HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-03-17, Page 39PAGE A14. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2005.
Early speakers came from near and far
Continued from A13
coming along." he says.
A number of meetings were held
at Grey Central Public School at
which they would try to bring in
speakers, including a number from
the United States in the formative
years of the organization. They
would even bring in local speakers.
“One of the valuable things of
those get-togethers was a Farmers'
Forum, where we would talk about
how the year had gone for them,
what they had experienced and the
problems they’ve had,’’ says
McQuail. “People were encouraged
to ask questions in order to share the
information.”
He states that out of the
camaraderie of the group, as it grew,
got interested in a variety of
different things. Some got
interested in marketing, some
interested in education as well as
other areas.
After a number of years, they
changed from the Natural Farmers
Association to the Ecological
Farmers Association of Ontario
(EFAO). There was some talk at
that time about calling the group the
Organic Farmers Association.
He says there were several
reasons why they didn’t change the
name to Organic Farmers
Association. Not only did the group
want to appeal to non-organic
farmers, but at the time there was a
backlash against anything organic.
Although the majority of people
in the organization at that time were
organic farmers or making the
transition to organic, there was a
feeling that as an organization they
wanted to reach out and share with,
not just people who wanted to know
about organic agriculture, but also
those who were interested in
discovering out ways to farm more
ecologically.
“The people who were involved
in the organization provided a
meeting place for farmers who
shared an interest in ecological
farming practices, and out of that
the marketing aspect grew,” says
McQuail.
He says the association had a
nucleus of people who were
interested in the issue of
certification and crop improvement.
And people in the EFAO helped to
start the Ontario chapter of the Crop
Improvement Association, which
the first certifying body in the
district.
The Organic Farmers Co
operative was established to help
market crops and other products.
McQuail says the co-op now makes
its own cheese.
There was an influx of European
immigrants in the late 1970s and
early 1980s. With ecological and
organic farming being taught in
universities in Europe, these people
were quite willing and eager to
educate farmers in Ontario in this
type of agriculture.
They were willing to participate
and host farm tours and courses to
broaden the score of ecological
agriculture. McQuail said Bernard
Hack and Lawrence Andras were
two farmers from the Tiverton area
who hosted farm tours to others
involved in this method of farming
or were interested in becoming
involved.
Even though the elder Hack has
since passed away, his two sons,
Martin and Uli. still continue to
practise ecological farming
methods.
These farm tours were important,
because not only were they hands-
on. but they were still the only
means of providing information on
ecological agriculture to those who
were involved. McQuail says there
was just no other source of
information available at that time.
He states eduction is a large
component of ecological agriculture
in the province. Not just for those
already involved, but for those who
are interested in learning other
agricultural methods.
EFAO has an office and a library
in the Maitland Valley Conservation
Authority building in Wroxeter and
from that location, the EFAO is able
to promote a number of courses and
seminars throughout Ontario.
McQuail says the ecological
farmers in Simcoe have started
their own association so there are
now four regions to the EFAO —
western, central, eastern and
Simcoe County.
“The group, Citizens for
Renewable Energy got started when
members of the EFAO felt this was
an important concern and the EFAO
played an important role in getting
the group under way,” he says.
“The organization was
comfortable in getting people to
come together and work towards a
particular set of goals,” he says.
These goals included developing
and providing programs promoting
the practice of ecological
agriculture which maintains and
enhances the health of the soil,
water, crops, livestock and the
diversity of the environment;
educates and increases the public’s
understanding of ecological
agricultural methods like soil
tillage, green manures, cover crops,
composting, crop rotations, soil
erosion control control and
conservation practices by offering
courses, seminars, conferences,
farm tours, meetings and publishing
a newsletter and by collecting,
researching and disseminating
information on this topic to the
general public; and to bring
together people who are concerned
about ecological agriculture so
they can share experiences,
support each other and create
community.
“Looking back on it now. one of
the really astounding things is it
created rich ideas that turned into
reality and practices.” said
McQuail “For a period of time, the
EFAO had a community-shared
ecological farming information
centre, associated with our office in
Wroxeter."
“It was a central clearing house of
information on ecological
agriculture in Ontario.”
McQuail indicates that as an
organization, the EFAO has
accomplished more than people can
appreciate.
He says the tours were
increasingly important and still are.
because they offer the opportunity
to go and see farming practices in
action, on the ground, and in the
field.
"The people hosting the tours
were sincere; they were not selling
anything," he states.
“To this day, it's a management
system, it's a way to manage your
own land and livestock and to make
the most of the ecological resources
that come to you.”
He says it's knowing the skills
and how to farm in a special way.
The people are willing to share that
information, not just the successes,
but the mistakes as well.
McQuail states the MVCA is very
interested in ecological farming
methods, because in the Maitland
River watershed it is evident that
the success of agriculture goes
hand-in-hand with how goes the
water and the land.
He says the ecological farmers
conduct kitchen-table meetings in
the winter to determine the courses
they will offer in the spring.
The EFAO has conducted
introductory courses to various
aspects of ecological farming,
now they are offering advanced
courses.
McQuail says the future of
ecological agriculture looks bright
as farmers will continue to help one
another - not just other members of
the EFAO — but other farmers as
well.
There are other issues as well,
everything from some farm groups
being interested in marketing for
their products to energy pricing and
the right to farm.
KMM
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