The Rural Voice, 2006-06, Page 58BRUCE
• 446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: www.ota.on.ca/bruce
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
Your land, their rights — who
The government is predicting 3.7
million more people in Ontario in the
next 25 years. There will be a lot
more pressure to use private land.
There are numerous groups vying to
use our land already. Ontario Nature
wants to establish a Greenway, not a
Greenbelt. in Bruce County. These
are wildlife corridors, which would
be placed in critical areas to help
protect wildlife and some
ecosystems.
Ontario Nature is not government
run. They rely on private money and
in-kind donations from members.
partners. and landowners. Farmers
will be encouraged to support the
project. By retiring some land in
targeted areas. all of society will
benefit. Just how a farmer benefits
has yet to be explained. Thirty -plus
people have been attending the
Greenway meetings which includes
only four farmers. Thanks to these
four knowledgeable farmers, the
other concerned citizens got an
insight into the fact that most farmers
already take an extensive interest in
our environment.
Since the problem in Walkerton,
there has been more of a panic about
source water. A local committee is
being set up to focus on protecting
source water. There is supposed to be
money available to landowners to
improve our water sources. My
concern with these projects is: If 100
per cent of the population will
benefit, will 100 per cent of the
population pay? OR will farmers get
hit with most of the costs and
responsibilities?
Another group that is really
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
' The Rural Voice is provided to OFA
Members in Bruce County by the BCFA
pushing to use our private lands is the
Ontario Federation of Anglers and
Hunters (O.F.A.H.) They have been
pushing for Sunday hunting. starting
this September. in municipalities that
agree to allow this. Hunting on
Sunday will be allowed during any
open season. That means there will
be hunting 52 Sundays a year. In the
O.F.A.H. section of Ontario Out of
Doors (May 2006). they have an ad
about 3 cm. by 10 cm. which says
"Support Ontario Farmers". I don't
remember their banners flying high at
our farm rallies and demonstrations!
Can anyone tell me how much money
they put into supporting the farm
rallies for busing etc.? OR do they
just use our land for nothing?
The O.F.A.H. even wrote an
article concerning Sunday hunting in
which they stated that the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
lobbied for this. The OFA told me
differently. They stated that they
were leaving the choice up to the
municipalities. Great Thinking!! I
had it figured out that in a democratic
country: I would make the decisions
as to who would use my land.
The O.F.A.H. has 400,000
members who want to use private
land on Sunday because a large
number of them have only Saturday
to hunt. Other urbanites feel that they
only have the weekends to use our
lands for whatever. As stewards of
the land, we have a responsibility to
address all other uses of our lands
other than agriculture. This could be
a tough task as it seems some non -
farmers don't seem to realize to use
private land is a privilege—not a
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
MONDAY, JUNE 26 - 8:00 P.M.
Bruce County Administrative Building,
30 Park Street, Walkerton
MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND
54 THE RURAL VOICE
pays?
right!
In the U.S.A. because they are
facing the same urban pressure to use
farmland for recreation wherever
possible. the state governments have
been paying those farmers who will
allow outside use of their lands. It is a
thought! We could also create more
recreation farms to attract our city
cousins to farm life. OR if "Farmers
Feed Cities" signs don't get the
message out, maybe little red dots on
the boundaries of our lands will!
1 was asked by a gentleman at a
Greenway meeting "what do farmers
,think of the Greenway plans and what
about added wildlife damages?" I
told him that the answers are very
simple. Pay us a fair price for what
we do and what we have for you to
use and we will NOT be hard to deal
with. His comment was "That's only
fair!"0
– Submitted by Lloyd Graham,
Huron Township Director
CONTACTS
Ontario Farm Animal Council
(Animal Care Helpline)
1-519-837-1326
www.ofac.org
Queen's Bush Rural Ministry
(Collect calls accepted)
1-519-369-6774 or 1-866-902-7828
The Farm Line
1-888-451-2903
www.farmline.ca
Kids Help Phone
(24 hours per day up to age 21)
1-800-668-6868
Parent Help Line
1-888-603-9100