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The Rural Voice, 2003-08, Page 63GREY County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER 446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 Email: grey©ofa.on.ca Website: www.ofa.on.ca/grey 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 • The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey County Farmers by the GCFA. Have you ever watched or listened to the news. then wondered if there will ever be some good news. It seems that ,the news media are obviously concerned with getting the news, any type of news that will grab everybody's attention, good, bad, or just ugly. Unfortunately it seems that the tragic, or horrific stories get the most attention. It is just human nature to be more interested in seeing a car crash, rather than seeing one be built, (for whatever reason). We have a valuable commodity in our news providers, informing everybody of things that are happening, what's up and coming, educating, and also entertaining. We have to watch that they keep the purposes straight without confusing them. For example, the war in Iraq — how many people were glued to the TV. I was just as mesmerized as everyone else, but was it news or did it become a form of entertainment. It was more like a soap opera or a sporting event, with ongoing updates, and instant replays. The soldiers and news reporters seemed more like actors than real people in a deadly situation. Now is this right or do we really need to know every little detail? Sometimes the news just gets a little too in-depth. Why do we need to know what weapon they were using, or what it is capable of doing? Do you remember Holly, the little girl from Toronto that was murdered and dismembered? We know that family members will be very sad, neighbours worried, and that the police will be doing everything possible to find the criminal. Why do we need to interview the neighbours, or any family members? Have some respect and give them their privacy. Why would we need to know all the details, or how upset they are? These are just gimmicks to grab our attention. It seems that if they report Bad news travels fast it, we will be quite willing to watch, read, or listen to any extra details they can give us. Now in some cases, some censorship should be exercised. Just look at our beloved politicians, and when they stick their foot in their mouths. Our whole nation is held responsible for what they call another country's president or other politicians. In some cases it was not even said out loud, just whispered. Why report this? Yes, it will catch everybody's attention, but it could have a negative affect on our whole country. Even politicians need their privacy, whether it's for their sanity, or for our security. When the Mad Cow hit the air waves, it didn't take long for the news to spread. I'm pretty sure the borders would still have been closed, though I wonder, is there still some of this old negative news still lingering around to help hold the borders closed. Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of 'Other countries. If we could educate these countries about the mad cow disease and that we only had one case of millions of cattle. With the fact that in younger cattle (under three years old) there is very minimal danger of transmission of this disease to humans. This along with our animal tagging, and tracking system, basically IDs for all beef, this should eliminate all fears. Now how do we get this information to them? Our own consumer does not seem to have much of a problem with our food safety, as the consumption has not seen any recent decline. Somehow, this information has to get out to the foreign customers, along with the fact, that they will be paying more now because of the border closures. The politicians will continue to play politics, and drag their feet. If we could get their constituents on our side, wanting lower-priced, safe beef, the closure might be short lived. This could possibly be done, by providing some news for their media. Our own country's import policies may need to be looked at also. If we want other countries to open their borders, we may have to consider opening our own borders to some countries that have had mad cow disease, and have proven they have taken responsible reactions and have control on the disease. This year to date has to be one of the most noteworthy years ever, at least in the news department. Sooner or later we will get some good news.0 — Submitted by Paul Sachs, OFA Regional Director Grey North GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE THERE WILL BE NO BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING IN AUGUST Next meeting will be Thursday, September 11, 2003 Grey County Federation of Agriculture 63rd ANNUAL MEETING AND BANQUET AND OFA REGIONAL MEETING Friday, October 3, 2003 Markdale Community Centre Social: 6:30 p.m. - Dinner: 7:00 p.m. - Guest Speaker: Dr. David Biesenthal Note: OFA Regional Directors, Delegates and Alternates for OFA Convention and GCFA Presidents will be elected at the meeting BSE INFORMATION Application forms for the BSE compensation program are available on the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food website at: http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAF/english/policy/bserp/index.html or by calling the Ontario Farm Income Disaster Program at 1-877- 838-5144 or OMAF at 1-877-424-1300.0 60 THE RURAL VOICE