The Rural Voice, 2005-12, Page 51Get a flu shot,
Perth County Medical Officer of
Health Dr. Rosana Pellizzari called
on all farmers to get a flu shot when
she spoke to the annual meeting of
the Perth County Federation of
Agriculture in Milverton, November
3.
While Pellizzari recommended flu
shots for everyone, it's especially
important for farmers who work with
swine or poultry, both of which have
been known to be a source of
influenza that can affect humans.
"We don't want farmers to be
infected with two types of influenza
at the same time," Pellizzari said.
Humans who have regular influenza
that might also contact influenza
from pigs or birds might provide the
body in which the two types of flu
could exchange genetic material
allowing the animal -based disease to
spread among humans. If swine,
avian and human influenza share
enough genetics, human immune
systems won't recognize the virus,
Martin again h
Robert Martin was returned as
president of the Perth County
Federation of Agriculture when it
held its annual meeting in Milverton,
November 3.
Ed Danen was named first vice-
president and Bernice Kelly, second
vice-president.
In his remarks, Martin noted it had
been a busy year with the Queen's
Park rally in March, Queen's Park
101 to educate farm groups on how
the legislature works, Agriculture
101 to educate MPPs about farming,
Our mistake
There are so many county
Federation of Agriculture meetings
each fall that one tends to run into
another, but it's still no excuse for
the error in the caption for the photo
in our November issue of Larry
Miller, MP for Bruce -Grey -Owen
Sound presenting plaque to Grey
County Federation of Agriculture
President Paul De Jong on the
occasion of the Federation's 65th
aniversary. We regret the error.0
News in Agriculture
Perth MOH warns farmers
Pellizzari said. That could be the start
of a pandemic.
Farmers can build up antibodies to
the swine flu that has been found in
Ontario barns in the last year, she
said.
She emphasized that even the
regular strains of influenza that infect
the population each winter can be
deadly for some people. Every year
people die from the virus. Flu shots
can help halt the spread of influenza.
The H5N1 virus that has spread
from birds to humans killing 50
people in Asia (but as yet has not
spread from human to human) is very
pathogenic, Pellizzari said. "The
body doesn't know what hit it."
Pellizzari also emphasized farm
safety in her talk, reminding farmers
they work and live in a dangerous
environment, especially for children
and older farmers who are
disproportionately represented in
farm -related injuries and deaths.
She also asked farmers to be on
the lookout for the possibility of labs
making methamphetamine (later the
same evening a raid on a Monkton
house uncovered a lab and four
people were arrested). Rural areas are
a target for production of this
dangerously addictive drug because
of the possibility of secrecy and the
presence of large amounts of
anhydrous ammonia, a key ingredient
in methamphetamine.
Signs to watch for include
frequent visits to the premises, day
and night; activity at odd hours;
occupants moving equipment or
chemicals or having them delivered;
windows covered or curtains always
drawn; chemical odours from the
house or shed.
If you find a lab don't go inside,
she warned. The fumes and
chemicals are highly toxic and the
tanks can explode. Prior to the
Monkton discover there had been 13
labs discovered in Perth and one in
four had resulted in an explosion.0
eads Perth County Federation
and Perth County hosting the
International Plowing Match. Martin
credited Kelly with spearheading the
Perth Federation's booth at the event.
The Federation also took part in the
Perth County Food booth.
The meeting passed two
resolutions:
Whereas Agriculture is becoming
increasingly disadvantaged with
other sectors of the economy;
Therefore be It Resolved That the
OFA lobby the Provincial and
Federal Governments to establish
Risk management programs for all
sectors of the farming community.
Therefore Be it resolved that Ontario
Federation of Agriculture initiates
discussions with the Christian
farmers' Federation of Ontario
(CFFO) and National Farmers'
Union - Ontario (NFU -O) about:
1. eliminating the option within the
Stable Funding Act that allows
farmers to ask for a refund and
2. an increase in the Farm Business
Registration Fee.0
Implement Risk Management, Easter
reports, Emerson tells Paul Martin
Continued from page 46
Emerson said it had been a
challenging year with both the BSE
and the low crop prices crises.
"We've always stood for
(recovering) cost of production," he
said. "Can you imagine if we had
cost of production to the level of
domestic consumption?"
Emerson said he had put that
proposal forward when he and Huron
County Federation President Nick
Whyte met with Wayne Easter when
he was holding his hearings leading
to the Easter Report.
He also urged Paul Martin to
support the farm business risk
management program. He told
Martin that it was essential that the
risk management program and
Easter's report both be
implemented.0
DECEMBER 2005 47