The Rural Voice, 1998-05, Page 66BRUCE
44610th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1 P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
• The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
A few farmers can make a difference
Who says a few farmers cannot
make a difference?
Recently Carrick Township (Bruce
County) decided to introduce a
Nutrient Management Bylaw. It
seemed that a lot of controversy was
occurring in nearby Huron County,
so to avoid any problems that might
occur in their township, it was
decided to introduce a bylaw to
regulate manure management.
A group of resident farmers
decided to talk to council as the
proposed bylaw was, they felt,
unworkable. A presentation was
made and the councillors decided to
let the resident farmers review and
write a bylaw that was acceptable to
all.
Within the original group of
farmers, further discussion evolved
and a decision was made to expand
the group to include representatives
from all commodity groups in the
township.
The nutrient management
committee started an eight-month
study of actual and proposed bylaws
from surrounding townships and
counties. Input was received from
provincial commodity groups, OFA,
CFFO and local environmental
groups.
The process was reviewed with
help from the county planner Forbes
Simon and with his encouragement,
the committee pulled together a
BRUCE COUNTY
FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
Directors'
Meeting
Monday, May 25, 1998
8:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend
62 THE RURAL VOICE
bylaw that was acceptable to all.
To ensure that this was a balanced
bylaw, it was sent to the commodity
groups, OFA, CFFO, the County of
Bruce planning department and
surrounding townships for comment.
Regular reports back to the council
were positive and further input
arrived from interested groups. After
being reviewed, the committee made
some changes and held an open house
for all Carrick farmers to review the
bylaw before it came into effect. A
final review and the bylaw was
passed to council to put into law.
A further aspect was discovered in
this review — that it really was an
exercise in community planning. The
people impacted by the new bylaw
were the ones to draft the new
regulations, all local resources were
drawn upon and the result is
responsible regulations that do not
negatively impact agriculture or the
environment.
The same group has now made a
proposal to work with the council as
an agricultural advisory group. Any
issues brought to council that are of
an agricultural nature would be
referred to this group for a
recommendation.
We urge all readers who are in
agriculture to become involved with
their local government, to attend
important meetings and be informed
of the issues. The local Federations of
Agriculture have the information and
resources to help any members be
involved.
Just a few farmers can make a
difference.0
– Submitted by Peter Canning
BCFA Executive Member
Congratulations
We would like to extend our congratulations to Fran Farrell from the Ripley
area for winning the Tommy Cooper Award presented on April 4, at the Grey
County Federation of Agriculture Meet The Members and Tommy Cooper
Award Meeting in Durham. Fran was nominated by the Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture.
This award is presented annually by CFOS/CFPS Radio Station, and The
Sun Times, Owen Sound, "To the person making the greatest contribution to
agriculture and rural living in Grey and Bruce Counties, during the past year."
Fran is involved in various organizations and is very active in her community.
Fran, her husband Jim, and four children operate a 690 acre dairy and cash
crop farm in Huron Township.
Fran has been the Chairperson of the Roots of Bruce program since 1996,
and a member of the Bruce County Agri -Food Education Council since 1994.
She has been a member of the Purple Grove Women's Institute since 1980,
and is presently Convention Chair of the Grey -Bruce Women's Institute Area
Convention.
She has been a Bruce County 4-H leader from 1980 to present time. Fran
is currently the First Vice -President of St. Andrew's United Church Women,
Ripley. She was the co-ordinator for the Ripley Playschool Group from 1985 to
1990, and is Past President of the Ripley District Horticultural Society.
Fran believes that education of young people in rural and urban areas is
critical to the survival of the agricultural industry. She states, "It is important for
consumers to understand where and how their food is produced and that
Canadian standards are regulated to have a safe and nutritious product
available to them. Today's changing world will have many challenges to
maintain the agri-food industry to the standards consumers have come to
expect."0