Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-03-29, Page 13THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2000. PAGE 13. Huron County, Fed. Qf^gricultur^, MPs^ dinner Legislation could hurt farmers making own feed New federal government regulations that would prohib­ it farmers from mixing feed if additives were used seems to have caught both farm groups and rural MPs off guard. Huron-Bruce MP Paul Steckle and county farm lead­ ers all expressed dismay at the new regulations, to be administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The issue was raised at Saturday’s Huron County Federation of Agriculture Members of Parliament din­ ner by Dave Linton, Huron County representative for Ontario Pork. “This has the potential to greatly reduce the competi­ tiveness of our independent family farms,” Linton said in a written brief to Steckle and Huron-Bruce MPP Helen Johns. “One of the greatest advantages that most of our producers have is the ability to grow their own crops, (and) store them until manufactured into feed on farm.” Moreover, Linton told Steckle, if food safety is sup­ posed to be the big issue, the regulations won’t have much effect because 98 per cent of drug violations are the result of the wrong feed being fed to the wrong animals at the wrong time, not from mistakes in mixing additives. Farmers can still add drugs to their water sup­ ply and avoid the regulations, he said. “This is not doing anything to improve food safety.” Steckle expressed surprise at the recent deluge of opposi­ tion for the regulations because they had been in development for eight years. Because of the outcry Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief has postponed imple­ menting the new regulations for 30 days, Steckle said and the rural caucus of the Liberal Party will be holding a special meeting on the issue. “I think someone has been sleeping at the switch,” he said, saying some farm groups seemed to be in favour of the regulations. There had been no representation from beef or poultry producers on the issue, he said. “It’s beyond my wildest imagination why anyone would agree with this.” But Linton, quoting Carl Moore, Ontario Pork’s repre­ sentative on the Canadian Pork Council, said the regula­ tions agreed to by that group and the final legislation announced were entirely dif­ ferent. That’s led to an assumption that the big feed companies saw an opportuni­ ty of making more money by shutting down on-farm feed manufacturing, Linton said. Others supported the con­ clusion that the regulations changed at the last minute. “Just because you agree in principle doesn’t mean you agree with the final results,” said Bob Down of the Huron County Com Producers, who is also a beef and pork pro­ ducer. “The devil is in the details.” Jack Flanagan of the Huron County Beef Producers said beef producers had only just learned about the problem and hadn’t had a chance to react. Steckle said the issue showed how important jt is for all the groups to form a united front in approaching government. Johns to discuss Farm Prod. Marketing Commission After hearing several farm groups express concern over the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) overstepping its mandate, Huron-Bruce MPP Helen Johns has promised to set up a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to dis­ cuss the matter. Mark Allen, representing the Huron County’s egg and pullet producers, told Johns at the Members of Parliament dinner Saturday that while Premier Mike Harris has openly supported supply man­ Gas scheme alarms farmers A scheme to store natural gas in underground wells has landowners from Grand Bend to Dungannon being approached by leasing agents, some of whom won’t take no for an answer, leaders of a landowners group told MPP Helen Johns Saturday. Fred Dutot, who owns land in the middle of the area in question near Bayfield, told the Huron County Federation of Agriculture’s Members of Parliament dinner the plan is to use old gas wells as under­ ground storage for natural gas which will be piped in from western Canada during the summer then sold in the win­ ter. In the field near his farm the company in question plans not only to use existing wells but to drill three new vertical wells from each, of which three horizontal wells will be drilled to increase storage capacity. That means the water table will be crossed 12 times, he said. Water quality was of con­ cern to Marilyn Broadfoot, the Huron federation’s repre­ sentative on the landowners group. While similar plans have been carried out in Lambton County in the past, people there get their water from a Lake Huron pipeline. “We’re concerned because this is the first time they’ve come into an area of good water.” The landowners are also worried about the effect on livestock from the noise of compressors needed to pump the gas. Dutot, saying the leasing agents do not have to be licensed and don’t seem to be accountable to anyone, asked agement, actions taken by the OFPMC were undermining marketing boards. “There’s a sense that the people on the commission don’t have a grasp of the issues,” he said. Alien’s comments raised concerns from others at the meeting, which was spon­ sored by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture. “We are concerned . . . that Farm Products is exceeding its mandate as a supervisory board,” said Alex Westerhout, representing the Huron County Chicken Farmers. “We feel it is getting too Johns to look into requiring licenses just as agents selling electricity must be licensed. In one case the agents kept hounding an elderly woman to sign a lease, he said. As well, lease rates offered range from $5 an acre in the Bayfield area to $3 an acre in the Dungannon area, Dutot said. In Lambton, where there’s a strong landowners group, the going rate is $30 an acre, he said. Dutot said the Huron landowners need financial funding to be able to get fair Steckle chides group for aid opposition It was a sad day for agricul­ ture when some Ontario farm groups opposed aid to west­ ern grain farmers, Huron- Bruce MP Paul Steckle told Huron farm leaders attending the annual Members of Parliament dinner Saturday. Steckle said he was “taken aback” by some of the Ontario complaints, led by the Ontario Com Producers, that western wheat and canola farmers were getting prefer­ ential treatment. The situation in the west was unique, he said. He held up a two-page list of forced tax sales in Saskatchewan. “I haven’t seen anything like this in Ontario,” he said. He also told of a group of 30 western farm women who visited his office who were ready to leave their husbands for the good of their children. Maybe all Ontario farmers need to suffer from an ice involved in everyday issues which it may not fully under­ stand and that should be left with the Boards to whom the authority is given to deal with them. We’re also concerned when other parties who would take advantage of weakening farmer marketing systems are also allowed to get involved in these issues.” Poultry representatives pointed out that supply man­ aged boards are part of a national system and if Ontario producers are ordered by the commission to take one direc­ tion, it could cause problems representation before the Ontario Energy Board. The Lambton group, with three hundred members, spent $200,000 in legal fees, he' said. Huron has only a hand­ ful of landowners in its asso­ ciation and they can’t afford representation of expert lawyers that can run to $3,000 a day. Johns offered to deliver information from the group to the energy board. In the meantime, she suggested, more people should refuse to sign the leases. storm to get some perspec­ tive, Steckle suggested, recalling how governments had rallied with special fund­ ing to help eastern Ontario farmers hit by the devastating 1998 ice storm. Steckle suggested rural Canada was in trouble “if we’re going to look across the fenceline and say he (the neighbour) got more than I did because his crop got hit”. But Bob Down, past presi­ dent of the Ontario Corn Producers defended the com­ plaints. There are grain and oil seed producers in Ontario who are also suffering, he said. The program announced for western farmers was “strictly a political move,” he said. Furthermore, he said, “You wouldn’t have the same prob­ lem in the west if they’d kept their market revenue program (as Ontario did)”. within the national system. Others worried about mar­ keting boards being under­ mined by OFPMC orders to allow direct contracting between producers and buy­ ers. “Those boards are going to die if we allow contracting outside the board,” warned Success story #0543 “I was after pigweed, foxtails, velvetleaf, cocklebur, ragweed and lamb’s quarters. I got a good bumdown. I had nothing come back. The field was clean." “As a custom operator, we were impressed with the job it did. I was really pleased with the job it did on non-labeled and with the ragweed and grass Overall, I was pleased with VIPERt” ' VIPER and FARMLINE are registered trademarks of American Cyanamid Company. Jim Maw Success story #1486 Wayne Hawke Alliston, ON CYANAM/D For more information contact your retailer, call 1.800.263.1228 or visit www.farmlinepartners.com Jim Love, reeve of Hay Twp. “We need to get back to the basics that either we control the industry of you’re going to lose it.” Representatives of the corn producers also expressed concerns about the commis­ sion. Johns wondered if there were problems with those being appointed to the com­ mission. She offered to set up a meeting with ministry offi­ cials if the Huron federation put together a group of com­ modity representatives to voice their concerns.