The Rural Voice, 1992-10, Page 60HURON
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
Box 429, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
519-482-9642
• The Rural Voice is provided to all farmers
in Huron County by the HCFA.
Huron County Federation of Agriculture Annual Regional Meeting
The meeting was held at Hullett
Central School in Londesboro at 8:00
p.m. on Thursday, September 10, 1992.
President Brenda McIntosh wel-
comed everyone to the meeting. The
minutes were read by the secretary,
approved on a motion by Bill Wallace,
seconded by Heinz Claus. Carried.
President Brenda McIntosh
introduced our speaker, Carl Sulliman,
CEO of OFA who is also on the boards
of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair,
the United Co-operators and is an
ordained minister and a professional
agrologist. Ministry of Environment,
stable funding, Ministry of Municipal
Affairs, annexation, •Ministry of
Revenue, sales tax and taxation were
all touched on in their different aspects
to agriculture. Carl informed us that
agri-businesses are the second largest
business in Canada. One in six jobs
are related to agriculture in some
manner. The only other industry that
tops agri-business is the car industry.
He said farmers must work together!
Fewer farmers have become involved
in municipal and federal politics than
used to be ... this is not good to have
the second largest sector of our
economy under -represented!
Following questions and Carl's
exhilarating speech he was thanked by
Vice -President Bill Wallace and
presented with a memento of Huron
County.
The four Regional Directors of
Huron County gave their annual report
to the group, about OFA Board
meetings throughout the year, as well
as different events that had occurred in
their areas in the past year. The four
Directors were: Bob Down, Huron
South; Jeanne Kirkby, Huron Central;
Chris Palmer, Huron Northwest; and
Heinz Claus, Huron Northeast.
The group broke into four groups
and went to classrooms to have elec-
tions for Regional Directors for each
region, as well as to elect three
delegates from each region. Each
Regional Director along with the three
delegates will be attending the Annual
OFA Convention in Toronto Novem-
ber 23 - 25 at at the Constellation
Hotel. Alternates are elected as well in
case a delegate cannot attend for some
56 THE RURAL VOICE
unforeseen reason. Following is a list
of all new Regional Directors and
delegates for Huron County.
Huron Northeast (Morris, Grey,
Howick, Turnberry): Regional
Director, Heinz Claus; Delegates,
Doug Garniss, Ernie Reesor, Bob
Harrison; Alternates, Victor Roland,
Will Stafford, Nathan Peel.
Huron Northwest (Ashfield,
Colborne, Goderich, East & West
Wawanosh): Regional Director, John
Rodges; Delegates, Chris Palmer,
Mason Bailey, Ralph Scott; Alternates,
Jim Hunter, Ivan Dow, Steve
Thompson.
Huron Central (McKillop, Hullett,
Tuckersmith, Stanley): Regional
Director, Jeanne Kirkby; Delegates,
Bill Wallace, Steve Carruthers, Doug
Kirkby; Alternates, Wayne Hamilton,
Ken Scott.
Huron South (Usborne, Stephen,
Hay): Regional Director, Bob Down;
Delegates, Jody Durand, Gerald Johns,
Harry Dougall; Alternates, Fred Horn,
Murton Brock, Mike Ondrejicka.
Harry Dougall thanked HCFA for
donating mugs to the Usborne 125th
Sesquicentennial in July. He said the
celebration was a huge success.
The following three resolutions
were presented to be sent to the OFA
Annual Convention from the HCFA.
They are as follows ...
1. Taxing Environmental Improve-
ments:
WHEREAS society is making more
and more environmental demands on
farmers, and
WHEREAS these demands can be
expensive to comply to with no
economic return to the farmer, and
WHEREAS the provincial govern-
ment has given financial aid to en-
courage environmental improvements
only to have the farmer penalized by
higher municipal taxes through
increased assessment,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that the OFA lobby the appropriate
ministry to have environmental
improvements that do not increase
production or efficiency exempt from
assessment for municipal tax purposes.
2. NISA Forms:
WHEREAS the completion of the
NISA forms adds greatly to the
farmers' workload and sense of
aggravation, and
WHEREAS getting one's
accountant to complete them often
entails more expense than can be
derived from NISA benefits, and
WHEREAS as the complexity of
these forms causes many farmers to
throw up their hands and refuse to
register, and
WHEREAS much of the informa-
tion collected by these forms is
irrelevant to the situation at hand, and
WHEREAS the bureaucracy created
to handle applicants' responses is
expensive to the taxpayer,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that OFA lobby the federal/provincial
governments to greatly simplify and
streamline these forms and thereby the
application process for NISA before
the next group of forms is issued.
3. Advanced Payment Program:
WHEREAS the cash flow
enhancement program has been in
force the last two years, and
WHEREAS the farm economy has
not really improved in that time, and
WHEREAS there is no difference in
the risk to the Federal Government in
repayments history for farm -fed U.S.
sales repayment
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that OFA lobby the Federal Govern-
ment, Agriculture Minister McKnight
and the Finance Minister Mazankowski
that the interest free portion of the
Advanced Payment Program be again
renewed this year, and further that the
farm -fed portion of the program be
again re -instated for this year.
All carried and will be sent to
Convention in November.
Adjournment: 11:15 by Steve
Thompson, seconded by Harry
Dougall. Carried.0
Huron County Federaton of Agriculture
ANNUAL MEETING
Friday, October 2, 1992
BMG Community Centre, Brussels
Shirley Hazlitt
Slide Presentation of AALP trip to China
Social Time: 6:30 Dinner 7:00
Tickets available from any Director, or the
county office 482-9642. $12.00 each