HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-09-15, Page 15THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005. PAGE 15.
Fair play
Yvonne DeWit was named the new Brussels Fair
Ambassador at the Brussels Legion on Saturday. Pictured
beside DeWit is last year ambassador, Miss Mid-West
Ontario Candice McLellan. (Heather Crawford photo)
Huron Bay Co-op in
top 5 for business
improvement
Commentary
Urban growth puts new
pressures on agriculture
Huron Bay Co-operative of
Teeswater was one of three Ontario
co-operatives in the top five for
business improvement as
Steers
under
300 lbs sell
to $132
Continued from page 14
$101 to $114.25; 1,000 lbs. and
over, $82 to $113.
Top quality Stocker heifers under
300 lbs. sold $118 to $132; 300 -
399 lbs., $100 to $145; 400 - 499
lbs., $101 to $132; 500 - 599 lbs.,
$107.50 to $127.75; 600 - 699 lbs.,
$87.50 to $128.50; 700 - 799 lbs.,
$98.50 to $116.50; 800 - 899 lbs.,
$95 to $110.75; 900 lbs. and over,
$83.50 to $106.
No Obligation Quotes & Demos Available
Solid Manure Spreading
fronclaussenfarms.co
fine spread up to 60 feet,
solid and slurry materials, loading available
recognized by Growmark Inc.
There are about 100 co-operatives
in Growmark, which has invested in
many rural co-op supply stores in
Ontario.
Huron Bay Co-operative was tied
for fifth. The general manager is
Jerry Hurst and the president is
Murray Vincent of the East
Wawanosh ward in the Twp. of
North Huron.
The other two Ontario co-ops
were Manitoulin Livestock Co
operative, which claimed second
and La Co-operative de Pointe-aux-
Roches was placed third.
The head office of Growmark is
located in Bloomington, Illinois.
FARM SAFETY FACT
Did you know?
(NC) - Animal related incidents
are responsible for one in five
injuries on Canadian farms.
Canadian Agricultural Injury
Surveillance Program.
- News Canada
By Bette Jean Crews, Ontario
Federation of Agriculture
Executive Committee
Economic issues continue to be
paramount for farmers in Ontario,
but an increasing amount of
pressure is being applied to farmers
by urban growth.
This can be seen just about
everywhere farmland meets the
boundaries of cities, towns and
villages.
Farmers in the Greater Toronto
Area (GTA), faced with issues of
urban encroachment daily as the
urban population in their area
continues to explode, now have a
plan to deal with some of the
pressures. Estimates put the rate of
growth in the GTA at over 115,000
per year with much of that going on
prime agricultural land.
The provincial government has
taken steps to limit the use of
farmland for such things as housing
and industrial developments, but
GTA farmers find this approach
equally problematic. They want
assurances their farming operations
will not face increasing limitations
because of complaints from urban
neighbours. They also want
assurances the province will take
the necessary measures to protect
the viability of farming in the urban
shadow.
Four years of work by farmers,
their organizations and their
municipal, leaders in the Greater
Toronto Area came to fruition
recently when the GTA Agricultural
Action Plan was launched. The
stated purpose of the plan is “to
identify implementable strategic
directions necessary to keep the
GTA agricultural industry
competitive in the face of the
economic and land use pressures.”
Ontario’s ministers of
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agriculture, food and rural affairs
and municipal affairs and housing
were on hand for the ceremony.
OMAFRA Minister Dombrowsky
told the crowd it will be important
for agriculture to continue in the
GTA as the population growth will
need a fresh supply of quality food.
Minister Gerretsen said, “it is
important to give farmers the tools
they need to succeed.” The GTA
agricultural action plan, he said, is
“intended to strengthen the entire
agri-food industry in the GTA.”
Strategic directions identified in
the plan come under such headings
as defining economic
development opportunities,
promotion of those opportunities,
and taxation. The text of the plan
says “it will not be possible to
sustain agriculture over the long
term if the industry is not
financially viable. Taxation and tax
assessment are significant parts of
the equation for farmers.”
The plan also calls for an
education component - something
aimed at educating the decision
makers at all levels of government
about the significance of agriculture
in the GTA. Joyce Savoline, Halton
Region chair, hosted the
introduction of the plan, and told
the crowd of almost 100 about the
3,800 farms in the GTA, the
300,000 acres under cultivation, the
$1.3 billion in yearly sales from
agriculture, and the 35,000 jobs
the agriculture industry supports in
the GTA.
With the population growth
projected for the GTA in coming
years, protection of farmland and
farm families’ ability to make a
living from farming will be a huge
challenge for all aspects of society
in the GTA.
Ensuring the successful future of
farming in the Greater Toronto Area
and all other areas of the province
under pressure from urban
expansion will require a concerted
effort by farmers, by their
organizations, thc,ir municipal
leaders and by our senior
governments. A key to the success
of much of this will centre
around agriculture’s ability to
succeed economically.
The GTA action plan identifies a
broad range of initiatives important
to the future of farming, not only
in the GTA but elsewhere in the
province - everything from
keeping roads safe for slow-
moving farm equipment to
implementing measures to maintain
an adequate and safe source of
drinking water.
The Ontario Federation of
Agriculture will be working with
farmers across the province to
achieve these objectives.
BRUSSELS LIVESTOCK
Division of Gamble & Rogers Ltd.
UPCOMING SALES
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