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HomeMy WebLinkAbout547Hardbound book, 40 pages, September 1975, sponsored by "Opportunities for Youth", Compiled by Kevin Munhall, Doris Gehmacher, Arlene Gehmacher, Robin Byron. w ,pp - vlwllv%v, Jim is S l M� Vii- _ � ,� �. a—'�-'-- - _- __ e.�... m 4:e� . � I ..11 ��i S' r �ai..� � � i w i ' Ver .'.. iR-. ! � �' � -� '. � 1 :. i��, FARMING IN PIGKEIRING TOWN5H I P An Historicof Review Kevin Munhall poris 6 hrnacher Prlene Gehrnacher Rabin Byron 5 d by p onsore VPPor+unities for Youth 5epternber 1975 "Within recent memory, Pickering Township lay as part of a rural buffer nestled between two rapidly expanding centres: Toronto and Oshawa-Whitby. But time and the planner's pen have been cruel to this agricultural setting. Since the Second World War, the formation of Ajax and ensuing developments have drastically changed the landscape and the economics of the township. South of Kingston Road, on the land where the earliest farms were cleared, a northward moving urban and industrial sprawl comprises much of the land. The northwest corner of the township is now part of the federal government's land bank for the proposed Pickering International Airport, while the land directly south of this area lies waiting for the Ontario government's Cedarwood development. The fanning community, which was once the economic and social backbone of the area, now finds itself slowly being squeezed out of operation. In the last twenty-five years, the total farmland in the township has dropped over 20,000 acres, certainly an astounding figure, yet hardly revealing of the whole story. The greatest sacrifice lies in the loss of the families, families whose ancestors had settled this area. The land being held in governmental land " "banks, and the land owned by speculators can always be returned to its former agricultural use, but the families, who have relocated in other areas to continue farming, or who have simply left farming for another way of life, are being lost to the area. Pickering's rural heritage and traditions are disappearing with them. The present farm population is a quarter less than what it was ten years ago, and the number of farmers will continue to decrease with the development of the area. For Pickering, the trend is set. Like its once rural neighbour, Scarborough, it too is being added to the Toronto-Oshawa megalopolis at an ever-quickening pace. " "1850-1865 By 1850, Pickering Township was leaving behind its pioneer beginnings and was evolving into a permanent community. The rapid population growth of early settlement was levelling off, and the census of the following year reported close to sixty percent of the land cleared. Transportation problems no longer isolated Pickering from the bigger centres. A channel for larger ships had been dredged in Frenchman's Bay, and better docks had been built for the already established harbour. Stage coaches, which ran along Kingston Road between Toronto and Kingston, stopped in Pickering five times a week. Stage lines also ran north on Brock Road and across the 6th and 9th concessions to link with Markham lines, and in the late 1850's, the Grand Trunk Railroad lines were pushed through the township. As Pickering became increasingly more accessible, small communities of tradesmen sprang up around the grist mills of Brougham, Claremont, Greenwood and Pickering Village, while the streams of the township supported twenty-six saw mills. For the farmer in Pickering, the initial hardships were over and the scene was set for a period of great expansion and " "prosperity. In the following year, a number of outside forces directly influenced Pickering Township's growth. The reciprocity treaty, signed in 1854, initiated the free trade of agricultural and forestry products between the United States and Canada. Wheat, which had been the major export crop of the township since the 1830's, was in considerable demand, so naturally the prices soared. This situation was further brought on by the Crimean war. War, in spite of its destructive aspects, has always had a propensity to promote economic growth, and the Crimean war was no exception. It created a worldwide shortage of grain that further increased the rising price of wheat. Pickering's farmers turned to the wheat growing industry with a new vigor and soon reaped the profits. But the boom years could not last indefinitely, and by 1857 the first signs of its decline became noticeable. The ending of the Crimean war the preceding year triggered a dramatic drop in wheat prices. For the farmer who had come to depend on wheat as his main crop and major source of income, the situation was particularly serious. The farmers' predicament was further compounded, in 1858, by the appearance of a wheat midge that ravaged crops and reduced the per acre yield,, This parasite was to plague the wheat farmer in Pickering for the next twenty-five years. The early 60's brought a brief return to the prosperity 2 " "of the boom years, as the American civil war created a demand for wheat and oats. But with the coming of peace and the termination of reciprocity in 1866, the wheat era came to an end, but not without having left its mark. The affluence it had brought manifested itself in the construction of massive new barns and in the improvement of rural housing. Between the years of 1851 and 1861, the number of log houses in the township dropped from 536 to 374, while the number of brick, frame, and stone houses almost doubled to 902. As well as allowing the construction of new buildings, the surplus of cash also enabled the farmer to buy new types of machinery that were being developed. Horses had grown to be the mainstay of agricultural labour during the past decade, and most machine manufacturers were now providing a variety of implements to help increase productivity and to ease the farmers' work load. By this time, the cradle had been replaced by horse-drawn mowers and rakes. Horse-powered threshing machines had replaced the flail, and seed drills were becoming more common. By 1871 the 1,408 farmers of Pickering and Whitby owned 4,167 ploughs, harrows, and cultivators, 1,041 horse-rakes, 1,433 farming mills, 1,071 reapers and mowers, and 165 threshing machines. The use of such equipment increased the township's total area under cultivation by over 8,000 acres between 1851 and 1861. 3" "Partially responsible for the introduction of new equipment and improved farming methods were the agricultural societies organized during the 50's with the expressed purpose of advancing all aspects of rural life. In 1850, the Pickering Township Agricultural Society was established. It was supported by the dues chared to the 125 members, and by the entrance fees collected from their fall and spring shows. The following year, the provincial government granted monies to county agricultural societies for machinery, livestock, and produce prizes, but it wasn't until 1857 that township societies received government support. It seems that both societies flourished, and by 1865, Pickering Township's boasted 225 members. The agricultural fairs and shows were the highlight of the society's year. The purpose of the fairs coincided with the ideals of the society itself— to promote both the improvment of agriculture and to provide a social focus for the farming community. The society's first fair was held in 1851 at Post's Inn and featured a ploughing match and a show of horses and bulls. The fall and spring fairs were held in various towns, on a rotating basis, until 1866 when the society acquired permanent fairgrounds in Brougham. Perhaps the agricultural society's greatest contribution was in encouraging the importation of better livestock with the hope of improving existing breeds. In 1854, a prize bull was bought by the society itself, 4 " "and individual members in the same year imported animals from England. The Millers of Brougham had begun to import a smaller breed of Clydesdales at that time, to replace the heavier pioneer stock— the smaller breed had a lighter carcass with deeper legs. This horse gained immediate popularity because it ate less food, and its build and training made it a very versatile animal, able to pull both wagons and ploughs. A positive indication of the increasing horse population were the large amounts of turnips that were being grown as feed. About the same time, the Shorthorn and better dairy cattle began to be imported to replace the original stock. John Little of Kinsale was one of the first to do so in 1840, and many were to do the same in the following years. The Millers, and a few other farmers, had brought in Leicester and Cotswold sheep by this time, but the township was not entirely suited to sheep raising, and not a great number of families followed suit. In spite of the livestock improvements and the introduction of new breeds, it appears that local farmers, for the most part, kept animals solely for their own use. Even by 1871, the Canada census for South Ontario County reported an average of only 2.5 cattle per farm killed or sold during the entire year. Similarly, only a small number of sheep and swine were 5 " "sold or killed. As this fact implies, farming was very much a self-sufficient, almost totally self-contained way of life. Though the farmer had sold wheat during this period as a cash crop, he had not, in general, turned to his role as provider for the urban population. But in the years to come, this situation would change markedly as transportation facilities improved, and the growing city population supplied a ready market for his produce. The following decade would begin to turn the farmer in this direction, but it would also bring a host of problems that would trouble the farmers economically and socially. True, the boom years had brought an era of prosperity, but they had also laid the foundation for the financial difficulties to come. 6 " "1866-1880 In the late 60's, Pickering found itself fighting to regain the trading activity it had enjoyed in the previous years. Hay had become an indispensable commodity in Toronto, and township farmers responded to the demand for it. Horse-pulled hay wagons made daily treks to the city, and a substantial trade, that would continue even into the 1930's, was originated. While the market for hay had opened up considerably, the same could not be said for the wheat and oat markets. During the American civil war, wheat, barley and oats had been shipped to the United States from the harbours at Whitby and Frenchman's Bay, but with the close of the war, the demand dwindled. The farmers in the township turned to barley, hoping it would bring results similar to those that wheat had brought throughout the preceding decade. There was a great demand for Canadian barley among American distillers. The influx of Germans and other European immigrants to New York, had created a large beer market, and the six-rowed Canadian barley was preferred to the two-rowed variety grown in New York. Between the years 1861 and 1871, there was an increase of over 100,000 bushels of barley produced in Pickering Township, and it seems evident that this was accomplished by cutbacks in the growing of wheat and oats. 7 " "It appears though, that not all farmers turned fully to the barley market, realizing from the fall of the wheat boom the consequences of relying too heavily on one crop. For some, dairying was the answer. For decades, cheese and butter had been made by the individual household for its own use. In the 1850's, the cheese industry appeared in the United States, and a great trade developed with Canadian communities. But with the end of reciprocity also came an increase in the American cheese price. Ontario's logical choice was to create her own cheese factories to compete with the American price, and Pickering, with its advantage of being close to the large Toronto market naturally entered the cheese trade. A factory organized on a co-operative basis was built in Whitevale in the mid 1860's and flourished for years. Although the general atmosphere in the township appeared to be one of prosperity, the success of the boom years had failed to return, and certain underlying problems plagued the community. The smaller farms in the past had gone into considerable debt trying to keep up to the pace that was being set by the more efficient farms in terms of equipment, livestock quality, and production. The small farmer's plight was further aggravated when the prices of farm produce decreased, and available capital 8 " "was at a minimum. Many of these farmers were forced into bankruptcy, and their farms were either bought up by larger operations, or leased by the banks to tenants. Evidence of this trend is apparent in the decrease of small farms in the 1851-71 period. Whitby and Pickering townships saw the number of farms in the fifty to one hundred acre range fall from 500 to 391 in that period, while farms over one hundred acres increased by more than 150. This time span created a number of large land owners, but also introduced a greater number of tenant farmers. Two hundred and sixty-seven of 882 farm operators in the township were tenants in 1871. In the mid 60's, Pickering began to feel the effects of the growing rural depopulation, an event which in part was related to the movement towards larger farms. The township had recorded its highest population in 1861, and from this peak it was now decreasing and would continue to do so until well into the 20th century. This trend not only reduced the number of farm operators in the area, but also reduced the number of family members and hired men that were willing to stay on the farm. Mechanization of farm work reduced the number needed, but did not have its full effect until the 1880's when the binder came into common use. It was in this era that the Grange, a co-operative farmer's club that had originated in the United States in 9 " "the previous decade, was first organized in the township. This was only one of a number of economic strategies that the farmers would employ within the next few years. Shortly after 1875, there were branches started in Whitevale, Altona, Brougham, Kinsale, Mt. Zion, Duffin's Creek, and in Claremont. For many, the Grange offered an opportunity to cut back on costs at a time when surplus cash was scarce. Not only was the Grange a co-operative buying agent, but it also provided a forum for farmers to air their grievances. Not unlike the Pickering Agricultural Society, the Grange was interested in agricultural improvement, but the backbone of its organization appears to have been financial. Aside from the activities offered through organizations such as the Grange and Agricultural Society, school and church functions provided the rural family with a variety of social events. School concerts, youth groups, 'box socials', and church suppers were just a few of these. Of course individual gatherings such as house parties, skating and toboganning, and sports took place, but the church and the school were the community's major meeting places. These two institutions would remain the focal points of rural entertainment until the freedom and mobility that the automobile gave, opened a whole new field of recreation. These past years had brought with them a number of 10 " "situations and difficulties that had made neighbourly cooperation a necessity. The sense of community that this created would be further enhanced in coming decades as the farmer was forced repeatedly to depend on his neighbours. 11 " "1880-1900 The 1880's saw a continuation of the economic problems that had troubled the farmer since the boom years. The 70's had ended in a depression, the 80's headed for a recession. The government, concerned about this predicament, ordered the Royal Commission on Agriculture to investigate problems and aid the farmer in solving them. The farmers had been plagued by natural disaster during this period. The weevil and midge attacts in 1883 , ravaged pea, clover, and wheat crops, with losses exceeding ten percent. The Commission also attempted to alleviate the problems the farmers were experiencing with soil erosion and depletion. The farmer himself sought additional relief from the hard times. In order to compensate for the poor returns, many turned to the bush still on their land. Properties were stripped of trees, and the trees were marketed as cordwood and sawn logs, for which there was an apparent need. This practice had recognizable results, for by the end of the century, the township countryside was left with fewer trees than ever before, or since. As the abundance of grain crops in the years following 1884 were being marketed at a low price, many farmers 12 " "looked to cattle raising as an alternative. It held more profits than grain with trade between Britain and Canada increasing considerably. Dairying now began to take form as an industry. Creameries sprang up at Greenwood and Locust Hill, and the already established cheese factories were doing a thriving business. The expanding urban market was a major factor in this growth, but in the case of cheese, the market in England and Scotland was an even greater influence. By 1896, butter had acquired a better market than cheese. Horse-breeding, as well, gained more popularity as a result of the growing trade with Toronto and the United States. The Graham Brothers of Claremont in particular, became internationally renowned as horse breeders; their horses winning prizes all over North America. Besides these efforts to reconcile economic difficulties, a number of co-operative activities were initiated to overcome the hardships that were a part of rural life. Barn raisings and threshing bees were two ways in which this teamwork was manifested. Work that could not be done by a single farmer, could be done relatively quickly with the assistance of his neighbours. It is important to note that such activity was not merely a matter of hours exchanged, but rather a willingness to work until the 13" "task was completed. In addition to being a solution to the labour shortages, these gatherings were regarded as social functions. Quite often the completion of a barn would be celebrated with a barn dance, and always the host would provide a dinner as a token of appreciation. Another of the co-operatives was the beef ring, and during the 1880's and the 1890's, many were formed. Their purpose was to ensure twenty pounds of fresh meat weekly to each family involved during the summer months when meat could not be kept fresh. This operation continued until the 1930's, at which time refrigeration allowed farmers to keep their own supply without fear of spoilage. Each of the twenty farmers would be alternately responsible for providing a dressed 400 pound beef cow. If the cow weighed less than 400 pounds, the owner would pay to make up the difference; if it weighed more, he would have say as to how the extra would be divided. The meat was distributed in such a manner that at the end of each 20 week cycle, every family would have received each various cut of meat. Not all farmers were content to rely on these strategies and wait for better times. Opportunities in the Canadian and the American west were attractive to the more ambitious farmers. If one were willing to plough and work the land, 14 " "one could acquire it for a dollar an acre. As a result, quite a number of families moved west. Even organized groups such as the Pickering Syndicate, which was comprised of a small number of farmers from the township, were to venture out. The widespread decline in rural depopulation in the last quarter of the 19th century, is often attributed to this emigration west. It is true that it was an important factor, but in this area, the attraction of the city and of industry must have been equally as strong. The population figures of the time clearly demonstrate the effect of these forces. In 1881, there were twice as many people on farms as in Ontario towns. Twenty years later, the populations were equal. While this movement from the farms was taking place, implement firms were providing the farmer with a steady stream of new labour-saving devices. The self binder in particular was welcomed by the farmer as it drastically cut the time needed for harvesting. New and improved mowers, cultivators, and spreaders were also having their effect on farm labour. But by the end of the century, mechanization with animal power had reached its highest point of development, and some farmers were already utilizing steam powered devices. For the most part, this application was of 15" "a stationary type, such as a source of power for beltwork. The advancements in mechanization that were occuring, reduced the labour force needed to run a farm and freed a number of people to be employed in industry. Although agricultural techniques were improving, the economic situation was not, and 1891 brought another frustration to the Pickering Township farmer. The McKinley tariff was imposed by the Americans, and the export of agricultural goods suffered a severe setback. Barley and livestock were affected most of all, with trade in these two commodities dropping significantly. But by the end of the 1890's, world conditions had started to improve, and slowly the farmer saw better prices for his products. With the somewhat more favourable years at the end of the 1800's, farmers were given a new hope that the 20th century would bring a lasting prosperity to their agricultural way of life. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. 16 " "1900-1920 The improvement of world conditions at the turn of the century, and ensuing developments that were to occur in the township and in farming in general, were enough to make the farmer optimistic and anxious about the years to come. Channels of communication were being opened up. By 1910, rural mail delivery was in service. Brougham had had daily mail service as early as 1857, but only now was mail delivered directly to the farmers and households beyond the villages. Too at this time, telephones were being installed rurally. As before, new innovations and improvements in farm equipment were being made. The development of different steel alloys, and ball and roller bearings in place of bushings, made mowers and binders perform with greater cut and less draught. Gas engines, to power threshers, became replacements for steam engines. Mechanized farming, with all its advantages, had gained great acceptance after 1900. By 1917, its popularity had encouraged the Ontario government to introduce tractor pools. The Ontario county government, in seeing the benefits of a programme of this nature, acquired a fleet of tractors that were made available to farmers in Pickering Township as well as the rest of the agricultural districts under its jurisdiction. 17 " "Following this promotion, the International Harvester Company sold 1,600 tractors in Ontario. By 1920, it was established that the tractor population was between six and eight thousand. However, 1924 has been acclaimed as the true beginning of power farming in Ontario, for it was at this time that machines geared to the tractor, such as the combine, mowers, hay trusses, dump and side delivery rakes, and cultivators came into use. In spite of the fact that Pickering Township, like most areas, was moving towards a more advanced stage of mechanization, the area exhibited for the first time, a loss in total farm acreage. This was partly due to a decreasing market for certain kinds of crops. The demand for barley had been falling off since the enforcement of the McKinley tariff and continued to do so after the turn of the century. Sales of hay and oats to Toronto reached a peak around 1910, but dropped significantly after 1918 as the city's horse population declined. The cultivation of wheat, however, did increase as the First World War caused a shortage of this grain. The rising price of wheat again brought a prosperity to some of Pickering's farmers, but hardly comparable to that of the American civil war years. The consumer prices were climbing at a higher rate than agricultural prices, so 18 " "the margin of profit for the farmer was not as great. As the war passed, industrialization grew to even greater proportions than it had been before, bringing Toronto out of a world of commerce and into the world of industry. Many young men, who had once depended on the farm for a living, became disillusioned with rural life and sought the new opportunities in cities and industry. 19 " "1920-1945 The years following World War one were not good to the farmer. Europe was experiencing a post-war struggle to get itself back on its feet economically, and consequently, the importation of Canadian products was greatly reduced. By the mid 20's the situation had improved and this partial recovery sustained itself until the depression in 1929. Dispirited by the unfavourable period, many people were abandoning the farming way of life, the young especially. The farm population had dropped from 40% at the turn of the century, to 23% by the 20's. This shift left a shortage of labour on the farm and many of the harvest excursions west ceased. Although mechanization had reduced labour on the farm, it was slow to reach farms in Ontario during the 20's and 30's. For the most part, it consisted of horse drawn tillage, seeding, and harvesting machines for threshing, and belt based work. There were fewer than 19,000 tractors on Ontario farms in 1931. This increased to 35,000 in 1941, but during the following ten year period, skyrocketed to over 105,000 tractors. Regardless of the slow adoption of contemporary 20 " "farm machinery, further developments and advancements were being made. A tractor, for instance, had gone from being steel-wheeled in the 20's to a standardized rubber wheel by 1933. And in 1930, a 4-wheeled general purpose tractor was introduced, ideal for the farmer who could not afford a number of machines. New advances in the dairying industry made the 1930's an opportune time for farmers to switch to dairying. Modern mechanical milking devices made large scale dairy farming feasible as productivity had been increased tremendously by then. By this time, a fight for pasteurization had begun and by 1938 it had become mandatory that milk be pasteurized. The depression years also saw a number of farmers turn to poultry flocks as a livelihood, and numbers of barns were converted into laying pens. Many of the families found poultry their best source of cash income. In Pickering Township alone, the chicken count, which usually amounted to a difference of a few thousand each decade, saw a jump between 1921 and 1931 of forty thousand chickens. An increase of animals on farms everywhere necessitated additional and better grain storage areas. Slowly, during 21 " "the 20's, wood silos were going up around the township. The earliest were of a tongue and groove construction, held together from the outside by adjustable hoops. Later these gave way to larger concrete slab silos. Another advancement in the township, was the installation of rural power lines. The earliest lines came to the south of the township in the 30's, but it was still not easy for the farmer to aquire power. Installation costs were gaged on the number of residents wishing electric power on an individual concession road. But if not enough people responded, it was not economically feasible and the Hydro Commission would not run the lines. Even when a farmer did acquire electricity, he still was expected to provide the poles and help install them. At this time, contracts with the recently established Stokely van Camp factory in Whitby were providing many Pickering farmers with supplementary income. But the frustrations that often accompanied this type of arrangement for some farmers outweighed the extra cash it provided. The farmer was obliged to cater to the company's schedule, and often this meant that he would have to interrupt his own work to comply to the Stokely's timetable. 22 " "The face of the township was now beginning to change, and in the southern part of the township, where once there had been farms along the Lake Ontario shoreline, there were now beaches and cottages. The Grand Trunk railroad ran regular excursions from Toronto to Rosebank and Pickering enabling city dwellers to get out to the country. Rosebank grew to be quite a resort area, and wagons were sent up to the Rosebank station to meet the trains from Toronto. Cottages started springing up at Frenchman's Bay, and eventually further east at Stork's, Squire's and Pickering beaches. When the automobile became popular, it facilitated travel back and forth. The arrival pf World War Two was felt in this area much more than the first World War had been. In Ajax, the D.I.L. ammunitions plant was established with the coming of the war and had a great effect on employment in the area. It not only caused an influx of new workers into the area, but also helped to alleviate unemployment problems. It was at this time that people who had bought cottages in the area , winterized them and found work at the plant. Many a farmer took on a little work at the plant to supplement his farms returns. The 40's saw better prices for produce than the 30's had seen. But the farm labour situation for the 40's was 23 " "completely opposite to the previous decade's. Whereas the 30's witnessed an excess of available labour, the 40's left the farmers with a shortage of help. New machines had been developed by this time to eliminate this problem, but the need for metal for the war effort made their acquisition extremely difficult. The popularity of new agricultural methods such as artificial insemination, enabled the farmer to become more efficient to overcome these problems. But the expense of such advances were high, and many farmers were not able or willing to make that sort of investment. It was clear, however, that those who did not move in this direction within the not too distant future, would find themselves lost in the agriculture that was developed in the years following the war. 24 " "1945-1973 The period after the end of the Second World War, saw the beginning of rapid rural decline that would cut the number of farm operations in the township almost in half. But the tone for these years had been established long before this, in a gradual process beginning around the turn of the century. Wages and consumer prices in Ontario had been on the rise through the years, but agricultural produce had failed to keep the pace. Thus, by the end of the war, the farmers found themselves forced to make a choice in order to achieve their desired standard of living: 1) to supplement or replace their income with off-farm work, or 2) expand, specialize and intensify his operation, or 3) sell out to the rising number of speculators and land hoarders. Though the trend had been set, the war had certainly added some new dimensions to the farmers' plight. Industrialization for the war effort had used the carrot of high wages to attract its work force. Workers returning to the farm, were realizing that better money was to be made away from the farm without the number of hours and hard labour farm work required. Among these were a number of farmers' sons, a fact that would have a visible influence 25 " "on farm abandonment. The war also appears to have brought the flood of scientific farm advancements. Mechanization, which had moved rather slowly until the 40's, took a great leap in a few short years after 1945. In Pickering Township, the total value of farm machinery rose over $1,000,000 in the ten year span from 1941-1951. The tractor in particular made significant increases in numbers as new, more versatile models appeared on the post-war market. Most farms in the township, had had tractors prior to the war, but had used them mostly for the heavy work such as ploughing. Horses were still used for other purposes on many farms during the early 40's, but the late 40's and 50's saw a severe decline in the township horse population. In addition to the tractor, the 50's brought a host of new and improved machinery that became almost mandatory for the farmer who chose to run a profit-making business. Though the self-propelled combine first appeared on the market in '37 and '38, most farmers did not own one until the 1950's. This device had a great impact on the community. Besides enabling each individual farm to become self-sufficient, it freed the tractors for other work, opened the field without running down the crop, and could reap, thresh, and deliver a stream of grain in 26 " "one continuous, automatic operation. Whereas in the sickle and flail era, fifty-six man hours were needed to harvest one acre of wheat, the self-propelled combine reduced this time to a single hour. Machinery such a hay balers, forage harvesters, improved milking machines and silo loaders to name a few, increased farm efficiency substantially. It was also at this time that the farmer, who had not linked with rural power lines prior to the war, did so. Although these advancements have undoubtably reduced the labour on the farm, they have also forced the farmer in the competitive market of today, to expand in order to survive. Obviously, a larger operation is needed today to support the overhead of machinery alone. It seemed a paradox that these improvements, that were intended to decrease the farmer's work load, would in reality, only compel the farmer to do more work. Along with the growth in mechanization, the use of chemical weed controls and fertilizers was introduced. DDT, on the market in 1945, became the basis of many pest control programmes. But research in selective weed controls in the following years, gave the farmer such products as atrozene, which enabled him to increase his corn yields markedly. 27 " "As indicated by these innovations, the whole nature of farming was changing. More and more, the permanence and traditions of the family farm way of life were being replaced by the large operation way of making a living. This trend divided the farmers into a strict dichotomy: those who clung to small scale mixed farming, and those who moved with the advancements and specialized and then expanded. It appears that farmers in Pickering, who had refused to bend toward modern attitudes by the late 40's, would soon find themselves in a position where they could not make a decent living by their farms alone. Along with these two groups, and additional two types of farmer made their appearance: the hobby farmer who, though he supported himself in other means, wanted to live on a farm; and the corporations and individuals who, upon acquiring the land for speculation, farmed it to keep it from being taxed on its land value. But in spite of the wide variation in the types of farms, cattle raising and crops in Pickering would reveal some specific patterns in the post-war years. Pig and sheep farming remained relatively stable during this period, but in the cattle business it was not so. At the beginning of the 1950's, dairying had 28 " "its peak in the township, with a total of almost 6,000 dairy cattle in the area. The next decade would bring a noticeable drop in this number, with the loss in the following decade even more drastic. Previous to this, dairies had collected milk from a number of small shippers, but in the early 50's they began to demand that farmers switch to bulk cooling tanks, and the small shippers were forced out of business. It is obvious that only for a large scale producer would the changeover to bulk tanks be economically possible. Even amongst the farmers who chose dairying, a decline has been seen. For many who had no children interested in continuing the business, the seven day work week that dairying required, became too much to handle as they grew older. Now, only a small nucleus of dairy farmers remain in the township. Those that have stayed in the business are running large and impressive operations. Their herds, Holstein, being preferred for the quantity of milk they produced, have increased in size and quality. (Artificial insemination certainly affecting the latter.) Crops in Pickering Township have also shown some definite patterns. Oat crops decreased with the corresponding drop of the horse population in the thirty 29 " "year span from 1931 to 1961. But the following ten years showed the most significant loss in acreage. In Pickering Township, there had been a drop of over 5,000 acres during this decade. The failure of oat prices to rise at the rate of other products, can be blamed for this. It appears that much of this oat acreage may have been replaced by the growing amounts of corn and barley being cultivated. Barley prices had reached a high point in 1952, and fallen continually until 1960. But barley acreage in Pickering had begun its decrease long before this, as the value of barley per acre was well below other crops, even though the price was rising. By 1961, only 295 acres of the grain were grown in Pickering. But the next decade would reverse this situation, as barley prices rose and the value per acre surpassed such crops as wheat and oats. In 1971, farmers reported 2,389 acres planted in barley. During these same ten years, the corn boom began. Prices had been on the rise since the early 50's, and when atrozene was introduced in the early 60's, the increased yields it gave made the crop all the more lucrative. The 60's saw the corn price almost double, and Pickering, as did most areas, responded 30 " "to this. In this decade, corn acreage increased by approximately 4,000 acres in Pickering alone. Wheat, though still an important crop, had experienced the decline that oats had seen. This was largely due to its failure to equal per acre value of crops such as corn. Large amounts of hay are still being taken in, but a slight decrease in quantity has been noticed during the past ten years. These crops are the major ones for Pickering Township, but numerous others including assorted vegetables, rye, soybeans, turnips, and buckwheat are grown as well. Decreases in total farmland have also been responsible for the decline of many crops. For Pickering, this has meant a drop of close to 25,000 acres that is listed as prime farmland. But the real amount remaining is confounded by the number of speculators that control lands and farm them for reduced tax value, and the number of hobby and non-producing farmers. This decline has made way for the developments that have greatly altered Pickering's landscape. Ajax has continued to expand from its D.I.L. begin- 31 " "ings, and a thriving industrial community has grown up around it— 1957 brought the start of the Bay-Ridges development, and the following years would see it sprawl around the whole of Frenchman's Bay. The southern quarter of the township has, in general, left farming behind. Suburbia comprises much of the land south of Highway 2. The land in the remainder of the township has become dotted with houses on small parcels of land that were sold to city people wanting a home in the country. The township's 10 acre lot legislation, which stated that a residential lot must be no less than 10 acres, contributed even more to the breaking up of farm land. The majority of the 10 acres would lie wasted and grown up in weeds. In 1965, work on the Pickering Nuclear plant was begun, and lakefront farms were quickly bought up. The area surrounding the nuclear station would see a good deal of industrial expansion during the next ten years. In 1972, the federal and provincial governments announced the planned Pickering International airport and Cedarwood development, which would take in the northwest corner of the township. At the time of 32 " "expropriation, over one half of the site was in the hands of developers or land-holding firms. Still, a number of farmers were displaced by this move, and many who desired to continue farming, have relocated in western Ontario. The government has allowed farmers to cultivate some of the land within the site, but not one farm house or farm building may be constructed. It seems that this practice will be continued after the completion of the airport, but crops such as corn, peas, and oats, will not be allowed within the airport boundary because of their attraction to birds. Since the raising of livestock is not compatible with these developments, the alternatives are limited. It seems inevitable that with the coming of Cedarwood and the Pickering airport, productivity in the township will continue to drop. The greatest change during the post-war years has been in the farming community as a social organization. Prior to the availability of the automobile, farmers, like most people, operated within a limited sphere in both social and commercial activities. For the farmer, this largely meant interaction with his neighbours and the other people he did business with. The result was that most farmers in Pickering knew each other well, and their friendships were often with others in the farm community. But this ethnocentricity is being lost in 33 " "the Pickering developing today. Because rural children no longer attend schools comprised totally of children from farms, a whol new scope of entertainment and friends has been opened to them. It appears that with this phase and the changes it saw for the farmer, the kinship and responsibility he once felt for his neighbour are disappearing. The cooperative efforts that in the past had been a necessity, no longer keep farmers such a close-knit group. A few short years have thus altered the products of a century's development. 34" "To a certain extent, the condition of farm buildings in an area reflects the condition of farming itself. In Pickering, a quick survey will reveal a growing number of delapitated barns falling into disuse. This is not to say that agriculture has totally deteriorated to the extent that many of the buildings have. But it certainly shows that there has been a significant loss. The situation in Pickering, though, is not an entirely unique one. Farming in general in Ontario has shown a similar decrease. At the turn of the century, farmers comprised 40% of the provincial work force. Today the figure is closer to 6% and is still going down. The tremendous immigration to industrial centres is partly responsible for this difference, but the farm population itself has also declined. Even within the last ten years, the Ontario farm population has dropped by one quarter, which works out to an average of eight farmers a day leaving the land. The reasons for this are manifold, with the major one being economic. Simply, the farmer hasn't been getting his share of rising prices. While in 1949 the farmer was receiving 60 cents from every dollar spent on food, in 1973 he was getting only 36 cents, from which he had to pay a much higher overhead. Though produce prices were not making a 35 " "phenomenal gain, agricultural expenses were. Machine manufacturers, the fertilizer industry, and the fuel and seed business shoved increased margins of profits with each year, as their products continue to rise in price. To meet the blackening economic future, the Ontario farmer has adopted the only strategy available to him in order to survive: expand and increase production. For those to whom this was not agreeable or possible, their farms alone could no longer support them satisfactorily. A few years ago, the federal government's Task Force on Agriculture stated that only one-third of the farmers in Ontario were large and efficient enough to provide an adequate income. Another one-third had the potential to do so, while the final one-third clearly were incapable of showing a substantial profit. It is from this final one-third that most decline in farm numbers has originated. With the advancement in agriculture that have occured since the Second World War, the farmer's ability to increase production has grown incredibly. Whereas in 1900, one farmer could produce food for four, by 1941 one farmer could produce for nine, and by 1961, one could produce for twenty-five. But this increased productivity has brought with it an accompanying increase in investment and debt. The total farm debt rose between 1961 and 1971 by 160%, an astounding 36 " "figure. Pickering shares these problems with the rest of Ontario and Canada. But Pickering's proximity to Toronto gives it a special status. Because of this nearness to an expanding urban and industrial centre, Pickering is exhibiting an accelerated version of the provincial trend. Most of the real farms left in Pickering Township, are large operations showing a good profit each year. Though the federal and provincial expropriations have certainly confused the picture, it is obvious that a larger number of smaller and less intensive farming operations have been sold to speculators. Along with the farm abandonment trend, Pickering's agrarian foundations are being shook in a number of other ways. The permanence of any livestock associated branch of farming is being abandoned in favour of cash cropping. But this is not an unusual pattern for an area near a large city, as farming the land on a year to year basis is a lot easier when tenure in the future is uncertain. An associated event is the expansion in average farm size, mostly through renting. (Inflated land prices have put the acquisition of additional land or the purchasing of an entire farm out of the reach of the farmer.) In 37 " "Pickering, a smaller and smaller number of operators are working the land, and the number that are doing so, are for the most part, expanding the area under their supervision. What is happening in Pickering, as well as in Ontario, is that a movement towards a small nucleus of operators cultivating an immense tract of land, is being made. For the small family farmer, the future looks bleak. He sits in the middle of a whirling economic storm with only the movement to large centralized farming as an escape. The government's policy of agricultural aid has done nothing but support the direction farming is turning. A farmer can only expect to get their assistance if he wants to expand or go out of business. The fact must be faced that farming is no longer possible for the large number of people it once supported, and for Pickering, this seems increasingly true. Statistics reveal that farming in Pickering has decreased during the past decades in sheer amount, but statistics tell nothing about generations of farming or a lifetime's work that is being left behind. 38 " "SOURCES Gauslin, L. From Paths to Planes., 1974 Greenwald, M. The Historical Complexities of Pickering. Markham. Scarborough and Uxbridge. Toronto, 1973 Johnson, L.A. History of the County of Ontario 1615-1875. Whitby: The Hunter Rose Company, 1973 Miller,R.A. Brougham Story. Brougham, 1973 McKay,W.A. The Pickering Story. The Township of Pickering Historical Society, 1961 Reaman, G.E. A History of Agriculture in Ontario. Volumes I & II. Aylesbury, England: Hazell, Watson & Viney Ltd., 1970 Wood, W.R. Past Years in Pickering., 1911 Airport Inquiry Commission Report., 1974 Archives of Ontario Pickering Township Collection ( Including the Oral History Program of 1972 ). Canada Census 1851-1971 Pickering News 1881-1917 Rouge, Duffin, Highland, Petticoat Valley Conservation Report. Toronto: Department of Planning and Development, 1956 " "This book could not have been completed without your help. G. Baranchuk William Brown Norm Cafik, M.P. Alan Clark Lillian Gauslin Burnett Jamieson Hugh Miller Harold Mitchell Bill Newman, M.P.P. Morgan O'Connor Henry Westney We would also like to thank Bill Brown and Lillian Gauslin for the use of many old photographs. "