The Rural Voice, 1999-07, Page 31
Editor: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
John Heard, soils and crop extension
and research, northwestern Ontario
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor,
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Gisele Ireland, Lisa Boonstoppel-
Pot, Bonnie Gropp, Ralph Pearce
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Sandra
Orr, Carl L. Bedal, Janice Becker,
Andrew Grindlay
marketing & advertising sales manager:
Gerry Fortune
advertising representative:
Merle Gunby
production co-ordinator:
Joan Caldwell
advertising & editorial production:
Dianne Josling
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Behind the Scenes
No news Ls bad news
For years farmers have complain-
ed how hard it is to get their stories
across to consumers, but now many
are worried they won't even be able
to tell their stories to each other
through radio and television, at least.
The decision of CFPL/CKNX-TV
farm broadcaster Ross Daily to quit
broadcasting to sell securities has
rural people concerned with the
future of farm news on the airwaves.
Their fears are compounded by the
knowledge that Murray Gaunt, long-
time CKNX radio farm director will
retire at the end of this year.
Ralph Pearce looks at the present
and future of farm broadcasting in
this month's issue.
Paul Bennett still believes there
can be a good future for growing nuts
in Ontario, even if his own
experiment came crashing down
around his ears.
Bennett, and his wife Barbara,
were leaders in the attempt to grow
nuts in Ontario, planting 20 acres of
hazelnuts on their farm near Paisley
beginning in the early 1980s. Last
year their dream of a nut grove
became a nightmare when they
discovered their trees had been
infected with eastern filbert blight.
Now many of the 2,700 trees are dead
or dying but a few are still healthy,
and therein lies the root of his new
dream for his nut grove.
Meanwhile a group of farmers,
business owners and entrepreneurs in
the Milverton area is dreaming of
reviving the community's tradition of
cheese making lost when dairy giant
Parmalat closed the famous Millbank
cheese factory earlier this year. Bob
Reid recently sat in on a meeting of
the committee trying to get a new
factory off the ground. They hope to
process 2 million litres of milk into
200,000 kilograms of cheese.
While chinchilla ranching once
personified the volatility of
alternative farming, people like
Chesley-area rancher Gerald Golem
have been making a steady income
from the little animals for years.
Golem is a tireless promoter of
chinchillas, helping others when they
get involved in the industry and
selling supplies. We visited his
operation for a story in our Profit$ in
Alternative Farming issue this month.
In her recipe column this month,
Bonnie Gropp is talking turkey with
new recipes on different ways of
using the big bird.
The nice weather has many
couples considering home weddings
or garden weddings. Patti Robertson
tells the story of one home wedding
she helped decorate for: her own
brother's.0
Update
Water -taking permits frozen
The concerns expressed over water taking for bottling plants (May 1999) has
been heard by the Ontario government. Environment Minister Norm Sterling
announced a moratorium has been put on the issuing of new water taking permits
in counties where there are low water levels. Included are the counties of Bruce,
Dufferin, Grey, Huron, Perth, Simcoe and Wellington, among others.
"We are having a significant climate change in Ontario, Sterling said. "It's a
very serious problem that we're facing here in Ontario and in North America. We
had a significant problem last summer in Grey County and in southwestern
Ontario in particular, with regard to the amount of rainfall.
"In view of this situation, I have asked the Ministry of Environment directors to
curtail the issuance of permits to take water based on the cumulative effects on
the environment and the ecosystems."
The province announced that in addition to putting a moratorium on the new
permits to take water, they will be assessing the current situation and have put
together an inter -ministerial co-ordination committee to address the issue.
Not only was 1998 one of the driest years since weather records have been
taken, but 1999 has been exceptionally dry except for January.0