The Rural Voice, 1990-12, Page 78GREY
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050
• The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
County Farmers by the GCFA.
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
With our annual meeting over and
the annuals of township federations
over, the year is coming quickly to an
end. One of the achievements this year
was celebrating the 50th Anniversary of
the Grey County Federation of Agricul-
ture which was a success and one to
remember.
Many objectives have come from the
grassroots of the county. On March 1,
1990, the federation sponsored a public
meeting at which people involved in
agriculture in Grey County were given
the opportunity to present their ideas
and concerns regarding land use and
severances. Commodity groups were
also invited to make presentations.
Thirty-four briefs were received and the
people who wrote them covered every
township in Grey. We have had many
favourable comments on it, only one
being negative. A copy of the GCFA
Land Use Policy Brief was sent to those
who submitted a brief. Anyone wishing
a copy of this brief may have same by
contacting our office in Hanover. Al-
though we did not please everyone, I
feel if we had we were not doing our
work well.
The Properties Committee had a
busy year. They dealt with land -fill sites
and waste management. This area of
concern is in our ball park as we as
farmers own the land. They tell us land
fill is safe by drilling wells to prove the
water level is not polluted. What hap-
pens when they drill one and find it is? It
is too late then to correct the situation.
Some form of waste management has to
be dealt with immediately for results
agreeable to all.
A brief concerning waste manage-
ment was presented to Owen Sound
Council, Grey County Waste Manage-
ment Committee, Meaford and St. Vin-
cent Townships joint committee, and
others. An alternative was suggested for
garbage disposal which would be in the
form of an incinerator such as the one
being used in Oswego County, New
York. Oswego County is very similar to
Grey County and is doing an excellent
job of disposing of waste material.
We met with our members of parlia-
ment on a regular basis to discuss farm
issues and concerns. We find them
74 THE RURAL VOICE
willing to co-operate. Briefs have been
presented to them with favourable re-
sponse and this practice will be contin-
ued in the coming year.
We believe our new NDP govern-
ment has a sympathetic ear towards
agriculture. We presented a brief from
Grey County to our new premier in June,
before he became premier, and we had a
good discussion with him.
We would like to see our property
tax rebate put into legislation instead of
a two-year commitment.
Regional government, or what they
call county restructuring, we are defi-
nitely against and have supported our
county council in that respect. We are
concerned that the farm community will
lose its representation on issues of inter-
est to farmers. The disadvantages may
be far greater than any gain to the farm-
ing community.
The GST is a mind boggier. If 85 per
cent of the people were against a deci-
sion made by OFA, it would be dropped
immediately. A 7 per cent tax does not
sound too bad, provided the 13 per cent
manufacturers tax is dropped, But even
so, it will be on top of the 8 per cent
provincial sales tax and down the road
we have no guarantee that it won't triple.
A farmer could gain some by it but the
book work will be heavy and costly, if
not done correctly.
Concerning GATT negotiations, so
far we can see few if any bright spots for
agriculture. They tell us our supply
management programs will stay intact.
We believe our marketing boards will
have a rough time. If the present form of
thinking continues and becomes law,
subsidies could disappear, which is fine
if the price of our product climbs to a
level of profit for our producers.
This brings us to stable funding. We
would like to see an organization sup-
ported by all farmers. Think of the
advantages we would have with a united
voice. We would be able to negotiate
prices for our produce. We, the people
in agriculture are the most important
people in the world. Why? Because we
produce food. We all need food to
survive. Let us get our heads together
and speak with one voice. I would admit
if stable funding becomes law, OFA will
have to change some of its mandate. In
the meantime, let's get on with the struc-
ture of stable funding. Mistakes will be
made. The ironing out will come later.
Public speaking contests, sponsored
by the Grey County Federation are al-
ready being organized for 1991. We are
looking forward to hearing more of
those great speeches.
A program is getting under way at
Grey Highlands Secondary School for
farmers. The principal and staff are
giving students opportunities to work on
shop projects related to farming. At the
same time, there is an opportunity for
farmers to learn skills using resources at
the school. George Black is the person
to contact for more information.
The coming year will be an exciting
one with issues large and small. I am
sure our directors and executive will do
their utmost to look after your concerns.
I take this opportunity to extend
Season's Greetings and wish you all the
best in the coming year.
Lorne Eccles, President
Grey County Federation of Agriculture
Executive 1990-91
President: Lorne Eccles
First vice president: George Black
Second vice president: Bill Pullen