The Rural Voice, 2002-05, Page 66BRUCE
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: www.ofa.on.ca/bruce
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
OFA successes on key issues
Safety Nets
• The Ontario Federation of
Agriculture working in conjunction
with Ontario commodity
organizations and the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture. Focd and
Rural Affairs. have agreed on a
"made -in -.Ontario" safety net
proposal. Negotiations with the
Federal Government to implement
the terms of the proposal are,ongoing.
When in place the "made -in -Ontario"
package would remove the need for
ad hoc programs and the lobbying
required to have them approved by
governments.
• As a result of concerted lobbying by
OFA and the province's grains,
oilseeds and horticultural crops
organizations in 2001, $90 million of
provincial funding was provided to
grains and oilseeds producers and
$104 million of federal funding to
grains, oilseeds and horticultural
growers.
The Environment
• OFA, working with the County
Federations of Agriculture, is making
available close to $6 million of
money from the Healthy Futures for
Ontario Agriculture program for
Ontario farmers and others in rural
Ontario with private water wells. The
money is being used to upgrade
existing wells and to cap abandoned
wells in order to protect the
groundwater supplies from
contamination.
• OFA, as part of the Ontario Farm
Environmental Coalition (OFEC),
represented Ontario's farming
industry at the Walkerton Inquiry,
providing evidence to Mr. Justice
Dennis O'Connor about agriculture's
activities to protect the environment.
While livestock manure was
pinpointed as the source of the
contamination that resulted in the
tragedy. the inquiry found that the
particular farm in question had taken
all necessary measures to protect the
environment.
• OFA has continued to work with the
provincial government in the
development of the Nutrient
Management Act 2001, and will
provide input to the writing of the
regulations for the legislation. The
legislation will ensure farm -specific
nutrient management plans for all
farming operations in Ontario,
preventing regional disparities
experienced when municipalities
enact bylaws specific to local
situations.
• OFA continues to lobby for long-
term government funding for the
Environmental Farm Plan (EFP)
2001 Tommy Cooper Award winner
The Bruce County Federation of
Agriculture Board of Directors and
Executive would like to extend
congratulations to Bev Fry from the
Ripley area, the winner of the
Tommy Cooper Award presented on
April 5 at the Meet The Members and
Tommy Cooper Award meeting in
Durham hosted by the Grey County
Federation of Agriculture. Bev
was nominated by the Ripley
Agricultural Society. Bev and her
husband Joe operate a cow/calf and
cash crop family farm in Huron
Township.
Bev has been very active in the
Ontario Association of Agricultural
Societies, the Ripley Agricultural
Society, and the Bruce County 4-H
62 THE RURAL VOICE
Association. She is a Past President
of the Bruce County Holstein Club
and was chair of the Dairy Education
Display at the "Roots of Bruce"
program. She is a member of CKNX
Radio Farm Advisory Board (FAB)
and Chair of the FAB Bursary and
Award Committee.
We would also like to congratulate
the other nominees on being
nominated for the award, as it is a
great honour to be recognized .by
your peers: Barbara Barfoot, RR3,
Hepworth; Fred J. Brown, RR2,
Walkerton; Kimberley M. Caswell,
RR2, Meaford; Andy Ernewein, RR4,
Walkerton; Jim Farrell, RR3, Ripley;
David Fawcett, RR2, Flesherton; and
Don Lewis, RR2, Holstein. 0
program. Federal Minister Vanclief
has stated his intention to have an
EFP for every farm in the country by
2005.
Food Quality and Safety
• OFA is monitoring closely the
writing of regulations that will
bl;come part of the Food Quality and
Safety Act, new legislation from the
Ontario Government. OFA believes
the HACCP-Iike initiatives being
implemented now by provincial
commodity organizations will
adequately address the on-farm
controls to ensure food quality and
safety. The legislation suggests the
need for licencing of on-farm
production facilities and government
inspections of those facilities. OFA is
insisting that food safety and quality
cannot be achieved at the production
level by legislation alone.
Taxation
• OFA recognizes the property tax
increases farmers in some areas of the
province are facing, and continues to
work with the Provincial Government
to achieve the fairest possible taxes.
• Efforts continue by OFA to have the
Provincial Government revise its
regulations about Retail Sales Tax
(RST) to expand the tax-exempt list
in order to save Ontario farmers
about $25 million annually in
operating costs. OFA believes the
Ontario list of tax exempt items
should include farm trucks and a
number of other farm production
items already exempted by other
provinces.0
CONGRATULATIONS
The Bruce County Federation of
Agriculture wishes to extend
congratulations to Helen Johns,
Huron -Bruce MPP on her recent
appointment as the Minister of
Agriculture and Food.O
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
PLEASE NOTE:
There will be NO Board of
Directors' meeting in May
Next meeting will be
Monday, June 24, 2002