The Citizen, 1987-03-18, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1987.
Farm Hullett farmers told
Neil Edgar received an Achievement Award last month from the
Ontario Crop Insurance Commission for developing new sales and for
service to his customers during 1986. Presenting the trophy was
Ontario Agriculture Minister Jack Riddell.
Production, conservation
will be major topics
The Huron Soil and Crop
Improvement Association in co
operation with the Huron Soil and
Conservation District will be host-
ingameetingon March 27 at the
Brussels, Morris and Grey Com
munity Centre.
The meeting will deal with a
variety of production and conser
vation oriented issues.
Topics to be discussed include:
the role of structure in soil
conservation by Andy Graham,
Laurence Taylor on the benefit of
crop rotation and Peter Johnston
dealing with reduction of in put
costs.
From a production stand point,
Clarence Swanton will deal with
the reduction of herbicide inputs in
white beans. Dan Hoy, Pioneer
Seeds, will talk on seed quality and
seed treatments, and Brent Kenn
edy will talk on tires and their effect
on soil compaction.
Of special interest to all may be
David Riebling’s view and experi
Bird scare permits
available from MNR
Resources to scare off depreda
tory wildlife are available locally
from both the Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR) and the Cana
dian Wildlife Service (CWS), but
few landowners are using the
service, according to Glenn Stur
geon, MNR officer in charge of the
Hullett Wildlife Area.
After recent meetings with
Hullett farmers protesting the
alleged damage wild ducks and
geese do to their crops, Mr.
Sturgeon said he had been surpris
ed that the issue had been raised,
since there has been no call for the
propane “banger” the MNR keeps
at the Hullett MNR station to loan
to farmers free of charge.
As well, officers of the CWS can
issue “scarce” permitstoland-
owners which will permit them to
use firearms to frighten birds
away; the service can also issue kill
permits in certain cases, although
enforcement officer John L. Sulli
van says that the second option is
very rarely approved.
Both officers feel the farmers are
over-reacting to the problem of
damage done to their crops by wild
ducks and geese, which some
farmers insist are attracted to the
area by the Hullett Wildlife Area.
Both officers admit that the
preserve does attract ducks, but
that it is farm ponds which harbour
ences with organic farming. John
Heard will discuss the 1986 soil and
crop projects including ICM on
barley, solid seeded white beans
and Bayleton on wheat trials.
It should prove to be entertain
ing and educational. Registration
is $7.00. Please contact the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food
office in Clinton at 482-3428 or
1-800-265-5170 to register by
March 20.
Dateline
Saturday, March 28 - OAC Novice
Farmer Program - How to Manage
your Woodlot (also April 4 and 11).
Contact Nancy McPherson, Con
tinuing Education, University of
Guelph, 519-824-4120, ext. 3064.
Saturday, March 28 - OAC Novice
Farmer Program - Home Meat
Cutting and Sausage Making (also
April 4). Contact Nancy McPher
son, Continuing Education, Uni
versity of Guelph, 519-824-4120,
extension 3064.
the wild g< ese. They say the goose
problem could be alleviated if more
farmers would permit goose hunt
ing on their land during the
105-day hunting season which
lasts from September 25 - Decem
ber 31 this year, and again from
January 15 to January 21, 1988.
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to 'tough it out'
About 25 Hullett Township
farmers met with representatives
from both the Canadian Wildlife
Service and the Ministry of Natural
Resources on March 10 to discuss
the damage the farmers feel
waterfowl from the Hullett Wild
life Preserve are doing to their
crops, but were told they would
have to do some work on the
problem themselves if they expec
ted help from any level of
government.
It was the same answer many of
the same farmers had been given
when Hullett council held a special
meeting several weeks ago to
discuss the same problem.
John L. Sullivan of the Canadian
Wildlife Service pointed outthat he
had told farmers at that time that
the best way to approach the
problem is to get support from their
Federation of Agriculture at vari-
ouslevels. “If it’s a big enough
problem, that’s where the action
is,” he said.
Mr. Sullivan pointed out that
both Saskatchewan and Manitoba
made provision for waterfowl crop
damage through their federal-pro
vincial crop insurance plans, so it
was obviously possible to get
action on the issue, if it was indeed
a problem.
However, he also told the
farmers he thought the problem is
less than they obviously feel, and
suggested they “tough it out.”
When he asked the group how
many of them had actually suffered
damages in a normal year, only five
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of those present raised their hands.
Some farmers feel that the
Hullett Wildlife Area is attracting
huge numbers of both ducks and
geese to the area, and that these
birds can wreak havoc on a crop
both spring and fall. They also feei
they should get some form of
compensation for the damage
these birds do, since the losses
normally would not be covered by
the existing crop insurance pro
gram, whereby 20 per cent of the
total crop must be lost before a
payout occurs.
But Peter Roy, a crop insurance
agentfrom Clinton, questioned
why they felt that “wildlife
depradation” was any worse than
any other crop peril. “It’s not my
fault if you let your crop lie on the
ground until the birds damage it,”
he said.
Bob Trick, of RR 1, Londesboro,
feels that the Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR) should compen
sate farmers for any losses. ‘ ‘ If the
MNR encourages the birds to come
(to the Hullett Wildlife Area),
shouldn’t it compensate the farm-
ersforthedamagetheydo?” he
asked.
In support, John Van Beers of
RR 1, Blyth, pointed out that
former MPP Charlie McNaughton
had met with Hullett farmers when
the Hullett preserve was first
proposedin the early ‘70s, and had
said at that time that farmers would
be reimbursed for any damage
done by the wildlife thus attracted.
“I find it strange that now when
damage occurs, nobody will take
responsibility,” he said.
Both Mr. Sullivan and Glenn
Sturgeon, MNR officer in charge of
the Hullett preserve, stressed that
although the area was responsible
for attracting ducks to the area, it
had “absolutely nothing” todo
with the goose problem, which all
parties agree is much the worse of
the two.
Explaining that most of the
goose damage occurs when nest
ing geese graze on emerging crops
in the Spring, Mr. Sturgeon said
that very few geese nest in the
Hullett preserve, much preferring
the greater privacy of farm ponds.
“There’s your problem,” Mr.
Sullivan said. “Ninety per cent of
the geese are on private ponds, and
most farmers won’t let hunters in
to shoot them.” He said that
although there is already a 105-day
hunting season for Canada geese,
the numbers killed would continue
to be minimal unless more farmers
opened up their land to hunters.
In the end, Brad Thomsen,
president of the Hullett Federa
tion, along with Hullettfarmers
Tony Fidom, Joe Gibson and Steve
Flynn, agreed to form a committee
to document the actual damage
done by waterfowl over a season,
with the aim of having the problem
looked at by the Ontario Federation
of Agriculture at some point. Doug
Garniss of RR 4, Wingham, at the
meeting as an OFA representative,
agreed that would indeed be the
Continued on Pg. 19