Newfoundland - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative

come in and get the moose in our
fields."
So why should women be suddenly
taking on what was tradi ­
tiona lly a man 's role ?
"I think the women have seen
that there is a need for somebody
to be organi zed. There is a feder ­
ation of agri culture for men, but
it doesn 't seem to be doing too
much , I don't know why. Some
people say that women speak out
more than men - I'm not sure
whether that's good or bad - but
in this area it is generally true . At
meetings women will speak out
a nd say things that men at times
won't ."
Judy 's aims appear not so
much to compete with but to complement
the men's efforts to obtain
recognition and
improvements for agriculture.
After all , many of the association's
members are married to
It's a question of m oney
"I 'm delighted to have this
portfolio, " declares Bob
Aylward, provincial Minister of
the Department of Rural,
Agricultural and Northern Development
(RAND). "We haven't
nearly reached our potential in
agriculture. It's one area where
we can grow .
"We have to rationalize our industry,
get rid of subsidies and
get a market-oriented, selfsupporting
agricultural society, if
possible.',
what are some of the subsidies?
" Right now, Newfoundland
Farm Products, which caters to
the chicken and hog industries,
receives approximately S3 millioo
in subsidies ," Bob replies . " I
wa nt to get them working as a
business with the least possible
subsidy. We are doing a study to
see how we can improve marketing
and efficiency at Newfoundland
Farm Products.
" The cost of production in Newfoundla
nd is high and we don't
have enough 'through-put' into
the plant. For example, if we had
farmers. The women brin g Fresh
viewpoints, new methods, and organized
political pre ssur e.
"I 'd say we have the support of
the men. If we hadn't we wouldn' t
have got ver y far. • think they
were skeptical a t first, but I haven't
heard them saying anything
bad about us, so that 's a good
start. One woman from a nother
area said her husband thought it
was all foolishness . I told her to
go ahead and organ ize a nyway,
perhaps later he'd cha nge his
mind. If you are going for something,
the more people looking for
it the better."
Judy's association duties are in
addition to her full-time job of
raising two children a nd helping
her husband Wayde, her brotherin-law
Bond, and her fath er-inlaw
Ronald work their sts-acre
farm. She also handles the farm's
bookkeeping . They hav e about
Bob Aylward
more hogs, the cost of the plant
would go down, but then we
would have to market the extra
production...
An example of improved marketing
is the production of chicken
for the fast food outlets .
" Five years ago we had no
share in the market; the chicken
being produced was too heavy .
Fast food outlets have to sell at
DECKS AWASH - 63
275acres cleared for root crops ,
and they grow strawberries that
provide some income before the
first vegetables mature. Between
50 and 60 acres are in hay and
3040 acres provide pasture for
the Peddles' 75-100 head of beef
cattle.
. Organizing group activities is
not exactly a new experience for
Judy. For several years she and
other local women have organized
an annual August
agricultural fair featuring
produce and livestock held at the
Peddles' farm . It's a family affair
with prizes for children's
produce and a even a calf show
where the children walk calves
around on a leash . It's the social
event of the area, but don't take
our word for it. If you are in the
Lethbridge area on August 24th,
go to it. Call Judy (467-2439), she
will give you the details.
rD
the national price and they can 't
afford to pay for a bigger chicken
. We're now geared so that all
the fast food chic ken is locally
produced."
It's not surp rising that Bob Aylward
is interested in agriculture.
His parents grew upon a farm in
Kilbride and his uncle, Anthony
Murphy , now retired from dairy
fanning, still has 10 ac res of
vegetables.
" I didn't actually grow up on a
farm, " adds Bob, "but my grandfather's
farm was next door and
I spent a lot of time there."
Bob admits that a main concern
of his department is the protection
of agricultural land.
" It' s a problem because the
landowners aren't necessarily
farmers, but you 've got to
remember that if we were to lift
the freeze on agricultural land a
lot of land would suddenly come
on the market. Land prices would
faD and you'd have a buyers'
market because there would be
too much land for building sites .
" We are gelling into landbanking
because it is in the public
interest to do so. When you con-