The Rural Voice, 2004-12, Page 48News in Agriculture
Ecological Farmers mark 25th anniversary
Pioneers of the Ecological
Farmers Association of Ontario were
honoured at the 25th anniversary
dinner and annual meeting of the
organization in Listowel. November
6.
"Most of the people in this room
deserved to be honoured." said Ted
Zettel, who chaired the celebration.
He said of all the organizations he
has been involved with over the
years, EFAO stands out for the
commitment of its volunteers.
Five of the pioneers of the organic
movement in Ontario were
introduced: Alvin Filsinger of Ayton;
Ken Gascho of Zurich; Lyle Martin
of Ethel; Dave Riebling of Tavistock
and Grant Snell of Londesborough.
Special presentations were made
to three of the long-time leaders of
the organization. Herb Eldridge, the
founder of the Natural Farmers
Association of Ontario, which later
became the EFAO, recalled bringing
together 20 people who were
interested in organic farming in the
spring of 1979 for the first of what
became regular meetings. He
believed, and still believes, that the
earth has life and that the earth needs
help, Eldridge said.
Fran and Tony McQuail of
Lucknow were also honoured for
their leadership and volunteerism.
"The EFAO changed our lives," Fran
said on her acceptance of the award.
"It offered us incredible support for
our farming efforts."
Tony elaborated on the same
theme noting the willingness of
people in the ecological farming
movement to freely share their
experiences and knowledge gained
from their relationship with the land
with other farmers.
He noted the acceptance of
organic farming principles is much
more wide spread today. He recalled
wondering in the early days "Did I
want to come out of the closet?" and
admit he was an organic farmer.
Lawrence and Mathilde Andres of
Tiverton, described as the "bedrock"
of EFAO during many years when
they served as leaders of the
organization in the 1980s to early
1990s, were also honoured.
"For many years I was the only
female involved in EFAO," said
Matty. "Now we have our second
female president (Ann Slater)."
She joked she was glad to receive
a certificate at this meeting, not the
gift they were given when they were
honoured several years earlier: a billy
goat.
Lawrence remembered being
invited by Eldridge to the first
meeting in Linwood. All the talk in
those days was about how to create
healthy soil. "There was no talk
about how much did you get for your
soybeans."
Now the organic movement has
turned into the organic industry, he
said. Twenty years ago the buyers for
big chains like Loblaws didn't care
about organic food and now everyone
is trying to get a piece of it.
But organic farmers still have
each other and can help each other
through the sharing of information on
farm tours and at meetings, he said.
"The market doesn't feel the soil," he
said recalling the late Bernard Hack,
Resolution supports removing
water from NAFTA treaty
Continued from page 43
resolution, promoted by Holm during
her visit to Huron, has been passed
by 200 groups across Canada.
Canadians must remain in control of
their clean, fresh water, he said.
Neil Vincent, visiting past
president of the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture explained
44 THE RURAL VOICE
that fresh water is being pumped into
oil fields to allow recovery of more
oil and huge amounts of water can be
made unusable by this practice.
When water is exported from a
watershed, he said, it can never be
returned.
"It's a way of linking our story to
the rest of the consumers of Ontario,"
Emerson said.0
one of the early leaders of the
movement who said when an organic
farmer goes out in the field he feels
the soil to feel its health.
Zettel also honoured Hack along
with Hubert Earl and Mike Pembry
as leaders of the organization who
were no longer living. Hack, he said,
had a "religious fervour" in
delivering his message on the need to
build healthy soil which then made
healthy livestock and healthy
consumers. "He was the conscience
of the ecological farming movement
in the early years."
During the annual meeting portion
of the event, members passed a
resolution calling on the Chicken
Farmers of Ontario (CFO), and the
government, to find a way to create a
quota exemption to allow farmers to
raise up to 2000 chickens per year, as
long as the chickens are sold directly
to consumers from the farm or at a
farmers' market stall.
While noting its support for the
original intent of supply management
to meet the local demand for chicken
at a price fair to family farms, Slater,
a St. Marys area farmer, said, "We
have many members of our
organization who would like raise a
small, seasonal flock of chickens, but
the present price of chicken quota
and the minimum quota requirements
are out of reach of young farmers and
small, diversified ecological farms."
Most members of EFAO market a
portion of their farm produce directly
to consumers. Slater added,
"Customers come to our members
wanting to buy chicken raised in a
time-honoured way on a small-scale
farm. When our customers cannot
purchase chicken direct from farmers
they know and trust many simply
decide not to eat chicken. Our
members do not want to take
business away from the chicken
board."
A number of EFAO members in
the western part of the province have
recently been visited by CFO
inspectors and told to quit raising
small chicken flocks without quota or
face legal action.
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