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The Rural Voice, 2001-04, Page 54Huron has about 10 per cent of the province's acreage of gains and oilseeds. Noting the amount farmers spend for supplies, Hamilton said: "That's $30 million we don't have to invest in our communities. This is not just about farmers. It's about the rural community. "When you short-change farmers, you're short-changing everyone. You're even short-changing the government because so much of it would go back to the government in taxes." Paul Steckle, MP for Huron Bruce agreed with Hamilton, stating his frustration in trying to get the message across the his own Liberal government. He used examples of government revenues from agricultural products like alcohol produced at the Commercial Alcohol plant at the Bruce Energy Centre. One tanker truck from that plant contains 25,000 litres of pure alcohol, Steckle said which can be made into four litres of spirits for sale as liquor. The government receives $11.70 per litre in taxes. That means that one truckload is worth $1.17 million in government taxes. Similarly, the government is getting $150 a bushel for' farmers' barley when it's turned into beer, Steckle said. He had used these figures with government officials but it's hard to get them to see the facts. "I don't have the answers," he said in exasperation. Economic issues dominated the annual get-together where local farm groups present briefs to members of parliament. Outside the meeting at the Clinton OMAFRA office were several of the vehicles, complete with signs farmers had used in their day of protest March 14 in Guelph and Pickering. One questioner bluntly asked Steckle: "What the devil went wrong that the government is not serious about agriculture and food?" Steckle said the Liberal party's rural caucus, which includes several supportive urban members like Dennis Mills, had been talking all along about $900 million. Vanclief, had supported the $900 million suggestions, Steckle said. He hadn't 50 THE RURAL VOICE News 1 found any cabinet ministers who spoke against the $900 million, he said. But at the last minute someone (he hinted it was the Prime Minister's Office), had come up with the $500 million figure. "We gave it every effort. The minister gave it every effort. The opposition gave it every effort." Helen Johns, MPP for Huron - Bruce, said the province has $100 million set aside to meet its commitment to provide 40 per cent of funding to the federal government's 60. "We'd like to spend more (within the funding formula). We'd like the federal government to give more." Johns said the province would like to get its share.of the money out by March 31 (the provincial year end) but some things have to come together to make that happen. Steckle could give no details of when and how the federal government's portion would be delivered. The serious effect the current low prices and high input costs can have on the local economy were emphasized by Evert Ridder, another OFA regional director when he showed the members figures that show that at current levels, Huron farmers will lose $170 on every acre of soybeans they plant this year, $182 on every acre of corn and $165 on wheat. Mason Bailey of Blyth, representing the county's fruit growers, noted that in 1948 his father received the same price for -wheat that Ontario farmers are currently receiving. At that time. Bailey said, he was working in an automotive plant earning a wage of $1.25 an hour. Now a loaf of whole-wheat bread costs half as much as a farmer gets for a bushel of wheat.0 Johns says she's part of hold-up on Ag. Operations Act Huron -Bruce MPP Helen Johns says she's part of the reason the Agricultural Operations Act has been held up but after hearing from farm leaders attending the Huron County Federation of Agriculture's Members of Parliament Dinner, she might not_ fight so hard for changes in the bill. Johns said she has been arguing for ironing out definitions in the bill rather than leaving it up to regulations introduced later. "I'm in the middle of it," she said. "I want the pendulum to swing to a safer environment but not at the expense of agriculture. I'm concerned about it." Johns said as representative of the province's largest agricultural riding, and one with a lot of livestock, she has been arguing about such things as accurate definitions of equivalent animal units, rather than leaving this to later regulations. "I'm of the opinion that it should take as long as it takes for the agricultural community to feel comfortable with it," she said. "I'm probably one of the thorns in getting it out:" But after hearing several leaders call for speedy introduction of uniform province -wide regulations on nutrient management planning, Johns said she might change her tactic and not insist on all problems being ironed out before the bill is introduced in the legislature. Meanwhile several commodity groups at the meeting called on the province to provide funding for capital projects needed to deal with environmental problems on the farm. Evert Ridder in the Federation's environmental committee's brief, called for the province to introduce a capital program to pay 70 per cent of on-farm capital programs up to $30,000 per project to meet new environmental standards. The Huron County Egg and Pullet Producers' brief said farmers should get support for environmental capital projects because urban waste and water treatment projects are funded. Stephen Thompson, Federation executive member, said that farmers are already short of money and spending on new capital projects "is only going to add to the imbalance. We would be looking for assistance for things that are more for the benefit of society than for agriculture."