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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-01-11, Page 88 Signal Star • Wednesday, January 11, 2017 Maple among several native species to be planted locally during Canada's 150th Anniversary Year 7% Tree ordedorni AV for Spring 2017 is now available Submitted Planting trees is a great way to commemorate mile- stones and Ausable Bayfield Conservation is encouraging people'to consider planting trees and posting Maple tree photos and stories to cele- brate Canada's 150th Anni- versary Year in 2017. I think one of the best ways we could celebrate Canada 150 is by planting trees," said Ian Jean, forestry and land stewardship spe- cialist with Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). Each spring, local land- owners order tens of thou- sands of trees for planting through the ABCA tree order program. Maple trees are among the native species that will be planted. The spring tree order form is now available online at abca. on.ca. To help celebrate the 150th anniversary of Cana- dian confederation, Ausable Bayfield Conservation is holding a photo contest this year to feature the maple tree. The maple tree has played a major role in Cana- da's history and the maple remains a powerful Cana- dian symbol today. "In my travels throughout our watershed I have seen some fantastic maple trees in farmyards, woodlots, and old fencerows," Jean said. For contest rules visit the trees page at abca.on.ca You may submit your photo to the contest simply by post- ing your photo of your favour- ite maple tree on the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Face - book page or'l Witter feed with this hashtag: #MapleI50.Or, you could email your entry, with #Maple 150 Photo Con- test in the subject line, to info@abca.on.ca. To be eligible for the con- test, photos should be posted or received by Friday, March 31, 2017, at noon. If your tree has a story to tell the conservation authority encourages you to share that as well. The winner of the photo contest will receive a free 200 -centimetre (six- foot -tall) maple tree for planting in April. Jean said that "we hope people will share with us their photos of colourful maple Ieaves or large, old trees with charac- ter, or any maple tree that has a story to tell" The impact of people's efforts to plant trees is help- ing to maintain and improve the health of the Ausable and - Bayfield watersheds and local forests, according to Jean. "People are having a posi- tive impact when they plant trees," he said. If you wish to order trees for spring plant- ing the order form is now online at abca.on.ca on the 'order trees' page. Forms will be mailed upon request or are also available at the office at 71108 Morrison Line, just east of Exeter and south of Highway 83. Inter- ested people can mail in their orders until Jan. 31, 2017. Orders accompanied by payment may be placed until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb- ruary 28, 2017. Ausable Bayfield Conser- vation purchases trees from private nurseries to offer for sale to watershed residents. The purchase price includes costs such transportation of trees to the office east of Exe- ter, cold storage and han- dling. Maple trees available for purchase through the spring tree order form include Sugar (Hard) Maple; Silver (Soft) Maple; and Autumn Blaze (a red -silver hybrid Maple). Other availa- ble species include White Cedar; Norway Spruce; White Spruce; Blue Spruce; Tama- rack; Austrian Pine; Red Oak; Bur Oak; Black Walnut; Black Cherry; Sycamore; and Tulip Tree. A number of shrubs and small trees are also avail- able such as Red Osier Dog- wood; Staghorn Sumac; Highbush Cranberry; Nanny - berry Viburnum; and Serviceberry. Grant programs are avail- able for projects such as windbreaks, watercourse buffers and larger scale reforestation projects that inay cover between 50 per cent and 100 per cent of the project costs, depending on the type of project and avail- ability of local funding pro- grams. ABCA staff work on behalf of landowners -to access applicable funding. Trees and windbreaks offer benefits for landowners and the local community, accord- ing to Jean. He said trees can help to reduce wind stress on field crops and livestock, improve water quality, pro- vide wildlife habitat, increase crop yields and mark prop- erty lines. "Properly designed windbreaks can be used to manage drifting snow around homes and farms," he said. "They help reduce soil ero- sion, reduce winter heating costs and summer cooling costs, and much more." For more information visit abca.on.ca or contact Ian Jean, Forestry and Land Stew- ardship Specialist at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, by phone at 519- 235-2610, extension 238, or toll-free at 1-888-286-2610. Trade deals, higher costs part of 2017 farm outlook John Miner London Free Press This year could be a tricky year for Southwestern Ontar- io's farm sector with tighter margins, looming questions over trade deals, and maybe even interest rate hikes. Then, there is the weather. "As producers, 'we need to be aware of the different sit- uations and what is going on and make sure we don't put ourselves in jeopardy," said Mark Brock, a Perth County farmer and chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Brock and others in the agriculture industry said going into 2017 much of the sector is on solid financial footing after several years.of high commodity prices ear- lier in the decade. That gave producers an opportunity to pay down debt and put money aside. "At the start of every year we always hope for some good and great things," said Brock"I think we are setting the stage for an optimistic 2017. We've got some snow and moisture so we have some moisture back into the ground after a dry year." . Crop prices also have improved from lows hit last fall, adding to the optimism. But there are things for which to watch. One is Ontario's new cap and trade system aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emission& Elgin County vegetable farmer Mark Wales, a director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said cap and trade will add to farm costs for gaso- line, natural gas and propane. "These are new costs that are unrecoverable by Ontario farmers from the marketplace. In addition there are no carbon offsets that farmers can sell to offset the new costs," Wales said. "All of these costs will filter through the entire Ontario economy and effect everything we touch and everything that touches our farm businesses" Trade is another big unknown in 2017 for the agri-food sector. Al Mussel of Agri -Food Economic Systems, an inde- pendent research organiza- tion based in Guelph, said it would, be naive fol South- western Ontario's agri-food sector to ignore the trade statements of incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. "When he says he would like to renegotiate NAFTA we have to take it very seri- ously," Mussel said. Ontario's supply managed sectors — dairy, chickens, eggs — could be targeted because they are protected by tariffs, he said. The Canada -European Union Comprehensive Eco- nomic and Trade Agreement (CETA) also will start to kick in in 2017, Mussel said, giving Europeans more access to Canada's cheese market. "The Europeans will not sell us their run of the mill stuff, it will be their high-end stuff," he said. On the flip side, Canada gains more access to the European market for beef, pork and wheat. An issue for Ontario is finding more pro- cessing capacity for its pork so it can take advantage of that access, Mussel said. Interest rates are another wild card. Trump may be more tolerant of inflation than his predecessors, lead- ing to higher interest rates that could spill over the bor- der, Mussel said. "We could see increases in interest rates that we haven't seen in some time. If it was 100 basis points, I can't imagine. there would be blood in the aisles, but if we were to get four or five hun- dred basis points, then that would pose problems for people," he said. The one thing farmers and policy makers will have no con- trol over in 2017 is the weather "You can do everything right, take every precaution, do perfect marketing but in the end, all things weather will determine success or failure for the year. Mother Nature always wins," Wales said. l ' zi 1 i.' 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Finished lower level. Large Lot S169.000. 462 Building Lots! _ � �� 179911 AWhat lbw` H %for h? 4.18 acre Goderich $429,000 #66 36 acres Wingham $279,000 #41 43 acres Wingham $99,000 #40. ._ , •`- ' tal l BUY WITH CONFIDENCE! Call fora Free 519524-4473 www.talbotrealty.com •NOT INTENDED TO B0T BROKERAGE 620 Elgin Avenue Fast. . Goderich. ON N7A 1K2 SEU. WITH EXPERIENCE! Home Evaluation! SOUCIT PROPERTIES At FOR SALE IDEAL STARTER OR INVESTMENT! 3 bdrm home. Mairdenance-free exterior. Quiet west as street 5159.900.443 free 200 -centimetre (six- foot -tall) maple tree for planting in April. Jean said that "we hope people will share with us their photos of colourful maple Ieaves or large, old trees with charac- ter, or any maple tree that has a story to tell" The impact of people's efforts to plant trees is help- ing to maintain and improve the health of the Ausable and - Bayfield watersheds and local forests, according to Jean. "People are having a posi- tive impact when they plant trees," he said. If you wish to order trees for spring plant- ing the order form is now online at abca.on.ca on the 'order trees' page. Forms will be mailed upon request or are also available at the office at 71108 Morrison Line, just east of Exeter and south of Highway 83. Inter- ested people can mail in their orders until Jan. 31, 2017. Orders accompanied by payment may be placed until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb- ruary 28, 2017. Ausable Bayfield Conser- vation purchases trees from private nurseries to offer for sale to watershed residents. The purchase price includes costs such transportation of trees to the office east of Exe- ter, cold storage and han- dling. Maple trees available for purchase through the spring tree order form include Sugar (Hard) Maple; Silver (Soft) Maple; and Autumn Blaze (a red -silver hybrid Maple). Other availa- ble species include White Cedar; Norway Spruce; White Spruce; Blue Spruce; Tama- rack; Austrian Pine; Red Oak; Bur Oak; Black Walnut; Black Cherry; Sycamore; and Tulip Tree. A number of shrubs and small trees are also avail- able such as Red Osier Dog- wood; Staghorn Sumac; Highbush Cranberry; Nanny - berry Viburnum; and Serviceberry. Grant programs are avail- able for projects such as windbreaks, watercourse buffers and larger scale reforestation projects that inay cover between 50 per cent and 100 per cent of the project costs, depending on the type of project and avail- ability of local funding pro- grams. ABCA staff work on behalf of landowners -to access applicable funding. Trees and windbreaks offer benefits for landowners and the local community, accord- ing to Jean. He said trees can help to reduce wind stress on field crops and livestock, improve water quality, pro- vide wildlife habitat, increase crop yields and mark prop- erty lines. "Properly designed windbreaks can be used to manage drifting snow around homes and farms," he said. "They help reduce soil ero- sion, reduce winter heating costs and summer cooling costs, and much more." For more information visit abca.on.ca or contact Ian Jean, Forestry and Land Stew- ardship Specialist at Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, by phone at 519- 235-2610, extension 238, or toll-free at 1-888-286-2610. Trade deals, higher costs part of 2017 farm outlook John Miner London Free Press This year could be a tricky year for Southwestern Ontar- io's farm sector with tighter margins, looming questions over trade deals, and maybe even interest rate hikes. Then, there is the weather. "As producers, 'we need to be aware of the different sit- uations and what is going on and make sure we don't put ourselves in jeopardy," said Mark Brock, a Perth County farmer and chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Brock and others in the agriculture industry said going into 2017 much of the sector is on solid financial footing after several years.of high commodity prices ear- lier in the decade. That gave producers an opportunity to pay down debt and put money aside. "At the start of every year we always hope for some good and great things," said Brock"I think we are setting the stage for an optimistic 2017. We've got some snow and moisture so we have some moisture back into the ground after a dry year." . Crop prices also have improved from lows hit last fall, adding to the optimism. But there are things for which to watch. One is Ontario's new cap and trade system aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emission& Elgin County vegetable farmer Mark Wales, a director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, said cap and trade will add to farm costs for gaso- line, natural gas and propane. "These are new costs that are unrecoverable by Ontario farmers from the marketplace. In addition there are no carbon offsets that farmers can sell to offset the new costs," Wales said. "All of these costs will filter through the entire Ontario economy and effect everything we touch and everything that touches our farm businesses" Trade is another big unknown in 2017 for the agri-food sector. Al Mussel of Agri -Food Economic Systems, an inde- pendent research organiza- tion based in Guelph, said it would, be naive fol South- western Ontario's agri-food sector to ignore the trade statements of incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. "When he says he would like to renegotiate NAFTA we have to take it very seri- ously," Mussel said. Ontario's supply managed sectors — dairy, chickens, eggs — could be targeted because they are protected by tariffs, he said. The Canada -European Union Comprehensive Eco- nomic and Trade Agreement (CETA) also will start to kick in in 2017, Mussel said, giving Europeans more access to Canada's cheese market. "The Europeans will not sell us their run of the mill stuff, it will be their high-end stuff," he said. On the flip side, Canada gains more access to the European market for beef, pork and wheat. An issue for Ontario is finding more pro- cessing capacity for its pork so it can take advantage of that access, Mussel said. Interest rates are another wild card. Trump may be more tolerant of inflation than his predecessors, lead- ing to higher interest rates that could spill over the bor- der, Mussel said. "We could see increases in interest rates that we haven't seen in some time. If it was 100 basis points, I can't imagine. there would be blood in the aisles, but if we were to get four or five hun- dred basis points, then that would pose problems for people," he said. The one thing farmers and policy makers will have no con- trol over in 2017 is the weather "You can do everything right, take every precaution, do perfect marketing but in the end, all things weather will determine success or failure for the year. Mother Nature always wins," Wales said.