The Rural Voice, 2002-05, Page 68HURON
Box 429, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135 Website: www.ofa.on.ca/huron Email: huron@ofa.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
The Rural Voice is provided to all farmers
in Huron County by the HCFA.
Federation active in
safety nets fight
Local Federations of Agriculture
have been active in protests regarding
Grains/Oilseeds Safety Nets.
At the provincial level Huron,
Perth, Bruce and Middlesex farmers
met at the Western Fairgrounds on
Friday, April 12 to proceed to the
office of MPP Diane Cunningham in
London.
There the farmers marched in
front of her office for an hour, asking
the government to keep the promise
of funding support from the fall of
2001. At present, compared to 2000,
the 2001 funding for safety nets will
be reduced by 75 per cent or 20 per
cent of the U.S. payments. Other
federations picketed the offices of
Bob Wood and Frank Mazilli.
Similar events happened across the
province.
On the Federal level, in all
counties this week directors have
been very busy posting "petitions" to
this effect in stores, mills, implement
dealers, seed plants, etc. We thank all
who signed these petitions, farmers
as well as the general public for their
support in this endeavour.0
Huron County Federation of Agriculture
BOARD MEETING
Fourth Monday of the Month
8:00 p.m. - Vanastra Office
Members Welcome!
CFA OFFICE fUR
Mondays and Fridays
9 a.m. to 12 noon
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday
Please leave a message.
(519) 482-9642
1-800-511-1135
FAX (519) 482-1416
64 THE RURAL VOICE
Huron County Federation of Agriculture President Charles Regele (left) and
Jayne Dietrich of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture were among
protesters who gathered outside the office of Huron -Bruce MPP Helen Johns
March 27 to call on the provincial government to implement a "made in
Ontario" Safety Net program. — photo by Joanne Bregman
DON'T BE RUSHED INTO ELECTRICITY CONTRACTS
Don't be rushed by electricity salesmen into signing electrical supply contracts.
All hydro retailers have pretty much the same prices. Contract prices start at 5.69
cents per kwh and go to 5.95 cents per kwh for five year contracts. The estimated price
under Standard Supply is 4.7 cents per kwh. This is 20 per cent less.
OFA advises farmers (and others) who use less than $1,000 of electricity per month
not to sign with any company. If you do not sign a contract you are automatically on
Standard Supply. Larger volume users should learn about interval meter contracts. The
retail salespeople are not offering interval meter contracts.
There are advantages and disadvantages to contracts and standard supply.
Contracts
Pros: you know your price for up to 5 years
You are price -protected if prices rise
there is no limit to how much you can use
at the price
your price will not go up or down with
changes in demand for air conditioning, etc.
Cons: the price is higher than standard
supply
you are locked in if prices fall
you will not be able to participate in the
rebates mandated for the first four years
you have less incentive to watch the market
and learn from it.
Standard Supply
Pros: you pay monthly average price which
over the long term will be less than an
average retail price
no limit to how much you can use
you are not locked in — free to take a
better offer when it comes up
until May 1, 2006, mandated rebates will
keep 75% of your power cost at a
maximum 3.8 cents per kwh
Cons: ... your price will vary with the
monthly average wholesale price, or if the
4.7 cent price is set too low you will get a
make-up bit
... you are exposed to rising prices,
especially in high demand months
(summer, winter)
... rebates end May 1, 2006, so prices may
rise in anticipation of that date.