The Rural Voice, 1989-05, Page 42NEWS
DAIRY FARMER WINS TOMMY COOPER AWARD
After 20 years in the business, Dave
Inglis says that agriculture has been
good to him.
And he's been good for agriculture:
his accomplishments were recognized
when he was chosen from seven nomi-
nees to win the coveted Tommy Cooper
Award, presented at the Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture's annual
Meet the Members dinner. Inglis was
nominated by the Bruce Holstein Club.
The award, named in honour of
Tommy Cooper, who was agricultural
representative in Grey County for 38
years, is sponsored by CFOS Radio and
the Owen Sound Sun Times.
Dave and Helen Inglis and their three
daughters, Heather, Shannon, and Lind-
sey, live near Walkerton in Brant Town-
ship. Inglis, with his brothers John and
Morgan, operates a 450 -acre dairy farm.
For 12 years, Inglis was Bruce
County director to United Breeders, and
through UB was appointed to the On-
tario Association of Animal Breeders,
which represents Eastern Breeders,
Western Breeders, and United Breeders.
He became president of the group in
1985, and that year was able to award
two research chairs involving livestock
nutrition, genetics, and breeding to the
University of Guelph through Semex
Dave Inglis (left) receives the Tommy Cooper Award from Dave Carr of CFOS Radio
and Ron Garland (right), president of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture.
Canada. Semex Canada is the agent for
AI units in Canada and distributes se-
men throughout the world.
Dave Inglis spent nine years in 4-H
in his youth and 19 years as a 4-H leader.
He is a director of the Bruce County 4-
H Leaders Association, a member and
past president of the Walkerton Agricul-
tural Society, and a member of the Bruce
County Holstein Association.0
FARMERS URGE THAT INDUSTRY DO ITS PART FOR ENVIRONMENT
Farmers are prepared to be respon-
sible for their use of chemicals, but
government should "do nothing less
than ensure manufacturing and industry
do their share," according to a brief
presented to members of parliament at a
meeting held by the Grey County Fed-
eration of Agriculture last month.
The brief notes that while farmers
have been taking pesticide safety
courses in large numbers, 12 industrial
companies were recently identified as
the worst polluters in Ontario.
The GCFA also told members of
parliament that animal rights activists
are a contentious group in the county
and that farm practices "should not be
subject to tampering by people who do
not know what is involved."
In other issues, the federation said it
40 THE RURAL VOICE
is not against development, but that
Class I, II, and III land should be barred
from development, especially by people
who buy farms on speculation. Aban-
doned railway lines taken from farmers
in the first place should be returned to
them, the brief added. Landowners ad-
jacent to rail lines are now fourth in line,
behind three levels of government, for a
chance to purchase the rail properly.
The federation asked MP Gus
Mitges and MPP Ron Lipsett for support
for the check -off through the property
tax rebate as proposed by the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture and the Chris-
tian Farmers Federation of Ontario.
Lipsett, MPP for Grey, was also
asked to seek support from his col-
leagues, Minister of Agriculture Jack
Riddell and provincial treasurer Robert
Nixon, to provide an adequate replace-
ment for the Ontario Family Farm Inter-
est Rate Reduction (OFFIRR) program.
A reformed crop insurance program
is needed, the brief said, with increased
coverage to 90 per cent, separate cover-
age for properties with a separate legal
description, and an equal sharing of
premiums by federal and provincial
governments and producers.
A brief presented by District II of the
Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency
stressed the importance of a sheep in-
dustry that could thrive "not in an over-
crowded, expensive, polluted Golden
Horseshoe, but rural Ontario."
Lipsett told the group that there are
fewer rural members in the legislature
than ever before and that a consistent
lobby effort by farmers is required.OSG