HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-04-08, Page 50
Absentee ownership...
*irons page 1
from 1,815 in . five years.
The average land holding is 400 acres.
2,800 acres of Huron, South -Bruce
farmland . formerly classified as absentee
foreign ownedbecame legally owned in 1980
through resaleto locals or by immigration of
the owners.
The study„ was broadened to include the,
four southern townships in Bruce - Coun0
after reports indicated that there were
several concentrations of absentee owned
land there that could be documented with
the Huron report,
With ; these additelial townships, the
figures of foreign ownership for the area
rose from 5,327 acres in the Huron -South
Bruce area to 10,674five years later.
The other classification for absentee
ownership showed little or • no change in
trends over the past five years.
Non -Ontario Canadian owned land was
scattered throughout the area. The 2,000
acres or .02 per cent of the total • farmland
fluctuated from 850 acres in 1975 to 2,142 in
1979 and 1;982 in 1980.
The third category of non -local, but living
within Ontario,- remained stable during ; the
past four years. This group controls 40,000
;acres or 75 per cent of absentee owned
farmland or slightly over 4 per cent of the
total farmland in the area. • . ,
Dr. Mage pointed out that a continuous
monitoring .of lands purchasing would assist
in the next phase of the'study. The third and:
final stage, will assess the impact of absentee
foreign ownership on the rural community.
The RDOP group stressed that the
importance of the non -local Ontario absentee
group not be overlooked. This type occurs in
all the townships and has maintained an
acreage which -is still four times the amount
of farmland owned by; the absentee foreign
group.
Tony 'Fuller, director of RDOP, Dr. Mage
. and George Stock, who worked on the study,
as well as Dr. John Fitzsimmons, answered
questions for the audience in small groups.
Members were interested •in finding out
how farm prices are .affected with foreign
investment. Dr Fitzsimmons intends to use
a study similar, to the one used in
Saskatchevran some years ago with some
modif cations:
„In measuring ,the ' impact of the commun-
• ities the group foresees many difficulties in,
just *here the effects begin and
-stop. It . may be farm mare difficult to
pinpoint retail difficulties. with foreign and
absentee ownership.
In other business the. Huron F of A agreed
to support 'a couple's request to Huron
county that 15 acres of swampy scrub be
cleared from their farm in Grey Township:
The membership' • ;stipulated that they
support the county bylaw in principle which
restricts rampant tree cutting;, and that only.
15 acres be cleared and that approximately
30 acres of bush will be left on the 100 acre ..
farm.
The land use °' committee inspected the
acreage in question after Mr. and Mrs,
Sheldon Ward approached the Fedeation for
help: They had anticipated problems in
getting the tree ,cutting permit.
Mel Knox reported that the impact- of the
clearing would not be detrimental to the
surrounding land. It was pointed out by
members that each farm should be judged as :.
a separate unit from the neighbouring'farms
`and that one farmer not, be responsible for
maintaining bushland for a large area while
his neighbours strip their land.
Anyone interested in being kept informed
or getting involved with a farmer's co-oper-
ative waste . disposal site can contact Tony
McQuail. The energy committee sent out
questionnaires to municipalities • on waste
and the idea of an alternative to land fill
sites. Of the 16 responses three were not .
interested.
Although the concept of a waste) disposal
site, is not within the federation's . scope,
farmers can,be kept informed of'what is
going on thrugh the energy committee of
the federation.
Raise issues
*from page 4
packers go out of business, which the packer,
don't favour.
Murray Cardiff, who sat on the Bank Act
committee, said he was disappointed to
learn the packers still found a 'way around
the legislation.
Sell to OBEX Yards
Gordon Hill pointed out if cattlemen sold
to OBEX and the Ontario stockyards, they
would be protected against the event of
bankruptcies and asked,why those cattlemen
should have to pay for an insurance plan for'
their fellow cattlement who choose to sell.
directly to packers. Mr. Stapleton said in
spite of this, there was no opposition to the
proposed insurance plan at the cattlemen's
annual meeting. .
Joe Miller, speaking for the Huron County
Pork Producers, reported at the . annual
meeting of the Ontario board, "it was very
evident that many hog producers were in
financial difficulties and looking for a differ-
ent marketing system." He said supply •
management (quota) systems were introduc-
ed but defeated by small margins.
On the county level, he said producers are
concerned about competition from agri-
business and feed companies raisin hogs.
The group passed a resolution `asking.
farmers to withdraw patronage from these •
compnnies." Also, he said municipalities
should take another look at their severance
policies' since "it is evident that the hog
enterprise with a small land base is the first
to encounter financial difficulties..." Mr.
Miller also called for faster stabilization
payments, assitance to young farmers and
the establishment of ,land banks for those
wanting to enter the farming business,
Must Lobby
Murray Cardiff reported that 94 per cent
of the last hog stabilization claims have been
paid by the federal government. MPP
Murray Elston warned the federation and
other farm groups must continue to actively
lobby, since consumer groups are such a
high profile lobby. OFA vice-president Ron
White said the realy lobby must be at the
local level with private members. He said it
was easier for the OFA to lobby when they
had a minority government in office, both
provincially and federally. He said, "the
methods we use as lobbyists will be very
important in getting our message across."
Bill Scott, representing the Huron County.
Egg Producers, reported that development
of an export market for eggs has been a slow
process. While CEMA has made some sales
'to the Middle East, it was at "a substantial
loss." '
Also, he said a recent survey in Ontario
shows that small to medium-sized producers
are paying more for quota than the larger
egg producers. He said in the past year, the
number of producers has decreased by 48
farmers, or about five per ent, "not the
, drastic decrease that was predicted by some
a year ago." Last week, Mr. Scott -reported,
quota sales were stopped, and in the future
the board will buy paper quota and distri-
bute it equally to those who apply for more
quota.
When asked how younger farmers would
get into the egg industry, Mr. Scott said
most egg producers operate family farms,
which implies there are sons and daughters
to take over: He added since the government
hasn't contributed financially to egg produc-
tion perhaps it could make low interest loans
available to young farmers. He concluded by
pointing out most egg producers now aren't
operating to full capacity in their hen
houses.
The 4-H Club Leaders Association brief
was presented by. Ken Mewhinney, sha said
"we're about the only commodity group in
the county without any problems right
now." Pointing out there are 373 members
enrolled in 32 clubs. 'across, ; the county, he
said two new clubs, the South Huron
Snowmobile Club and Zurich Horse Club
were introduced in 1980.
He also advised politicians that, the
decision to allow 11 -year-old 4-H members
has been a success. ' `We have found that
these members can handle the work that
regular 4-H members can do and, in some
cases, do a better job, particularly in keeping
records, than some of our seniors."
Audi.IL Wil t. S
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