The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

parts should be ordered now sa Fred Moore salesman at iston Farm Service thoroughly checked over for worn parts before it is put away for the winter By PAT GUERGIS Examiner Staff Reporter As winter approaches the farming commungy is both gearing up and gearing down While farmers are occupied with getting their summer harvest into its winter storage space meetings to take care of farm associations business are being arranged when summer work is far behind As the tamer has more free time on his hands in the winter when the snow is flying so does the farm wife Womens Institution meetings and the womens program through the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food have already begun their fall programs Well over 1000 county women are involved in these pro grams which serve an educational and social purpose The 4H Homemakers programs involving more than 700 Simcoe County youngsters are also underway This normally rural organization which has been operating since 1913 provides the opportunity for young peo ple to learn to work together while getting to know themselves and their community Various farm oriented organizations such as the North and Simcoe Crop and Soil Improvement Association The Sim coe County Cream Producers Association The Simcoe This is the time of year when farmers are interested in buying new plows and combines says James Clarkson left foreman at Giffen Farm Equipment in Minesing Mechanic Mark Sponagle right checks the oil level on new Worn or broken machinery should be ordered now should be washed and Farm machinery itarrives Moore said Selling and Any parts which are worn The Farmers Almanac for 1978 lists 20 signs of hard winter Heres the list see if you think we are in for difficult time in the next few months OThicker than normal corn husks Woodpekcers sharing tree Early arrival of the snowy owl OEarl migration of the monarch butterfly OThick hair on the nape back of the cows neck oHeavy and numerous fogs during Au st oRaccoons with thick tails and bright ands oMice eating ravenously into the home Early arrival of crickets on the hearth OSpiders spinning larger than usual webs and enter ing the house in great numbers Fifi gathering sticks Insects marching bee line rather than meander ing Early seclusion of bees within the hive Unusual abundance of acorns Muskrats burrowing holes high on the river bank 0See how high the hornets nest twill tell how high the snow will rest keeps the team at Partridge Tractor Service Hi busy at this time of year farmers wait until next spring when the machinery is needed to work the fields we may not have the part in stock and they viceman says whether piece will have to delay planting until of farm equipment is serviced at the business location or at repairing the farm depends on the size of machinery and supplying parts for farm equipment is what Will winter be hard As the snow approaches arms gear up and down County Federation of Agriculture the Simcoe County Milk Committee and the various beef pork and milk producers are lplanning their annual meetings of have just had them anning spring and summer activities for next year hashing over the weather problems of he past year and discussing local and world political moves which so affect the farming community will serve to pass much of the winter months As well animals have to be fed and kept clean laneways and bamyards must be cleared of snow and maintenance needed to prepare machinery for next spring must be taken care of And if theres any time to spare maybe therell be time for good book or some of those daytime TV shows Theres time to look over the farm records and time to plan farming strategy in relation to crops fertilizer machinery and budgeting Whatever it is that keeps each individual on the farm busy this winter one thing is sure the farming community is gearing down in the fields but not in the community The fields will be tilled the remainder of this years crop turned under and left to sleep quietly resting in prepara tion for whatever crop its owner decides to plant next spr ing delivered to customer Examiner Photo ghway 11 Murray Anderson parts Ser ton Avenue Barrie They if it cant be moved we go ONarrow orange band in the middle of the Woollybear caterpillar warns of heavy snow fat and fuss fuzzy caterpillers presage bitter cold OThe squirrel gathers nuts early to fortify against hard winter OFrequent halos or rin around the sun or moon forecasts numerous snow ails What does one of the Countys oldtimers think of the winter ahead of us Louis Truax who has been workin on Essa Township roads for some 26 years says he used to able to go by signs few years ago but Theres been some strange things happening with the weather the last few years Normall with this type of fall it would mean we should have mil winter But the weather pattern has been com are used mainly for blowing out laneways and ban nyards says Al Blackwell bookkeeper The ones we sell Russell Harris Hit Barrie wants to make sure his fall plowing is done before the snow falls He said the ground isnt too had not because of few days of nice weather but when he was harvesting his corn crop for sileage two large machine He says checking the toein on the wheels am the pressure in the hydrolics is also part of the maintenance check done before tractor is Area farm machinery dealers say equipment should be washed checked to the field and repair it there Snow blowers which attach to the front of tractor are big selling item this time of year at Churchs Farm Supplies Bur cut out six or seven foot space at one time Most of our maintenance service at this time of year in volves changing the engine oil to lighter grade putting anti freeze in radiators and chains on tractors These are winter prepara tions which most famiers do themselves but some take their machinery to service centre BUSIEST TIME liffen Farm Equipment Minesing is experiencing their busiest time of year right now says Winston Maw parts man employed by the com ny We are busy sa eswise as well as with servicing and sup plying parts Our main sales are in harvesters combines wagons grain boxes etc These are things needed for harvesting and farmers dont usually buy anything until they really have to Snowblowcrs are our main service item in the winter We nd lot of time repairing ings for next spring Some farmers do their maintenance work before they put their machinery away for the winter but many wait until spring the examlnor Tuesday Nov 1971 machines were necessary to pull the corn wagon and combiner through the mud dy field didnt want to wait for dryer weather in case we didnt get any so we had real struggle getting the corn in Examiner Photo Road crews are preparing now for countys onslaught of snow Its the farmers rcsponsibili ty to keep his laneways and barnyards clear of snow for frccdorn of movement around the farm But when he reaches the end of hrslancway thcnwhat ounty and township road supervisors and their crews are beginning to gear up for the onslaught of winter in ordcr to avoid imprisoning courin farmers with snow blocked roads Louis Truax road supervisor for Essa Township says his crews are busy stockpiling sand and dragging roads Dragging involves crowning the road up by bringing gravel from both sides into the centre This is done in wct weather in dry weather it is left flat We are also beginning to put the snow fencc up along the roads We keep records from year to ycar on where the snow builds up the worst where the prevailing winds cause the greatest problems and place the fcncing accordingly Truax has been with the Essa Township road crew for 26 years and says be pretty well knows where the problem spots are LeightonClark Simcoe County road engineer says his crews are doing local ditching along with maintenance work on roads and machinery We have patrols who pick up the worst weather spots and we put snowfcncing up in those areas Normally we put the same amount up theres no sense trying to outgucss the weather man Our plans are pretty well the same each year lark said his crews look aftcr 374 miles of courity roads and about 4o miles of suburban roads Preparing snowremoval equipment for winter stockpil ing sand and putting up snowfcncrng in lnnisfil Township is keeping Michael ltcrnptstcr and his crews 0c cupicd as part of their prepara tions for keeping the 215 miles of road free of snow Government restrictions in budget pollution standards and consumer complaints of rusty cars are major considerations for winter road preparations Truax says highway salt is mixed with sand to curtail slip pery road hazards We also keep loader of 20 tons of pure salt on hand in case of extremely cold weather When the temperatures get very low the sand mixture just rolls or blows off the road the pure salt melts some of the ice giving better traction Preparing beef for winter theme of upcoming meeting Winterizing Your Bccf Herd will be the theme of meeting at the Holiday Inn Barrie Thursday at pm Bob Humphrics associate agricultural representative with the ministry of agriculture and fwd office in Elmvale says the meeting has been set up as joint venture between his ministry and local oOps Farmers have to realize the amount of damage being done to their cattle by the warble fly Each bit of damage to the meat and the carcass means loss of money to the producer He said it is likely slides or films will be available so becf farmers can see exactly what pletely wrong Weve had so many different kinds of weather in the last year than now Im ex cting either real bad winter or light snow and not too muc blowing Whichever it is Truax says Essa townships road crews over which he is supervisor are not taking any chances Well he prepared Some dont want to spend the money until next spring thinking they may deal the piece of equipment in the mean time would say about 50 per cent do servicing on their machinery before storing it for the winter Mnrk lelinas of Barrie won last weeks Know Your County contest by correctly identifying Jean De Brebeufs grave located in St Josephs Chapel at Ste Marie Among the Humns at Midland If you think you can identify this weeks landmark send your answer along with your name and ad dress to Know Your County The Examiner Box 370 Barrie Ont AM 4T6 Winner will receive Sunday roast from Brennans Meat Market Barrie damagc IS caused by the warble flv hairman of the meeting will be lint Ncsbitt also North Simcoe agriculture represen tative from the Elmvale office The meeting will get under way with greeting from Ncsbitt followed by talk on carcass losses from warble flies by Larry Campbell of the Meat Packers Council of Canada He will discuss meat and hide damage At 830 pm Doug Dickie beef cattle specialist with the ministry will give talk on controlling warble flies de worrning and lice control Dr Dave Cunningham senior nutrition expert with United Cooperatives of On tario will speak at pm on What are the most economical beef rations in light of current feed costs and supplies panel discussion allowin farmers to ask questions an discuss their ideas will follow at pm led Bill Cooper associate agricu ture repraen tative of the ministrys Alliston office which covers South Sim cZH programs set for fall Finding out that cereals can be used for things other than breakfast has been the aim of The Cereal Shelf project nearing completion by number 4H Clubs in North Simcoe Jane Sills home economist and 4H coordinator with the Elmvale branch of the ministry of agriculture and food says the girls involved have been busy studying seeds of certain asses their nutrients and dif erent ways to prepare them They have found out that cereal means more than just breakfast Our Achievement Days will soon be starting and at these the girls will dis lay their record books as well as special cereal recipes they have found and tried The participants will also put on displays skits and demonstrations testing their knowledge on cereals The first area Achievement Day will get underway in Orillia Saturda at Orillia District High Sc 001 The se cond is scheduled for Nov 19 at Midland Secondary School $5 Hugel Ave with the third being held at Minesing Central School Nov 26 The fourth and last Achieve ment Day will take place Dec at Huronia Centennial Elemen tary School Elmvale There are currently 46 4H Homemaking Clubs operating in North Simcoe involving ap proximately 420 girls along with many more interested women who are leaders and assistants South Simcoe has 30 clubs in volving about 290 girls The focus there is on Liv ing and Achievement Da will be held Nov 19 Cookstown Nov 26 in Chur chill Dec in Duntroon and Dec 10 in New Loweil