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spring. 1950 sidws that seem necessary today. why agricultureâ€"the industry which priilluCES foodâ€"that commodity With- out which no human being, no animal can exist, has to take_such pushing around as it has done in past years, 1 {or one cannot understand. This cuildition must change and already some have seen ‘thc handwriting on the wall.’ Our governing bodies havs n tremendous task ahead of them in Swing up such a suitable and work- nble framework for_ the disposal of the products of our Industry. “we, as farmers, are sadly lacking a sufficient number of. leadersâ€"«men uoin our own professionâ€"in organ- iziilions and parliament to state or plluul our cause. However fine a man a lawyer or a doctor let us say, may Le, however conscientiously he tries, he mnnot be expected to understand cluil‘ly the case of the farmer as a [owner does. No books can provide lhl‘ answers to the many situations airing day by day for the man in ngliuultural pursuits. "We are looking to members of our Junior Farmer Organization to help fill [his need for us in future years. “We all know that not the least of ill. problems of the farmer is that he to a the blame for each and every gi invance of the consumer at home or m :Uad. He is not producing enough nl he is over producing, his pigs are on fat, his beef or pou try are under. to shed, he is holding out or flooding i live stock market. If there is an m reuse in the price of milk. eggs or lwmcr the farmer is lining his pockets, ‘ We have before us the great prob- ] l of educating the consumer public il' llle farmers view point as to the u i of production, packaging, mar- l. .ing, etc. By press, by radio, by \mik of organizations such as our n Women‘s Institute and the Feder- :i you of Agriculture we are already =his schooling but we still have a luv: way to go. ‘;\lthough we are not unduly a med, for we believe that condi- ns Will in time right themselves ’ 'e all help, there is, we are sorry I say, a feeling of insecurity in the ; icultursl industry today. It is felt in our economic life; it is extending in our homes. Insecurity does not in rice for peace of mind. But farmers today, as always, are :i pretty stable, conscientious and 1 r-l headed group of people who do l .. lay down their tools at every set- | wk. We have need to be that type lieople'for we have the tremendous l «lionsibility of being the back bone our. country, the followers of its basic industry, responsible for food 1i our own families, the families of in- country, for trade in our economic 5,.rtem. We deplore the feeling of unit forced on us when we could feed w man of the starving people of (.0 word but economic set-ups pre- Vent our doing so. Though we farm for production toward economic security of home and country, at the same time we must remember that we are stewards only of our land. We must, if we are to respect ourselves, perform our duties in such a.Way that at the end of our stewardship the land we use will be Passed on to new bands in as good _Or better condition than it was when It “came to ours. Lest after hearing of so many Problems Confronting Agriculture, adverse weather, pests, production costs, uncertain market's, etc, you go home and say ‘John, we must list this farm With a real estate agent‘ let us look for a moment at the other side Ofuthe picture. For this we go back to Nature, 0“? greatest ally as well as our great- est problem. In what industry do We have _the freedom that agricultural Eursuits aflord us? At what place at on our farm, could we be able to EnlOY more fully the wonders of gamrHumisa and sunset; the rain- ?W with Its promise; spring time with its new life in field and stable. “5 hope eternal; winter when the Snow seems to quietly shut us off in the world and blanket us with contentment in our cozy home. well HOME AND COUNTRY OFFICER'S an Front Row Guelph Area chairman, Mrs. J. R. Futelier, Sayre, (International Pres), d VlSlTOS at CONVENER'S CONFERENCE (left to right): Mrs. A. Hudson, Vice-Pres, Mrs. J. F. White, 3 F.W.I.0. Pres.l Mrs. Raymond Anna Lewis, Director. Back Row (left to right): Constance Hayward, Citizenship Branch, Mrs. R. G. Purcell, Vice-Pres,, Mrs. Scott, County chairman, Berks W. 1.. England, Mrs. A. Hamilton, Vice-Pres, Mrs. J. H. lllcCulloch, Sec.-Treus., Mrs. Brown, I. P. West Kent, Eng. stocked with bounties of field and garden? _“Agriculture is, as it were, a God- given way of life and that man who follows it, may be proud in his pro- fession. Working in his fields. the farmer seems near to the Divine. The noise and bustle of many city indus- tries we feel tend to get between a man and his Maker. _“The seasons each bring a different kind of work, we never find on a farm the boredom that must come to a man who day after day, year after year, goes to a factory to make a part for a machine he never sees completed. On the farm we see the results of our labours and can enjoy the satisfaction of achievement. “Yes, we feel the satisfactions, privileges and good things that come our way still outweigh the Problems Confronting Agriculture. ‘He must be proud who tills the soil And turns the heavy sod. How wonderful a thing, to be In partnership with God," Mr. C. D. Graham, Deputy Minister of Agriculture lor Ontario, Addresses Conlerence "We are working hand in hand with Nature", said Mr. Graham. “She does not overlook mistakes nor make allowances for either ignorance or carelessness. "Farming is not merely making a living, it is a way of living. "Agriculture is basic because it pro- duces the food for the entire popula» tion of our province without which they could not exist. Added to this we export to help feed those in other countries who are not in as favorable a position as we are." Mr. Graham quoted Sir John Boyd Orr as saying, “Food is the greatest ammunition of Peace." “Life depends on food and therefore on productive land. _ “Agriculture is a science and an art", said Mr. Graham. “The pro- ducer is dealing with soil, water and plants. He must pay attention to 4 essentials so as to insure proper land use (1) know the soil’s capabilities (2) treat it according to its needs (3) use the proper methods of cultivation (4) conserve its goodness. "Soil is the basis of agriculture and so our economy as far as this provmce is concerned. The nutrition experts tell us that it takes the products from 2 to 2d acres of land to maintain a human being in good health for 1 year. Canada has 6 to 7 acres per person, U.S.A. 3, Great Britain i to 1, Ger- many 1, Japan 5, Italy 5. These are some of the economic points that afoot the life on the farm." Mr. Graham concluded his remarks by stressing the importance for sound leadership for our youth on the farms and a request for w_hole hearted sup~ port of the educational programme. "Agriculture’s programs must be built on facts, not on theory. Citizen- ship carries responsibilities as well as privileges.” Brief on Conservation Pres- ented by F.W.l.O. to the Select Committee _Mrs. Arthur Hamilton, Regional Vice-President, F.W.I.O., summarized the brief on Conservation which was submitted by the F.W.I.O. to the Ont- ario Government Select Committee on Conservation. This brief set forth the view-points of rural women and what rural women feel their contribution can be towards an all-over conservation programme and contained suggestions for (1) The conservation of youth in rural communities. (2) Home beauti- fication and planning of farm build- ings. (3) Conservation through edu- cation. (4) Conservation of grain. (5) Conservation of trees. (6) Con- servation of surplus perishable foods. (7) Conservation of paper. (8) Corn servation by weed control. The F.W.I.0. plan to promote a special study and drive for improve- ment on: (a) The conservation of leaves (b) More adequate fire protec- tion (c) More adequate police pro- tection (d) Prevention of leaving exâ€" pensive machinery exposed to the weather. (The complete F.W.I.O. Brief to the select committee and the Committees report are available on loan from the Women's Institute Branch Loan Library, 1207 Bay Street, Toronto). English Visitors at Conlerence Mrs. Browne, J. P., a member of the N.F'.W.l. executive of West Kent, England, said it was a great privilege to be present at our conference. She conveyed greetings from England and passed on to us messages of gratitude and appreciation of the women of Great Britain for the truly wonderful generosity of the Canadian women during the war and since. "We are all keenly moved by the whole-hearted loyalty and affection you show for the ‘Old Country‘ ", said Mrs. Browne Mrs .Scott, County Chairman of the Berkshire Women’s Institutes, also thanked most sincerely the Institute members for what they have done for the women of Britain. "We appre- ciate it deeply. We realize how much we depend upon Canada and we hope you will continue your good friendship and help for some time as we will have problems to face for the next few years." Both women were deeply impressed by the way we sang “God Save The King” with such force, enthusiasm and loyalty. Dr. Margaret McCreedy Speaks Economics for the Homemaker was discussed by Dr. Margaret McCready, Director of Macdonsld Institute, 0.A.C. She expressed warm thanks to the F.W 0. for the resentation of $19,000. _ provide t e five annual scholarships for the degree students of Macdonald Institute. In connection with her topic “Eco- nomics for the Rural Homemaker", Dr. McCready stated: “We, as home- makers have set about the task of maximizing the well-being of the family through certain internal ar- rangements or methods. What are these methods? “(1) We have consistently attacked waste in all forms in the household. (2) We have attempted to allocate the family budget. (3) Buying prac- tices have been studied and the house- wife exhorted to know what value she is receiving for money spent. (4) The economics of home production has been studied and the values weighed in such matters as baking, canning of fruits and vegetables, or meats. (5) The gainful employment of the homemaker, whether outside or in- side the home has been a problem for evaluation. (6) The many and varied problems of time management. house- hold routines, child care and develop- ment, family relationships, combine to make a seemingly very complete study of the economic problems of the family. “As soon as we dismiss the assump- tion that the household has no inter- est in the general economy. we find ourselves on the very sea of the economics which relates the economic activity of the household to the eco- nomy in general. To this field home~ makers are being forced to extend their interest and study. “The list of economic problems is formidable: (1) The study of advertising. We must attempt to force out dishonest advertising; and reduce the merely costâ€"raising and the misleading types; Sort out the economical and useful gadgets and goods from the mass of products clamouring to be sold. (2) The field on consumer protec- tion against dangerous foods and other questionable consumer good: requires specialized study. Our pure food laws exemplify one method of protection. (3) Government aid in standards ization, labelling and grading of con- sumer goods is another asriect of the above problem which is receiving attention in Canada through the De- partments of Agriculture and Fisher- ies and our new Standards Division of the Department of Trade and Com- merce. (4) Efficiency in production and marketing has been a problem mostly for the producers and retailers but the consumer in her home or Institute greatly affects their course of action. (5) What do We know about our tax structures? Should we have taxes on foods? Does the exemption of $1,500 from income tax for a man and wife do the job of freeing a basic purchasing power? (6) Government aids to farmers through floor prices, marketing legis- lation and subsidiesâ€"how do these measures affect the household eco- nomy budget? (’7) In government price setting for a vital food like milk, and for public utilities such as water, light, railway fares, etc, how do we propose to have the consumer consulted. (8) Government aids to improve nutrition (as well as to aid the farm economy) might be listed asâ€"school lunch plans, food stamp or food allot- ment plans, priority food schemes for vulnerable groups of the population eg. expectant and nursing mothers and infants. and subsidies paid for certain essential and widely-used foods. What do rural homemakers feel about the value of such measures to our homes and living? (9) In the general welfare field, how do we regard the Family Allow- ance payments and the possibility of the government-sponsoring of a Home Helps Service to mention only two areas where help has been needed? (10) Education in economics re- lated to both the household and the general economy is essential for all (Continued on Page 4. Col. 1.]