The Rural Voice, 2001-09, Page 56James and Joan McKinley win
Environmental Stewardship Award.
Grey cattle producers
win national
Stewardship Award
A Grey County couple, winners of
the sixth annual national
Environmental Stewardship Award
(TESA) say increasing the number of
cattle on their operations has
enhanced the environment on their
farm and surrounding areas.
James and Joan McKinlay, who
operate Silver Springs Farms at
Ravenna, Ontario, were presented the
award on August 16 at the Canadian
Cattlemen's Association (CCA)
Semi -Annual Meeting and
Convention in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
With the generous support of Merial
Canada, The Environmental
Stewardship Award is presented each
year to a Canadian cattle producer
doing a particularly outstanding job
of protecting and enhancing the
environment.
Earlier this year, the McKinlays
were chosen as the winners of their
provincial Environmental
Stewardship Award by the Ontario
Cattlemen's Association.
Silver Springs Farm is comprised
of 600 acres of cropland plus
woodlots, wetlands and water
52 THE RURAL VOICE
a.
News
courses. The McKinlays operate their
farm with the philosophy that they
hold the land intrust with the
obligation and responsibility to leave
it for succeeding generations in as
good or better condition than they
received it.
By increasing the number of cattle
in their herd, the McKinlays have
been able to introduce rotational
grazing and crop rotation on their
farm. The inclusion of forages in the
crop rotation has allowed them to
decrease the use of pesticides, and
crop rotation combined with
minimum tillage has reduced soil
erosion on their sloping fields.
Manure is viewed as a valuable
resource. By balancing the number of
livestock with their cropping
operation, they make efficient use of
nutrients on the farm in a crop
rotation that benefits all their land.
Each year the McKinlays attempt
to initiate an improvement project
related to conservation and resource
enhancement. Projects have included
planting trees, fencing ponds and
fragile marshes, and building
alternate watering systems for their
cattle. They note a significant
increase in the populations of white
tail deer, jack rabbits, squirrels,
Canada geese and wild turkeys on
their land.
The national Environmental
Stewardship Award winner is
selected from the winners of
stewardship awards presented by
provincial cattle associations.0
Farmers must work
to educate public,
Wilkinson says
Farmers have to work towards
educating the public about the
farming industry, Ontario Federation
of Agriculture President Jack
Wilkinson told a group of 30 at a
gathering near Winthrop, August 15.
In a round -table discussion at the
home of dairy -producer Ernst
Gubelman with Huron County
farmers, Wilkinson stressed the
importance of educating the public
about farming.
Ontario farmers have a lot going
for them. According to Wilkinson in
a recent study, consumers said food
safety was very important.
Food that comes from Ontario
farms is the safest out there. Ontario
is more advanced than many other
countries with use of pesticides,
Wilkinson said.
According to Wilkinson, Ontario
has the best food inspection system
in the world. Farmers have reduced
pesticide use by 50 per cent in recent
times, but no one knows about it.
"We've got to market these things
an awful lot better," Wilkinson said.
Educating the public was a major
issue for many of the farmers at the
meeting. Neil McGavin, who owns a
farm dealership in Walton, said
people are not buying locally grown
products because of a price
difference.
"People need to know the
advantages of growing in Ontario and
eating Canadian," McGavin said.
More people would buy Ontario -
grown food if they knew the
advantages of eating it, Wilkinson
said.
"People are taking agriculture for
granted," Wilkinson said.
The importance of getting people
to understand where there food
comes from is vital for continued
farming success in Ontario.
A lot of people go to the grocery
store and don't -think of where the
food comes from, McGavin said.
For this reason, OFA is sponsoring
a study by the University of Toronto
that would show how valuable the
food industry is to Ontario's
economy.
One of the problems with trying to
educate people is the lack of funding.
The government has decreased
funding towards farming education
by 10 to 1,5 per cent, Wilkinson said.
"We are not where we should be or
where it was 15 year ago," Wilkinson
said.
Wilkinson said he was very
disappointed with the federal
Agricultural Minister, Lyle VanClief,
who he feels has not fulfilled his
duties as the minister that should be
supporting farmers.
"There is a lack of commitment,"
Wilkinson said.
VanClief has denied farmers many
things, like not giving compensation