HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1997-08-06, Page 3Lirekuow Sentinel, Wednesday, August 6, 1997 - Page 3
More peer pressure needed
'from page 1
Huron County have passed
by-laws 'requiring farmers
to complete Nutrient
Management • Plans
(MMPs) prior to building
barns for livestock opera-
, tions with 'more than 150--
livestock
50-livestock units, but beyond
that, it is uncertain if safe
environmental practices
scan be enforced,
More Peer Pressure
Needed •
George Thompson who. '
co-ordinates the
Environmental. Farm' Plan
program in Huron County
said the' Nutrient
Management Plan require-
ment' will not do the job
people want it to do:
He said the requirement
for an NMP is little more
than a "good -will gesture"
because it never has to be
carried out. He said the,
townships= hope the .com-
pletion of the management
plans will encourage the,
megafarms to be good corn
porate citizens, but the
truth is, paying a 'consul-
tant $2,500 to. complete ,a .
plan means little to some-
one who is investing a Mil:-
lion.
il-lion' dollars in a new hog
barn.
' I "Everyone knows up
front it's not. going to .' do
anything," said Thompson.
"There's no teeth in it." •
He said theonly benefit
from the bylaws will hope- -
fully, be to encourage rural
• people to Rmonitor them-
selves and keep closer
wateb..on what their neigh-,
,bouts are doing.
Thompson admitted
"finking" on your neighbor
seems strap a:to rural
.:� g P ,
pie - --known for their`trust
and traditional honesty --
but he said peer pressure
will protect the .environ-
.
environ-
meet far'.inore than legisla-
tion.
Whereas .• legislation- is
reactive, peer pressure. has
the addvantage : of being
proactive: Thompson said
if neighbors are forcing
neighbors to handle animal .
waste properly, they will in,
turn be more environmen-
tally conscious them-
selves.. .•
"If you . are, watching
your neighbor, you'd bet-
ter get your own shop in
order," he said.
Grassroots Response.
A group of concerned
citizens from Ashfield
Twp. are starting to apply
the kind of peer pressure
advocated by Thompson.
Last . Wednesday (July,
30) at a public meeting
held in Kingsbridge, about
250 people gathered to
hear a warning message
being sounded by a.groupp
called PROTECT
• ( l? r' :e . s e n •ting.'
Recommendations • • On
Township Environmental
Concerns Together),
Protect .,member Julie
Kuik said the group's pri-
mary goal is to educate
people so they can identi-
fy, • address and prevent
potential environmental.
problems concerning.
intensive livestock opera-
tions.
perations.
Grim'Tidings
Towards that end, Bill
Andrews, an environmen:-
tal science professor from
the University of 'Toronto,.
was asked to address the
group. Concerning how
manure .runoff from agri-
cultural operations impacts
on the surrounding coni
munity.
Andrews owns a 135-
acre property in East
Wawanosh Twp: and grew
upon a`farm near Clinton..
Citing examples from
his own research and from
information he ' has taken
off the Internet, Andrews
Painted: a grim picture of.
what intensive livestock
operations can ,do to the.
:environment. ,
He discussed the 'prdb'
lem, gave exaMples • and
highlighted what . other
" communities 'havedone to
address .the issue. He out -
lined the 'health concerns
and explained what bacte-
ria 'and, nitrates• from the
liquid manure can do to.
plants, soil, water and'peo
pie "-- the message was
.sobering.
The net result of . the
runoff, .. said Andrews:.
could range from dead fish
and reducedreal estate val.,
ties to intestinal disorders
and poisoned well water
which could kill babies.
It was an informative
session of colourful exam-
ples and damning statis-
tics, yet what Andrews'
90 -minute talk seemed to
come down to was one
simple question: How
many animalscan live and
create waste on any given
watershed?
He said the answer to
that question needs to be
answered before further
• approval is•givenso mega-
. farms.
He said regardless of
how. the manure is stored
or used, there is a liatiit to •
the number of animals that
can be producing o:n a
given watershed without
unduly threatening the
water quality. "The
manure has to go some-
where," `he said.
"That -limit should be
known. Before you start
putting massive hog opera-
tions or any other kind of
operations in ,an area, you
should know exactly what
the carrying capacity of,the
streams are," he said. '
' He said a study' of the
watershed capacity should
be undertaken to discover
exactly how many animals
can live on this land before
environmental damage is
done.
And. he 'added that such
a study should he done
before, not after, an acti-
dent occurs..
"1 hate this ',system
• where you Wait until. some.;
body kills everything and
then you sue : them under
,/, the Environmental
Protection Act. You should
make sure it doesn't :haps
penin the: first . -place." .
He also said 'large: hog
operations should, have to
submit waste 'management
plans.' . '
He said cities and 'towns
have to tell theMinistryof
Environment bow much
: sewage they are going to
put into the .rivers," and the
same •rules should, apply. to
megafarms.
for example, pointed
P
out that a 6,000 -sow hog
factory, produces about'50
tons of raw manure a.day -
•
•
'I.•
.Summer Reading Review,
by Elliott. Miller, 7,
Brookside Grade 3
Davy Crocket
by Walt Disney's
,.American Classics
Davy Crocket is. a true storyabout a manb
born on a
mountaintop in Tennessee many years. ago. This was the
;time' when people started: to immigrate to the frontier.
land.:
Davy grew up to become a legendary marksman and •
scout. Not a bear or a mountain lion. could stand in his
way. He helped make peace with the Indians so tiler the
white man could settle the west, '
To find'. out more about Davy Crocket'sadventures,
You'll have to read the"book.
the same amount pro-
duced by a city of 15,000
people.
"If you have a fatm
operation that's bigger
than Clinton, bigger than
Wingharn, bigger than
Godertch combined,
shouldn't you have to pro-
duce a waste management
plan just like those towns
do?" •
Such a plan, according
to Andrews, .would make
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the producers aware of the
environmental risk they
pose, and in that aware-
ness, snake them responsi-
ble. stewards,,pf the land..•
"I'm not -against big
operations if they are done
right," he, said.
Working Hard
• Henry Vanderburgt; the
president of the Huron
County Pork Producers
Association, agreed that
waste ,management plans
are good for all sizes of
producers; ,but ,:added the
operations in this 'county
are, in fact; being "done
right."
He admitted pork.oper-
ations in the area are grow-
.ing as producers fight to
stay in business, but said
the expansion is being
'done ' with consideration
for the environment.
"Pork producers are just
as aware and concerned
about the environment as
members of the non-farm-
ing • community," said
Vanderburgt. '
"I believe mast farmers
are ,conscientious enough
to spread manure at the.
right: times, he said: •1
• Vanderburgt said: pork
producers are working
hard to 'work within envi-
ronmental, guidelines. and
pointed out ; fewer' produc-
ers are now using earthen
lagoons to store sewage,
and are opting for more
secure concrete structures:
He also, said if, manure.
' is' spread properly, and at
the 'correct times, "next to
none" of the manure will
get. • into the watercourse
,'becau'se' there is plenty •of
-agricultural land in Huron
County to • 'service .the
manure being produced •by
the county's :livestock.
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