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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1997-08-20, Page 3Last Wednesday at PROTECT's weekly meet- ing, a panel of hog produc- ers explained their side of what has become A hot issue in Huron County, and Township where PRO- TECT was born, "To, the responsible farmer, ecology iS nothing new,", said.JtAn Crowley, a Perth County -pork produc- er, who is an Ontario Pork director, 'ancl sits on that association's new This Committee's man- date is to cbllect related resources and draft guide- lines to:create a culture for expansion opportunities in The committee includes rePresentatives from the Ontario Ministry • of AgriCUlttire, Food and Rural Affairs, the lvlinistry of Environment and Energy, the Rural Ontario Association, pork produc- . ars and a variety of other. resource personnel., • , •:"Concern for the ezivi-, Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, August 20, 1997 =- Page 3 PotkPUDDLEDUCKS WANTS YOU! producei.s e Reasonable Plates; $21.50 full :day; $16.00 half day tido lunch $9.4.00 half day w6t9 Bunch Open Mon. to Pri. 7:30 am to 6 pm. with .environinent Start at age 18 friths. right up to school age. too NO need to be toilet trained, Lots of Outings eg. skating, maplesyrup trip, bus rides, walks around town. Theme related crafts, circle time. 'Programs and Days to Litt your needs. Snacks morning afternoons Full course, interesting, hot meal at noon! • Will walk thorn to swimining lessons; In the summer. Will take children to and from school in to&n LOTS TO SEE AND DO DROP IN ANYTIME FOR A VISITIII OR CALL 528-2248. • by. Pat Livingston The group PROTECT continues to work on its primary goal - that of gath- ering inforrnation to edu- cate ducate . themselves "on the issues and concerns sur-'• rounding intensive live- • ronment has always been important to farmers. Proper management and respect for the land is a necessity," said Crowley. T h e trend to larger farming. .operations is "like almost all business-. es,". said J o d'y Durand, °a , pork pro- ducer in Hay Township, "The aim is for higher volume, lower Margin." • Statistics (OMAFRA Pork News 1997) show that between 1987 and 1994, . producers were receiving $140 per hog, with a net return of $20.1n the last two years, the aver- age price has been $170, with a net return of about $40., Profitability .is the key factor thus bigger farrns are going up . :In 1987,. 4 million hogs were produced in Ontario. By 1996 that figure had dropped to 3.7 minim' In 1997, Durand's far- row to finish operation will produce 300,000 ,. gallons, of fertilizer • (manure). "Four guyswanted.: that manure," , said Durand. "Manure should: be treated as an asset not a liability." If fanners are paying for that manure, are they going to -waste. it by spreadingoit improperly? He also said the trend is towards •improv- . ing . the genetic process, a.,, n d enhanc- ing .•feed c.onver- sion. In his operation, each sow was producing an average of 20 pigs per year . in 1987. Ten years later, that number. was 22 - a 10 .. per cent increase. . In a 10 year span, he has gained a 20 per cent' mar- gin in feed conversion (kgs of feed to produce kg of pork) - from 3..5:1 in' 1987; to 2.8:1 in 1997. That means less manure is produced and therefore less to spread. • Over that same 10 year , period, the trend : has gone from feeding dry feeds to wet/dry feed, which means 20 per cent less manure is produced' as well, he said. "Expansion will contin- ue' to happen because everyone.: wants to keepv ahead of, inflation," said .: Durand. The Important. thing; he said, is : to main- "Manure ain "Manure should be treated as an asset, not a liability." Jody Durand, pork producer. •tain • good relationships with your neighbors • and use commonsense when it comes tospreading manure. "Pork producers have to take care of our own prob- lem,", said Durand. "If the plan (manure manage- ment) is not 'followed, it's not worth.a dam." .— Since mSince 1992, 9,600 farm- ers. have entered the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (OEFP), said Gord Surgeoner, on the. "faculty - of' • Guelph University. "Huron County led all the counties in the province who took the, plan. They spent over $1:7 million on making changes.". Surgeoner' stressed that the key to successfully working through problems in the agriculture industry •ismanagement skills and how they are used. Having that knowledge, knowing how to use it and applying that, knowledge is funda- 'mental to a successful environmental farm plan. "Management • skills,. not size, is the essence here," said Surgeoner, as he reviewed various, areas. covered in the OEFP. ,.see 'URB'; page;5 Barb WiIIitS $icy Swimmers 8 We,ek Fall Session starts September 8/97` Canadian Red Crosti. .' Water Safety Services. Red Cross * AquaQuest Levels 1 12 *Aquatots * Aqua Adults * Aqua Fit * Length` Swim Registration August 25th at :26th 9:00 AM - $:00 mor phone 528.2742 Register early • class size limited writin protes-t-s-a "aright-to-fa�rn" :le camp Box 475, 518 Campbell Street, & Lucknow; Ontario NOG 2H0 system integrations (519) 52$-3631 PROTECT has iinple Mewed a ietter:w.riting. campaign in 'regard : to the Bill 146,. legislation to protect ' farming and food productio'n. :in the • province. PROTECT agrees "that • farmers and the Produc- tion of food must be proms tected from legal remedies that proceed from distur- bances created. during proper farm practices." However, the group says• -'the "right to .farm. rntist be balanced fairly and responsibility with rhe legislative rights of those who live and work in rural Ontario." ' Areas , .of. ' concern include: '1. taking control,., from the municipality and ultimate— ly putting it in the hands of the Normal Farm Practices : Protection Board... • 2. application of .legiti- mate zoning and other controls imposed by elect-. .ed municipal councils, such'as zoning bylaws that incorporate the applicable and necessary`;separation distances 3. The '.Environmental'` Protection Act may pot ; apply to a normal: farm practice.: 4. "Normal farm practice" : is not defined. by objective 7 criteria, but left up to, .a single' administrative .board; To, balance the. right to .farm: with the interest of all rural resi- dents, the 'que'stiin', of "normal"; should be sub- ject to some'municipal input. The focus of the definition . should be on "proper farm pra;etices".; not "normal farm prac- tices."' •The proposed Farming'' and Food Production' Act was' tabled in the legsla ture late Juno, and will be. subject to, public hearings this fall. If the Act is ,passed, the current Farm'` Practices Board, Which hears complaints against farmers, will :become the Normal Farm Practices Board. Not de mi JLC P166 MMX Intel Pentium 166 MMX ,Processor TURBO GUIDE MMX Motherboard- with 512K.,PiPeltne Burst Cache 32_MB, _(Megabytes) ,EDO RAM: Mid Tower ase with 200 -watt power supply 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive . • Keytronics Windows '95 keyboard/Mom* M crosoit .Mouse with Pad' .. ' ATI 4MB .SGRAM PCI PC2TV Video Card ;w With MPEG • Seagate 2.5GB EIDE.Hard Drive' SMILE 14' SVGA .284 Monitor Acer 20X CD-ROM Drive CreafiveLabs Sound Blaster 16 Pup. Koss 1 DM/2s.5 Speakers & Desktop Microphone U:S Robotics Sportster :33.61( Voice, Fek,,'Mbdem upgradable to 561( Windows '95 Full CD Version (Build'2) 4 Hour, GIME CONSULTING All this for'only ;from page .1 allowed per acre, and handlingof manure. Council believes the proposed legislation isnot definitive enough when it comes to "normal farm Prac- tice." :Bill 146 proposes to ensure that the food produc- tion industry in Ontario is; protected from restrictive municipal bylaws that constrain normal farm practices. The resolution will be forwarded to Premier Michael Harris, the .ministries of agriculture, environment, ener- gy; Nikon MPP Helen Johns, and.all rural municipalir ties in the province F Intel Pentium 200M,bz 14111X PteaseAdd 517100 • Prices & Configurations subject to change virithout notice. Applicable Taxes and Delivery EXTRA • Vistt`'us ON-LINE, at: Atte://w*w.4uronteLoa.ca/-Wo • Email us at: jlca@hurontel:.on,ca