The Rural Voice, 1995-07, Page 3R.V.
Editor: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
John Heard, soils and crop extension
and research, northwestern Ontario
Neil McCutcheon, farmer, Grey Cty.
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor,
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Gisele Ireland, Cathy Laird, Wayne
Kelly, Sarah Borowski,
Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton, June
Flath, Ian Wylie-Toal, Susan Glover,
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Darene
Yavorsky, Peter Baltensperger, Sandra
Orr, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal
marketing & advertising sales manager:
Gerry Fortune
advertising representative:
Merle Gunby
production co-ordinator:
Anne Harrison
advertising & editorial production:
Dianne Josling
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Behind the Scenes
For fishing or farming?
Most farmers today like to think of
themselves as environmentalists but
for many their patience is sorely
tested when it comes time to renovate
a farm drain. If a drain needs digging
out, the farmer, along with engineers
and municipal officials, is likely to
run afoul of the federal Fisheries Act
which prohibits destruction of fish
habitat.
In one case in northern Huron
County, renovation of a ditch has
been stalled for two years while local
officials, with the assistance of
members of parliament and the OFA,
battled the Ministry of Natural
Resources and the Federal Depart-
ment of Fisheries and Oceans. This
month we investigate the case and the
difficulties the regulations bring for
other farmers seeking drain
improvements.
As margins shrink, many farmers
are seeking alternate crops. From
ginseng to emu, farmers are seeking
exotic crops which mean higher
profits. But for urbanites, stuck in an
increasingly sterile environment,
farmers themselves are exotic, and
some farmers are beginning to cash in
on that concept. Throughout Europe
and in many places in the U.S.,
tourism is married to farming in a fast
growing phenomenon. In some cases,
farmers attract tourists to help them
sell their products (everything from
pumpkins to strawberries) directly to
the public. In other cases farms
become centres of relaxation and
discovery for urbanites on bus tours.
In Perth County, farmers and local
tourism officials have been working
to develop the potential of agri-
tourism with more than 125,000
people arriving by bus each year to
attend the Stratford Festival. We
talked to Kelly Nicholson, co-
ordinator of the program.
Ever thought of making a little
money by further processing of the
food you grow on your farm? As part
of A Taste of Country Food Fair in
Blyth, July 22, the Huron Business
Centre will be giving some inform-
ation on how to get started. Seminars
will be held throughout the day with
speakers on topics of interest for
those already operating a food
business or those thinking of starting.
Did you know western Ontario
farmers are famous in Japan?
Through the play The Tomorrow Box,
more than 100,000 people have seen
a bit of local farm life. The play is
back at the Blyth Festival this
summer where it first gained fame.0
Update
Of dumps and the end of a development
Last November we looked at the convoluted process of searching for a landfill
site as it affected several Huron County farmers. The current process requires
potential sites to be selected by negative criteria: the site isn't on good farmland,
isn't too close to an urban area, school or cemetery and won't affect a wetland,
etc. etc. etc. The process means it takes years, and hundreds of thousands of
dollars in consulting fees, to find a potential site.
The new Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris has pledged to
ditch the present system. In Huron County, in the meantime, the search has been
reduced to one site from the original 11 in the current round of site selection.
Ironically, the site includes the farm of past Huron County Warden Allan
Gibson, Reeve of Ashfield Township. That has caused problems for residents in
the township since Gibson can't take part in any debates on the issue. The county
has agreed to appoint another representative from the township to sit on the
committee overseeing the site selection.
Meanwhile the Stone Lea horse-farm/residential development near Bayfield
officially died when the developers withdrew their application for a zoning
amendment. Faced with opposition from several provincial agencies, neighbours
and Stanley Township council, the amendment stood no chance of passing at the
county lcvcl.0