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DISCUSSION GROUPS That‘s where the action was. This is the most useful part of the Conference and it’s good to hear the dele- gates say. "we didn’t have enough time. we could have gone on for another hour." The groups were divided into Presidents. Public Relations Oflicers and Mem- bers at Large. Public Relations group leaders plan final strategy lor waif group discussions. L-r Mrs. Harry Smith; Mrs. J. :arvey Houston, PRO Chairman, also PRO for the til/l0; and Mrs. Donald MacLachlan, former Board Di- actor. The "President's" group leaders, review the infor- zviation on a flip chart, before the discussion group ses- itOl'lS. L-r Mrs. Delmar Smythe; Chairman, Mrs. Harvey filoblih‘; and Mrs. Keith Hiepleli. Board Director. PLENARY SESSION The three plenary sessions were carried on simultaâ€" .n-ously. In charge of Presidents. was Chairman. Mrs. Harvey Noblitt assisted by group leaders Mrs. Delmar Sniythe and Mrs. Keith Hiepleh. The PRO‘s in charge of Mrs. J, Harvey Houston assisted by Mrs. Harry Smith and Mrs. Donald Macâ€" dehlart. Members at Large under the direction of Mrs. Rebecca Johnson assisted by Mrs. E. G. Urstadt. Mrs. Urval Jordan. and Mrs. Norman Tuck. Conferences are useful in bringing together rnern- hcrs for discussion of problems and for friendly con- iacts. In one of the plenary sessions delegates were heard to say. “I wonder when I can come again?" Or an other, “I wonder why the leaders made us forget the beefs we came with?“ The challenge now is to utilize all the ideas and share the knowledge gained with the Branches. RESEARCH IN AGRICULTURE Dr. J. C. Rennie. Executive Director. Education and Research for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food spoke to the delegates about Agricultural Research. He c0vered the broad spectrum. relating the technological changes from the producer through to the consumer’s plate. Research produces definite benefits. Dr. Rennie cited many examples. one of which resulted in a hit- lion dollar saving. having world-wide economic value ol'a vaccine to protect poultry against Newcastle Dis- ease. Today‘s research will be tomorrow's applied tech» nology. Many of the production. processing and mar» keling systems. which are considered by many as nor. mal procedures were merely research res‘ults not many years ago. Perhaps too. we fail to appreciate the time element involved in developing neyy varieties ot~ grains. cereals. fruits and vegetables. Presently the Province of Ontario has the most di- versified and important Agricultural Industry in all of Canada with a gross value of Agricultural production of over 2.5 billion. In addition. the Agricultural and related industries provide work for 20? of Ontario's population. New technology generated from Research and De- velopment programmes on a continuous basis often goes unnoticed but soon are accepted as a fact of life. Only through research can we expect to supply the present and l‘uturc requtrenicnts of the people iii On- term. In 195l in Ontario onc agricultural worker pro. duccd enough food to feed .ipproyimatcly .ll pcoplc. At present that \vorkcr produces enough to Iced 5t) peoplc, How has this come about? Dr. RL‘I'IDIL‘ tools that, larmcrs are innovative pctiplu \\lll1 a “llllngnCNN and drive to accept and apply tlL‘“ technology -\lso_ Ontario has maintained an cchclivc rcscttrch pro~ gramme l‘or Agriculture. Thirty years ago. it took [our pounds of iced to grow one pound ot'cliickcn. today. only too pounds is required. Both chickens and pigs have l‘iccn I'k'tlk‘v signed to have more iiicttty portions. Not many years ago. a six month period was considered standard to get a hog to marl-(ct. today. tour and a hall is common- place. ('orn research has hcnclitcd tlic |l1dll\lr_\. ('orn crops in Ontario now cover 3 million acres, much ol’ this in early maturing hybrids It has been L‘\llllltllL‘Ll that through the use ol‘ herbicides ll'tcrc has been a 30’? increasc in yield. Extensive research is being carried on in all [‘llldsc‘s of crop products from cucumbers to apples, from grains to soybeans. Approsimalcly l\\'nâ€"ll‘||l'd> ol the applc trees are planted at a density spucmg ot‘ letl per acre compared with 28 in the past. Because of economics. critical labour situations. land use. energy. shortages. conservation management. it becomes more apparent that mechanical harvesting systems \s‘tll play a more important role. "Research" must strive to develop the varieties of l'rutts' and vcge- tables suitable to this specralized equipment. Dr. Rennie illustrated that Agricultural Research in Ontario is extensive. dynamic and in tune With the timcs. 13