The Rural Voice, 2003-04, Page 76People in Agriculture
Johns says she'll run again
Helen Johns, Ontario's Minister
of Agriculture and Food and MPP for
Huron -Bruce has announced she will
run in the next provincial election,
expected sometime this year.
Johns will be opposed by Carol
Mitchell, former two -term warden of
Huron County and current mayor of
Central Huron, the amalgamated
municipality centred on Clinton.
The New Democratic Party was
scheduled to hold its nomination
meeting until March 27 in Lucknow
but at press time one candidate had
announced his intentions of seeking
the nomination. Grant Robinson is a
Paisley -area mixed farmer who has
been a vocal opponent to a Targe hog
barn being built near the village.
There had been speculation that
Johns might not seek re-election but
she said she had unfinished work to
do.
"We're in the middle of nutrient
management and I felt it was an
unfair time to leave the agricultural
community because there's so much
change that needs to go on," Johns
said. She also cited unfinished work
in her own riding. "I felt that there
were a couple of things that needed
to continue to be pushed in the
counties," she said. "I see myself as
one of the primary spokespeople for
rural communities at the cabinet table
and I just wasn't sure that it would be
as strong a voice if I wasn't there."
Robertson has been a vocal
opponent of Johns's nutrient
Helen
Johns
Seeking another term
management legislation, calling it a
disaster that will "spell the end of
small and medium-sized farms in this
province. He claims the real agenda
is to focus on the growth of
industrial -like operations and remove
most avenues for people to control
what happens in their communities.
Mitchell was the only Huron
County warden in memory to sit two
consecutive terms as she guided the
county through amalgamation and
dealing with much of the province's
downloading of services to
municipalities. She has been a critic
of the claim by the government that
this downloading was "revenue
neutral."0
AALP Class 9 grads tour China
It was a spectacular finish to their
two-year course when Class 9
graduates took their international
study tour to China in late February.
Among the 30 classmates making
the trip were Kelly Daynard of •
Conestogo, Jayne Dietrich of
Mildmay, John Greig of Crediton,
Teresa Van Raay of Dashwood and
Brian Wiley of Meaford.
The trip began February 23 in
Beijing with a meeting with the
Canadian ambassador, the Chinese
Minister of Agriculture and Chinese
specialists in dairy, pork and wheat.
In Beijing, a city of eight million
people, the group visited The
Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, a
pearl market and the Great Wall.
They saw the role cheap labour
played in building the wall, manually
terracing mountains to prevent
erosion and focusing on fruit crops
rather than field crops.
They learned the Yellow River is
filling with silt and sand with erosion
of 1.6 billion tonnes of sand and silt
annually, enough to build a one
meter by one meter wall around the
equator 27 times.
At the Glorious Land Agricultural
Co. they saw a focus on agritourism,
greenhouse production, Chinese
herbs and biotechnology. Communal
dairy farms consisted of four milking
parlours, each serving 10-15 farm
families with 20-30 cows each.0
Former Huron
Federation president
moves north
Charles Regele, past president of
the Huron County Federation of
Agriculture and his wife Carol
Anne, a former winner of the
Federations award for outstanding
contribution to agriculture, have sold
their Seaforth-area farm and moved
their family to the Earlton area in
Temiskaming District.
Selling their expensive Huron
County land will help the Regeles
expand their dairy operation for
future generations.
Regele had been Huron East
Regional Director of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture. He will be
replaced by Pat Down of Exeter.
Jeff Robinson of Walton will
replace him as a director on the
executive of the Huron Federation.0
Formosa couple wins
Young Leaders Award
7 iin and Trish Borho of Formosa
are the recipients of the 21st annual
Young Leaders Award jointly
sponsored by the Ontario Soybean
Growers (OSG) and DuPont Canada.
The Young Leaders Program is
designed to identify young farm
leaders and encourage their
involvement with the OSG. The
program is based on the philosophy
that farm leader participation is
necessary to keep the OSG working
effectively to meet legislative,
economic, marketing and production
challenges.
"Of the numerous nominations we
received this year, Tim and Trish
stood out for their community
involvement activities and
outstanding farming practices," said
Kerry Teskey, row crops product
manager at DuPont.
The Borhos joined other Young
Leaders from across the United
States in extensive leadership, media
and industry training at the
Commodity Classic held in
Charlotte, North Carolina in late
February. They also received 50
acres of DuPont soybean or corn
herbicide of their choice.
Tim said the couple was
"honoured and excited" to have won
the award.0
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