September 2012 Volume 4, Issue 6 The County Farmer Upcoming Events << >> Giant Pumpkin Contest October 6th 10:00am @ Minden Home Hardware << >> Minden’s Santa Clause Parade Nov.24th << >> Christmas Potluck Supper Fri. Nov. 30th 5:00pm set-up 6:00pm eat << >> AGM & Elections of new executives Jan 17th, 2013 << >> Editor Richard Taylor HALIBURTON COUNTY FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION See us at: www.haliburtoncountyfarmersassociation.com Meet the Animals This year we added to our public exposure with a “Make it Minden” event. We also had a busy year with our ‘petting zoos’ at local fairs and Canada Day in Minden. On Canada Day we had the added bonus of ‘free’ ice cream donated by Kawartha Dairy in the morning and funded by Minden Parks and Recreation in the afternoon! A welcome treat on such a hot day! It did not take long to scoop through 4 tubs of ice cream in the morning which is why more arrived for the afternoon. All ‘Meet the Animals’ events were successful and without incident. Thanks to the hard work of our executive and volunteers we were able to have an interesting selection of animals for the public to see. We had an exceptional amount of variety in our ‘give away’ information thanks to the efforts of a particular executive member. Our volunteers excelled themselves this year with additional work putting up tents for the Haliburton County Fair; one had to be done twice due to gusty and playful winds! As always there was considerable interest in the mini animals, donkeys and horses, as many could not believe they were full grown! All animals behaved themselves, even the alpacas! Make it Minden took place at “Minden Mercantile” ( formerly McMahon’s) and saw people experiencing some of the farm related activities like: collecting eggs, shoveling manure and moving hay bales onto a wagon. Everyone gave it a good try and had fun doing it. A few animals also put in an appearance just to round out the event. It was a good year with most of the executive showing up to assist at all events. Thank you. Report by Andrea Coysh 1 Haliburton County Farmers’ Association Executive 2011 President -- Andrea Coysh 705-286-6753 Vice-President -- Bryan Barlow 705-457-7556 Past President -- Casey Cox 705-286-4432 Secretary/Treasurer Sheila Robb -- 705-489-4201 OCA Rep -- Ross Warburton 705-286-1939 OCA Alternate -- Bryan Barlow 705-457-7556 Directors Chris Coysh -- 705-286-6753 Paul Hilyer -- 705-488-2371 Bonnie MacAusland 705-306-0347 Jean Neville -- 705-286-2345 Jeanne Parcell-Hughes 705-286-1602 Ross Walker – 705-286-2187 Matt Wesley – 705-286-0709 Director & Editor Richard Taylor 705-286-4877 [email protected] ATTENTION Membership in the H.C.F.A. & the V.S.C. (to cover mileage charges for the Vet’s visits to your farm) will expire on March 31st, 2013. Please do not let your membership expire. THANKS WOW! WASN’T THAT A BUS TRIP! Once again we had a great day out for our annual bus trip. The weather was perfect, lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze. Besides Farm Association members we had 4 nonmembers that heard about the trip in our advertising. Our first stop was at Lang Pioneer Village in Keene. Here we were treated to an informative demonstration at the Grist Mill, a working flour mill. The steps of flour production were explained and we were shown the different methods for producing flour. We were given the opportunity to try for ourselves milling flour by hand to experience what a labour intensive activity this was especially if one wanted ‘white flour’ which required 10 times the effort. Then we were shown the operation of the mechanics of the mill from bottom to top. After this we spread out through the village to see the many different structures including the S.W. Lowry Weaver Shop, Hotel, General Store, Blacksmith shop to name a few. Alas there was only time to have a quick view of a few things but it was decided that this place was worth a whole day! Possibly this is another future bus trip or maybe just a personal day out. After a delicious lunch of fresh BBQ’d hamburgers from the Lang Food Booth, we were off to Harley Farms less than 5 minutes away. This unique farm had large numbers of pigs housed outside year round in 1 acre fields cordoned off with electric fence. There were little ‘houses’ dotting the landscape providing shelter for the pigs throughout the year, even in winter. Sows with their young had their own ‘nursery’ area and they also farrowed outside in all weather conditions. All the pigs had access to water and a wallow which some were actively enjoying much to the amusement of all. The pigs were able to forage but were also provided with a specially developed feed in a cube form made, we were told, from grains, grasses and hay grown on the various Harley Farms. This was done to cut down on waste. There were also sheep that roamed freely over the hillsides. Roger Harley provided us with a gracious, informative and interesting tour. On our way home, to make the day complete, we stopped at the Kawartha Dairy in Bobcaygeon for a cold treat. Report by Andrea Coysh 2 A bit of useful advice - verified by the Police (O.P.P.). Lauren was 19 yrs old and in college. It was the Saturday before New Year and it was about 1.00pm in the afternoon. Lauren was driving to visit a friend when an UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put its lights on. Lauren's parents have 4 children (of various ages) and had always told them never to pull over to the side of the road for an UNMARKED car, but rather wait until they get to a service station or busy, bright location, etc. Remembering her parents' advice, Lauren telephoned 112 from her mobile phone. This connected her to the police dispatcher. She told the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her and that she would not pull over right away but wait until she was in a service station or busy area. The dispatcher checked to see if there was a police car where she was and there wasn't and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back-up already on the way. Ten minutes later 4 police cars surrounded her and the UNMARKED car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground ... the man was a convicted rapist and was wanted for other crimes. Too bad the police and driver training institutes don't give you this wonderful little bit of information: You do not have to pull over for an UNMARKED car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place. You obviously need to make some signal that you acknowledge them, i.e. put on your hazard lights & call 112 like Lauren did. Also, everyone should know about 112, especially when so many areas around our county have “dead” mobile zones. Share this with your family and friends. 3 Sunderland Store: Hwy 7&12, Sunderland 705-357-3491 Oakwood Ag Centre: 381 Taylor’s Rd, Oakwood 705-953-9666 1-800-567-2667 We have products for you and your horse and all of your livestock needs! For your horse: For other livestock: We offer Purina Horse Feeds as Beef & dairy cattle rations and well as our own Textured Feeds supplements  made at Sunderland Mill Sheep feeds and supplements, -Timothy- Alfalfa Cubes Lamb starter and grower -Salt Blocks Goat and kid rations -Shavings and Stall Deodorizers Chicken feeds for layers & -Horse Supplements broilers (starter & grower) -Hay Seed and Fertilizer Turkey & game bird feeds -Brushes, Halters, Liniments, A variety of minerals, salts, and Leather Care Products, feed (705)357-3491 ingredients! Sunderland Store: Hwy 7&12 Sunderland Oakwood Store: 381and Taylor Road Oakwood (705)953-9660 Horse sweet feeds pellets Many other livestock supplies in Sara Jibb, Equine Specialist [email protected] store! Come in and check us out! Please Visit: MINDEN MERCANTILE & FEED CO. INC. 131 Bobcaygeon Road, Minden Kelly Pearce 705-286-2801 … For a great line of Sunderland Co-op feeds and other supplies! When shopping at the SUNDERLAND and OAKWOOD locations ONLY, ask us if there are any special discounts being offered today. 4 The Christmas Potluck Supper The Christmas Potluck will be open to all H.C.F.A. members and friends, as usual. It will be held at the Minden Community Centre on Friday Nov. 30th. Starting at 5:00pm the very creative and generous cooks will start setting up for the feast and by 6:00pm the ‘critics’ will start to evaluate the ‘goodies’. Judging will be easy as platters of delicious morsels get “licked clean” before anyone else can get back for second helpings. One thing that will be different this year is that the usual after-supper entertainment will NOT be a Chinese Auction! Hence, we (members) are being asked NOT to bring goods to contribute for the drawing. We WILL have an auction, a regular type of auction, with prizes contributed by the Board of Directors. So bring MONEY to help in this fund-raiser for your Association. We hope to see you all there as this is going to be our last big “togetherness” event of the year. Enjoy! The Annual General Meeting Our Annual General Meeting will take place at 7:00pm on Thursday, January 17th, 2013. There are openings on the board for new directors and so we are asking you to nominate members for consideration and election. Please contact Andrea Coysh 705-286-6753 before the meeting to submit the name of your candidate. The Minden Santa Claus Parade will take place on November 24th this year. We would like help to build a float for the parade. Please contact Andrea Coysh 705-286-6753 for details. 5 Heart Attack in Women: NURSE'S HEART ATTACK EXPERIENCE This article was written by an ER nurse who describes her own experience. It is a gripping description of this event and I would like to share it with you. I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read. Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in movies. I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion; NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up. A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation--- the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening --- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI (myocardial infarction or heart attack) happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack! I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment. I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics (911)... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in. I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery. I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was all ready to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stints. Why have I written all of this in so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first-hand: 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics (911) if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be! 2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics (911).' And if you can, take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER --- you are a hazard to others on the road. Do NOT have your panicked husband drive you as he will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your doctor --- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr will be notified later. 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that an elevated cholesterol reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive. Please be a true friend and share this article with all your friends (male & female) who you care about! 6 Classified Ads Wanted - Looking for a friend to keep my llama company. Good home, lots of grass. I have experience with horses. Would like a small pony. Contact Bonnie at 705-754-1477 Live Birds For Sale - English Trumpeter pigeons, Crested Ducks, Silver laced Cochin Bantams, and Ring Neck Doves. Also available: Locally Grown Free Range Turkeys (these are already in the freezer). Phone Jean 705-286-2345 For Sale – 3-point hitch, 7ft hay mower. Good shape. Asking $500. Contact Hugh at 705-286-2218. For Sale – HORSE JUMP standards, 6 foot, wood with metal cups, $75/pair; PLASTIC CUBE standards, 1 or 2 foot, $35/pair; SUN SHELTER TENT for exhibiting, like new, $75; ROCKING chair $75, DESK with hutch $50, CORNER cabinet $50. Offers welcome. Phone: Shirley 705-286-2504 or email [email protected] For your information – One of our members, author Shirley McCormick has two books for sale: Springfield Place, contemporary novella, 130 pages, ISBN: 978-0-9731250-3-0 ($18) (e-book version also available), and: The Estate of Mrs. Pearl Whiteman ($12) The prices include shipping. Please mail cheque, and your return address, to: S. McCormick, PO Box 436, Minden ON, K0M 2K0 or contact Shirley at: [email protected] for more info. For Sale – 1998 Ford pickup, V-8 Triton, 8 ft box, 2 wheel drive, hitch & electric brake control. $500 as is. Richard 705-286-4877. The Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off will be on October 6th. There will be prizes for the largest pumpkins as well as prizes for every child who enters. Remember to water your pumpkins or they won’t grow. Classified Ads – members are not charged for ads. Contact Sheila Robb at 705-489-4201 with the details. If you already have a standing ad then it would be appreciated if you would contact Sheila and advise her if you no longer wish your ad to appear. Canada Post revises delivery zones; Postal Codes change; Civic addresses (911 numbers) are now to be used; RR numbers are no longer to be used; P.O. Boxes supersede civic addresses; folks are late in paying their membership fees, some join HCFA only, others join Vet Services & HCFA … . Our mailing dept is going crazy trying to keep up with who should get a newsletter and how. If you should and don’t, please give us (Andrea Coysh 705-286-6753) a call and help us to get it right. In the meantime, get the latest news at: www.haliburtoncountyfarmersassociation.com 7 The Giant Pumpkin Contest We are holding the Giant Pumpkin weigh-off at the Minden Home Hardware on Saturday, October 6th at 10:00 a.m. The scales will be set up by the Garden Centre. There will be help on hand to move the heavy pumpkins. (We suggest that carrying them can be made easier by folding a blanket or tarp, or by using a piece of carpet to lift them.) The pumpkins will be displayed at Home Hardware for the week. The First Prize is a $50 gift certificate from Home Hardware. The Second Prize is a $40 gift certificate from the Minden Mercantile & Feed Company. The Third Prize is a $30 gift certificate from Pet Tyme. All children who enter a pumpkin will win a gift certificate for ice cream from The Kawartha Dairy. Last year’s winner was a 146 lb. pumpkin grown by Angel Taylor. This should be a fun event. Good Luck to everyone. An EMERGENCY NUMBER for your Mobile Phone: 112 The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile Phones is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area for your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network serving your location to establish the emergency number for you and, interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Do NOT test this. One of our members tested this the first time we published this information. The O.P.P. phoned right away and was told that it was a false alarm. But they had to visit his home anyway, to see that things were truly O.K. and that it wasn’t a case of someone being bullied into cancelling an emergency call. 8 A Smile Improves Face Value < > The Montana Department of Employment, Division of Labor Standards claimed a small rancher was not paying proper wages to his help and sent an agent out to investigate him. AGENT: I need a list of your employees and how much you pay them. RANCHER: Well, there's my hired hand who's been with me for 3 years. I pay him $200 a week plus free room and board. Then there's the mentally challenged guy. He works about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of all the work around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room and board, and I buy him a bottle of bourbon every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He also sleeps with my wife occasionally. AGENT: That's the guy I want to talk to - the mentally challenged one. RANCHER: That would be me. LAWN TRACTOR PULLING 4H CLUB Are you interested in joining a Lawn Tractor Pulling 4H Club? Haliburton County Farmers’ Association is willing to sponsor such a club but there has to be enough interest to warrant the time needed to start the application process. If we have enough interested parties then we could have this club up and running by mid-March of next year (2013) and run until May of same year. Don’t hesitate. Call Casey Cox, 705-489-4412. Time is of the essence. We need to act now if we want a 4H Club for next year. 9 Minden Mercantile and Feed Co. Inc. <><>< Welcome to Kelly Pearce ><><> New owner of McMahon’s Feeds ‘n Needs New Store in Old Building 131 Bobcaygeon Rd 705-286-2801 Kelly requests that if we farmers let her know what feed we need and how much we will be using, she will negotiate with manufacturers to see if she can get supplies at a price that will save us money. Currently, her introductory special is a free bag of th chick starter or grower for every 10 bag you buy. “So, tell me, how's your day going so far???" 10