I hope.<br />
There's a subsidy of $230an acre,<br />
when you can get it, but you<br />
wouldn't get a tractor and driver<br />
to clear an acre for less than $400.<br />
Trouble is, government is so slow<br />
paying that a lot of people give up<br />
on clearing land. I had 40 acres<br />
that they were going to take from<br />
me unless I got it cleared, so last<br />
spring I bought an old D4 Caterpiller<br />
tractor and cleared it<br />
myself."<br />
Ivan's land is in two blocks 12<br />
miles and a hall-hour drive apart.<br />
He's not left with much time to<br />
work it with morning milking<br />
finishing at 9:30 and evening<br />
milking starting at 2:30 p.m.<br />
When he is bailing hay, he doesn't<br />
come home at all but leaves the<br />
family to milk.<br />
A lew of the Greening's Holsteins<br />
DECKS AWASH - 25<br />
"Last year I got 10,500bales of<br />
hay from 105 acres in two<br />
weeks ," say s Ivan . " I'd be operating<br />
at a loss if I had to buy all<br />
my hay. As it is, in a good year<br />
1 only have enough for my cows<br />
over the winter, not enough to<br />
keep any replacement heifers.<br />
With the extra cleared land I'll<br />
have close to 200 acres of hay<br />
land, then I may not have to buy<br />
any hay."<br />
Ivan gets 66c a litre for his<br />
Ivan, Heather, and Katie Greening
26 - DECKS AWASH<br />
milk, less 5.1¢a litre for transpor <br />
tation to Centra l Dairies in St.<br />
Jo hn's . The cows are milked 305<br />
days then left dry for 60 days or<br />
until they calve again - usually<br />
every 12-13 months . Little milk is<br />
lost to the ca lf. They are weaned<br />
in three days, then they learn to<br />
drink commercial milk replacer<br />
from a bucket. Although the cows<br />
have between 70 and 80 calves<br />
a year, Ivan kept only 10over last<br />
winter.<br />
"Veterinary drugs are really<br />
expensive. The government has<br />
a 40%mark-up on drugs and they<br />
tell us they're trying to help the<br />
fanner."<br />
In other respect s the govern <br />
ment seems more helpful to dairy<br />
farmers.<br />
"Starting up, they'll give you<br />
25% of what you spend up to a<br />
maximum of $25,000. Say you<br />
spend $100,000on building, equipment<br />
and livestock, then they will<br />
give you $25,000. The government<br />
also pays 75% on limestone. "<br />
The Greenings, like most farm <br />
ers, work hard. Very hard. would<br />
they go back "to vegetable<br />
farming?<br />
"No," says Katie Greening .<br />
"Dairy farming is not as much<br />
work as vegetables. People think<br />
Getting ready for a newseason<br />
hen we arrive at Art Gill's<br />
W farm in Wooddale, work is<br />
underway on the fields in readiness<br />
for a new seaso n. Art,<br />
however , is concerned about the<br />
situation with the dairy plant in<br />
once vegetables are out of the<br />
ground you're finished. they don't<br />
realize you can be 12hours a day<br />
in the warehouse a ll winter picking<br />
them over."<br />
Iva n recently demolished a<br />
school. He needs the mat erials to<br />
build a barn for his far m equipment.<br />
His biggest problem seems<br />
to be finding time for all he has<br />
to do. He finishes his evening<br />
meal and gra bs his ca p.<br />
"I wouldn' t say we' re making<br />
a ny money, but we are keeping<br />
the wolf from the door." he says<br />
as he sets off back up the hill to<br />
tend his cows.<br />
Lewisporte. A month later, the the farm, ., says Art, " and everyfuture<br />
of the plant and the area's thing hinges on one decision. My<br />
milk producers is still not clear. second oldest son. Dave, has<br />
"We've been working for 30 returne d from British Columbia<br />
years to build up a future for the to help on the farm and my<br />
children who are all interested in daughter, J anice, is sa ving up to<br />
t!I
DECKS AWASH - 27<br />
go to agricultural college in<br />
Truro, so it's very important for<br />
us that the milk delivery is<br />
assured."<br />
Art has been a leading member<br />
of the farming community in<br />
wooddale since the area was first<br />
developed in the 19505.<br />
"I started farming here with 25<br />
head of cattle and I now have<br />
100," Art explains. "About half of<br />
the herd are milking and the<br />
other half are replacement stock.<br />
We grow our own hay for silage<br />
- from the 4SO tons of hay we<br />
takeoff the field, we make about<br />
225 tons of ~y silage. We built<br />
our own silo for $16,000 - a to.....er<br />
silo. fully equipped. would have<br />
cost $100,000. The dairy cattleare<br />
our major interest. but we also<br />
keep 10,000 layers as another part<br />
of the operation." n!
DECKS AWASH - 29<br />
beef cattle<br />
A little meat and potato s<br />
lbert and Fred a Bungay are<br />
Aat work in their "garden"<br />
planting turnip s when we call by<br />
the farm on the Trans-Canada<br />
Highway near Tompkins . The<br />
"garden" is a vegetable plot of<br />
land leased from a neighbor and<br />
it complements the beef cat lie<br />
operation that is their main<br />
concern.<br />
Freda is very much an equal<br />
partner in the farm and a very<br />
articulate spokesman for Codroy<br />
Valley farmers, as participants<br />
at the recent Futures Conference<br />
in Stephenville will attest. Her<br />
com ments there are worth<br />
repeat ing for everyo ne's benefit<br />
as they indicate all tooclearly the<br />
situation that farmers face.<br />
"Beef farmers have all kinds of<br />
problems ," she contends . "First<br />
and foremost , there is no subsidi <br />
ar y agreement and no encouragement<br />
to farmers.<br />
Insurance coverage for our<br />
animals is poor and so is the<br />
veterinary service. Costs are going<br />
up, but the price of beef remains<br />
the same. Slaughter<br />
facilities have to be upgraded for<br />
us to sell our beef. A lot of beef<br />
comes from underfed dairy cattle.<br />
That means a purebred beef<br />
bull gets the same name as beef<br />
that isn't even bred for meat and<br />
we can't ask a fair price.<br />
"Another major problem is the<br />
soil, which has to be upgraded. I<br />
Heretord bull and call on a farm near Searston .<br />
Albert and Freda BunQay of Ooyles<br />
don't know howmuch money was<br />
spent on a pilot project where<br />
there are nowa few strawberries<br />
growing wild.To top it all off, our<br />
pastures are infested with ragwort<br />
brought in from the mainland,<br />
yet our cars are the ones<br />
being washed off to cross the<br />
Cabot Strait. The government<br />
should take the initiative in upgrading<br />
the soil, but there should<br />
be no more subsidies for<br />
pastureland on the present basis .<br />
There are two community<br />
pastures in the Codroy Valley we<br />
can 't use because we are fulltime<br />
farmers. We have a farm<br />
that took us 30years to build up.<br />
Here we are trying to make a living<br />
and the community pastures<br />
are for people who are keeping<br />
one or two cows. It doesn't make<br />
sense ."<br />
Albert was actually born in a<br />
fishing community, but he left<br />
Ramea at the age of 11when his<br />
father died in a boating accident.<br />
After moving around the<br />
province, Albert started a farm<br />
with one cow and a calf 30 years<br />
ago.<br />
"I was committed to farming,<br />
even when other people were taking<br />
off for the woods," he recalls.<br />
"You couldn't get bank loans<br />
then without collateral and I only<br />
had a few acres of land. Only an<br />
acre or so was cleared and I had<br />
to do the rest with a bucksaw and<br />
axe. The first year I planted potatoes<br />
and after five or six years I<br />
had a few purebred heifers and a<br />
bulJ. In 1955, the highway was<br />
just being built and I sold potatoes<br />
in Port aux Basques . It was<br />
easy enough to grow the hay for<br />
a few cattl e back then . Now we
30 DeCKS AWAS H<br />
have to lease land for pasture and'<br />
hay.<br />
"You only keep so many breeders<br />
and sell the meat from<br />
slaughtered cows to the freezer<br />
trade all over the island. Wehave<br />
only top-notch Hereford catUe.<br />
Beef cattle have a nice white fat<br />
cover, while dairy cattle have<br />
yellow. The meat's quite different;<br />
good beef cattle have fat<br />
marbled through the meat. 1<br />
don't use artificual insemination.<br />
I leave things up to my bull and<br />
we have calves year round.<br />
Without the hay I grow I couldn't<br />
afford to keep beef cattle. There's<br />
all kinds of land here that isn't being<br />
used even for hay."<br />
Freda has been involved in the<br />
farm even when she was raising<br />
seven children.<br />
"The most important time is at<br />
haymaking. but I'd feel sorry for<br />
Albert if I wasn't around," she<br />
laughs. 'I teach at school and<br />
then have the summer free to<br />
help. There's lots of things to do<br />
in the kitchen, too. I do a lot of<br />
berry-picking. so there are jams<br />
to make and meat to bottle, all<br />
things connected with the farm.<br />
I've had a busy life, but I enjoy<br />
the outdoors and I hate being<br />
stuck inside. When I got the youngest<br />
boy in school, I went back to<br />
teach full time. it was hard to<br />
teach when the children were<br />
home,"<br />
The eldest son is in the armed<br />
forces and Albert doesn't see<br />
much chance of passing on the<br />
Iarm. although Freda hopes that<br />
he will eventually return to take<br />
it over.<br />
"If the young fellows have the<br />
money today, they don't need to<br />
farm." Albert says. "The cost of<br />
equipment is just too much for<br />
someone starting out. If 1 had to<br />
find the moeny today, where<br />
would I get it? Fa rmers are too<br />
far apart now to share equipment.<br />
Jerome Downey has a few<br />
beef cattle as do Bill Sheshan d<br />
and Len Hines. Young people<br />
aren't getting into it any more;<br />
there 's just no incentive. Who's<br />
going to buy a farm nowadays?"<br />
"Things look like they might be<br />
gelling better," adds Freda. "but<br />
those that work the hardest don't<br />
seem to get the benefits. The<br />
fanners association here is getting<br />
things organized and creat <br />
ing some jobs. People should be<br />
working instead of sitting home<br />
collecting unemployment. Social<br />
services should be for invalids<br />
and not there for people not to<br />
work. We're the ones who are<br />
paying for it. Let's see them getling<br />
into something that's good<br />
for their morale even if it doesn't<br />
bring in a big pay cheque." I'll<br />
BLUE BUOY FOODS LTD.<br />
"'I;,J'I-J1I1,~<br />
FROZEN l_[8<br />
.."''''''''' '',<br />
FOODS! ~~,~..i;<br />
--a.s-1~ .J<br />
I. ~ .<br />
i<br />
McCains<br />
Chalker s Meats<br />
Bluewate r<br />
Swansons<br />
Chinatown<br />
High Liner<br />
POUltry Meats<br />
Ice Cream<br />
St. John's 754-1060<br />
P.O. Box 8487 St. John's Kenmount Rd.<br />
Lewlsporte 535-6908 Marystown 279-2685
DECKS AWASH - 31<br />
rAnimal farm<br />
he road leading from Victoria<br />
to Albert Wareham's<br />
T<br />
pasture is unpaved. Crawling uphill<br />
in our car we begin to understand<br />
why farmers favor<br />
four-wheel drive vehicles. Final<br />
Iv we reach Albert's barn, only<br />
Albert is another mile up the<br />
road.<br />
" Is that a government car?"<br />
asks one of Albert's men.<br />
"No, it's our own."<br />
"In that case you'd better leave<br />
it here and come with us," he<br />
says with a broad grin. " It' s a<br />
pretty rough road up ahead ."<br />
Thankfully, we climb into their<br />
-1 by -1 and begin a roller-coaster<br />
ride complete with water splash<br />
as we ford a brook. At the top of<br />
the hill Albert, 41, is spreading<br />
fertilizer on his<br />
pasture but<br />
comes over to talk .<br />
"We've got 100beef cattle and<br />
-12 spring calves," says Albert.<br />
" We've also got 15horses including<br />
a Clydesdale and a Belgian<br />
stallion, 50 sheep and 20 goats .<br />
We've been at it for 20 years,<br />
although on a smaller sca le, The<br />
skipper, my father Chesley Wareham,<br />
works at it full time. I come<br />
up whenever I can get time off<br />
from the wholesale."<br />
Albert is proprietor of a wholesale<br />
grocery business in Carbonea<br />
r with over 30 em ployees,<br />
He started the business after failing<br />
to be accepted by the ReMP<br />
as a police officer in 1961.<br />
"I was accepted but you had to<br />
be 165lbs. and I was 162.Today<br />
I'm over 100pounds heavier," he<br />
laughs .<br />
"We're operating 220acres of<br />
.IaoseredChain Saws<br />
We have openings Ihrough01Jl N9W1oundland and labradOr' for accessory dealers<br />
. We have in stock in Corner Brook, Nfkt, a tull line of accessories lhal will<br />
enable you 10caler to the ca5lJal and professiOnal marl(el s lor any brand of cham<br />
saws .<br />
II you have an eS1abhshedbuSiness and are interested in selling chain saw accessories,<br />
wrue lor lunher InformatIOn:<br />
JOSA CORPORATION LIMITED<br />
63 C 8r~w.y<br />
Cor ner Brook, NIId.<br />
A2H 45 7
32 - DECKS AWASH<br />
she's the prime of the beef a nd<br />
she's had good calves, a heifer<br />
last year that I didn't keep and a<br />
bull this year. We won't be keep-<br />
1 . ~ .<br />
enough.<br />
With these many animals and<br />
with Newfoundla nd's winters, Albert<br />
needs a big bam, and he has.<br />
It's been expa nded three times<br />
and ca n acco mmoda te up to 150<br />
cattle, 20 horses , and 50 sheep.<br />
But it' s not a business to move<br />
into overnight. The Warehams<br />
have built it up over many years<br />
through long hours of work and<br />
they have bee n fortunate that Albert<br />
's other busin ess has been<br />
Iul It' ant he has not<br />
had to ta ke a living out of the<br />
fann. Still, a lot of capital is involved.<br />
Fortunately, Albert is<br />
good with figures. When he's<br />
dropping fertilizer all over his<br />
fields his mind is operating like<br />
a pocket calculator as he works<br />
out the cost.<br />
"We've got 5 tractors, 3 bailers,<br />
3 manure spreaders and $150,000<br />
tied up in cattle. Then there's the<br />
barn and the other animals. I<br />
don't come here every day , but<br />
my father is 72 and he puts in' a<br />
full day , more time than I do, and<br />
we have three to four men working<br />
with us. It's a lot of work, and<br />
you've got to like to do it, because<br />
to make it work you've got to put<br />
a lot of love and care into all<br />
this," says Albert as he waves<br />
goodbye and climbs back on his<br />
tractor. m<br />
hogs<br />
A Bull in a weaner stock<br />
olin Bull. 65, of Eastport,<br />
too. People don't have the pride<br />
C operates a multiplier hog<br />
in their work that they used to<br />
opera tion on the newly paved<br />
and that's one of our major<br />
road to Salva ge. Recently, he<br />
problems.<br />
visited far ms in Scand inavi a and<br />
" I can 't seewhere we're heading<br />
at the moment. We've got<br />
found tha t famil y farms were the<br />
norm . Colin wonders why <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
doesn 't follow the<br />
away from the family type of<br />
operation to commercial corporations.<br />
I grew up working on a<br />
Scandinavian lead , considering<br />
the many similarities.<br />
fann and I never expected to<br />
" Wha t impressed me a bout<br />
make much at it. It was part of<br />
Scandinavia was that you had to<br />
growing up, helping your father<br />
be reall y sick to get welfare," he<br />
and making things work. I got all<br />
comments. "There was always<br />
my training on the job and even<br />
something to be done and some <br />
15 years ago it would have been<br />
one willing to do it. We need to follow<br />
that example in looking after<br />
difficult to change jobs . Now you<br />
have to have the experience to<br />
the countryside in a proper man <br />
seek a job.<br />
ner . Nobody gets a nything for<br />
"When Sandringham was set<br />
nothing ove r there. There's<br />
up as a farming community in<br />
plenty of work to be done here ,<br />
Colin BlAI<br />
the 19305, the Eastport area was<br />
all farming. 1be amount and variety<br />
of crops grown here then are<br />
hard to believe. I can 't under<br />
1IOi__••• 1stand why people don't want to<br />
... fann anymore. Everyone used to<br />
have a dozen hens, their own<br />
sheep and a few cows and a<br />
horse . Itwas a hive of activity all<br />
year. You stored what you<br />
couldn 't sell and then went into<br />
the woods cutting whatever was<br />
needed and you could bring in a<br />
dollar. There was nowhere more<br />
independent than the Eastport<br />
Peninsula and it was up to the individual<br />
how well he did."<br />
Farming has been part of 0>lin's<br />
life for a long time now.<br />
A view of the farm overlook ing Eastport Bav,
"I started with root crops four<br />
years after I finished school in St.<br />
John's," he recalls. "I worked<br />
with the Demonstration Farm at<br />
MlMmt Pearl and at that time the<br />
whole area around the city was<br />
devoted to farming. A lot of families<br />
were making a real good living.<br />
As time went on, younger<br />
people, potential farmers, couId<br />
see greener pastures on the other<br />
side of the fence in $20 an hour<br />
wages, and working on a farm<br />
just didn't appeal any more. You<br />
didn't put a dollar value on fanning<br />
then, but it gave you a living.<br />
All the farm land has been gobbled<br />
up by housing units."<br />
Now that Colin has reached the<br />
age of 65, he is beginning to think<br />
about what will happen to his family<br />
farm and other farms like<br />
his in the province.<br />
"Our fann is a little larger than<br />
the usual family unit," he admits.<br />
"Looking after 250 sows is a bit<br />
hefty for a family unless you have<br />
a lot of sons dedicated to following<br />
in your footsteps. A lot of<br />
young fellows look at the doUar<br />
end of the business. My son is a<br />
technician with Terra Nova Tel in<br />
Gander and he's doing really<br />
well; you can't expect him to give<br />
that up to get into farming. People<br />
expect to receive a salary.<br />
Another son wants to become a<br />
commercial cook. There's nothing<br />
to entice people into farming<br />
nowadays - it has to be part of<br />
your system."<br />
Recent changes in the Cabinet<br />
receive Colin's wholehearted<br />
support.<br />
"As farmers, our vote doesn't<br />
amount to anything in terms of<br />
numbers," he comments, "but it<br />
now looks like Mr. Aylward and<br />
Mr. Ryan understand the importaoce<br />
of farming. I've known<br />
Mike Ryan for a long time and he<br />
knows the problems without your<br />
having to spell them out. I have<br />
hopes that this team will be able<br />
to do something before the portfolios<br />
get switched again. You<br />
need some lime to get things organized."<br />
Ongoing research into producing<br />
a feed that can be put<br />
together in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> at half<br />
the price of the current high-<br />
Every job<br />
of !.he<br />
a self-portrait<br />
n ho did it.<br />
Autog>'l
34 - DECKS AWASH<br />
Hogs second to none in this country<br />
D<br />
enis and Frank Galway,<br />
both 30, are hog farmers<br />
and joint owners of Shalomar<br />
Farms Ltd., in the Goulds. Their<br />
farm consists of two very large<br />
barns set in the middle of 140<br />
acres of rolling grassland . Denis<br />
descri bes the operation to us.<br />
" My rather was behind it," explains<br />
Denis. " He owned 35acres<br />
of land here and he put up a fair<br />
bit of money to get us started.<br />
That was back in 1976. I had been<br />
in univeristy and Frank had been<br />
working at a local hog farm, so<br />
we decided to start our own.<br />
"We started with 50 sows and<br />
now we are up to 250. We put up<br />
the shells or the two buildings<br />
then finished them gradually.<br />
Sowscost about $250 each, but the<br />
building comes out to $2,000 to<br />
$3,000per sow so we were looking<br />
at about $1;2 million. We cleared<br />
the surrounding land for manure<br />
disposal and to grow hay .<br />
"We don't rear our own sows,<br />
they come from a government<br />
breeding station . They are called<br />
a Yorkland, a cross betwee n<br />
Yorkshire and Landrace. They<br />
are bred to a boar that is a fiveway<br />
cross , <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s own.<br />
It produces hogs that have<br />
phenomenal growth, 1.5 to 2 lbs,<br />
a clay. It's second to none in this<br />
country."<br />
The Galways send 70-80hogs a<br />
week to market. Their 250sows<br />
produce an average litter of 10<br />
piglets after a gestation period of<br />
114days. The hog's lire from birth<br />
to market averages 170 days , by<br />
which time it weighs 220Ibs. Sows<br />
generally a re kept five year s, a<br />
quart er of the breedi ng stock being<br />
replaced an nually. Sows ar e<br />
bought from the breeding station<br />
at six months and bred at seven<br />
months. We wonder how they<br />
keep track of all the animals.<br />
"We keep records," says Denis,<br />
pulling a file from his desk .<br />
"Look at this , March 1984. We<br />
bred 54sows that month , 63 farrowed<br />
cedes it would be pointless for<br />
them to set unrealistic prices.<br />
Frank comes into the officeand<br />
sits down. The two brothers<br />
recall how they started, working<br />
se\-en-dayweeks and living in a<br />
trailer.<br />
"After awhile the trail er Rot<br />
sheep<br />
A Bishop and his flock<br />
A<br />
dirtier than the barn ," laughs<br />
Frank . "Every month or so our<br />
girlfriends wouldcome in, kick us<br />
out, and clean the trail er out for<br />
us."<br />
" Leslie, she's my wife now, is<br />
after bailing us out of a few situations."<br />
says Denis. "She's a<br />
DECKS AWASH - 35<br />
chartered accountant and she has<br />
done a lot of work for us. We've<br />
got a computer for the accounts<br />
now; that helps a lot. Now if we<br />
can get a program on it for the<br />
sows, perhaps we will be able to<br />
get a better peg on production ."<br />
~<br />
lbert Bishop leans over the<br />
wire fence and emits a ser <br />
ies of short, piercing whistles. lie<br />
is answered by a chorus of bleatings<br />
as lambs and sheep rush<br />
towards him, liftingtheir noses to<br />
sniff him. Albert looks at them<br />
with obvious affection .<br />
'T ve got 25 sheep here. I had<br />
almost 50but I started my house<br />
and had to sell some to pay for<br />
it." says Albert pointing down the<br />
hill to a new bungalow. " I'm try <br />
ing to build them up again now."<br />
Alfred lives at Islington in<br />
Trinity Bay and is one of the few<br />
sheep farmers in the area. He<br />
would be a full-time sheep farm <br />
er if he could, but building a flock'<br />
and clearing land is a slow<br />
process .<br />
"I'm interested in sheep, but<br />
it's hard to be at it and make a<br />
living besides. Around here<br />
there's only 4 or 5 months' work<br />
a year. Right nowI'm workingon<br />
a LIP project at the mink farm .<br />
II would be all right , say, if my<br />
father had a lot of land cleared,<br />
I'd have a head start on it. I've<br />
got 26acres but a Jotof it's brush<br />
and I've had to clear it myself. "<br />
The evidence is all around us.<br />
Huge piles of wood, logs, and<br />
rocks the size ofcompact cars. It<br />
looks like a lot of work for a man<br />
without machines.<br />
Albert Bishop with his sheep .<br />
"B uddy at agriculture says<br />
Whydon't I get a tractor? Sure,<br />
Alfred could also use a tr actor business.<br />
I'll get one if somebody wants to<br />
tocut hay and plow for potatoes , " I'm starting small, but what<br />
pay for it. You can do a nice bit<br />
things he does now with a scythe I own, I own. Like the house<br />
ofwork with a tractor, but I'd like<br />
and a horse called Princ e. But there , nobody can walk in and<br />
toget the land ready first. I go in<br />
Alfred's rea l problem is how to take it away from me. But what<br />
most evenings after work and cut<br />
get capital without going into I need is a grant to clear more<br />
down trees . If [ had a tractor, [<br />
debt. Without a regular wage, land. Buddy at agriculture said<br />
could pull the stumps out."<br />
borrowing money is a risking there was some money allotted.
36 - DECKS AWASH<br />
brought me an application. That<br />
was Tuesday and it was over the<br />
next evening at -I p.m . Some use.<br />
" I' ve got Suffolk and Cheviot<br />
sheep - I've had good rams with<br />
them. I breed all of them at the<br />
moment, usually in late November.<br />
That way they'll all lamb by<br />
the middle of May. It's the only<br />
month I have home. They start<br />
orr on green grass so they are<br />
starting right. Some sheep have<br />
pairs, but single lambs tend to be<br />
larger. I usually have a market<br />
for all my lambs, a fellow comes<br />
up from St. John's and buys<br />
them. but I'll probably keep four<br />
or five this fall.<br />
"I'd like to build a barn for the<br />
sheep, about 30by 80 ft. I've got<br />
the lumber for it. In Nova Scotia<br />
their sheep barns are all open at<br />
one end, but if I built one like that<br />
here it would probably have four<br />
Rearing sheep call be a problem<br />
la r ence Gallant. 54, of<br />
C Picadilly on the Port au Port<br />
Peninsula is an avid reader of<br />
Decks Awash and uses its historical<br />
data to confirm his impressicn<br />
that the Island's farming has<br />
declined.<br />
"I was able to show how the<br />
cattle and small flocks of sheep<br />
disappeared as the road system<br />
Clarence and Jean Gallant<br />
and lines of communication improved,"<br />
he tells us. "The family<br />
cow was probably the most<br />
profitable thing a family owned.<br />
The highest population of sheep<br />
in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>was around 1935<br />
during the Depression. when pe0<br />
ple were really hard pressed they<br />
turned to farming. Once they got<br />
better off the number of livestock<br />
foot of snow in it, or it would be<br />
blown out to sea," he adds with<br />
a \\TY laugh .<br />
"Why doesn't the government<br />
help me and the sheep?" asks Albert<br />
. "There's money in sheep.<br />
Take those lambs, you can get<br />
some of those up to 50Ibs. by fall<br />
and get $100 for it. I'd go at sheep<br />
tomorrow if 1had 100-150 of them,<br />
and make a living at it." 11<br />
dropped. People don't depend<br />
anymore on keeping a few<br />
livestock to cut down on the<br />
grocery bill. Back then, the market<br />
was the home and neighbors<br />
would help each other out. Now<br />
everyone's in competition."<br />
Clarence spent his early years<br />
on the east coast and then moved<br />
to Stephenville and he can<br />
remember how important farming<br />
was to outport families.<br />
"Fifty years ago the whole family<br />
would be out working and<br />
learning their living as they went<br />
along. when 1 grew up as a boy<br />
on the east coast , 1went in a boat<br />
with my father from the age of 14<br />
and learned everything 1needed<br />
to know about fishing. People<br />
thought it was a bad thing keeping<br />
the child out of school, but<br />
now a child with Grade 12has no<br />
training for any job. He has to go<br />
to college to learn how to fish.<br />
The father was educating his boy<br />
to the way of life.<br />
"The interest in the old way of<br />
life has gone. The old-timers had<br />
it all figured out, because you<br />
couldn't afford to make a mistake.<br />
Wecan grow the crops that<br />
were grown back then instead of<br />
going to the stores and buying<br />
them. I've always been a strong<br />
believer in the family farm because<br />
the small farmer can't afford<br />
to pay labor."<br />
In Clarence's opinion, government<br />
subsidies are not the answer<br />
and he is convinced that the<br />
whole system has to change if<br />
farming is to survive in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
"I don't think the government
DECKS AWASH - 37<br />
should be subsidizing farming,<br />
but it should be making people<br />
less dependent on summer<br />
p",jecls. When I was a boy, people<br />
went looking for a job, not<br />
slall1PS. The reason young people<br />
doo't want to go into farming is<br />
that normally you only get money<br />
in the fall . You don't want to work<br />
six months before you see any<br />
return. Social Services are giving<br />
land for a house to young couples<br />
and they're better orr than the<br />
farmers. I never got paid for<br />
what I did as a boy, but you learnt<br />
something you might make use of<br />
later. Governments can't legislate<br />
that kind of experience.<br />
"If you had a farm apprentice<br />
program here in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
and right alongside you had a<br />
program for 12 weeks with VIC<br />
benefits coming up, you know<br />
which one would be filled up. The<br />
problem now is that we can't decide<br />
whether we 're a capitalist or<br />
a socialist country. You could sell<br />
right here at your door in the fall,<br />
but no one wants to wait that<br />
long. My son was coming back to<br />
take over the farm when he was<br />
killed on his last truck trip. I'm<br />
ready to turn it over to someone<br />
else, but there are so many things<br />
a farmer has to know . • couldn't<br />
work out a five-year plan like the<br />
gover nments wants us to. You<br />
can do things on paper, bu t they<br />
don't always work out in<br />
practice."<br />
The whole attitude towa rds<br />
work is different now maintains<br />
Clarence.<br />
"I remember when I went to<br />
the Catholic school they did a<br />
good job of teaching but they always<br />
downgraded the job of the<br />
farmer, lumberjack and fisherman,"<br />
he recalls. "It was always<br />
in the back of our minds. People<br />
have to realize not every-one can<br />
get the specialist jobs even with<br />
all .the education in the world.<br />
There's only a certain number of<br />
white-collar jobs to go around.<br />
1bere are people working beyond<br />
retirement age that are stopping<br />
younger people from getting a job<br />
and they are the ones that are<br />
saying young people are lazy. It's<br />
best to let some sectors of the<br />
economy seek their own level in-<br />
A sale too big<br />
to miss.<br />
We've just trimmed the price of every sin<br />
new Pioneel1P.lrtner chain saw. Farbel<br />
everyday low<br />
tice,<br />
Uke the Pioneesfartner 400, It's got P<br />
quality power lind endurance in<br />
tweight saw. It's got an excellent<br />
m..extremely low noise level and a<br />
as standard equipment.<br />
And, right now, it's on salefor just $329.95.<br />
Buy any Pioneeefartner befo re<br />
December 31,1985. And the<br />
• • • • • saw tha.tgives you more,<br />
• will c t you less.<br />
ImlPI8NER<br />
r: paRTNER'<br />
Givesyou more.<br />
Distributed by:<br />
Charles R. Bell Ltd.<br />
St . Jo hn's - 722-6700<br />
See Your Loc al Dealer Today
38 - DECKS AWASH<br />
stead of subsidizing those who<br />
can't compete any other way. Let<br />
people live where they want to<br />
live: vou don't tell a bird where<br />
to build Its nest. We've got too<br />
smart for our own good.<br />
"Good solid advice is not easy<br />
to come by anv more either. The<br />
only sheep specialist I know of<br />
was Mack Greening and he died<br />
several years ago. There's nobody<br />
I can turn to really. Last fall<br />
I experimented with a Suffolk<br />
ram , but the lambs aren't born as<br />
stro ng as the Cheviots. I can compar<br />
e the weights of the Cheviot<br />
a nd Suffolk lambs and both of my<br />
Suffolk lambs died. A lot of what<br />
you get is based on what has been<br />
going on in other parts of the<br />
world. My neighbor brought<br />
back some sheep from Cape Breton<br />
and they had foot rot. It costs<br />
all kinds of extra money to treat<br />
the sheep and once the land is affected<br />
there are alw ays enough<br />
carriers to keep it going. The<br />
xova SCotian farmers weren't<br />
concerned because they could<br />
just slaughter the sheep and start<br />
again, but it's a bad thing here.<br />
I can keep it down, but I can't get<br />
rid of it. Sheep follow eac h other<br />
on a trail and all of the m pick it<br />
up."<br />
Clarence a lso has his own<br />
views on rea r ing lam bs for<br />
ma rket.<br />
"If you raise ewes for just one<br />
lamb you're lost," he says. I' ve<br />
been a firm believer in the twolamb<br />
cro p, the second one being<br />
your profit. Some people will tell<br />
Farming and fishing under pressure<br />
J<br />
im Hilliard represents a dying<br />
breed of <strong>Newfoundland</strong>ers,<br />
descendants of the<br />
fishermen-farmers of pre<br />
Confederation days. Now Jim,<br />
who lives in the small community<br />
of Cape Anguille just north of<br />
Codroy, is under pressur e beca<br />
use of policies th at discriminate<br />
against the part-time<br />
inshore fisherman.<br />
"There's a strong possibility<br />
that. I will lose my salmon licence,"<br />
Jim tells us bitterly. "If<br />
I lose tha t, 1 might as well quit<br />
farming as well. I'm a pa rt -time<br />
fisherman , fishing for three or<br />
four months a yea r with two<br />
boat s an d 15 sa lmon nets . That's<br />
the only money I ca n mak e in the<br />
vou twin lambs will never reach<br />
the size of a single lamb, but the<br />
weight difference betwee n a single<br />
lamb and a twin is very little<br />
in the fall.<br />
"There's no secret to how I ensure<br />
twins. To start with I Ilush<br />
my sheep and provide extra feed<br />
in the fall. In October I put the<br />
burlap jacket on my ewes a nd let<br />
the ram loose. He ca n' t do any<br />
damage but he gets them in better<br />
breeding conditio n when I<br />
take the jackets off in tbe middle<br />
of November. Most of our sheep<br />
had twins; the only one that<br />
didn't had a lar ge lamb early, but<br />
I don't know if it was my ram or<br />
not. If you' re keeping a few<br />
sheep, the ext ra meat makes it<br />
worthwhile."<br />
summer. I fish longer than a fulltime<br />
fisherman and,in the winter<br />
I do some logging, What we mak e<br />
in the summer, $3,000-$4.000.sees<br />
us through the winter . If we can't<br />
fish, we're not going to make it at<br />
all. We couldn't hope to make it<br />
on far ming a lone. The few sheep<br />
and cattle we ca n keep on our<br />
land and the crops we can grow<br />
in our ga rde n provide us with<br />
food, but they don't offer us a<br />
living.<br />
"My young fellow ca n't get a licence<br />
and he's out of school in a<br />
vear. He can fish for cod this<br />
).'ear, but I can't transfer my<br />
salmon licence to him . I can get<br />
a job in the summer, but wha t is<br />
there for him? He'll have to leave<br />
I Iewfoundland to get any thi ng at<br />
all. I have enough in fishing gear<br />
and livestoc k for both of us, He<br />
wants to work on the farm and<br />
there's a ll kinds of land. but the<br />
government gives it to people on<br />
welfare. I could keep 50 head of<br />
cattle, but I've only got enough<br />
land to keep 25,"<br />
Jim ca n' t understand why the<br />
government spen ds taxpayers'<br />
money on non -productive<br />
programs.<br />
"Those that have the jobs don't<br />
seem to understand the needs of
DECKS AWASH - 39<br />
th()5e who are trying to make a<br />
living," he surmises. "The decisions<br />
aren't made in Ottawa.<br />
They're being made in Corner<br />
Brook and St. John's. I'm not<br />
looking to make large amounts of<br />
money. I'm happy with $4.000<br />
from fishing in the summer and<br />
whatever I can make from the<br />
farm. If I can't fish I might as<br />
well burn my boats and salmon<br />
nets beca use there will be no one<br />
to buy tbern . I just spent $10,000<br />
on one boat and motor. but it's<br />
money down the dra in.<br />
"The way we are, we have our<br />
QYm fish a nd our own vege tables<br />
and meat. That keeps your<br />
money needs down. We make our<br />
own butter a nd we have wool<br />
from the sheep, but you can't<br />
make a go of it alone. Government<br />
money seems to be there<br />
for the big farmers to build<br />
barns, but there's nothing for<br />
Manpower and horsepower Wlltt a hand plow on the H Ihard farm<br />
peop le like us. I've done all Ute<br />
building here myself and it's the US fish and work the land the wayITake away the licences now and<br />
fishing that pays for it. If the we always have, there's no trou- there'll be no fishermen here in<br />
government left us alone and let ble to make a living around here. five yean." I!!<br />
TerraTransport<br />
A TOTALLY INTEGRATED<br />
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM<br />
51. John's<br />
Grand Falls<br />
Corner Brook<br />
737-5948<br />
489-2292<br />
634-8246<br />
737-7896<br />
634-4381<br />
ONE OF THE CN GROUP OF COMPANIES<br />
40 - DECKS AWASH<br />
... l.-<br />
Sheering at a good clip<br />
Vicki Hilliard of Cape Anguille, Jim's daughter,<br />
is only 14years old, but she has a skill that<br />
few others can master: she can clip all the wool<br />
off a sheep with a pair of hand shears in a matter<br />
of minutes. Fortunately for us, one old ewe<br />
had proved difficult to capture during the week<br />
and still remains to be sheared when we visit<br />
the Hilliard farm.<br />
"I sheared my first sheep when I was 12,"<br />
Vicki tells us as she gets down to business. "I<br />
watched my uncle doing it and it seemed to<br />
come naturally to me. I like milking the cows<br />
and making butter, but the shearing is something<br />
I have perfected."<br />
It doesn't take long for Vicki to prove the<br />
pointand soonthe last sheep togive up its wool<br />
is back on the hills with her lamb. 11
DECKS AWASH - 41<br />
25% TO 50% SAVINGS<br />
FAMOUS PINK VISTA Pattern<br />
by<br />
MASON'S ENGLISH<br />
IRONSTONE<br />
SAVE 50% ON THESE ITEMS:<br />
~-Pc<br />
PlaceSeUlnr<br />
DinntrPlatt<br />
Si.ladPlat!<br />
BreadiBuUtr<br />
Plale<br />
TeaCup<br />
TeaSaucer<br />
$3~00 'U.»<br />
1000 a.oO<br />
800 ".00<br />
600 1.00<br />
850 UI<br />
4~ US<br />
SAVE 25% ON THESE ITEMS:<br />
Plaller rs- S ~ ~ OO "'1.1$<br />
Plalttr13"<br />
PlaUtI'l l"<br />
au. 8AU<br />
37,00 lUI<br />
1800 11.00<br />
Open VeirNble<br />
Cov'd<br />
Vegelible 6900 11.71<br />
Grav1' Swld 4100 "..<br />
• Ccnee Pot. 0000<br />
"...<br />
• TeaPot 0000 3U.<br />
• Cov'd Suril' 3700 ......<br />
C"".<br />
18,00 Salid Bowl 27.00 .....<br />
JumboC\ip<br />
'Slucer ~4.00 ' JUO<br />
2700 .....<br />
SAl E ENOS AUGUST :11, 1MS<br />
.... s.A.U<br />
FruitNIPP1 U 50 It·n<br />
Cernl 750 ' .n<br />
SoupCup<br />
ls"lIt'fr<br />
".1$<br />
Rrm<br />
SoupPlate<br />
CoffftCup<br />
l s" uCfr 1100 a.»<br />
Egg Cup HlO 1.00<br />
B'Ia.slCup<br />
lSaucrr I~ 00 11.1$<br />
Bulerhd 3 75 1"<br />
Cov'd Bulter 27.00 ".1$<br />
Salt/Pepper 20.00 I....<br />
Cov'd<br />
Jl mPot 2250 II."<br />
WllkJul 3000 UM<br />
Celel)"Dilh 17 50 11.11<br />
TOUlRolck 1750 lUI<br />
• SaadWICh T'ny 30,00 U'"<br />
SoupTween<br />
complelt 24000 ,....<br />
, :~ :, n~~;;~·<br />
- ~~~~~,~ ~<br />
FREE DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER SI00.00 ~
42 - DECKS AWASH<br />
chicken and eggs<br />
From banking to broilers<br />
IT wo years ago, Harry An-I<br />
I drews of Whitbourne was a<br />
bank manager. then after 13<br />
years of wearing business suits<br />
and sitting in offices he gave it up<br />
ard bought a broiler farm. Now<br />
he has 58,000 birds and he has just<br />
been appointed to the. 'ewfoundland<br />
Chicken Marketing Board.<br />
"Banking has its problems,"<br />
says Harry. "People have financial<br />
problems and they bring<br />
them to your office. At least the<br />
problems I have now are my own.<br />
Well. not quite - the broiler industry<br />
has a few.<br />
"Let's state this right up front.<br />
It's not economical to grow chickens<br />
in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>. People will<br />
tell you, we should be growing<br />
chickens in Ontario, where it's<br />
warmer and feed grain is cheaper.<br />
Right? Tru e enough. But take<br />
that argument one step further<br />
and you shouldn't be growing<br />
chickens in Ontario either, beca<br />
use you ca n gr ow them even<br />
cheaper in the United States.<br />
" So there's a n established<br />
Harry Andrews<br />
broiler industry in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
, and that's why I' m in it. It<br />
creates jobs for 20 producers, a<br />
hatcher y, two plants of New-<br />
EASnAND KITCHENS<br />
Best value in town<br />
"'F~~~r<br />
i<br />
"L_<br />
Send or bnng on a layout of your kitc hen<br />
for<br />
FREE ESTIMATES<br />
Ch<br />
!pAW! A'_O__~M<br />
• OPEN SATU RDAYS
esults of your per formance everyday.<br />
The birds get bigger , but<br />
if you do some thing wrong, at the<br />
end of six weeks wha t you ar e doing<br />
wrong is over and you can<br />
sta rt all over agai n. In a bank<br />
your rewards ar e only yea rly.<br />
You are revi ewed each yea r and<br />
your salary is negotiat ed each<br />
yea r.<br />
" It's also less stress ful, eve n<br />
though last yea r was aver)<br />
difficult time. I went in with a<br />
quota of 43,000 birds but a ll that<br />
were a vailable were 28,000.<br />
Chicks here cost 42¢ and in Ontario<br />
they cost 36(, so on the next<br />
batch, I decided to sav e money<br />
and fly them in. The chicks were<br />
all smothered . Now I use a local<br />
hatchery. You only get burned<br />
once."<br />
Harry works fairly regular<br />
hours: 8:00 a. m. to 11:00 a.m .,<br />
2:00 p.m . to 4:00 p.m., and 8:00<br />
p.m. to 10:00 p.m . - assumi ng<br />
The hens of Hilltop and other topics<br />
verlooking the r iver at<br />
O Robinsons is the farm operated<br />
by Fred Wells, who has been<br />
in various branches of fa rming<br />
for 36 years and can take an objective<br />
look at the sta te of <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
ag riculture.<br />
" I started with ver y littl e back<br />
then ," recalls Fred , who now concentrates<br />
on his 15,000chickens,<br />
but still has a fe-w other livest ock<br />
and crops in his mixed farming<br />
operation. "In 1965I had a laying<br />
flock of 5,000 hens and I ca n<br />
remember getting 65 ce nts a<br />
dcrzen for eggs when feed costs<br />
were only $60. Nowfeed costs ar e<br />
$303and I still get only $1.11for<br />
Grade A large eggs. If you think<br />
about that kind of production<br />
cost, you'll realize where agriculture<br />
has moved in the last 25<br />
years, at least in the eg g<br />
business.<br />
"I never thought I'd a pproach<br />
60 years old and see the state<br />
agriculture is in, both provincially<br />
and nationally. Anyone who<br />
continues to farm will probably<br />
wind up being a socialist, because<br />
agriculture will eventually be<br />
cootrolled by the state. The sta te<br />
will plant the corn, put in the hens<br />
and pay the labor because there's<br />
no way individu als ca n continue<br />
in farming under the present<br />
production constraints. Farmers<br />
are not involved in the policy decisions<br />
and it is . not sur prising<br />
that young people are disillu <br />
sioned with agri culture."<br />
Fred hopes that government<br />
will pay more attention to soil fertility<br />
and management. which he<br />
Fred Wells<br />
believes to bethe most important<br />
aspects of agri culture.<br />
"Unless you're in the specialized<br />
fields of broiler s, layers or<br />
hogs, where you can put up building;<br />
on an acre of lan d. the re has<br />
to be a viable lan d base," he rea<br />
SOllS, " There's enough land between<br />
Cape St. George a nd Cape<br />
Ray to suppo rt all the food requirements<br />
of the province, but<br />
it's pathetic to see how it's being<br />
used . Some farmers are attempting<br />
to rai se cattle and sheep on<br />
hay with a protein content of less<br />
than 1%.The hay is being cut<br />
from grass grown on poor soil. If<br />
a farmer's hay production is below<br />
4 tons per acre, it should be<br />
brought up to that level with<br />
money from a soil fertility fund.<br />
Many farmers are getting less<br />
than half of that production and<br />
it is fina ncially impossible for<br />
DECKS AWASH - 43<br />
1<br />
nothing goes wrong . If a piece o! 1<br />
equipment brea ks, he rna) I<br />
there from 8:00 a.m . until 10:00<br />
p.m. lie has a full-lime foreman<br />
and every six weeks he empl oy<br />
half a dozen people to clea n ou<br />
the ba rn . Together with his work<br />
on the Chicken Marketing Board.<br />
it's a good mix of physical and<br />
mental exercise. And for hob<br />
bies? Harry has a few chinch illas<br />
a nd he's wondering if there isn't<br />
a business opportunity there ~<br />
most farm er s to impro ve their<br />
soil. Even with the poult ry m<br />
nur e I have, I can only ra ise Ow<br />
level to six tons off two acres of<br />
land ."<br />
The costs of soil improvement<br />
a re as tronomical, as Fred's own<br />
experience shows.<br />
" I spread 600tons of limestone.<br />
costin g $17 a ton. on the Robin<br />
sons community pas ture, he<br />
points out, "and tha t bare.<br />
scratched the surface. It neeos an<br />
injec tion of $300,000 or mor<br />
get it back into shape art<br />
farm ers can justi fy that k<br />
expense. Management of<br />
is so im portant. but there<br />
enough funds even to m<br />
sta rt on the problems. ~l os<br />
opera tions here are gea rs<br />
mixed far ming and pE'OP<br />
produce enough feed to ke<br />
tle over the winter 'T'1
44 - OECKS AWA SH<br />
ar ound Bay St. George is starved<br />
lor limesto ne and a large herd of<br />
beef ca ttle is just not feasible.<br />
.Mixed farm ing is a far me r's<br />
livelihood here and it' s at its<br />
lowest ebb in history . Until something's<br />
done you're just not going<br />
to see a revival at a time when<br />
ywng people a re crying out for<br />
employment."<br />
Fred does not accept the idea<br />
that farmers in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
The quota's the problem<br />
F<br />
rank Bartlett, st. has a layer<br />
operat ion at Goose Cove,<br />
Trinity Bay. His 5,000 chickens<br />
produce about 360 dozen eggs<br />
da.~%y fath er started' with 100<br />
birds 30years ago and gradu all y<br />
built it up," says Frank . " We<br />
replace all 5,000birds every year.<br />
Ideally , we would replace them<br />
aUat one time but because ] mar <br />
ket my own eggs, tha t would<br />
leave me without a ny eggs to sell<br />
for a few weeks , an d those would<br />
all be small. People want larg e<br />
eggs , so we only repla ce a third<br />
of the birds at a time. It would be<br />
Frank Bartlett wIth " Patsy" and son Stephen<br />
cannot compete with those on the<br />
ma inland.<br />
"<strong>Newfoundland</strong> farmers could<br />
compete in every root crop except<br />
potatoes," he contends.<br />
" What's needed is a policy that<br />
prevents the kind of dumping<br />
that 's going on at the moment.<br />
We can 't continue to allow<br />
second-grade produce to come<br />
her e and undercut local produce<br />
th at is better and fresher.<br />
all right if I lived near 81. John's<br />
an d could put the eggs into a<br />
grading station. Then they would<br />
have the headache of marketing,<br />
but around here if I were to stop<br />
producing for a few weeks somebody<br />
else would step in and I<br />
wwld lose my market."<br />
Fr ank' s farm is a family opera<br />
tion. His father died 15 years<br />
ago but he has help from his wife,<br />
his mother, a cousin, and occasional<br />
part-time labor in the summer.<br />
Fortunately, the layer<br />
opera tion is mostly mechanized.<br />
The birds are housed in a 32 by<br />
100 tt. building, six to a cage.<br />
However you look at it, we can 't<br />
exist without food and there's no<br />
industry tha t provides the<br />
benef its agriculture does. For every<br />
$1invested there's a return of<br />
$9, not to mention the number of<br />
jobs that could be cr eated along<br />
the way. The ma jor urban areas<br />
could easily be supplied by rural<br />
Newfoundla nd and many of the<br />
housing an d socia l problems we<br />
have would be solved." ~<br />
Feeding them is a matter of push.<br />
ing a butto n, the eggs roll out<br />
(rom under the ca ges but haveto<br />
be collected and graded by hand .<br />
"We had brown eggs last year,<br />
but by rights you need 15-201' a<br />
dozen more for them . They are<br />
more expensive birds , heavier<br />
eaters, and there 's extra sorting.<br />
It wouldn't be so had if they were<br />
all brown, but then you are in<br />
competition with the fellow who<br />
has all white eggs and his are<br />
cheaper. Usually brown hens lay<br />
brown eggs and white hens lay<br />
white .<br />
"We hav e our customers built<br />
up over the years, a lot of smalJ<br />
stores from here to Bonavista.<br />
I'm on the road one full day a coupieof<br />
part days a week. The economy<br />
a ffects us, like last year the<br />
fishing st rike and the draggers<br />
not sa iling made a difference of<br />
15or 20cases of eggs which for a<br />
sma ll opera tion is a nice bit.<br />
"The egg marketing board controls<br />
the farm-gate price, but on<br />
top of that is the cost of cartons<br />
and delivery. We pay a subsidy<br />
for those little sta mps they pUton<br />
the cartons and the board is supposed<br />
to take surp lus eggs off the<br />
market. [ try to get rid of my sur <br />
plus eggs to another producer<br />
who's short because I get a better<br />
price.<br />
"One of our big problems is the<br />
part-time farmer. Anyone, if they<br />
want to, ca n put in 499 birds<br />
tomorrow an d do what they like<br />
with the eggs. Over 500birds and<br />
they have to get a quota . The 499<br />
limit is too high. If (our or five<br />
people ca me into my area with
OECKS AWASH - 45<br />
499 chickens that would be half money down and you could never <strong>Newfoundland</strong> is self-sufficient in<br />
my production and they would be keep up with the interest payments.<br />
Take a barn and equip<br />
"Now da iry farm ing, there's<br />
eggs.<br />
unregu lated. My quota is 5,000<br />
birds and I can't go beyond that. ment, it's no trouble togo through all kinds of su bsidies there... "<br />
We're not against a man wanting $100,000 and that's only small says Frank as he strokes his cow<br />
25or 30 chickens for his own use, compared to some. And there are Patsy. We leave him to mull over<br />
but even that is more eggs than no government grants because the idea.<br />
I'!I<br />
you can use. At the las t meeting<br />
we tried to get it down to 100.<br />
Look, a man with a licence can be<br />
fishing next to meand I'm not al- 1...------ ---------------..,<br />
lowed to put out a single lobster<br />
pot, but he can put in 499 birds<br />
and cut into my production."<br />
Frank also keeps a few cows.<br />
He brought in some Guernseys<br />
from Prince Edward Island and<br />
has three milking and six heifers.<br />
Guernseys are smaller than Holsteins<br />
and produce creamier<br />
milk, but in smaller quantities.<br />
His cows are scattered over a<br />
number of pastures and he cuts<br />
no hay preferring to buy good<br />
quality hay. Guernseys are quiet<br />
and gentle cows, but most are dehorned.<br />
Even among cows there<br />
is usually one bully that will<br />
damage others when they cannot<br />
get away.<br />
Frank would like to get more<br />
land cleared but the present<br />
government policy of only leasing<br />
land is a deterrent.<br />
"You can lease the land, never<br />
own it," says Frank. "That's all<br />
right if you have a young fellow<br />
to take over, but if you're working<br />
all your life to clear a piece<br />
of land and you get up to be 50and<br />
want to sell it and retire, you<br />
can 't do it. I see the point the<br />
government is making because<br />
there's not a lot of farmland in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> and they want to<br />
discourage making it into subdivisions<br />
in Kilbride and the<br />
Goulds. But around here it<br />
wouldn't matter. Besides, there's<br />
not an acre of good land in one<br />
spot."<br />
Frank had not intended to be a<br />
farmer. He studied electronics at<br />
trades school then suddenly inherited<br />
his father's farm. On<br />
reflection he wishes he had<br />
studied welding. The knowledge<br />
would have been useful on a<br />
fann.<br />
"If I had to start this business<br />
tomorrow I wouldn't even look<br />
into it. You'd have to put so much IL-<br />
YOUR LINK TO ALL YOUR<br />
DEEP SEA AND<br />
INSHORE NEEDS<br />
IMP<br />
IMP<br />
GROUP<br />
LIMITED<br />
For Complete CommercialFilhing Equipment SupjIIIet<br />
Con tact your neared IMP outlat<br />
Maryslown Harbour Breton<br />
279·2053 585·2998<br />
Pippy Place<br />
P.O. Box 8560<br />
Fortune<br />
832·1910<br />
51.John's Port aux Cholx lewisporte Carbonear<br />
722·4221 861·3309 535-8573 596·5362<br />
..:..:=::.::::.;:::..::::~:::..::::::::::::..:..::::..:::::..:.::::...__..JI<br />
Please useourtoll Iree number: 1·800·563·7900
46 - DECKS AWA SH<br />
greenhouses<br />
The realm of th e Barony Nursery<br />
s we drive a long the road<br />
A thr ough Cormack we see a<br />
sign announcing the presence of<br />
the Barony Nursery on a side 1 --1 -' ~"",~<br />
road . After a few mintues we are<br />
at the Van Koetsveld farm and<br />
soon we are at the door of the<br />
gr eenhouse . Linda Van Koetsveld<br />
takes time off from a busy day of<br />
moving plans and vegetabl es to<br />
explain how the operation she<br />
runs with her husband, George,<br />
developed.<br />
"Geo rge is Dutch and was born<br />
in J ava. Indonesia," she tells us.<br />
" After the war he had his training<br />
in horticul ture in Holland and<br />
then emigrated to the United<br />
States when he was 23. I was born<br />
on a da iry (arm in upstate New<br />
York and moved to California as<br />
Thank s for t he<br />
wood to build our<br />
homes , our boats<br />
and our wha rves.<br />
Thanks for firewood<br />
to keep us wa rm.<br />
Thanks for furniture,<br />
Only you<br />
~~~~ ~ ~~~~ brushes. ;:::~oliiiiii_~!C:> ~~~~:,~~<br />
violin s, gu itars, and cellos. Thanks for boo ks<br />
and penc ils and paper. Than ks fo r map le syrup and sleds , park benches and<br />
shade on a sunny afternoon. Thanks for fruits, jams and jellies. And a spec ial<br />
thank s fo r the oxygen we breathe .<br />
This message from your<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> Forest Protection Association
a teacher. We met there and<br />
came to Canada four years ago<br />
last May. Neither of us liked the<br />
urban environment as we'd come<br />
from rural backgrounds. My<br />
father was on vacation visiting<br />
his cousin at the base in Argentia<br />
when he became sick. George<br />
and I came with our 4-year-old<br />
daughter and moved him to a<br />
larger hospital in St. John's. We<br />
fell in love with the province and<br />
decided to move here.<br />
"We realized that the island<br />
has not been self-sufficient in<br />
fanning and there's no reason<br />
why it shouldn't be except that<br />
for years the emphasis has been<br />
on the fisheries and the forests.<br />
Agriculture has been ignored by<br />
all the political parties. In Holland<br />
90%of the produce is grown<br />
under glass and they are on the<br />
same latitude as we are. The season<br />
is a little shorter here and the<br />
winter is harsher, but the light intensity<br />
is the same."<br />
Linda and George spent their<br />
first year working on building a<br />
house and providing enough food<br />
for themselves, so their second<br />
year was really their first growing<br />
season.<br />
The first year we came here we<br />
had 80 acres of land, 30of which<br />
were cleared, and we had some<br />
cows," Linda recalls. "The first<br />
two years we were more concerned<br />
with building a house and<br />
by the time we got going we had<br />
our vegetables and began the<br />
business of selling transplants.<br />
The first year I had a few packets<br />
of flower seeds just for myself<br />
really, but we soon realized that<br />
the flowers were being sold more<br />
than the vegetables in our first<br />
growing season.<br />
"Our initial intention was to<br />
grow vegetables like cucumbers,<br />
tomatoes and zucchinis that have<br />
to be imported but we discovered<br />
that <strong>Newfoundland</strong>ers had not<br />
yet started to acquire a taste for<br />
such exotic things as zucchinis.<br />
To avoid starving to death we<br />
decided we had better get into<br />
something more secure and got<br />
into the flower business. The following<br />
year, Sandy Rideout, a<br />
fanner here in Cormack, came to<br />
us and said he thought there was<br />
DECKS AWASH - 47
48 - DECKS AWASH<br />
that time. The average Newfcundlander<br />
buys whatever is<br />
cheapest at the time . The oldfashioned<br />
root cellar with proper<br />
ventilation and a few impro vements<br />
is a viable alternative for<br />
small farmers who want to hold<br />
their produce for a short amount<br />
of time at minimal cost."<br />
Linda and George are looking<br />
forward to a summer project in<br />
Cormack this year.<br />
"Glenda Garnier, who runs the<br />
craft shop in Deer Lake, called<br />
me one night about the Canada<br />
we-ld Youth project. " comments<br />
Linda with characteristic enthusiasm<br />
. " The project is<br />
designed to improve the working<br />
knowledge of prospective farmers<br />
from the Third World. I<br />
thought it sounded interesting, especially<br />
since George is from the<br />
same part of the world as the Inthat<br />
farmers are hard put to grow<br />
winter keeper cabbag e like<br />
Houston Evergreen," Linda explains.<br />
"Fa rmers can only get up<br />
to 65% yield . We grew cabbages<br />
as our first vegetable transplants<br />
and sandy's son Melvin is still<br />
one of OUf best customers (or<br />
them.<br />
"We now have a num ber of<br />
major customers for transplants.<br />
but it can't support us by itself ,<br />
so we're growing vegetable and<br />
flower transplants for the home<br />
gardener and carrying bedding<br />
plants (or four or five flower<br />
shops. When the bedding plant<br />
season is over by the middle of<br />
Jul y, probab ly a little later than<br />
usual this year, the greenhouses<br />
are filled with tomatoes. cucum <br />
jacketed stora ge, whereby insulated<br />
sheds are used , is marvellous<br />
for vegetables, but the price<br />
tag is too high for most small<br />
farmers. However, a farmer<br />
can 't afford to sell his vegetables<br />
only dur ing the peak season, especially<br />
since the importers<br />
thooghtfully lower their prices at<br />
Review Article<br />
dians and Sri Lankans included itt<br />
this particular group. We are one<br />
of the few families in the area<br />
with a large house and em pty<br />
rooms and the farm will provide<br />
a really valuable exprience.<br />
'" talked to one of the regio na l<br />
co-ordinators about the projec t<br />
and the relevance of fanning to<br />
the Sri Lankan economy in pa r<br />
ticular . We're probably providing<br />
an ideal environment for them in<br />
that we're only just above their<br />
level of techno logy and they will<br />
be getting experience that will be<br />
usefu l to them when they return<br />
home , I may also be involved in<br />
helping with teac hing Eng lish.<br />
The community seems to be accepting<br />
the project very well. The<br />
group arrives at the end of Jul y<br />
and will bestaying until well into<br />
September, so they will be here<br />
for the main harvest."<br />
Just as George is suggesting<br />
that it's cold enough to get the<br />
snowmobile ready again, down<br />
comes a torrential outburst of<br />
rain that threatens to deluge<br />
everyone and it's lucky we're under<br />
cover . It's another reminder<br />
bers , green peppers and 8 few<br />
specialties like zucchinis , squa sh.<br />
hot peppers and eggplants.<br />
"Outdoors we grow the usual<br />
vegetables and some specialized<br />
items like broccoli. cauliflow er .<br />
snow peas for the Chinese market,<br />
pea s and beans . We are trying<br />
to keep the vegetable market<br />
in Deer Lake going. If the new<br />
mar ket ever gets finished it w;11<br />
of the fickleness of our Newfoondland<br />
weather.<br />
I."\'l<br />
be a centra) place for the fanners<br />
here a nd I hope it will be an<br />
open market with other items on<br />
sale as well."<br />
Although the nursery has always<br />
been a family operation, 1....---------------------,<br />
Linda is quick to acknowledge the<br />
help they have received.<br />
"At the moment we have only<br />
one full-time employee, but this<br />
year we have part-time help ,"<br />
she points out. " Ca rol and Derek<br />
Hillier are helping with moving<br />
plants right now and Glen Prince<br />
is with us too, The Agriculture<br />
people at Pynns Brook helped<br />
me out on several occasions and<br />
I couldn't have done without<br />
them, both the federal and I<br />
provincial people.<br />
"The only complaint I have is<br />
with the policy of megatarmmg.<br />
which is just not suitable for New<br />
Ioundland. Our fields are broken<br />
up by bogs, streams and stony<br />
areas and our markets are just<br />
too sma ll for that kind of thing.<br />
Even the short time I've been<br />
here I can see that the mega <br />
NEWFOUNDLAND STUDIES<br />
N_foundl,nd Studi n , a twice-~ , r l y publi ca tio n, inviln IlUbscriphons from instilutions<br />
.and.llbroad t"r.ll Ncrwtoundland Srom Ihrou,gh Prints<br />
;and Eft«rilVlnp from 1M Srwnlftnlh, Eignlftnlh .lind N'nr1rft1lh Cntlurin-<br />
Pnrr Nrouy<br />
G.-t Bril..." and lhorfu lUl'
DECKS AWASH - 49<br />
Transplanted far mer<br />
B<br />
ob Striah, 39, runs Still<br />
Meadow Greenhouses<br />
Limited at Markland on the Avalon<br />
Peninsula . A native of British<br />
Columbia with a master's degree<br />
in chemistry, he entered farming<br />
in a roundabout way .<br />
" I came to <strong>Newfoundland</strong> in<br />
1970 as a research chemist for the<br />
Federal Department of Fisheries,"<br />
explains Bob. " But the aca <br />
demic life didn't really turn me<br />
on. I saw the opportunity for<br />
starting a family farm here<br />
without having half a million dollars<br />
, so I took it.<br />
" We started off dirt farming. I<br />
rented a couple of acres and grew<br />
a lot of what were then specialty<br />
crops - cauliflower and broccoli<br />
- then sold them to people<br />
from the United States base near<br />
Placentia. we survived but we<br />
didn't have too many luxuries.<br />
" I built a greenhouse in 1976<br />
and grew tomatoes. That led to a<br />
second and then a third greenhouse<br />
until today I have seven .<br />
There was no way to do everything<br />
, so the field crops went.<br />
They were back -breaking work.<br />
Over the years we have grown<br />
I a lmost every greenhouse plant<br />
you can name and we have ended<br />
up with bedding pla nts ,<br />
vegetable transplants, and ornamentals.<br />
" It' s a seasonal operation. Beginning<br />
March rst. I transplant<br />
seedlings bought from Ontario<br />
into pack s to get them going, it<br />
saves heating the greenhouses in<br />
January and February. Then my<br />
own seed is germinating to become<br />
my second crop . Vegetable<br />
transplants are sold in packs 0112<br />
to the consumer, and by the thousand<br />
to farmers - 75% of our<br />
sales are wholesale . Conception,<br />
Trinity, and Placentia Bays are<br />
my main markets, although we<br />
delivered to St. John 's for the<br />
first time last year . I also act as<br />
delivery boy. It's the only way I<br />
get to meet all my customers personally<br />
.<br />
" The farm orders are all<br />
finished by June and we close to.<br />
the public in July, but the work<br />
doesn't finish. We do a lot of<br />
pro pagation work of trees and<br />
shrubs during the summer for the<br />
following year. I took $60,000<br />
worth of stock through last winter<br />
which is risky. A big storm could<br />
tear the plastic off your green <br />
house and destroy the lot and<br />
ther e's no insurance for greenhouses.<br />
I work up until December<br />
each year then take a couple of<br />
mooths olf.<br />
" Weather can be a re al<br />
problem. This year my flats were<br />
ready to go May 6th, but there<br />
was still snow on the ground so<br />
the farmers weren 't buying. I<br />
only make about a dollar profit on<br />
a flat a nd it costs me an additional<br />
:IS( a week to keep them . ITI<br />
had kept them until Jun e 6th my<br />
enti re profit would have gone.<br />
But I have to have my stuff ready<br />
a nyway because if I'm a week<br />
late I've lost my market. "<br />
Bob's farm is neat and clean ,<br />
but it's the result of a lot of work<br />
and experimentation. Last yea r<br />
he worked 1825hours - that' s 46<br />
norma l 4O-hour work weeks <br />
but he did half of it in just two<br />
months. He also visits mainland<br />
greenhouse operations to borrow<br />
ideas . His transplanting operations,<br />
supervised by his foreman<br />
Willie (Wilhelmina ) Gosse, ar e<br />
models in time and motion work.<br />
" If you figure it ta kes roughly<br />
one second to take a ste p, you can<br />
use up a lot of time just strolling<br />
up and down 700 feet or gree n<br />
houses every day. For tr ansplanting<br />
we set up portab le tables<br />
wherever we need them a nd the<br />
girls use what we call a dibble<br />
board to push 72 or 96 holes in<br />
eac h fiat to receive transplants.<br />
The girls can do a better job than<br />
I could, their fingers a re sma ller<br />
a nd they have a lighter touch.<br />
They are paid by the flat and they<br />
can make up to $6 an hour ."<br />
For Bob, having an adva nced<br />
education does have benefits. It's<br />
tau ght him where to find informat<br />
ion when he needs it and he's<br />
not intimidated by government<br />
specialists. Even so, when it<br />
comes to filling out forms he is<br />
about as lucky as the next man .<br />
It took him a year to complete<br />
one proP9S31 to the satisfaction of<br />
government. Still, he managed to<br />
recover 50% of the ca pita l costs<br />
of his greenhouses and get a loan
50 - DECKS AWASH<br />
for the balance on very favorable<br />
terms. He muses on farming and<br />
farmers.<br />
" It' s a difficu lt business to<br />
enter. The government asks you<br />
if you have farmed before and if<br />
you ha ven 't, they don't want to<br />
look at you . Once you have<br />
proved you are serious it gels bet <br />
ter. I think farmers a re loners by<br />
nature. They do everything the ir<br />
own way a nd say to hell with<br />
every body else. They are also ingenious<br />
in fixing things and making<br />
stu ff work, per haps not the<br />
way it was intended to be, but<br />
they mak e it work .<br />
" I th ink there is potential for<br />
farming in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>. I've<br />
certainly see n some very good<br />
fanners here . Of course you can't<br />
do anything a bout the wea ther ,<br />
but. th ink the ma in thin g is that<br />
a commitment must be ma de by<br />
government to the farming industry<br />
and so far that commitment<br />
has not been mad e," concl udes<br />
Bob .<br />
"'<br />
FIRST IN PERFORMANCE OUTBOARDS<br />
., EVlnRUDE~&<br />
~..-- .:<br />
~ohnso'"<br />
OUTBOARDS<br />
• We ship anywhere in Newfoundl and and Labrador .<br />
• We specialize in Sales, Parts & Service.<br />
QUALIFIED "MASTER TECHNICIANS" ON STAFF.<br />
OTIS GILLINGHAM &SONS LTD.<br />
MAIN ST., GLENWOOD , NEWFOUNDLAND, AOG 2KO<br />
(709) 679-2058 IF BUSY ... (709) 679-2257
DECKS AWASH - 51<br />
Greenhouses need less lend<br />
B<br />
illy Eales runs<br />
Nursery on Brookfield<br />
Rosebank<br />
Road, St. John's. The Eales are<br />
one of two remaining farm fam i<br />
lies in a once thriving agricultural<br />
area now gradually being<br />
encroached upon by creeping<br />
sub-divisions. Billy is sitting on<br />
an upturned box by a shed. cutting<br />
up potatoes for planting with<br />
a well-honed knife.<br />
" I was born here," says Billy.<br />
"My father. William John Eales.<br />
inherited the farm from his lUI·<br />
c1e. Dad's almost 70 and has<br />
farmed here nearly all his life. He<br />
still has 25- 30cows. but I grow<br />
English and Chinese vegetables<br />
and I ha ve a greenhouse<br />
operation.<br />
" I've been setting about 10<br />
acres of mixed vegetables: turnips,<br />
potatoes. car rots, a couple<br />
of types of lettuce. and a dozen or<br />
more types of cabbage. Broccoli<br />
and cauliflower are the two big<br />
ones, they've really come on the<br />
last 10years. I grow a big variety<br />
because 80-85% of my customer<br />
s come right to the farm.<br />
When they come in Saturdays<br />
you want to have everyt hing they<br />
could possibly want. I charge a<br />
bit better than wholesale but not<br />
as much as retail. Some things I<br />
sell only in bulk, like broccoli and<br />
cauliflower. That goes for $6 a<br />
shopping bag, abo ut 7 or 8<br />
pounds. Some people take 8 or 10<br />
bags and I've never yet had<br />
enough of it to last me a complete<br />
season.<br />
"Then there's the Chinese<br />
vegetables. I've grown dozens of<br />
different types for about 10years<br />
now, but I've got it down to three<br />
kinds. There's Chinese cabbage<br />
or Nappa. Bok Choy which is<br />
something like our Swiss chard,<br />
and La Bok a radish the length of<br />
your arm."<br />
Billywaves hispotato knife for<br />
emphasis and we lean back lookingdown<br />
our nose to see if it's still<br />
intact. It is. Billy continues.<br />
"Ninety-nine per cent of the<br />
Chinese vegetables go to local<br />
Chinese people. I only have about<br />
half an acre but it's a good paying<br />
crop and the people come and<br />
pick it themselves. Of course,<br />
there isn't room for many farmers<br />
to beat it because the market<br />
is so small ."<br />
Billy usually starts planting<br />
English vegetables in June and<br />
Chinese vegetables about mid<br />
J uly becau se they must mature<br />
Billy Eales In me greenhouse<br />
dur ing coo l weather. Many<br />
Chinese people also keep a<br />
vegetab le garden, but Billy<br />
hasn 't had toask their advice. fie<br />
uses specia l Amer ican hybrid<br />
seed which generally produces<br />
bigger plants than the traditional<br />
Chinese seed.<br />
Although Billyproduces a lot of<br />
field cr ops. he finds that greenhouse<br />
work is taking up an increas<br />
ing amount of his time.<br />
"The greenhouse has bedding<br />
pla nts such as pansies and<br />
marigolds. and holiday plants<br />
like Easter lilies and Christmas<br />
poinsettia. I didn't build it for<br />
that, I intended to grow cabbage<br />
plants. but I had space left over<br />
so I grew 500or 600boxes of flowers.<br />
My two daughters sold them<br />
off by the side of the road , so next<br />
year I cut back on the cabbage<br />
and went mor e into flowers. The<br />
following year a company gave<br />
me an order for 1500 boxes of<br />
flowers and I had to extend the<br />
gree nhouse. Now I plan to build<br />
anot her exten sion.<br />
"The business is probably 50/50<br />
divided between plants and<br />
vegeta bles. We start planting<br />
seed, primula the 1st of January I<br />
pansies the ist of February <br />
they all start at different datesbut<br />
you want them all blooming<br />
about the same time. The green <br />
house is heated by an oil-Iired<br />
furnace and we have a wood<br />
stove hooked into it for January<br />
and Feb ruary, but the seedlings<br />
are also on heating pads to get<br />
them going."<br />
Inside, the greenhouse is redolent<br />
of exotic flowery perfumes<br />
and dam p heal. High on a sheHin<br />
the middle is a small record player.<br />
The music improves the flowers<br />
perhaps?<br />
"No," laughs Billy, "That's lor<br />
me. It can get quite lonely in here<br />
when you're tran splanting all<br />
day,
52 - DECKS AWASH<br />
"The plants are all finished by<br />
mid-July, so then I grow cucumbers<br />
and tomatoes in here . In late<br />
August I start my poinsettias. I<br />
had 1100 pots last year and that<br />
took up every bit of space in here.<br />
If I had another greenhouse I<br />
would probably grow 2,000poinsettias."<br />
Billy finds himself leaning increasingly<br />
towards the greenhouse<br />
operation because<br />
compared to field crops the<br />
return. relative to ground area, is<br />
high. But he cannot abandon his<br />
vegetable customers either, so he<br />
continues to tend his fields using<br />
a multitude of machines.<br />
"I'm cutting these potatoes up<br />
for that potato planter there,"<br />
says Billy. " It's a borrowed piece<br />
of machinery, you only use it two<br />
days for the whole year. One guy<br />
has it and we all borrow it from<br />
him . That little tractor would cost<br />
$13,000. that bigger one $25,000,<br />
and now it almost costs you as<br />
much for parts as it used to cost<br />
for a tractor."<br />
Billy stands in his field and<br />
looks towards Kilbride at the<br />
spread of new homes covering<br />
the hillside, yearly coming<br />
closer.<br />
"Ten years ago all that was<br />
farmland. Once it was all farmland<br />
as far as the eye could see.<br />
Now there's only two farms on<br />
Brookfield Road and I can see<br />
that one day we're going to run<br />
out of land . That's why I am<br />
gradually changing over to<br />
greenhouses - something you<br />
don't need much land for."<br />
I'!!<br />
berries<br />
It's a two-year cycle for blueberries<br />
A<br />
bout 15 years ago the<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> government<br />
set about creating a commercial<br />
blueberry industry in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
Regulations were passed<br />
forbidding the export of unprocessed<br />
berries and blueberry<br />
management units were set up.<br />
These units consisted of parcels<br />
of blueberry-producing Crown<br />
land pruned by government workers<br />
then leased to private farmers.<br />
Martin Sharpe, of<br />
Shearslown, Conception Bay, applied<br />
for a unit in 1982and ultimately<br />
leased 42 acres.<br />
"Our first crop of blueberries<br />
Martin Sharpe<br />
was in 1983," recalls Martin.<br />
" The average blueberry yield on<br />
Crown lands was 500lbs. an acre,<br />
but ours was 2200 Ibs. an acre .<br />
The following year was way down<br />
though . We had frost in June, the<br />
pollination month."<br />
Marlin's example illustrates<br />
that properly cultivated blueberries<br />
can be harvested in far<br />
greater quantities than if left to<br />
nature (producers in Maine grow<br />
as much as 6,000lbs . per acre),<br />
but production still depends on<br />
the weather.<br />
" We prune the bush in April or<br />
May by burning it to the ground .<br />
It doesn't damage the roots, in<br />
fact it makes them spread. Next,<br />
we apply herbicides that kill off<br />
the grass and weeds making sure<br />
the nutrients in the soil are all<br />
used by the blueberry bush. We<br />
pollinate the following summer in<br />
June using honey bees which we<br />
rent. If the weather is bad then<br />
there won't be too many blueberries.<br />
Harvesting is usually early<br />
september, we wait until the berries<br />
are 80%to 90%ripe and pray<br />
there won't be any frost."<br />
It 's a two-year cycle from<br />
pruning to harvesting so Martin<br />
harvests only half of his land at<br />
a time. This two-year cycle<br />
makes it very difficult if not impossible<br />
to match production to<br />
markets. The actual picking is<br />
carried out by his family and<br />
friends in the neighborhood. They<br />
employed 30people for two weeks<br />
in 1983to pick a total of 87,OOOlbs.<br />
from 30 acres.<br />
"For harvesting you line off<br />
your ground in 100foot widths with<br />
string," explains Martin. "You<br />
have one person to each lane and<br />
he is supposed to pick it clean.<br />
They use a berry rake which<br />
picks up a fair amount of dirt and<br />
leaves with the berries, but that<br />
acts as cushioning while they are<br />
being taken to the plant. In 1983<br />
a good picker collected 600 lbs.,<br />
an average picker 400 lbs. and
children 100-200 Ills.a day. At that<br />
time pickers were getting 35¢ a<br />
pound.<br />
"We sold the berries to Brtgus<br />
Frozen Foods. They use suction<br />
toc1ean out the leaves and twigs,<br />
then the berries go through a ripple<br />
tray to get rid of rocks . They<br />
are washed and then frozen individually<br />
on a cushion of air.<br />
They are all bubbling and moving<br />
along so that when they come out<br />
they are like marbles. After that ,<br />
they go through a cage, part of<br />
the grading system that grades<br />
them fancy, choice, standard and<br />
substandard. Then the stem is removed.<br />
Finally they go over a<br />
picking table and are watched for<br />
foreign objects. Wheneverything<br />
is running smoothly, they can<br />
move 100to ISO Ibs. of blueberries<br />
a minute."<br />
It sounds impressive, and it is.<br />
Unfortunately the machinery is<br />
very expensive and receives on<br />
average only 6 weeks' use a year .<br />
Worse, since 1983 the world price<br />
of blueberries has dropped<br />
drastically. Last year pickers<br />
rece ived 12 cents a pound, just<br />
over a third of the 1983rate.<br />
"As I understand it, the world<br />
market for blueberries is around<br />
60million lbs. a year and in 1983<br />
the supply was only 40million. In<br />
1984 production was about 80million<br />
creating a surplus," says<br />
Martin who sees most of his berries<br />
shipped to Germany.<br />
"This yea r looks like it will be<br />
I<br />
Blueberry harvest at Martin Sharpe's farm .<br />
good for blueberries. We have 15<br />
acres to harvest, but because of<br />
the market we willonly have five<br />
acres next year.<br />
One serious problem blueberry<br />
farmers face is in persuading the<br />
public to stay off their farm land.<br />
"Most of the berry units were<br />
traditional berry-picking areas.<br />
When the government made<br />
them into units and gave farmers<br />
leases they became private<br />
property. We've fenced them but<br />
people still figure they can go<br />
there. Some are not even after<br />
berries. For example, three people<br />
who walked abreast up to a<br />
trouting pond and back trampled<br />
10%of one blueberry field. We've<br />
Comparing apples to strawberries<br />
T<br />
here may be a question<br />
about how to pronounce his<br />
name, but there is no question<br />
that Gerard Beaulieu, 35,of Reidville<br />
is an innovator in the field of<br />
small fruits. At the time of our arriva<br />
l Gerard was in the process<br />
of connecting up a sprinkler system<br />
just acquired from central<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> and had just<br />
rigged up his own frost-warning<br />
system. Some of his desire for innovation<br />
probably comes from<br />
his engineering background.<br />
'I ] was educated in New Brunswick<br />
and graduated in 1973with<br />
a degree in mechanical engineering,"<br />
Gerard informs us. " I<br />
worked in New Brunswick, Quebec,<br />
Labrador and Hibernia on<br />
construction and travelled<br />
wherever I could get work. With<br />
the money I saved from engineering<br />
I decided to start a farm right<br />
here around 1975. I bought 15<br />
acres of land and then went back<br />
to work at Sept Isles and Baie<br />
Comeau for a couple of years to<br />
get enough money to build a<br />
house. In <strong>Newfoundland</strong> that's<br />
the only possible way to start a<br />
farm and hope to keep it. I now<br />
DECKS AWASH - 53<br />
had to take a few people to<br />
court."<br />
Martin went into blueberry<br />
farming because it filled a slack<br />
period in the sawmilling operation<br />
he had started after being a<br />
wholesale food salesman for 20<br />
years. A father of five, and vicepresident<br />
of the Blueberry Growers<br />
Association of <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
and Labrador, he also works as<br />
foreman at Brigus Frozen Foods.<br />
Asa friend remarked, "Martin is<br />
a lucky man, he has a place to<br />
work and a place to sell his berries<br />
too." If the market goes up<br />
again, we're sure Martin will<br />
agree with that.<br />
have 50 acres.<br />
"There isn't enough money to<br />
build a big house and starta large<br />
family. That's a fact. On my<br />
father's side there were eight<br />
generations of farmers along the<br />
St. Lawrence River. On my<br />
mother's side there were Acadian<br />
subsistence farmers and lobster<br />
fishermen near Moncton.<br />
Even though my parents didn't<br />
farm, it seemed like a natural<br />
thing for me to do."<br />
Ten years ago Gerard made his<br />
move to <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
"When I finished university I
54 - DECKS AWASH<br />
decided to have a holiday before<br />
going to work," he remembers.<br />
"I jumped on a motorcycle and<br />
drove to Florida, then to Alaska<br />
and back to the east. In September<br />
I arrived in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>,<br />
and after a bit of travelling I realized<br />
I would like to live here.<br />
Looking at the maps, Deer Lake<br />
looked like the place to live. It<br />
had an airport and it was at the<br />
crossroads of the two main roads<br />
to <strong>Newfoundland</strong> and Labrador.<br />
The scenery was fantastic and<br />
the soil was among the best in the<br />
province. There were lots of<br />
moose, trout, friendly people; I<br />
couldn't see living anywhere else.<br />
The fact that Indians lived here<br />
4,000 years ago shows that this<br />
area has always been a rich one.<br />
"I came here thinking I could<br />
buy 100 acres of land with 20<br />
acres cleared and maybe an apple<br />
orchard on it for a few thousand<br />
dollars. I was flabbergasted<br />
by the price of land here, which<br />
was unnaturally high. It wasn't<br />
an agricultural area and I could<br />
only get 15acres for what I had<br />
saved. The same year I turned<br />
down 80 acres in New Brunswick<br />
for a quarter of the price. The<br />
price of land is still outrageous<br />
and you can hardly justify buying<br />
any land at 2.000 an acre if you<br />
want to farm it. Of about 50 landowners<br />
right here. only t\\u VI<br />
three are actually farming the<br />
land."<br />
Gerard was not the first strawberry<br />
farmer in the area, but he<br />
learned fast.<br />
"There were two people planting<br />
strawberries here and it<br />
seemed to be the only kind of<br />
farming I could hope to make a<br />
living at with just 10 acres of<br />
cleared land. I found out a little<br />
bit about strawberry fanning and<br />
started out at that instead of<br />
growing hay as I had planned<br />
originally. Strawberries are intensive<br />
farming on a three-year<br />
rotation. I'm into a three-acre<br />
system killing off weeds on one<br />
field, growing off plants from the<br />
mother plants by picking off the<br />
Gerard Beaulieu with the first of this year's crop of strawberries (photo by Dave<br />
Hoover).<br />
Apple blossom time on the farm<br />
flowers on another. and then<br />
producing fruit from the plants<br />
on a third field. If I did. my job<br />
properly you'lI get a second, and<br />
maybe even a third. year pick until<br />
the weeds overrun you. In reality,<br />
I now have five three-acre<br />
fields. three of which are producing<br />
fruit. There's a thousand<br />
ways to lose in farming. A bad<br />
winter could kill all my growing<br />
plants and a summer frost could<br />
kill all the flowers and I'd lose<br />
another crop."<br />
Strawberries aren't Gerard's<br />
only crop.<br />
"I first planted apples nine<br />
years ago," he confirms. "I came<br />
from an apple-growing area and<br />
I wanted to have apples to eat. I<br />
realized how long they take to<br />
grow, so I planted an acre of apple<br />
trees even before I started on<br />
my house. I tried 13 varieties and<br />
I feel that the Viking is the bestsuited<br />
to the climate here. I can<br />
only get that from Michigan or<br />
Nova Scotia; it's a Mclntosh-type<br />
apple. The other verities will do<br />
well but a bushel a tree is a good<br />
enough crop to plant another acre<br />
arxl a half of Vikings. Once<br />
they're coming up I might put in<br />
another acre of miscellaneous<br />
fruit trees.<br />
"Apples can take frost better<br />
than almost anything else, but<br />
you have to pick the variety that<br />
will fit the growing season. It's<br />
the same with any crop. Having<br />
different flowering seasons
spreads the risk of frost so you<br />
don't lose everything. Last year<br />
was my longest strawberry sea <br />
son ever at six weeks.<br />
" I'm also looking at cherries,<br />
raspberries and other fruits on<br />
other parts of my land. Nova Scotia<br />
has a very active strawberry<br />
industry and they're shipping lots<br />
here , but we can sell ours fresh<br />
and we cater to the Ll-Pick market.<br />
We don't sell to the super <br />
markets. Here we are trying to<br />
grow and sell turnips for i t-rze a<br />
pound and down by the brook<br />
there are fiddIeheads growing<br />
wild tbat you pick that are going<br />
for $3 a pound. Everybody likes<br />
to be self-sufficient and I filled<br />
my two freezers to the top with<br />
produce from the farm . It's a<br />
wonderful feeling having your<br />
food with you and being able to<br />
pick up your moose and cod. I<br />
could hide in my root cellar for<br />
awhile ."<br />
Lest anyone gets the idea that<br />
farming is that simple . Gerard<br />
has a few words of advice for<br />
would-be farmers.<br />
" You don't go into farming to<br />
make money," he insists . "So far ,<br />
I've spent 10 times as much as<br />
I've got from the government.<br />
Farmers build their own houses ,<br />
repair their own cars and grow<br />
their own food. You have to be a<br />
marketing expert and know what<br />
you're doing. Then you have to<br />
manage your money like never<br />
before; one month's money has to<br />
do me for a wholeyear, Youhave<br />
to be a mechani c and a car <br />
penter, an economist, a tax expert<br />
and a business manager .<br />
Miss one of those and you're<br />
gone.<br />
"Farming expertise is not as<br />
advanced as elsewhere because<br />
the technology changes yearly,<br />
As an engineer I love the newness<br />
and the experimenting. The<br />
fisherman is in the same position<br />
as a farmer with respect to capital<br />
, but he is considered to be<br />
working for a fishpJant and can<br />
DECKS AWASH - 55<br />
receive unemployment. The<br />
profit margin in farming is very<br />
low and I put money into my apples<br />
10 years ago. If [ hit a bad<br />
year, I'm not allowed to collect<br />
an ything . In every aspect of the<br />
labor force there is a safety net<br />
that farmers don't have ."<br />
Then there are the expenses<br />
that come from <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s<br />
location and soil conditions.<br />
"The soil is already acid and<br />
with the acid rain that faUs on<br />
western <strong>Newfoundland</strong> you have<br />
to use 1,500 pounds of lime per<br />
acre per year just to neutralize ,"<br />
Gerard sighs. " You need 300<br />
pounds per year to neutralize the<br />
fertilizer, almost a ton per acre<br />
in all and that's 50 tons of lime<br />
per year for me just tostay where<br />
Jam . There is a lime subsidy, but<br />
yoo have to watch the magnesi <br />
um or calcium content. The magnesium<br />
competes with the<br />
phosphorus in fertilizers and I<br />
have so much magnesium that I<br />
have to use calcium limestone to<br />
ESCORT·TEMPO·EXp·MUSTANG·LTD<br />
THUNDERBlRD·BRONCO·RANGER&<br />
FORD TRUCKS ·ECONoLINE VANS<br />
PARTS &SERVICE ·LEASING&RENTALS
56 - DECKS AWASH<br />
balance things out. I've had to<br />
shovel 75 tons of lime on my<br />
fields. Farming is definitely not<br />
a lazy man 's job ! I've invested in<br />
boron and molybdenum to increase<br />
my yield and it seems to<br />
have worked over the years.<br />
furs<br />
" I have my own beehives becau<br />
se I don' t feel there are<br />
enough pollinating insects here<br />
for growing crops. There is a n unnatural<br />
occurrence of (Jowers for<br />
the normal amount of insects.<br />
Tbe field next to the beehives had<br />
Shirley M cE ntegart, f ox farmer<br />
S<br />
hirley and Jimmy McEntegart<br />
have three German<br />
shepherd dogs and 400 faxes. We<br />
meet the dogs as we drive onto<br />
the McEnlegart property near<br />
Whitboume. Cautiously, we lower<br />
our windows as three long<br />
nosesspeculatively sniff the car 's<br />
interior. No growls, no raised<br />
hackles . So far so good . Perhaps<br />
they can smell the scent of our<br />
I own dogs. Carefully , we open<br />
the door, but the dogs push in, one<br />
climbing into the back seat while<br />
another sits on the passenger seat<br />
and stares at us. We abandon ship<br />
clutching cam eras and notebook<br />
and head off 10 find Shirley<br />
McEntegarl.<br />
Kathleen Crane (l)and Shiriey McEntegart (A). Clean ing ~ after evening feeding<br />
the highest yield. It might be<br />
coincidence, but I'm not moving<br />
the beehives . There are native<br />
bees four times the size of mine<br />
and they'H visit three times as<br />
ns<br />
many (Jowers, but there aren't<br />
enough of them ."<br />
Shirley and her friend Kathleen<br />
Crane are feeding faxes . Shirley<br />
lugs a five-gal lon plastic pail<br />
filled with feed, spooning dollops<br />
of it into each cage. The cage<br />
looks empty , but on a high shelf<br />
at the back lurks a silver fox. As<br />
Shirley leaves , it darts forward<br />
and grabs the food . Three<br />
smaller heads peer from a doorway,<br />
they 're the fox's hungry<br />
pups.<br />
"Faxes are more like cats than<br />
~ ," says Shirley. "We brought<br />
in 25 females and 8 males from<br />
Nova Scotia in 1981. Now we are<br />
up to tOO breeding females . They<br />
breed once a yea r, between<br />
February and April, and the<br />
gestation period is 52days . They<br />
are picky about who they will<br />
breed with, that's why we have 33<br />
males."<br />
"There is a danger period after<br />
the young are born. Ifthe female<br />
is frightened she may eat her<br />
young, so you can 't go ham mering<br />
or anything aro und the cages.<br />
"They a re skittish animals,<br />
hard to raise, and ma ny breeders<br />
have low production. The Canadian<br />
average is only about 2.8<br />
pups per fox. Ours is four. We<br />
send the furs to the Hudson's Bay<br />
Company for their auction each<br />
February. The average Canadian<br />
price last year was $156 a fur ,<br />
ours was $218. The highest price<br />
paid was $300.<br />
Shirley raises aU silver faxes,<br />
but there are variations in color:<br />
light, medium, and dark . Last<br />
year light was popular . The three<br />
qualities a good fur must possess<br />
are color, silkiness , and density .<br />
A lot of planning goes into the<br />
production of good furs, from the<br />
select ion of breeding partners to<br />
specialized diet. Food may be a<br />
mixture of liver, chicken, horse<br />
flesh, beef, eggs ,cereal, and fish<br />
together with some highly concentrated<br />
additives made from<br />
molasses , beer malts, and sea <br />
weed.<br />
" Diets change with the sea-
too attached to faxes because you<br />
know they will chew the ha nd off<br />
you if you let them . We used to<br />
have sheep and cows and I've five<br />
children so the kids used to have<br />
riding horses. But then they<br />
moved on to girl s and cars so it<br />
was goodbye to the horses ," she<br />
says with a re signed grin .<br />
"The only trouble with<br />
livestock is somebody has alwa ys<br />
got to be there. We don't tak e vason,"<br />
say Shirley. " A high energy<br />
diet before the mating season<br />
so they won't get too heavy.then<br />
liver , chicken and vitamins in the<br />
gestation period. This time of the<br />
year the diet is 50% fish protein<br />
to put length on lhe pups, around<br />
August you start to beef them up.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> has an advantage<br />
since most of our food products<br />
THE WilEIEURORl[5<br />
Seethem today.<br />
Canon<br />
rl(fTRCNlf,,""NlIfRS<br />
DECKS AWASH - 57<br />
-,<br />
cations very often. Of course you<br />
are qu ite dirty a lot of the time,<br />
too. It' s nice to dress up and go<br />
dan cin g occasionally. We have a<br />
live fox show each November<br />
a round the 9th or lOth with a dinner<br />
and dance.<br />
"Yes, Jlmmysays he is a lucky<br />
man to ha ve me here looking
58 - DECKS AWASH<br />
MaRO<br />
SIDING SYSTEMS LTD.<br />
• Mastic Solid Vinyl Siding<br />
• Accord Solid Vinyl Siding<br />
• Reynolds Aluminum Siding<br />
• Aluminum Storm Windows & Doors<br />
• Metro Cont inuous Aluminum Eavestrough<br />
• Metro Decorative Shutters<br />
• Ridget Insulation<br />
• REGISTERED U.F.F.1. CONTRACTORS<br />
ENERGY EFFICIENT ENVIRO - HEAT EXCHANGERS<br />
• LIGHTWEIGHT & COMPACT<br />
• EASY TO INSTALL<br />
• PROVEN PERFORMANCE<br />
• THERMAL RECOVERY UNIT<br />
GIVES CONTROL VENTILATION IN AIRTIGHT HOMES<br />
ELIMINATES CONDENSATION. ODOR & CONTAMINATION ti.e. UF.F.I)<br />
SERVING NEWFOUNDLAND, LABRADOR AND NOVA SCOTIA<br />
WHEN YOU THINK SIDING - THINK METRO<br />
368-8368 651-2343 639-8936 (902) 469-72 71<br />
IF BUSV CAll<br />
368-0185<br />
PO Boll 143 PO 80_315 PO Boll 702 10 Akerty Blvd<br />
MourIt Pearl. NfId Gander. Nfld CornerBr~ NIId Sene 20 . Dartmouth<br />
A1N 2C2 A1V 1W7 A2H 6G7 B381J4<br />
AREAS OUTSIDE ST JOHN' S NO CHARGE DIAL 1-800-563-6167<br />
.<br />
ON THE SPOT FINANCING SUBJECT TO CREDIT APPROVAL
DECKS AWASH - 59<br />
Making a go ofmink<br />
T he Upp er Trinity South<br />
Development Associ ation<br />
has a number of interesting<br />
agricultural proj ects to its credit.<br />
One is the mink farm at Islington.<br />
Local co-ordinator Ray Jerrett<br />
describes the operation to us.<br />
"Mink farming was commonin<br />
this area in the '50s a nd '60s, but<br />
it died out when fur prices<br />
dropped. We thought it would be<br />
interesting to revive it. so in 1978<br />
we put in a proposal to government,<br />
did a feasability study,<br />
then started a m ink farm . It wa s<br />
an expensive busin ess to get into,<br />
total funding over the yea rs ha s<br />
been $3/4 million, most of it for<br />
labor. We wouldn' t hav e been<br />
able to do it without government<br />
grants.<br />
"Right nowwe have 6100minks<br />
including kits . Originally. we<br />
•<br />
Ray Ja rrett with new mink cages .<br />
brought in 600minks from Nova<br />
Scotia but our breeding stock is<br />
up to 1200 now. The pelts we get<br />
are dark, pastel , sapphire, and<br />
demi-buff which is a cross between<br />
dark and pastel. Minks<br />
average four kits to a litter<br />
although some have as many as<br />
nine.<br />
"The pelts are auctioned off by<br />
the Hudson's Bay Compan y in<br />
Toronto. Last year, our average<br />
price was $40 a pelt . Five years<br />
ago , when we started, we were<br />
getting $45 a pelt but pr ices<br />
dropped to $26a pelt since then.<br />
There's a price cycle in furs , it<br />
will probably peak this year and<br />
then start to drop again ."<br />
Although this particular ranch<br />
was heavily capitalized, Ray believes<br />
it is possible to start on a<br />
more modest basis .<br />
,.If I was going into it by myself<br />
from scratch, I'd do it over a twoyear<br />
or three-year period on a<br />
part-time basis starting with<br />
about 50 breeders. A good one<br />
would cost you about $150. I'd<br />
keep at it until I had it built up to<br />
400 - 500 breeders. Working on a<br />
four kit average, that would give<br />
you 2,000 pelts a year. For a family<br />
operation, $20a pelt would<br />
enable you to survive and anything<br />
over that would bemaking<br />
yoo a profit. TIle sheds are not too<br />
expensive to build, but cages and<br />
feed are when you are starting<br />
off.<br />
"There's government help too.<br />
The federal and provincial<br />
governments have a joint program<br />
and you could probably get<br />
up to $50,000, half of which would<br />
be a grant to start up. There are<br />
also low interest loans available .<br />
That's how we operate here .<br />
Provincial agriculture gives us a<br />
loan of $30,000each year for feed<br />
and we pay it back in December<br />
once the pelts are sold. Hudson's<br />
Bay will also send you advance<br />
money once the kits are born,<br />
then take it out ofyour sales later<br />
in the yea r. "<br />
When we visited the ranc h, 20<br />
people were temporarily employed<br />
building 5,000 rep lace <br />
ment nesting boxes. The<br />
Association employs an Ontario<br />
mink rancher on a consultant basis<br />
to suggest imp rovements in<br />
sheds and cages.<br />
" We are trying to get the opera<br />
tion up to 1500 breeders, then<br />
we'll lease it out to private enterprise.<br />
It will be more efficien t<br />
that way . With the Development<br />
Association running it you have<br />
to get 28or 30 people together before<br />
you can make a decision.<br />
That 's not really practical because<br />
sometimes you need to<br />
make decisions right away . We<br />
will be bringing in 50 breeder foxes,<br />
too, because generally when<br />
the price of mink is down the<br />
price of fox is up . I think whoever<br />
gets the place should be able to<br />
make a goo! dollar at it." I!
60 - DECKS AWASH<br />
GET THE<br />
MESSAGE<br />
AN<br />
G TIT<br />
IG T<br />
Computerized for<br />
speed and accuracy.<br />
Personalized for<br />
courtesy .<br />
The Message Exchange<br />
from <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Telephone answers the<br />
needs of business .<br />
Improve client service.<br />
Save time . Save<br />
money.<br />
Don't let this offer go<br />
unanswered. 24 hours<br />
a day, 7 days a week,<br />
stay in touch.<br />
Calls are answered by<br />
courteous receptionists<br />
who store your messages<br />
electronically.<br />
To receive them , call<br />
from anywhere in the<br />
province and there's no<br />
charge for long<br />
distance.<br />
Optional equipmenf<br />
provides hard copy<br />
print-out messages .<br />
Call <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Telephone toll free:<br />
739·2400.<br />
Get the answering<br />
service that gets it right.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Telephone<br />
-THE ,"1E55RGE EXCHR,''fGE<br />
Answering the needs of business.
OECKS AWASH - 61<br />
trout<br />
Aquaculture, a promisingindustry?<br />
A<br />
bout seven yea rs ago . the<br />
Upper Trinity South Development<br />
Association constructed<br />
a trout farm at Hopeall . It 's<br />
the only one in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
The Association has been at <br />
tempting to lease the farm to private<br />
enterprise. We spoke to the<br />
present operator. Leon ard<br />
Lahey.<br />
" This farm has two separate<br />
stocks," says Leonard. "Your<br />
brood stock and your Iry that you<br />
feed.up and sell . This brood stock<br />
was brought in from Ontario as<br />
fingerlings. but it takes two or<br />
three years to get brood stock up<br />
to size. By then they are four or<br />
five pounds.<br />
"The harvest is a two-year cycle.<br />
We inseminate our own eggs<br />
using two or more males for each<br />
female to make sure they are fer <br />
tilized. The problem is to make<br />
sure the female has come to<br />
peak. If you are a little early or<br />
late your yield drops off.<br />
"Once the fry have grown to<br />
fingerlings (average 6 in.), we<br />
put them in large cages (20 x 20<br />
x 12 It.) and transfer them to<br />
Scotch Pond at Green Harbour.<br />
The water there is brackish,<br />
slightly salty, which is supposed<br />
to help the trout's growth. But the<br />
move is also stressful and quite<br />
a few have died . I'm hoping to<br />
change that. By the time they are<br />
two years old they average a<br />
pound and a quarter. Then we sell<br />
them. You may have seen trout<br />
being sold by the waterfront inSt.<br />
John's . They are from thi s<br />
farm."<br />
Leonard shows us around the<br />
farm , mostly a series of large<br />
buildings containing concrete<br />
raceways fiIJed with rushing<br />
water, trout , and large tanks containing<br />
fry.<br />
"You have to have a good supply<br />
of water. We have the river<br />
dammed up and a couple of<br />
6-inch pipes bringing in water.<br />
:TROUT<br />
Leonard Lahey<br />
FARM:<br />
Chlorinated water near citie s<br />
would beno good, but most <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
water is OK. Temperature<br />
is important and ideall y it<br />
should be around 15° C. for rainbow<br />
trout. If it goes above ia-C.<br />
for extended periods you are in<br />
trouble because it diminishes the<br />
effective oxygen level. "<br />
This particular fish hatchery is<br />
large. Leonard does not think it<br />
is necessarily a model to copy, especially<br />
not for a small family<br />
operation which is how most<br />
Rambow Trout<br />
Canadian and Norwegian trout<br />
farms operate.<br />
..A lot of the operation can be<br />
built using fairly ordinary building<br />
techniques . The raceways are<br />
concrete, but some people put in<br />
plastic liners to save wear and<br />
tear on the fish fins. In a family<br />
operation, it might be better to<br />
buy fish from hatchery when they<br />
are 5 or 6 inches long and not<br />
bother with a brood stock.<br />
"It's also a question of scale.<br />
You either have to be large, get<br />
a couple or hundred thousand<br />
pounds of finished product a<br />
year, or aim at something much<br />
smaller. I'm looking for<br />
50,000-60,000 pounds a year.<br />
Providing I can keep my costs in<br />
line, I should do all right. Fish<br />
food is one of the biggest expenses.<br />
We use fresh male caplin,<br />
caplin meal with flour as a<br />
binder, and vitamin and mineral<br />
additives. It costs approximately<br />
GO¢: a pound and it takes three<br />
pounds to produce a pound of<br />
product. Last year trout sold for<br />
$2.50lb. small, $2.70medium, and<br />
$2.90 large."<br />
Leonard, 43, is from St. John's<br />
although his father was from<br />
South Dildo. He and his wife Linda<br />
moved back in 1970. Linda<br />
does the bookkeeping and also<br />
operates the fann's fish-outpond.<br />
Fishermen pay $2 to fish at the<br />
pond for two hours or six troutwhichever<br />
comes first - and<br />
they pay $2.50a lb. for what they<br />
catch.<br />
Havtng the only trout farm in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> (although another<br />
is being built at Bay d'Espoir,<br />
mainly for salmon) makes<br />
Leonard something of a pioneer.<br />
Fortunately he has done a fair<br />
amount of background research<br />
and has a number of fresh ideas.<br />
Perhaps aquaculture, as it is<br />
called , will become an important<br />
industry in the future.
62 - DECKS AWASH<br />
support systems<br />
Women ,working for farm support<br />
J udy Peddle, 32, is petite.<br />
charming, a nd chatty. In a<br />
big city she would probabl y make<br />
an ideal public relatio ns officer<br />
for a larg e corporation, however ,<br />
asa Lethbridge fanner 's wife she<br />
bas found an outlet for her talents<br />
as president of the Goose Head<br />
Farm Women's Associat ion.<br />
"Some people have the idea we<br />
are a women 's ass ociation going<br />
after women 's issues . We'r e not.<br />
Our interest is farming issues .<br />
One of our advantages is we have<br />
more time than meri for things<br />
like lobbying government. For<br />
example, the agricultural agreement<br />
between the federal a nd<br />
provincial governments expired<br />
a lmost two years ago . Ther e's no<br />
federal funding at all , just the little<br />
bit the provincial government<br />
came up with. So we've writte n to<br />
the prim e minister , our premier,<br />
to MPs a nd to our MHAs, a ll on<br />
behalf of the farm ers a nd the associa<br />
tion. We have n't had much<br />
Co I Suppli..s<br />
Offshore/Onshore<br />
_ asla_ Marine, Industrial<br />
- ( Q~I P J,jl ( ~ T-"' G;~C;S L-;O- - & Oilfield<br />
465 xenmooru Road<br />
PO Boll 2216<br />
51 John·s. Newloundialld A1C 6E6<br />
Canada<br />
17091579-0159<br />
Distribu tors lor<br />
ACME<br />
ENERPAC ONCOR<br />
SCOTIA TWINS<br />
ARD<br />
JET LUBE POLY-TWINE SHAK.(;O<br />
SALOT<br />
KENNEBEC REO WING TANNER<br />
CHESTERTON KOOMEY INC RULE INO WElD-l(X;<br />
CROSBY<br />
MUSTANG REGAL<br />
WILLIAMS<br />
DEMeO<br />
NORTON RC IND WILCOX<br />
OEVOE<br />
Q-MUSTAD SAMSON WOODBRIDGE<br />
EOMO NT<br />
WIRE ROPE<br />
CommetCWlllfnlhlng and fish plam supplies<br />
safety and lftesaVlng supplies<br />
Snowdoflrubber hoses: ;llr, water, stream<br />
Johnaon pumps • Sotarvem ventilatorS' . BIg B coveralls<br />
Visit our new prem ises at<br />
42 KENMOUNT ROAD<br />
(west Side 01 Kenmounl. next ooor 10 HOWSE OF FLOWERS)<br />
Branch offce: Maryslown, Crescent Bouktvard (corner 01 Crescent alld South)<br />
Telephone: (709) 279-3663
come in and get the moose in our<br />
fields."<br />
So why should women be suddenly<br />
taking on what was tradi <br />
tiona lly a man 's role ?<br />
"I think the women have seen<br />
that there is a need for somebody<br />
to be organi zed. There is a feder <br />
ation of agri culture for men, but<br />
it doesn 't seem to be doing too<br />
much , I don't know why. Some<br />
people say that women speak out<br />
more than men - I'm not sure<br />
whether that's good or bad - but<br />
in this area it is generally true . At<br />
meetings women will speak out<br />
a nd say things that men at times<br />
won't ."<br />
Judy 's aims appear not so<br />
much to compete with but to complement<br />
the men's efforts to obtain<br />
recognition and<br />
improvements for agriculture.<br />
After all , many of the association's<br />
members are married to<br />
It's a question of m oney<br />
"I 'm delighted to have this<br />
portfolio, " declares Bob<br />
Aylward, provincial Minister of<br />
the Department of Rural,<br />
Agricultural and Northern Development<br />
(RAND). "We haven't<br />
nearly reached our potential in<br />
agriculture. It's one area where<br />
we can grow .<br />
"We have to rationalize our industry,<br />
get rid of subsidies and<br />
get a market-oriented, selfsupporting<br />
agricultural society, if<br />
possible.',<br />
what are some of the subsidies?<br />
" Right now, <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Farm Products, which caters to<br />
the chicken and hog industries,<br />
receives approximately S3 millioo<br />
in subsidies ," Bob replies . " I<br />
wa nt to get them working as a<br />
business with the least possible<br />
subsidy. We are doing a study to<br />
see how we can improve marketing<br />
and efficiency at <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
Farm Products.<br />
" The cost of production in Newfoundla<br />
nd is high and we don't<br />
have enough 'through-put' into<br />
the plant. For example, if we had<br />
farmers. The women brin g Fresh<br />
viewpoints, new methods, and organized<br />
political pre ssur e.<br />
"I 'd say we have the support of<br />
the men. If we hadn't we wouldn' t<br />
have got ver y far. • think they<br />
were skeptical a t first, but I haven't<br />
heard them saying anything<br />
bad about us, so that 's a good<br />
start. One woman from a nother<br />
area said her husband thought it<br />
was all foolishness . I told her to<br />
go ahead and organ ize a nyway,<br />
perhaps later he'd cha nge his<br />
mind. If you are going for something,<br />
the more people looking for<br />
it the better."<br />
Judy's association duties are in<br />
addition to her full-time job of<br />
raising two children a nd helping<br />
her husband Wayde, her brotherin-law<br />
Bond, and her fath er-inlaw<br />
Ronald work their sts-acre<br />
farm. She also handles the farm's<br />
bookkeeping . They hav e about<br />
Bob Aylward<br />
more hogs, the cost of the plant<br />
would go down, but then we<br />
would have to market the extra<br />
production...<br />
An example of improved marketing<br />
is the production of chicken<br />
for the fast food outlets .<br />
" Five years ago we had no<br />
share in the market; the chicken<br />
being produced was too heavy .<br />
Fast food outlets have to sell at<br />
DECKS AWASH - 63<br />
275acres cleared for root crops ,<br />
and they grow strawberries that<br />
provide some income before the<br />
first vegetables mature. Between<br />
50 and 60 acres are in hay and<br />
3040 acres provide pasture for<br />
the Peddles' 75-100 head of beef<br />
cattle.<br />
. Organizing group activities is<br />
not exactly a new experience for<br />
Judy. For several years she and<br />
other local women have organized<br />
an annual August<br />
agricultural fair featuring<br />
produce and livestock held at the<br />
Peddles' farm . It's a family affair<br />
with prizes for children's<br />
produce and a even a calf show<br />
where the children walk calves<br />
around on a leash . It's the social<br />
event of the area, but don't take<br />
our word for it. If you are in the<br />
Lethbridge area on August 24th,<br />
go to it. Call Judy (467-2439), she<br />
will give you the details.<br />
rD<br />
the national price and they can 't<br />
afford to pay for a bigger chicken<br />
. We're now geared so that all<br />
the fast food chic ken is locally<br />
produced."<br />
It's not surp rising that Bob Aylward<br />
is interested in agriculture.<br />
His parents grew upon a farm in<br />
Kilbride and his uncle, Anthony<br />
Murphy , now retired from dairy<br />
fanning, still has 10 ac res of<br />
vegetables.<br />
" I didn't actually grow up on a<br />
farm, " adds Bob, "but my grandfather's<br />
farm was next door and<br />
I spent a lot of time there."<br />
Bob admits that a main concern<br />
of his department is the protection<br />
of agricultural land.<br />
" It' s a problem because the<br />
landowners aren't necessarily<br />
farmers, but you 've got to<br />
remember that if we were to lift<br />
the freeze on agricultural land a<br />
lot of land would suddenly come<br />
on the market. Land prices would<br />
faD and you'd have a buyers'<br />
market because there would be<br />
too much land for building sites .<br />
" We are gelling into landbanking<br />
because it is in the public<br />
interest to do so. When you con-
64 - DECKS AWASH<br />
sider that just 1%of our land has<br />
agricultural potential. we must<br />
ensure it is reserv ed for farming.<br />
I hope to set up an independent<br />
board to negotiate land prices<br />
with landowners. The government<br />
would also give its opinion<br />
as to what the price should be,<br />
then the board would make a rul <br />
ing. If the landowner wants to se ll<br />
at the negotiated price that 's OK,<br />
if not, that's OK too,"<br />
~Jl1itH<br />
IlOADPAC PLUS<br />
Parcel Pickup<br />
and Delivery Service<br />
A new, exciting, innovative<br />
servic e by Aoadcruiser .<br />
A Bus Parcel Express Service<br />
combining the Reliability<br />
and Speed of Roadcruiser<br />
Roadpac , with the added<br />
convenience of Pickup and<br />
Delivery .<br />
Offered In Following Areas:<br />
At present, agricultural Crown<br />
land can be leased at $4 per hectare<br />
(2.471 acres) per year. The<br />
rent on land-banked land<br />
presumably would be at a similar<br />
pri ce depending on the<br />
demand.<br />
With peoplelooking for shorter<br />
working hours , do young people<br />
want to get into farming?<br />
"Yes, they do," maintains Bob.<br />
"There are young men who<br />
would like to get started if suitable<br />
land were available. Farming<br />
doesn't have to be a 24-hour,<br />
r-days-a-week job. Young farmers<br />
are setting up partnerships,<br />
so, if you want the weekend off,<br />
your buddy will work for you and<br />
vice versa . But there's no ques <br />
tion, it's still hard work and long<br />
hours ."<br />
Bob Aylward's enthusiasm<br />
rises to the surface.<br />
"Look, you've got to have an<br />
agricultural industry ," he stresses.<br />
" We need local competition.<br />
Just look at the prices charged<br />
for produce in Labrador. Have<br />
you notic ed when our local<br />
vegetablesgo to market how the<br />
quality of the imported stuff in<br />
the supermarket increases and<br />
the prices go down? Without the<br />
local farm produce , which is so<br />
much fresher and thus better, we<br />
would not get any good produce<br />
at all and the price would be even<br />
higher.<br />
"There's room for a lot of<br />
growth in farming in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>,<br />
and growth meansjobs. We<br />
should try to increase or production<br />
of hay, say in CodroyValley,<br />
as this would help our dairy industry.<br />
We could possibly raise<br />
cattle for dairy herd replacement.<br />
We already have a good<br />
dairy marketing board and we<br />
needa goodvegetablemarketing<br />
board. I'd also like to see a<br />
produce market set up in 81.<br />
John 's, where people could rent<br />
space and sell locally produced<br />
St. John's<br />
Gander<br />
Lewisporte<br />
Botwood<br />
Bishop's Falls<br />
Grand Falls<br />
Daily Pickup and Delivery ,<br />
five days per week to all<br />
a bove areas. Roadcruisers<br />
leave 51. John 's three times<br />
dai ly for Central <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
.<br />
"TRUST OUR BUS<br />
TRY ROAD PAC PLUS "<br />
For Further Information<br />
Call 737·7830<br />
For Pickup and Delivery<br />
Call 364-8345<br />
ROADCRUISER<br />
vegetables, fish and crafts.<br />
There's definitely a market for<br />
them."<br />
But, for now, some government<br />
money is necessary.<br />
"We need a little more development<br />
money to put our agricultural<br />
industry on a sound enough<br />
fooling to support itself, " Bob admits.<br />
"I'd like to have the new<br />
federal-provincial subsidiary<br />
agreement signed, and then I<br />
could pla n for live years. It 's a ll<br />
a question of money. The SI million<br />
a gricultural developmen t<br />
fund anno unced in the 1985 budget<br />
was vel") well received by<br />
fanners. but we had appli cations<br />
over $2 million .<br />
The fund provided for productivity<br />
incentives , soil and land development.<br />
access roads. hydro<br />
services and land drainage.<br />
"There seems to be a greater<br />
- A perspective on <strong>Newfoundland</strong> farming<br />
I<br />
t's a misty Monday morning<br />
as we rush along to meet a<br />
senior public official. Not the best<br />
way to start the week.<br />
"Good morning!" says Mike<br />
Ryan, assistant deputy minister<br />
responsible for agriculture. "I'm<br />
not sure what I can tell you," he<br />
begins. But once be starts it is obvious<br />
he can tell us a great deal<br />
and we're in for an interesting interview.<br />
"Let's go back a few years to<br />
get some perspective," he suggests.<br />
"Before t949 you couldn't<br />
sell a truck-load of cabbage on<br />
the Southern Shore because<br />
everybody grew their own," explains<br />
Mike, 55, a native of calvert<br />
on the Southern Shore. "We<br />
had an agriculture industry that<br />
could pretty well take care of local<br />
needs. The dairy industry was<br />
catering to 51.John's and we bad<br />
a lot of subsistence farmers. By<br />
Confederation there was more<br />
cash; more jobs became available<br />
during the war and afterwards.<br />
Money flowed in the '50s<br />
aOO '60s when you compare those<br />
years with the '305 and '405.<br />
"But the trade barriers came<br />
down - you can't restrict inter <br />
provincial trade - and local<br />
farmers found it hard tocompete.<br />
It wasn't just the farmers - shoe<br />
factories, boatbuilding, foundries<br />
- all local industries look a<br />
knock. Then highly developed<br />
mainland industries, many of<br />
them subsidized, took over."<br />
By the '60s the farming industry<br />
had started to turn around.<br />
People began to see that there<br />
could be a decent living in it.<br />
Federal-provincial agreements<br />
made it easier for farmers to succeed.<br />
A hard core of commercial<br />
farmers emerged.<br />
"The num ber of commercial<br />
farmers today is about 450, not<br />
greatly increased since the '60s,<br />
but their farms have increased in<br />
size and productivity," continues<br />
OECKS AWASH - 65<br />
awa reness of agriculture both within<br />
government circles and<br />
among the general public . For instance,<br />
we had Rick Woodford, a<br />
full-time dairy fanner, elected as<br />
MHA in the Humber Valley district.<br />
This shows the raised<br />
awareness of farmers.<br />
" Agriculture now puts $40 million<br />
into the economy and there's<br />
the potential to grow to $90 million,"<br />
concludes Bob. t!<br />
Mike.<br />
"One particulararea where we<br />
have succeeded is the dairy industry<br />
where we are producing<br />
60%of our needs and within the<br />
next five years it should reach<br />
about 80%-that's our goal. Not<br />
more than that because during<br />
peak production we would be<br />
over-producing and we don't
66 - DECKS AWASH<br />
want to get into dumpin g."<br />
There is a hay shortage in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
but Mike believes that<br />
more can be grown locally which<br />
would be cheaper than importing<br />
from the mainland . Siloscan also<br />
help overcome the difficulty of<br />
drying hay in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
weather conditions.<br />
Mike has high praises for the<br />
Milk Marketing Board whose efforts<br />
have put milk into the<br />
univers itv at cost as well as a<br />
school milk program scheduled<br />
for the fall of this year, This. of<br />
course, will substantially increase<br />
the demand for milk.<br />
Mike has definite ideas on<br />
agricultural development in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> .<br />
" We should produce the commodities<br />
we can produce competitively.<br />
That is the policy of<br />
our department. We can grow<br />
turnip , cabbage, carrots, parsnips<br />
and beets and we can grow<br />
cauliflower, broccoli and brussels<br />
sprouts . We should try to improve<br />
our yield and quality with these<br />
crops. Wecould, for example, be<br />
self-sufficient in potatoes, but do<br />
we want to be? We have to compete<br />
with the dumping of mainland<br />
potatoes - we've been able<br />
to buy a SO-lb. bag of potatoes for<br />
$3.99 retail when the cost of<br />
production is $5.50 - that's<br />
dwnping.<br />
"We grow the best turnips in<br />
North America," maintains<br />
Mike, "and I've eaten turnips in<br />
lots of places . We should aim at<br />
self-sufficiency there ."<br />
The Agricultural Branch for<br />
which Mike is responsible has<br />
offices in three areas: Corner<br />
Brook, Bishops Falls and St.<br />
John's , with sub -offices at<br />
Clarenville, Harbour Grace,<br />
Gander, Pynn's Brook and<br />
Robinsons . In total , there are<br />
about 130 staff including<br />
representatives and specialists.<br />
" We have a lot of potential in<br />
'cole' crops: lettuce. cauliOower,<br />
broccoli and sprouts . It's true the<br />
season is short but we are not in<br />
this just for production, we are interested<br />
in how much the farmer<br />
can make off it and there's<br />
money to be made there . A good.<br />
vegetable markeling board could<br />
Agric ultural research station on Broold leld Road, 51.John 's. Provincial agriculture<br />
offices are located at right side.<br />
promote the nutritional value of<br />
these crops which should increase<br />
demand. We have formed<br />
a new board with sandy Rideout.<br />
a retired farmer from Cormack<br />
as chairman."<br />
Mike turns to other areas of<br />
farming.<br />
"Let's see , we're self-sufficient<br />
in eggs, and we produce 50-60per<br />
cent of the chicken that's needed<br />
and our hogs have the best health<br />
status in Canada. Hog production<br />
has been a problem though because<br />
of competition and the high<br />
CC5t of feed."<br />
The problem of high feed cost<br />
may , however, soon be solved .<br />
"Bill Moores, a <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
inventor. has developed a very<br />
high protein animal feed from<br />
fish meal, potatoes aod peat. It's<br />
being tested by the federal<br />
research station at Nappan, Nova<br />
Scotia. It looks very promising.<br />
If it tests out, the feed should cost<br />
50% of what we're paying now.<br />
Who knows, we might even get<br />
into exporting it."<br />
Mike is anxious that we over <br />
look no areas of agriculture and<br />
believes there is a future in fur<br />
fanning.<br />
" It's true it was a hot area in<br />
the '50s but world markets went<br />
soft and there were problems<br />
with feed so it feU nat," Mike<br />
recalls , " but in the last five years<br />
it has really come up. It doesn't<br />
cost an awful lot of money to get<br />
into. We now have a lot of in-<br />
dependent farms and some of our<br />
furs are rated very high on the<br />
Montreal market, partictilarly<br />
foxes bringing in as high as $300<br />
for a single pelt. We consider fur<br />
fanning to be so important that<br />
we have filled a position here<br />
with a man , Blake Cryderman,<br />
whospecializes just in fur farms.<br />
There's a concentration of fur<br />
farms in Trinity Bay but there<br />
are others like Jim Wall who bas<br />
100foxes near La Manche Park<br />
and he also has a couple of wild<br />
lynx that he's trying to breed."<br />
Mike, with the department for<br />
30years, has had a heart bypass<br />
operation in 1982.<br />
"The doctors told me to go<br />
home and become a retired PUDlie<br />
servant. I Jasted two weeks<br />
and back I came," he confesses,<br />
and because he's so anxious to<br />
see increased farm produce, it<br />
looks like he'll be around for<br />
awhile yet. .<br />
" Look," he says, pushing his<br />
shirtsleeves above his elbows,<br />
"our best potential is to make the<br />
best use possible out of our limited<br />
land base by raising the fertility<br />
and maximizing use of the<br />
land. While we didn't yet get a<br />
federal-provincia) agreement,<br />
our province felt strongly enough<br />
about agriculture that they gave<br />
us an extra million 'dollars to be<br />
spent on land improvement and<br />
fertility. We believe we can increase<br />
our yield significantly,"<br />
he concludes. 11
Thinking small may have a big impact<br />
griculture is a joint responsibility<br />
of the federal and<br />
A<br />
provincial governments and relations<br />
between the two departments<br />
in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> are very<br />
harmonious. Agriculture Canada,<br />
the federal body, has responsibility<br />
for research and health<br />
inspections and shares some of<br />
the broad term development<br />
programs.<br />
Tom Espie, the Director of<br />
Regional Development in<br />
Agriculture Canada, is a refreshing<br />
change from the media<br />
representation of a federal<br />
bureaucrat. He greets us in his<br />
office above the General Post<br />
Office on Water Street in St.<br />
John's and makes us feel right at<br />
home.<br />
Tom sees no need to change<br />
the general direction of agriculture<br />
in the province, but he suggests<br />
there may need to be some<br />
changes in focus.<br />
"We need at least a five-year<br />
period to get <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
agriculture competitive with that<br />
on the mainland," Tom says,<br />
"and there may be real opportunities<br />
that have been missed<br />
where the local producer does<br />
ha ve an edge. Oddly enough, at a<br />
time when governments - quite<br />
rightly - are so keen on creating<br />
jobs, the fact that agriculture is<br />
such a modernized. productive<br />
industry puts it at a bit of a disadvantage<br />
in attracting government<br />
assistance. This is<br />
especially true of the major sectors,<br />
for example dairy.<br />
"Particular opportunities for<br />
youth might lie in the highly<br />
specialized crops where big operators<br />
don't compete. We tend to<br />
think big where there are other<br />
economic opportunities in less oovious<br />
smaller areas. "<br />
Tom offers some suggestions<br />
AgriCultural Research Station. Brookfield Road, Mount Pearl<br />
DECKS AWASH - 67<br />
for prospective farmers, young<br />
and old.<br />
"Innovative young people may<br />
playa key role in any revolution<br />
that's going to take place in<br />
agriculture here," he says.<br />
"They might need some help with<br />
capital from government, but I<br />
wouldn't want to see development<br />
grants made available<br />
without very careful scrutiny of<br />
the business prospects of the enterprises<br />
involved. Some farming<br />
enterprises have been set up in<br />
the past with no chance of viability<br />
and that doesn't help anyone<br />
in real terms. An operation like<br />
that isn't a real business at all.<br />
Subsidies, unlike investments in<br />
development, are a bit like drugs.<br />
They can give the illusion that<br />
everything's going great, when<br />
the reality is the complete opposite.<br />
"There are some things we<br />
can't grow in this province, but<br />
there is a whole range of marketable<br />
products we aren't growing<br />
at the moment that could<br />
provide a living for a fair number<br />
of people. You can go into a supermarket<br />
and find brussels<br />
sprouts, broccoli and spinach in<br />
the produce section. All of them<br />
are brought in from the United<br />
Sta tes but they could be grown<br />
here. Then there are things like<br />
mushrooms that are being sold in<br />
the stores in less than perfect<br />
condition. They could be grown<br />
here, too. The specially shops, the<br />
health stores and delicatessens,<br />
these are places the small grower<br />
could sell his produce."<br />
As a federal government<br />
department, Agriculture Canada<br />
has access to ag ricultural<br />
research all around the world.<br />
some developments might be of<br />
interest to <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
fanners.<br />
"<strong>Newfoundland</strong> isn' t the best<br />
place in Canada for app les," Tom<br />
admits, "But even with apples<br />
there are possibilities . For example,<br />
the Swedish government has<br />
come up with a special variety<br />
called 'Silva' that might do quite
68 - DECKS AWASH<br />
well. They tried out different ap- berries or raspberries. There is<br />
pie trees in northern Sweden and also a market for fresh bakeapthat<br />
particular dessert apple pies in Boston and the price s are<br />
proved to be best suited to the cli- very attractive. People in Finmate<br />
and soil conditions . And, of land are producing a liqueur<br />
course, our Research Branc h is from bakeapples and selling it<br />
developingsome equally exciting right here in St. John 's . Surely,<br />
new apples varieties in Canada . we could come up with a better<br />
"There may be some interest- product. Even if we didn 't, the<br />
ing market possibilities for such research could be a lot of fun!<br />
things as black currants, goose- Honey!s another good example<br />
we could produce . As a federa l<br />
government department, we<br />
have the network to find out<br />
what's going on in other countries<br />
a nd the expertise to check<br />
whether it's feasib le here."<br />
If there 's anyone out there with<br />
a farm product in mind, give<br />
Tom Espie a call and he' ll beglad<br />
to discuss the possibilities with<br />
m<br />
you. Something small could be<br />
the sta rt of something big!<br />
Editorial<br />
here are some 450commercial farmers in<br />
T <strong>Newfoundland</strong> - 450people who make their<br />
living from fanning. We have been able to visit<br />
only a few of them but we believe we have a good<br />
sampling. Wethank them for giving us time from<br />
their work.<br />
Fa rmers work long and hard at their tasks ;<br />
sixteen- hour days, seven -day weeks are not unusual.<br />
They must deal with <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s rocky:<br />
acid soil, a short, unpredictable growing season<br />
and mainland competition. Added to these<br />
problems are those facing farmers everywhere:<br />
weather, insect pests and disease. to name a few.<br />
Farming is a difficult and risky business in most<br />
places . even more so in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> . Further,<br />
most farmers have only seasonal income - that<br />
must last yea r round. Fa rmers are ineligible for<br />
unemployment insurance - they have few<br />
safeguards against a ra iny day .<br />
Then why do people farm in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> '?<br />
There are number of reasons. As we've learned<br />
(rom the farmers, once fanning is in your system .<br />
there is no other life that appeals. Some farmers<br />
have inherited their operations or their interest<br />
from a family farming tradition. Some like the independence<br />
and the challenge. Others see the IXJSsibility<br />
of making a decent living.<br />
Whatever the reason we should encourage their<br />
commitment. There is a need for local produce<br />
regardless of seasonal gluts caused by mainland<br />
produce . The agricultural sector is one that has<br />
potential for growth . and growth means jobs . Anything<br />
that offers jobs in a province with such a<br />
high ra te of unemployment deserves attention.<br />
This potentia l for growth, however, depends uIXJn<br />
the availability of cleared, improved land. Land<br />
leasing is not attractive to farmers because the<br />
cost and effort of making and keeping land fertile<br />
cannot be redeemed for cash when fanners need<br />
or want to retire. Unless they have children who<br />
want to take over, they have no equity to show for<br />
their lifetime of work. Purchasing land is becorning<br />
more difficult as alternative land uses increase<br />
. While no one will dispute tha t<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s one per cent of arable land should<br />
be reserved for agric ulture, should this policy be<br />
at the farmer's expense'? In many cases , farmi ng<br />
can provide a living but leaves little for sa vings.<br />
As one farmer put it, wecan have good agrlcultural<br />
land but it takes money to ma ke such land .<br />
Also, there is capital needed for farm equipment.<br />
Many farm ers have told us that were they to start<br />
from scratch, they could never afford the sta rtup<br />
costs . .<br />
Agriculture depa rtment officials point out that<br />
the farming should be self-supporting. In time, this<br />
should be possible barring unforesee n problems.<br />
Our land costs more to clear than that in other Atlantic<br />
province s, but our farme rs must compete<br />
in our markets. Yet <strong>Newfoundland</strong> is the only Atlantic<br />
province without an agrt -tood development<br />
a greement. By some standards our far ms are<br />
small , but aren 't 5,000acres owned by several peer<br />
pie just as impor tant as 5.000acres owned by one<br />
person ? Sweden, for example, has effective policies<br />
which recognize that 10people eac h growing<br />
10apple trees contribute just as much to the economy<br />
as one person growing 100ap ple trees . Initially,<br />
some money. either in direct start-up grants<br />
or in the form of low interest loans, is necessary.<br />
Once the la nd is ready. it would then be up to 'the<br />
farmer to mak e it productive.<br />
Not since the Commission of Government days<br />
(1934-49) has government placed priority on farming<br />
and then it was because people were in the<br />
midst of the Great Depression and a lternat ives<br />
were few. Successive governments ha ve turned<br />
their attention to fishing, mining, paper making,<br />
offshore oil and gas exploration - the so-called<br />
"bigger" sectors. The provincial government is<br />
beginning to recognize the contrib ution the farm <br />
ing sector makes but more support is needed. The<br />
ns<br />
public should buy local produce - it's fres her, it's<br />
delicious and it's made in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.
features<br />
Home gardening<br />
DECKS AWASH - 69<br />
Q: It was late July before I had a chance to plant<br />
a vegetable garden. What type of vegetables<br />
can be grown in the fall?<br />
A: You could try quick maturing crops like lettuce,<br />
turnip greens, spinach and beets. In fact,<br />
for spinach it's always a good idea to seed a<br />
crop in early to mid-August for fall harvest.<br />
Radishes are very quick to mature laking four<br />
to five weeks to get a crop. You can extend<br />
your growing season late into Ute fall If you use<br />
a frame covered with plastic in the garden to<br />
protect the plants from early frost. Another<br />
technique is to start transplants to beset in the<br />
garden in mid-August. If you grow early cabbage<br />
plants and set them in late summer, you<br />
will have a mature crop by October. This cabbage<br />
is great for use right away but is not<br />
suitable (or storage. Lettuce plants that are not<br />
completeJy mature can be taken up just before<br />
the frost and put in a cold frame in a greenhouse,<br />
and it will keep on producing, probably<br />
up close to Christmas. Thus , you can get good<br />
production even if you plant a garden late in<br />
the season.<br />
Q. Should I cut the bottom branches of my white<br />
spruce trees that are growing in my front<br />
yard?<br />
A: Generally speaking it's not a good idea to remove<br />
the Jower branches of evergreen trees<br />
unless they are damaged or it is necessary to<br />
see underneath. Sometimes if you remove the<br />
lower branches you can stunt the tree; spruce<br />
and fir grow best if the surface around the tree<br />
is mulched with an organic material like peet<br />
or leaf mold. Sometimes if the lower branches<br />
are removed the soil dries out and the plant<br />
suffers.<br />
Q: My cabbage plants are not growing as they<br />
should, the lower leaves are turning yellow and<br />
the plant is rather stunted. What can I do?<br />
A:Cabbage and most leafy vegetables should be<br />
fed a nitrogen source during the growing season.<br />
If you like to use commercial fertilizer,<br />
then ammonia nitrate is the most common<br />
source of nitrogen but you should be careful not<br />
to touch the leaves with the fertilizer or it will<br />
burn them. If you prefer an organic source of<br />
nitrogen then you should use caplin or fish<br />
offal. Again, becareful not to touch the stem<br />
of the plant.<br />
Q : I have a willow tree with shiny green leaves.<br />
Our resident garden expert is Ross Traverse who also is supervisor<br />
01 crop prodlJCtionWith provincial agriculture. He was<br />
01 great help in the preparation 01 this special section on<br />
farming<br />
I believe some people call it "laurel willow".<br />
This year just after the leaves came out some<br />
of the leaves on the branches turned black,<br />
dried up and dropped off. What would cause<br />
this and how can I help prevent it?<br />
.\ : This sounds to me like willow-leaf blight, a very<br />
destructive disease of willows, easily spread<br />
especially during rainy, damp weather. Control<br />
methods are not very effective, but do<br />
help . You should prune out the dead twigs and<br />
branches to eliminate the source of the infection<br />
. Also, if you spray with a Bordeaux mixture<br />
at to-day intervals when the leaves begin<br />
to emerge in the spring it will help control the<br />
disease. Bordeaux mixture is available<br />
through garden supply centres.<br />
Q: I have a peony bush I planted two years ago<br />
but it still has not produced any blooms,<br />
although there has been lots of leaves and the<br />
plant is spreading. What can I do to encourage<br />
blooming?<br />
,\ : Peonies,like any perennial flower, should be<br />
planted in a good fertile soil but the trick with<br />
peonies is to plant them not more than two<br />
inches below the surface. If they are planted<br />
too deep they will produce leaves but no blossoms;<br />
this may be your problem. Take some<br />
of the soil away from the crown of the root or<br />
lift it up and replant it.<br />
I"I:l
70 - DECKS AWA SH<br />
the art s<br />
Acting to the Power of two<br />
hile we were in Port Saunders interviewing<br />
W for the last issue of Decks Awash. we ran<br />
into Ann Power of the Carol Pla yer s just before<br />
the theatre group left for a festival in Dunda lk.<br />
Ireland. Ann and husband . Kevin, had become involved<br />
with the theatre group and its play Mass<br />
Appeal while working in Labrador City.. lOW,<br />
we're in Corner Brook and they're back with news<br />
of the group's success .<br />
"Once we were on stage. people reali zed that it<br />
wasn't going to be a repeat of the last Canadia n<br />
production in Dundalk." Kevin comm ents . "We<br />
did well for the province and for the country.<br />
There were nine groups in the festival a nd each<br />
group tried somethingdifferent. It was interesting<br />
to see the approaches that were used . The<br />
overall winner according to the adjudicator was<br />
the group from Donegal. but we won the awa rd<br />
voted on by the audience. which was, in a way.<br />
The Search<br />
Ends<br />
~=~::~;j Here.<br />
For A<br />
Great<br />
Marine Enamel<br />
-: ;:.~ _ .:<br />
=~ :.::..-::....."'-:,'= F<br />
I._"" lI'.. 'fOVI_, ....<br />
___ ... -"_V_ -..eta_ T<br />
BOTTOMS<br />
ATCHLESS ,PA INTS<br />
Ann. Adnenne and Kevin Power with mementoes of the trip<br />
to Ireland<br />
even more satisfying because we had only two actors<br />
on stage in Mass Appeal. They won the acting<br />
award and we also won honorable mentions<br />
for direction, sound and best decor (set and<br />
costumes combined ).<br />
"Gerry Huddy, a Festival Council member, did<br />
quite a good critique of Mass Appeal. He felt that<br />
the play was very creative and not overdone. He<br />
liked the atmosphere and the setting and said that<br />
everybody liked the play. The fact that the two actors<br />
sustained the interest throughout the play was<br />
an indication of how well the play was produced<br />
and directed."<br />
Winning an award was not the only reward the<br />
Carol Players received.<br />
" Our festivals here are restricted to drama, but<br />
this festival had musicals and the whole atmosphere<br />
was very allive and exciting," enthuses<br />
Ann. "Dundalk. with about 25,000people. is only<br />
an hour and a half from Dublinand two hours {rom<br />
Belfast. It's amazing how the town can support so<br />
many theatre groups and musical societies. Every<br />
night they would have an evening theatre.<br />
which would include all kinds of performances.<br />
" The hospitality was comparable to anywhere<br />
in the world . There was nothing our sponsor<br />
wouldn't do for us. Our daughter, Adrienne.<br />
celebrated her first birthday there and the owner<br />
of the Imperial Hotel baked a cake for her. Many<br />
of the people knew all about the history of the local<br />
area and we got some very nice tours while<br />
we were there ,"
DECKS AWASH - 71<br />
"We had day trips to different places , including<br />
Galway Bay, and we could easily have spent<br />
another three weeks in the area," adds Kevin, who<br />
had lived four yea rs in Dublin a nd was happ y to<br />
be back in Ireland for a visit.<br />
The controversy a bout govern ment funding for<br />
arts compared with sport s concerns Ann a bit. because<br />
it might make people more set in their ways<br />
as far as funding is concerned.<br />
"We paid ourselves for what we didn't get funds<br />
for," she explains . "It's too bad we didn't get help<br />
initially, but all the fuss now leave s a sour taste ,<br />
We're happy that we went and did so well.<br />
Labrador City is a small place to raise funds, but<br />
we got over $13,000 in funding . You can't say<br />
enough about the job that Stella Doyle and the<br />
other people did for us raising money in Labrador<br />
City, When we got to Ireland the Dundalk Festival<br />
paid for accommodations for a week, including<br />
meals, for six out of the nine who travelled to<br />
Dundalk ."<br />
Now Ann is moving to St. John 's with her job<br />
in the provincial department of education and she<br />
and Kevin are both looking forward to new<br />
challenges in theatre. By a ll accounts it appears<br />
unlikely that anything will compare with the time<br />
they spent in Ireland last May, 11<br />
~~..<br />
Bound copies : of DECKS AWASH containing<br />
the 1984 issues of the magazine,<br />
To buy a copy, please fill in the form below,<br />
enclose a cheque or money order payable<br />
to <strong>Memorial</strong> University and send to:<br />
Decks Awash<br />
Extension Service<br />
<strong>Memorial</strong> Univ ersity<br />
of <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
St. John's, NF Ale 557<br />
NAME<br />
ADDRESS<br />
__ POSTAL CODE<br />
AMOUNT ENCLOSED S<br />
'umltoo number avalfable<br />
$15.00<br />
••••• •<br />
Z<br />
Yo ur local air earner. providing<br />
scheduled and charter serv ices In<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> and Labrador, uSing<br />
Twin Otters, Queen Airs. Aero<br />
Co m m anders and 5T .27 aircraft.<br />
Ch art er service IS also avauabte<br />
throughou t AtlantiC Ca nada using<br />
our fleet , or other air craft by pnor<br />
ar rangemen!<br />
P.O . BOX 13485<br />
STN, 'A', ST. JOHN'S<br />
NEWFOU NDLAND<br />
CANADA Al B 488<br />
TELEPHONE: (709) 834 -2127<br />
TELEX: 016-3285
72 _ DECKS AWA SH<br />
Royal Commission on the Ocean Ranger<br />
Disaster, Part 2*<br />
ince the tragic sinkin g of the Ocean Ranger,<br />
S 15 February 1982. the commissioners and staff<br />
of the Royal Commission on the Ocean Ranger<br />
produced Report (me : The l.oss of tht' Semisubmersibte<br />
Drillilig OCf'81J RalJJ(f'I'
DECKS AWASH - 73<br />
possible? You know that even if you live in an urban<br />
area, if you're in an accident, you have to wait<br />
for an ambulance and much longer in many rural<br />
a reas. There are many things to consider."<br />
Has David Grenville any general observations<br />
on the Ocean Ranger Inquiry ?<br />
"A Royal Commission is the process as well as<br />
the result. Ofcourse , you have a report which the<br />
commissioners present to the government to say<br />
they've done what they were asked to and here are<br />
the findings, conclusions , and recommendations.<br />
The government's prerogative is to act or not to<br />
ac t as it sees fit.<br />
" But while the Commission is actually going on,<br />
there is the knowledge that the matter is being<br />
studied and people will scurry around and look at<br />
the problems themselves and say, 'Look, we'd better<br />
get our act together to see if we, ourselves, can<br />
impr ove things '. People do not wait to see what<br />
the report will say, they actually try to anticipate<br />
the report.<br />
" Many of the most obvious improvements such<br />
as the provision of survival suits on the rigs , have<br />
already been done. That's good, but [wish that after<br />
the Commission is all finished , the process<br />
could continue ."<br />
Some things, however , will be ongoing. The<br />
governments of Canada and <strong>Newfoundland</strong> have<br />
crue t Justice T. AJexHickman<br />
decided that the information centre should not be<br />
dispersed.<br />
When contac ted in mid-July, Chief Justice Alex<br />
Hickma n, Commission Chairman said , "We have<br />
assembl ed the best information centre on safe ty<br />
in offshore oil exploration in Canada, and it's situated<br />
right here in St. John 's." The Ocean Ranger<br />
Information Centre has been moved temporarily<br />
to the Institute of Marine Dynamics at Memoria l<br />
University , until the newly-formed Canada New-<br />
NTV: NEWFOUNDLAND'S FIVE STAR NETWORK. 24 HOURS A DAY
74 - DECKS AWASH<br />
foundland Offshore Petroleum Board can determine<br />
whether absorbing the centre is consistent<br />
with the aims of the board .<br />
The final report was presented to government<br />
Jul y 2nd, and was released to the public July isth.<br />
just before we went to press.<br />
Briefl y, the report makes 70 recommendations<br />
in addition to the 66already made in Part I of the<br />
enquiry. They cover environmental factors,<br />
regulatory control. evacuation systems. training,<br />
resc ue. and occupational health and safetv. In addition,<br />
there are further recomme~dations<br />
designed to ensure that workers have an effective<br />
mea ns of expressing safety concerns, that an independent<br />
agenc y be established with statutory<br />
authority to investigate defined categories of accidents<br />
arising during offshore drilling operations.<br />
that there be a biennial conference on offshore<br />
safety, and, finally. that government a nd industry<br />
fund and increase support for studies on the<br />
effects of pollutants on the marine environment<br />
and find means to reduce the likelihood of and<br />
minim ize the effects of pollution.<br />
Many of the recommendations will take much<br />
tim e and money to implement. One of the more<br />
outstanding concerns is that of rig command. The<br />
Commission states that the person in charge<br />
should be neither the toolpusher nor the master.<br />
Instead, it is recommended that the offshore insta<br />
llation manager be the person in charge of the<br />
semisubmersible at all times and that he be<br />
knowledgeabl e and experienced in both drill ing<br />
and marine matters.<br />
The decision on whether to implement the<br />
re commendations now rests with Ottawa and 51.<br />
John 's. It is to be hoped the governments will find<br />
it possible to act quickly.<br />
It is impossible to summarize the document in<br />
a few paragraphs. This report.Hke the first report.<br />
is ver y readable and is available from public<br />
librari es. Par ticularly interesting is the historical<br />
review descr ibing offshore drilling since the late<br />
18th centu ry to today.<br />
In conclusion, we quote from page 147:<br />
..It is apparent that the hostile nature of the rnarine<br />
environment particularly on the Grand Banks<br />
and north ward leaves no room for complacency.<br />
Fog, freq uent storms. ocean currents. severe icing.<br />
icebergs, bergy bits. grow lers. and pack ice<br />
combine to present the offshore drilling industry<br />
with what may be the greatest environmental<br />
challenge that it has yet faced anywhere in the<br />
world. Wha t is needed is reliable information<br />
about the physical environment, advance warning<br />
of environmental hazards and a co-ordinated<br />
system to manage environmental data to meet the<br />
needs of both operators and regulators. What is<br />
needed even more is a method of assurance that<br />
rigs oper ati ng offshore are fully capable of meeting<br />
these environmental exttemes. But the safety<br />
of a rig depends not only upon the quality of its<br />
structure but also upon the quality of its manage-<br />
David Grenville<br />
ment and the train ing and competence of its crew.<br />
It is a lso apparent that no evacuation sys tem yet<br />
devised ca n, from a rig, cope with the ra ging seas<br />
of the Northwest Atlanti c or the North sea. nor<br />
does there yet exist a rescue sys tem tha t is effective<br />
during combinations of emergency systems<br />
of which a storm is one... The regulatory regimen<br />
controlling offshore drilling operations must<br />
be firmly based on legislation. on mandatory regulation<br />
s to the extent deemed necessar y. but also<br />
on guidance notes to maintain essential flexibili <br />
ty. Its purpose is to provide the criteria against<br />
which performance can be measured and to ensure<br />
the accountability of those responsible.".<br />
• Part 1 appear ed in the November -December 1983 edi <br />
tion of Decks A",'ash, volume 12. Number 6.<br />
It<br />
Melhod leancapehn and boneif desired). Combine<br />
flour tsalt and pepperIn a clean beownpeper<br />
bag. Beat eg: ina bowl and mix In added water. In<br />
a second bowl mix togethet"crackercrumbs, Parmesa<br />
n cheese and sa lt<br />
Dip eachcapelin 111lemon Juice. then shake In seasoned<br />
Gour het"oredipping into egg mixtureand then<br />
coating with crumb and cheese m xture.<br />
Preheat ,. oil to 350'F In a Irytng pan and cook<br />
capeuc ebocta mtn es eechsldeuntil brown serves<br />
6.
DECKS AWASH - 75<br />
Secrets down on the Labrador Coast<br />
b)" Steve -'lills. Parks Canada<br />
I<br />
n 1977, the village of Red Bay on Labrador's<br />
coast began to reveal its secrets. Archaeologists<br />
explored the area with historical geographer<br />
Selma Barkham, seeking evidence to confirm her<br />
research which had pointed to Red Bay as the site<br />
of a 16th century Basque whaling station.<br />
Since then. archaeologists have uncovered the<br />
remains of three Basque galleons. several small<br />
boats . whale oil tryworks. domestic dwellings,<br />
cooperages, and a cemetery containing the remains<br />
of 125skeletons.<br />
Blessed with three islands which gave shelter<br />
from the wind. Red Bay was considered the best<br />
harbor on the Labrador coast. As a res ult. it was<br />
frequented by Basque whalers drawn by the<br />
prospect of great profits to bemade from the sa le<br />
of whale oiL At its peak period in the 1560sand<br />
15705 Red Bay was home to nearly 1,000men dur <br />
ing the five-month whaling season. producing as<br />
much as a half million gallons of wha le oil.<br />
Shipped back to Europe , the oil was prized as<br />
lighting fuel. as an additive to drugs and as an ingredient<br />
in everything from soap to pitch.<br />
Among the archaeological finds. perhaps the<br />
most exciting is a shipwreck of a 4OD-year -old<br />
Basque galleon. The ship is lying in 30 to 40 feet<br />
of water just off the landward shore of Saddle Island,<br />
which protects Red Bay harbor from the<br />
Strait of Belle Isle. Due to the sub-zero water conditions<br />
and severa l metres of silt overlying the<br />
ship, its preservation was remarkable. Several<br />
thousands of barrel staves were recovered from<br />
...and underwater at Red Bay. Labrador (photo courtesy Parks Canada)
76 - DECKS AWASH<br />
the shipwreck, suggesting that it may have been<br />
fully loaded with whale oil at the time of its disaster.<br />
Some of the more spectacular relics recovered<br />
from the shipwreck were the sh ip's<br />
compass and an hourglass Icoated in the binnacle<br />
as well as an etching of a galleon found on one<br />
of the interior planks. Some of the larger artifacts<br />
include the ship's anchor and a small swivel gun<br />
that was still loaded with a charge after 400years.<br />
The remains of the three-masted 9O-ft. whaling<br />
galleon are precious, as the vessel is the first,<br />
largely intact, 16thcentury merchant ship discovered<br />
in the Americas, and the oldest of its kind<br />
north of Florida.<br />
The land site yielded numerous artifacts that<br />
can give an insight into the 16th century Basque<br />
life in the NewWorld.Such everyday domestic artifacts<br />
as crudely made earthenware jugs and containers<br />
were intermixed with the finest of<br />
Venetian glass and richly decorated majolica porringers.<br />
From the wide range of domestic artifacts<br />
recovered, archaeologists can speculate<br />
that the class of people who inhabited coastal<br />
Labrador in the 16th century were as varied as<br />
they were in the Basque country with the common<br />
working man living close to if not alongisde the<br />
more affluent members of this maritime society.<br />
Archaeologists from Parks canada in conjunction<br />
with the province of i 'ewfoundland, the National<br />
Museum. and the government of Spain's<br />
Basque region are continuing their work in<br />
Labrador. What other secrets Red Bay hides still<br />
remain to be discovered.<br />
The loss of H.M. brig Drake<br />
hen the Drake under the command of Captam<br />
Baker left Halifax for 51.John's onJune<br />
W<br />
20, 1822, the weather conditions were perfect for<br />
sailing. This situation continued untilJune 23when<br />
the ship met a thick fog about 90 miles off Cape<br />
Race . A fresh west-southwesterly breeze cleared<br />
the fog briefly at noon and allowed a reading to<br />
be taken. Six hours and about 60miles later, there<br />
was no cause for alarm, although the fog had<br />
closed in again.<br />
At about 7:30 p.m., brea kers were reported<br />
ahead and the ship was hauled to the wind. This<br />
ma nouevre was unsuccessful and the crew tried<br />
to stay the ship. While attempti ng to ride out the<br />
seas, the stern took the breakers and caused the<br />
vessel to fall broadside on. The crew cut the masts<br />
in hopes of making the vessel lighter and saving<br />
the men, but the heavy seas almost immediately<br />
inundated the brig and sank the cutter.<br />
The last hope lay with the gig, which was<br />
launched from the forecastle of the sinking vessel<br />
with the bo's'n aboard. Although the boat was<br />
broken on the rocks, the bo's'n managed to scramble<br />
onto the rocks with a few feet of line. The captain<br />
and crew were hanging onto ropes in the<br />
forecastle when the brig was lifted onto another<br />
rock. At this point, most of the crew were able,to<br />
escape from the doomed ship to the rocks, but a<br />
few of those on board, including Lieutenant Lord<br />
Stanley, were dashed against the rocks. The<br />
bo's'n swam to the rock in spite of the surf and<br />
used his line to rescue 44of the 50who had made<br />
it from the ship.<br />
Captain Baker refused to leave the rock as the<br />
tide rose until the last crew member was rescued,<br />
but the tide and surf made the rescue of the last<br />
six survivors impossible, despite valiant efforts<br />
by the officers and crew. In all, 19people died in<br />
the shipwreck, but the loss wouldhave been greater<br />
without the order and discipline of the captain<br />
and crew.<br />
On the morning of June 24, the -I5 survivors<br />
found the two halves of the broken frame of the<br />
Drake piled on top of each other on the rocks with<br />
no sign of any more survivors. Their landing had<br />
been made on the eastern head of S1. Shott's,<br />
which was soonreached. The survivors were then<br />
taken to Trepassey and picked up by H.M.<br />
\'aJorou5. ~<br />
• weaekno'
DECKS AWASH - 77<br />
Birds of <strong>Newfoundland</strong>: a unique resource<br />
by Roger Burro.....s<br />
I<br />
n the last five yea rs, birdwa tching has grown<br />
into a major industry in North America and the<br />
island of <strong>Newfoundland</strong> is rapidly becoming<br />
known as an excell ent place to see birds.<br />
The cold, rough waters dividing <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
from mainland Canada are a considerable barrier<br />
to birds . The power of flight cannot overcome<br />
the hazards of a journey most of us take for granted<br />
in the relative comfort of a ferry boat. Many<br />
birds that ar e common as close as Cape Breton<br />
and southern Labrador rarely find their way to<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong>and are usually only deposited here<br />
by storms during migr ation periods.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> lies on the edge of continental<br />
and ocean storm syst ems and the wildly fluctuating<br />
winds result in bird arrivals from totally unexpected<br />
sources. It is possible to find birds from<br />
the Arctic , from continental Canada. from the<br />
southeastern United States or from Europe within<br />
days of each other , as hap pened this summer on<br />
the Avalon Peninsula . In recent years, <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
has welcomed many European vagrants,<br />
some of them for the first time on Nort h Amer i<br />
can shores. Many other birds may have simply escaped<br />
detection because of our long coastline and<br />
too few qualified observ ers.<br />
The growing number of sightings, perhaps as a<br />
result of an increase in the number of resident and<br />
visiting birdwatchers, gives a hint of much higher<br />
numbers than expected . A history of isolation and<br />
the occurrence of many unique hab itats in <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
add up to an inter esting set of circ um-<br />
Indigo Bunung<br />
one of many "exotic species"<br />
more or less regula r<br />
in the Southwest<br />
BJuewinged Teal<br />
still a rath er local and<br />
decidedly warm weather<br />
visitor<br />
stances. Many species ar e still missing, but there<br />
are signs tha t this situation is rapidly changing .<br />
Long-time residents will have seen for the first<br />
time in the last 20years bobolinks, with their bubbling<br />
song, red winged blackbirds, with their flash<br />
of red on an otherwise black plumage, and evening<br />
grosbeaks, a welcome splash of yellow and<br />
black at many feeders .<br />
Other songbirds are also beginning to arrive in<br />
larger numbers, first being seen on the west coast<br />
and then gradually extending their range. Some,<br />
like the black and white eastern kingbird , the brillian<br />
tly colored scarlet tanager and rose-breasted<br />
grosbeak, and the equally colorful indigo bunting,<br />
are easy to recognize in one-of the many field<br />
guides on the market. Others , including many of<br />
the flycatch ers and warblers, are harder to distinguish<br />
and may be more common than the<br />
provi nce's bird checklist suggests .<br />
More recognizable, perhaps, are the ma ny<br />
western ducks now finding their way here . The<br />
ringnec ked duck , which prefers the seclusion of<br />
woodland ponds, began its invasion of <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
aro und 1940and now ranks as the third most<br />
abundant freshwater species . A similar range expansion<br />
has been shown by the northern pintail ,<br />
which is now widespread throughout the province<br />
and very common on the west coast. Other<br />
western ducks, such as mallard, gadwall , American<br />
wigeon and bluewinged teal, are regular in the<br />
Codroy Vall ey and increasingly observed<br />
elsewhere.<br />
The province is also attracting more and more<br />
shorebirds in spring and fall. There are still areas<br />
of fres hwater and saltwater marsh with ample<br />
food to susta in small flocks of northbound<br />
migrants in spring and much larger flocks in fall.<br />
Severa l European vagrants have been found in<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> in recent yea rs, making it a very<br />
popular destination for professional birdwatchers
78 - DECKS AWASH<br />
from the United States and mainland Canada .<br />
The Labra dor Current is the engine that energizes<br />
the great seabird colonies of <strong>Newfoundland</strong>'s<br />
east coast - The Funks, The Cabots, The Penguins,<br />
Baccalieu, Witless Bay and Cape St.<br />
Mary's, all names with an exotic ring. Once home<br />
to the great auk, The Funks now support nearly<br />
one million common murres (turrs), some puffins<br />
and 8,000northern gannets , Three islands in wtt <br />
less Bay - Gull, Great and Green - are home to<br />
three-quarters of the total western Atlantic puffin<br />
population and over million Leach's storm-petrels<br />
(carey-chicks). Anda dome-shaped rock at Cape<br />
St Mary's is the site of the largest of three northern<br />
gannet colonies in <strong>Newfoundland</strong>, Here, 10,000<br />
birds spend the summer in amazing security considering<br />
that onlya narrow chasm separates them<br />
from an increasing number of human visitors,<br />
Such observations make <strong>Newfoundland</strong> one of<br />
the most exciting places in North America to<br />
watch birds , as an increasing number of people<br />
are now doing, Armed with a pair of binoculars,<br />
a field guide and a notebook, anyone can become<br />
an expert. By becoming a member of the <strong>Newfoundland</strong><br />
and Labrador Natural History Society,<br />
you can find out about the birds around you. It's<br />
an interest that will last a lifetime and all the family<br />
can become involved,<br />
f\IJ<br />
I<br />
foodfor all<br />
OCTOBfA 1& 0CTtJBR(<br />
WORLD FOOD DAY<br />
POSTER COMPETITION<br />
October 16 has been declared WORLD FOOD DAY by<br />
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the<br />
United Nations as a day for everyone to draw attentipn<br />
to the problems of world hunger . The theme for World<br />
Food Day 1985 is "YOUTH AND FOOD".<br />
The <strong>Newfoundland</strong> World Food Day Committee, in conjunction<br />
with the <strong>Newfoundland</strong> Milk Marketing Board,<br />
is holding a poster competition for primary and elementary<br />
school students to help commemorate World Food<br />
Day this year ,<br />
Who may enter:<br />
All students enrolled in any school in <strong>Newfoundland</strong> and Labrador from Kindergarten to Grade 6,<br />
1 Theme:<br />
Posters should contain scenes which are related to youth involvement in f~uming and/or in the<br />
distribution and marketing of food in either Canada or in less developed countries in the world.<br />
I<br />
I<br />
i<br />
I<br />
Rule s:<br />
Posters should be no larger than 14 x 18 inches, Any medium, including oils, water colors, pastels,<br />
crayons and poster ink will be accepted .<br />
On the back of your poster , write the following information:<br />
A) Title of the poster ;<br />
B) Your name, address and telephone number;<br />
C) Name and address of your school, your grade , and your teacher's name.<br />
Judging & Prizes:<br />
Posters will be judged for how well the theme is represented, as welt as for composition. A first<br />
and second prize will be offered in two categories,<br />
Category A includes students from Grade 4 to 6,<br />
Category B includes students from Kindergarten to Grade 3.<br />
First prize in both categories is $100.<br />
Second prize in both categories $50.<br />
Posters will become the property of the <strong>Newfoundland</strong> World Food Day Committee, Winning<br />
posters will be included in an exhibit at the Avalon Mall , October 11 and 12 as well as at other<br />
events thro ughout the year ,<br />
Closing Date;<br />
Entries must be received by October 4, 1985,<br />
c-<br />
How to enter:<br />
- - - -------'<br />
Send your poster to: WORLD FOOD DAY POSTER COMPETITION<br />
P. O. BOX 1878<br />
ST. JOHN 'S, NEWFOUNDLAND, A1C 5R4
letters<br />
R ~~~ ~~i~:~i~~: ha lt;~ i~<br />
welcome treat. My wife Lorraine<br />
(Bragg) was born in Greee nspond.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong>. but we now live in<br />
Pasad ena , California.<br />
Ha ving just returned from a vaca <br />
tim in cooler climates , we can appreciate<br />
your latest issue where you<br />
talk of Plwn Point where " they never<br />
get any heat " . When we tr avel<br />
throughout <strong>Newfoundland</strong> again , we<br />
will certainly try to get ther e.<br />
I also saw a letter in that issue mentioning<br />
the bare survival of Decks<br />
Awash. Please accept our renewal in<br />
U.S. dollars and use the exchang e for<br />
any extra costs involved in sendi ng it<br />
such a distance.<br />
JOt'I Daskal<br />
South Pasadena. California<br />
Y<br />
our rece nt issues fea turing<br />
Clarenville and Plum Point were<br />
ve-y interesting.<br />
Do you think a similar issue could<br />
be done on the Ferryland Distri ct ?<br />
That area has a very interesting history<br />
of place and family names. My<br />
special interest lies in the Bay Bulls.<br />
Witless Bay and Tors Cove histories .<br />
Plea se advise .<br />
Jerome E, Carew<br />
Toms River, xcva Scona<br />
Decks Awash , volumes. Number 2,<br />
April 1980 had a special section<br />
featuring the Southern Shore which<br />
includes the communities mentioned<br />
stove; a copy is already on its way .<br />
I ~=ew~~7:'a~~ e·~ :·::~a~~<br />
aod have since become a subscriber .<br />
It is now lime to renew again .<br />
I love the maga zine and would li ke<br />
to see an arti cle on myoid home town<br />
of Tri nity, Trinity Bay, or on my<br />
birthpl ace, Catalina. My father was<br />
in politics there and it is so good to be<br />
able to revisit the places he loved<br />
through your stori es and photos.<br />
I wish you continued success with<br />
your magazine . Uis an important link<br />
for those of us whohave nofamily left<br />
in our beloved <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
Audrey Herterton sweeney<br />
. Tampa. Florida<br />
A copy of Decks Awash , Volume 8,<br />
Number 2, April 1979 which featured<br />
a special section on the Bonavista<br />
Peninsula is on its way .<br />
u ~:r: r~:rn~:i:~d"~m~~~ c~:<br />
Awash. Weenjoyed it immensely and<br />
rea d it from cover to cover. As a<br />
resu lt, we were amazed at how little<br />
we know abou t our native <strong>Newfoundland</strong>.<br />
Since our retu rn, our friends Ron<br />
DECKS AWASH 79<br />
ETEC~<br />
MARINE DIESELS<br />
LISTER MARINE DIESELS ARE<br />
NOW AVAILABLE IN THESE<br />
STANDARD PACKAGES:<br />
STANDARD FEATURES INCLUDE:<br />
- WATER COOLING<br />
- HYDRAULICALLY OPERATED<br />
TRANSMISSION<br />
- ELECTRIC STARTER. ALTERNATOR<br />
AND BATIERY<br />
- STERN GEAR. INCLUDING:<br />
- SHAFTING (6 FT.)<br />
- STUFFING BOX<br />
- PROPELLOR<br />
- CABLES AND CONTROLS<br />
- P.T.O. SHAFT FOR GURDY<br />
- MUFFLER AND EXHAUST FLE X<br />
HEAVY DUTY 23 H.P.<br />
MODEL STW2 - $6,500. 00<br />
HEAVY DUTY 34,5 H,P.<br />
MODELSTW3 - $ 8,800.00<br />
__NEWFOUNDLAND TRACTOR<br />
AND EQUIPMENT CO. LTD.<br />
ST. JOHN'S<br />
P. O. Box8940<br />
722-5660<br />
GRAND FALlS<br />
P.O Box tOO<br />
489 -2131<br />
and Sheila Maher from 51. Jo hn's<br />
presented us with the gift of a twoyear<br />
subscription to this beautifu l<br />
magazine.<br />
Many than ks to you and to them .<br />
CORNER BROOK<br />
P. O. Box430<br />
634·8258<br />
Geor ge and v era Fr ench<br />
OakvHIt". Ontario<br />
_<br />
GOOSE BAY<br />
P. O. Box510<br />
896-5864
80 - DECKS AWASH<br />
w ~~~~~~~v:a~~~i~~t~~~~~<br />
have gathered over the years, I noticed<br />
a correction letter by Nellie<br />
Moores of Harry 's Harbour about the<br />
crew of the ill-fated schooner Warren<br />
M . Colp. It brinks back to memory<br />
when I was a boy living in Wop:lstock,<br />
White Bay. A short time after that<br />
tragedy a poem was circulated in a<br />
newspaper called The Family<br />
Fireside .<br />
The words were as follows :<br />
Attention friends and countrymen<br />
A few lines I'll relate<br />
About a schooner in distress<br />
Aoo how she met her fate .<br />
The WaITen ,'\t. Colp was her name<br />
From Herring Neck set sail<br />
Captain Randolph Batstone<br />
Belonged to Silverdale.<br />
She was one hundred fifteen tons<br />
Six was her total crew<br />
She met a gale . likewise thick snow<br />
As she passed Baccalieu.<br />
On the fifteenth of December<br />
It was an awful sight<br />
At two o'clock she went ashore<br />
Out here , off Job 's Ccve Bight.<br />
She left the port of Herring Neck<br />
For St. John's she was bound<br />
But owing to the heavy storm<br />
Cape St. Francis could not round.<br />
The people all around the place<br />
Had got an awful shock<br />
To hear about the schooner<br />
That smashed against the rocks .<br />
The people here around the place<br />
And all the places near<br />
Did work all day with willing hands<br />
Their time they did not spare.<br />
The work, my friends, it was quite<br />
hard<br />
Two only could they save<br />
The other four were left behind<br />
To have a watery grave,<br />
Four of the crew from Silverdale<br />
One from Round Harbour too<br />
The other lad from Herring Neck<br />
Had lately joined the crew ,<br />
His name was William Atkinson ,<br />
A friend we all knew well<br />
The Joss of these four seamen<br />
No human tongue can tell .<br />
That is as far as my memory will<br />
take me. but thanks to Decks Awash<br />
for bringing me in touch with the people<br />
who helped during the crisis, and<br />
with those who were saddened by the<br />
tragedy in December 1930.<br />
Fred C. Pack....ood<br />
lIo....-lr)-, SF<br />
AFTER HOeJRSCAll<br />
FR.UIIK MURPHY 134.-<br />
DAVIO IlIUfII'KY 134-6417<br />
WAlTERIltlIflf'ttY At-5711i<br />
RQlIIl,lRPHY I34-65.M<br />
IRUCl HIGGUIS I3WZIoI<br />
oPERATED BY<br />
MURPHY<br />
BROTHERS<br />
LTD.<br />
<strong>Newfoundland</strong> Pork<br />
and Broccoli<br />
I lb. lean pork<br />
2 T shortening or salad oJl<br />
I t salt<br />
11'2 C chicken broth or stock<br />
1 med onion, sliced<br />
1 C sliced celery<br />
1 bunch broccoli<br />
4 t corn starch<br />
4 T water<br />
I I soy sauce<br />
®s~<br />
/'/'/'/'/'/'/'/'<br />
For all your agricultural products<br />
Suppliers of day-old chicken and turkeys<br />
Makers of formula feeds<br />
Distributors of farm equipment<br />
Suppliers of feeds for • poultry • sheep<br />
• cattle • dogs<br />
TOPSA l FlOAD AND TFlA,r-" ",,..ADA "" GHWA'f<br />
• horses<br />
60X 1000 DONAVANS NE ....."O NDlAp"jO . ~09 368 3193<br />
LOCAL OR LONG DISTANCE<br />
:100 O'CONNEll DR. CORNER BROOK<br />
P.O. lOX 411<br />
A2H IE3<br />
634-3345<br />
retbod: Cut pork into thin strips .<br />
and brown II] a pan in shortening<br />
or salad oil, drain off fat. Add sail',<br />
broth and omon. Cover and cook<br />
for 10 minutes. Ad celery and<br />
broccoli, trimmed and cui in 1<br />
inch pieces. Cover and cook forti<br />
minutes. so that vegetables are.<br />
tender but still a litLiecrisp. Blend<br />
corn starch with cold water and<br />
soy sauce. Add to meat mixture<br />
and cook until thickened. Serve<br />
with rice, Serves 3 or 4<br />
~ _.hood<br />
\!!!) ~ltlfoods<br />
-~ .-<br />
SER V ING<br />
AL L<br />
OF NEWI' OU NDlANO
NATIONAL PARKS CENTENNIAL<br />
Celebrate<br />
Canada's<br />
Heritage<br />
Canada's Na tional<br />
Parks are having a<br />
birthdav this vear<br />
and you're in~ited .<br />
6 :-<br />
o .:_~" ,L----------,<br />
,"<br />
o o<br />
o o 00<br />
::<br />
o<br />
00<br />
In 1885 , Banff National Park<br />
was founded . No w, 100 "eMS<br />
later. in Atlannc C.lnild.l ',l]one<br />
there .HE ' se ve n nationa l parks.<br />
twenty-one nationa l h istoric<br />
parks. and OIH' heritage canal .<br />
Visit t he se heritage places thi s<br />
year. The y offer e njoymen t<br />
for evt'ryont' - hiking<br />
challenges, canoe ra ces , old<br />
fashioned picni cs. heritage<br />
fa shion shows, ca ndleligh t<br />
lours. ht'rita~ e festivals and<br />
more!<br />
Canada<br />
Recor d yo ur travels:<br />
Pick up a fret' He ritage Log<br />
Boo k.and have it stamped w ith<br />
t he svmbols of the park s yo u<br />
visit. There are a total of .3t<br />
s ym bols hl collect. Heritage<br />
logs art' a vailable at national<br />
pa rks , from tourist bureaus Of<br />
from Park s Canada.<br />
Free Ca lenda r of Events:<br />
Be Informed - get yo ur own<br />
copy of the Nationa l Pa rk s<br />
Ce nten nia l C alendar of Events<br />
for Atlantic Ca nada from<br />
nationa l parks. tourist bureaus<br />
or Park s Canada.<br />
1885<br />
W1985<br />
To re ceive your fr ee Heritage log<br />
and /o r C ale ndar of Events fill out<br />
this coupo n and mail to:<br />
Parks Canada<br />
Hisloric Properties<br />
Uppe r Waler Street<br />
Halifax, Nova Scotia<br />
BJ) 159<br />
AdJr('~~<br />
Ch eck Boxes<br />
o t1 t>r iI J !,:t' L ( ,~ Book<br />
r u. ,,,1Code