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The Rural Voice, 1999-12, Page 57Mir BRUCE Email: bran.ca 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 www.ofa.on.ca/bruce www.ofofa.on.ca/bruce 446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 County•Federation o Agriculture NEWSLETTER The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce f 9 County Farmers by the BCFA. . MTO truck regulations have changed The Ministry of Transportation radius exemption from completing a recently made two changes regarding daily trip inspection report. pre -trip inspections that truck Vehicles with a gross weight or owners. operators. and users should registered gross weight of 4,500 be aware of. The requirements for kilograms (9.920 pounds) or more completing pre -trip truck inspection will be required to complete a daily reports changed effective June 1. trip inspection report. 1999. Fines are now being issued if A commercial motor- vehicle the correct paperwork is not driver is required to have a valid maintained. inspection report for the truck and 1. The most significant change is the any towed trailer(s) at all times when elimination of the 160 kilometre the vehicle is operated on a highway, Survey participants define `intensive' farming A special committee of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture (BCFA) organized a survey to hear members' feelings around intensive livestock operations in Bruce County. We have received well over three hundred responses from approximately 1,600 members which is excellent. There were many good comments as well. Of the 21 per cent of farm families who responded, a strong majority, 74 per cent, felt that 150 animal units on 100 acres was "intensive". Practically unanimous support (89 per cent was found for isolating new intensive operations from "sensitive" areas like Lakeshore, resort. or urban areas. A more controversial question, asking for support for a hold or moratorium on building permit issuance for new or expanding intensive operations, still found 77 per cent) agreement among respondents. The committee was very pleased with the number of comments and the representation of all kinds of enterprises across the Count y. In an attempt to be proactive and sensitive to the needs of Bruce inhabitants, the BCFA is taking seriously all of the comments submitted with the surveys. We realize the difficulty in trying to please everyone but feel it imperative that we set the stage for the kind of rural community we find most 54 THE RURAL VOICE desirable for all the stakeholders. We feel it is very important for farmers to work with rural residents and consumers on this issue. A brash attitude or short-cut solution will only lead to future harassment and confrontation. Please stay tuned for further developments. If you have any suggestions not yet offered, please submit them to BCFA.O BCFA Intensive Farming Committee BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF AGRICULTURE Directors' Meeting Monday, December 13, 1999 8:00 p.m. OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton Members are welcome to attend **PLEASE NOTE: DATE CHANGE" • /( • 1 regardless of distance travelled. This report must be carried in the vehicle. However. a two or three -axle truck that is primarily used to transport primary products of a farm produced by the driver of the vehicle or the driver's employer. and not towing a trailer, is still exempt from the requirement for driver inspections and reports. 2. The daily trip inspection is now valid for 24 hours from the time it was first completed, as opposed to being valid until only 12:00 midnight.° Hydro Outages OFA would be interested to hear from you if you experienced power outages. Please indicate the duration, cause (if known), and any specific problems resulting from the outage. Please forward to your local county Federation office or directly to: The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, 40 Eglinton Ave., E., Fifth Floor, Toronto, ON M4P 3A2. Attn: Ted Cowan 41. ,• I• IS The Bruce County federation o6Agrieulturc Executire and Directors mould like to iuish all our members a Ycry Mcroy Christmas and a HappgNem Year As me enter the Ycar1000me mot, dlike to thank gou dor 1 gm" support, Ye believe "/n !Unity There's strength': •