The Rural Voice, 2006-06, Page 56GREY
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 OFA
Members in Grey County by the GCFA
AGCare helps give farmers the right to choose production tools
In January of 2006 1 was asked by
Ron Bonnett, President of OFA, to
represent OFA on the Board of
Directors of AGCare and I accepted
this honour.
AGCare's task is to increase public
understanding and to put confidence
in the role of technology in crop
production and help farmers achieve
and maintain access to management
tools that are essential for protecting
the environment and enhancing the
viability of the agriculture sector.
AGCare's mission is to provide a
unified voice for Ontario's crop
producers on crop production, crop
biotechnology and other farm -related
environmental issues, which is done
with a coalition of Ontario farm
organizations.
AGCare helps give farmers the
right to choose from all approved
production tools when making
management decisions in relation to
their farm business. AGCare also
speaks for farmers and will maintain
operational independence from the
developers and suppliers of crop input
technologies. Where appropriate
AGCare will partner with the industry
to meet our vision. Information
provided by AGCare will be factual,
science -based and backed by up -to -
dale research. Our views will reflect
input provided by representatives of
our parent groups and will be
determined through a process of
consensus.
AGCare will endeavour to inform
the non -farmer audiences with
messaging on farmers as
environmental stewards and correct
misinformation. AGCare will strive to
provide factual resources for the
general public, media, students and to
educate farmers on environmental
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
THERE WILL BE NQ BOARD OF
DIRECTORS' MEETING IN JUNE.
Next meeting will be
Thursday, July 27, 2006.
52 THE RURAL VOICE
issues and maintain an alliance with
key stakeholders and partners, along
with providing information to decision
makers. Last but not least. raise funds
for AGCare. This leads to the
summary of accomplishments in 2005.
AGCare Summary 2005
AGCare continues to speak out on
environmental issues that affect
Ontario's crop and horticulture sector
on behalf of our' membership.
We have assembled a "Speak Up"
team. Sixteen farmers from a variety
of commodity types and geographical
areas were given media training over
1.5 days. They are kept up to speed on
issues and have been representing
agriculture very well in the media.
AGCare assisted the Ontario Farm
Animal Council (OFAC) with a media
tour for food writers. Journalists and
food writers, ranging from LCBO's
Food and Drink publication to
Today's Parent and Canadian Living
learned about different crop
production -systems (organic,
conventional, biotechnology).
In April we held our second very
successful annual general meeting
with OFAC with the theme
"Communicating with Consufners —
What is the cost of doing nothing?"
which attracted close to 150 people.
A Town and Country episode was
created regarding the reduction in
agricultural pesticide use. AGCare
supported University of Guelph
agricultural communications students
creating "info -breaks" for Town and
Country. A Town and Country
episode on agricultural biotechnology
is in progress.
AGCare has continued to assist in
the maintenance of
www.farmissues.com which receives
8,000 unique visits per month. In
partnership with the Land
Improvement Contractors of Ontario
(LICO), we produced a resource for
Grade 7 students titled "Food
Production and Soil Management".
The resource assists students in
understanding the complexity of agro-
ecosystems and the importance of
environmental management skills in
farming. We are currently working on
a resource for Grade 10 science
students on agricultural pesticide use.
AGCare spoke at numerous
conferences, such as the Latornell
Conservation Symposium, the Rural
Ontario Municipal Association, Crop
Nutrients Council, Ducks Unlimited,
Farm$mart, and the Ontario Pesticide
Education Program training session.
AGCare worked with OFAC to
develop a professional, interactive,
and fun display depicting "Farmers
Hard at Work Every Day to Put Food.
on Your Table" that has been used at
the CNE, Western Fair, The Royal,
and the Outdoor Expo. The estimated
reach at these events combined is
close to two million people.
News releases, op-eds, and letters
to the editor from AGCare and its
Speak Up team have appeared in
publications ranging from the Toronto
Star to the Kitchener Waterloo Record
'and the Vancouver Sun as well as
agricultural media and dozens of small
town publications. AGCare staff and
board members have also appeared on
radio and television, from AgVision to
the Weather Network.
AGCare continues to publish its
Update newsletter, which is
distributed to nearly 3,000 farmers,
government staff, politicians, libraries,
students, academics, interest groups,
the media, and other individuals.
AGCare partners with CropLife,
OABA, Environment Canada, the
Ontario Ministries of Environment
and Agriculture, Food, and Rural
Affairs, with funding provided in part
by Agriculture and Agri -Food Canada
through the Agricultural Adaptation
Council, to operate the Ontario Waste
Agricultural Pesticide Collection
Program. This program resulted in the
collection of almost 117,000 kg of
pesticide materials.
• AGCare is currently busy
promoting the Environmental Farm
Plan program.°
— Submitted by Paul Wettlaufer
OFA Regional Director, Grey South