HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-05-20, Page 12WHIT BEAN SEED
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Hensall 262-2527 crantcl ) 225-2360
'A GROWING TRADITION
Cap PaSectilso hsib to better ensure our food safety
motiortawits
• nr.A4shar
MICR - the affray of
• your'eedaoppty is BtMr-
aateedby tlho coaape-
teaoc hof ow in-
volved in its
pcnduction. But
who is sesponsi-
-We for the -safety
of products mod in its production.
While the government beeps a
stringent eye on' both 'producers
and practices, the Crop Protection
Institute of Canada (ODIC) bas
spent the past 40 years offering
some much needed advice.
•A non-profit -trade association,
CPIC represents the manufacturers,
formulators, and distributors of:stg-
ricaltural crop protection and pest
control products in Canada.
Formed in 1952,its purpose is to
provide leadership and to facilitate
the Cooperation of its members in
providing crop protection technolo-
gy in Canada. In doing so, they
hope to foster the development of
the industry and .increase Canadi--
ans' understanding and apprecia-
tion that safe and effective technol-
ogy is necessary to provide an
abundant supply of food and fibre.
Wendy Rose joined the institute
a year and half ago as manager of
communications, and it is her re-
sponsibility to communicate to
members, the public, and media
why technology is needed, how it
fits into agriculture, and the impor-
tance to the farmer.
The non-profit organization is
funded entirely by its membership.
` 110doseti esodeaaaolatesaattabers
ipay-smial fee.ao Ott ase tl uu
stets a— Efl eroftieaapett.Rk
industry aaaooir . 'At 'resent
• time, -Metes lour dray pettpewts
wmderway.
The fest involves ' so
-wareheoitipg atambeds�'she
institute hopes to have in-effectby
-1995 brovary-wanehehwe4a8ana-
da. If warehouses •vAdch+alone the
minute's products do mot meet
with ODIC shandies, mem eraom-
panieswill not ship to diem.
"We develop these ina raki dste-
cause society isdeawtdklt,".osn-
fismed Rose. 'Vile unit to
itsve•enviroranental hazards."
-The second phase consists of an
intensive pesticide container man-
agement program which began in
western Canada in 1990. Nearly 66
percent of CPICs sales are located
in the prairie provinces of Alberta,
Saskatchewan and Manitoba. •
The industry itself has ah,sady
committed S10 million to this pro-
gram, placing a Si levy on every
container that is put into a field or
used by a farmer. The money then
goes into a fund at CPIC.
Collection sites have been set up
in the three provinces and as of this
year, a recycled product has been
developed out of the plastic con-
tainers. Following their collection,
the containers are shredded and
turned into fenceposts. The gov-
ernment of Alberta has just placed
its first order for 10.000 posts.
"Currently, the industry is leading
the world in This area," said Rose.
"We have had many visitors come
Elmer Buchanan Ontario's Min-
ister of Agriculture and 'Food, has
been the driving force behind ask-
ing all farmers to register so that
they can be charged $150 a year as
members of one of three farm or-
ganizations:. The Ontario Federa-
tion of Agriculture, the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario and
the Ontario branch of the National
Fanners Union.
Buchanan demanded compulsory
registration and • left it up to the
farmers to negotiate the deal.
If a person pays income .tax as a
farmer, he -or she is eligible to reg-
ister. If heir she does not register,
he or she will be charged the $150
anyway and 80 percent of the $150
will go to the OFA with 10 percent
to the other two organizations.
Personally, I think the federation
has been generous in allowing the
10 percent.
The NFU has never divulged its
membership and 1 doubt if it has a
thousand paid up in this province.
The CFFA admits to about $650
members.
The S150 a year charged by the
government happens to match the
present membership fee for the
OFA and the CFFA. However, the
• CFFA requests much more than
$150 a year in voluntary fees.
I think there arc about 60,000
who call themselves fanners in On-
tario although it may end up around
55,000 or perhaps 57,000. No mat-
ter. The minister of agriculture has
been right in demanding registra-
tion although it will certainly mean
a great deal more paper work and
• more civil servants for his ministry.
Without the registration, all kinds
of trouble would have ensued.
There will be unrest in the boon-
docks anyway. A backlash from
Mose farmers who are not members
of any farm organization is bound
to come and I hope these objectors .
will be dealt with in an understand-
ing manner.
As a former college professor, 1
was forced to pay union dues even
if I did not believe in the militancy
of the labor movement I became a
member of the union because I
couldsee-thebontts;of aaauub.rs.
However, I alwAYS sesonI d beang
"Favor d" . nto payYli dila&
I'm acre avoid away ,iannera Q{tt
*OM tial,themono way:aad hal ncb-
ject to.hsing•iavot ced31f0.ldy:tad-
vice _to .deem iia4o gnat' std JOY
up became lion aWaniaationssort
lawn to weak ,in isOU9oy teed. *beY
need as ,much baloney 4s ,they tan
beg, borrow er Amid go do haOk
with ,the hoe .coasionew hes -ebas
now ovnttol.theioodobain•
I have been ,(told that .,the half- :
down food ohaips,,in QINtMiio ,t it
remain ;in a tvodpMjec a anion tie
teat rlogplapf "js yNAIL pp.
lieu° Jo grass foelo fsrpptktes;atlhe
farmyste.
'['these ,big thaw) hsvei4b .saesh
clout that farmers will need all the
money they can get to do battle. Ru-
mors abound that .at least one food
chain is on the ropes and another
could follow.
The A&P is the largest chain in
Ontario. Provigo-Loeb is .another
biggie followed by the Oshawa
Group, owners of Dutch Boy and
the Knechtel chain, and Loblaw's,
also owners of Zehrs Markets. Then
there is Sobey's which dominates in
the Maritimes but is said to be los-
ing money with Calbeck's. a recent
purchase to get a foothold in Onta-
rio.
Still a force in Ontario is .Knob
Hill Farms, said to be struggling
with its huge new outlet in Cam-
bridge.
These people can do a great deal
of squeezing. Farmers need money
and unity of purpose to keep the
playing field level.
That's why the automatic payment
from every farmer is a good idea
and Buchanan was smart to insist
on it.
hen lash like US linatillanepe ao
• fled ,ant-4Atalet 'the analner ''pro-
71te• gthd tenth) let,ill Ln in-
volves awtattttttioallatts. The in-
dustry Tatelessined rim lams ago
that diorweren't dein a+bry geed
job of telling people *mut pesti-
cides and •wlty they ar+e-treed. -'Ihe
Silstilatailewillsa-siratogy in place
to develop a boner understanding
of pesticides with its own members,
helping them to communicate these
principles So media, Ann groups,
academia end government.
t.
"The I ntsiwte is making an effort
to -talk mare about technology, its
ate in agriculture and the impor-
tance it frits played in providing the
fend supply that we have," agreed
Rese.
- Ilse industry has also spent over
2000,000 in the last few years, de-
whiphlg another initiative, a user
safety program. The goal is to help
the fanner understand how to use
chemicals and implement safety
practices such as laundering of
clothes,.spraying, and wearing rub-
ber gloves. Materials developed
will be distributed- through both the
media -and member company.
The two largest issues currently
being tackled on a national perspec-
tive are the regulatory reform docu-
ment together with its recommen-
dations, and the grower import
issue.
In 1988, CPIC along with 11 oth-
er officials and organizations com-
bined to help produce a pest man-
agement regulatory review. The
purpose of the document was to
look at the current system, and im-
prove upon it.
It was a real learning process for
all involved because environmen-
talists had strong concerns, consu-
mer groups had certain impressions
of the technology, farmers -saw it as
key to their success and for the in-
dustry, the regulatory system is the
backbone for making sure the prod-
uct is getting to market.
The recommendation everyone
agreed was most important was that
the system had to become more ef-
ficient. Currently, pesticide tech-
nology is the most regulated in
Canada. After being approved by
Agriculture Canada, it must then be
given the green light by Environ-
ment Canada as well as Health and
Welfare Canada before being al-
lowed on the market.
Every product that comes to
market costs between $50-100 mil-
Usborne 4-H
By Sherry Cassell
EXETER - The first meeting of
Usborne II 4-H "A Walk on The
Wild Side" was held Monday, May
11. The leaders of the new group
are Rick and Karen Etherington.
The president is Derek Etherington,
and secretary -treasurer Erin Parker.
The group's next meeting is Mon-
day, may 25 when they study the
great outdoors.
lien. -Asollar411104eillian4s
sOOwan
M 12
tltMl.n spoons
ala �
rnllllan tiler It4ovas'*e Zwedian
•
Rene, ''Write lune
pleassd-ttbourthat 'bscaue it len-
sures the safety of psolife and the
environment."
Cunettily,'the major concern of
the migulat5ry foment is that ,it is
parte years behind 'the Acaridan
system. It tribes five years wpm a
peduct appealed in Canada, but
only two in -die US.
'What it meats," said IReae, 'is
our competitive firmer is trotting
newer; more :#iiltgwumadame sn-
vironmaaolly friendly -technology
three years -ahead orate Liman
farmer, 'placing •there at a competi-
tive disadvantage."
Concerns aver grower import
have ptompied reconunendations in
the document •that there be a third
party price monitoring system for
the first year. This would unsure
that, ell things being equal, there is
a real price difference.
Unfortunately, some groups in
Oraario would like to bypass this
system. Some farmers are interest-
ed in importing US products, but
there is contention tight now in re-
gard to it being done as recom-
mended in the document. .
'There are a number of things we
as an industry have to do,' agreed
Rose. 'Regulations -require it, and
now there is a strong group in On-
tario saying it doesn't matter."
The institute is concerned the
safety of the user may be over-
looked, if instructions are not fol-
lowed correctly. There is also the
stewardship issue. If a product is
imported, who is going to collect it
as the institute does through its col-
lection sights. A pilot collection
program has been started this year
in Ontario, but there are concerns
over who is responsible for empty
containers from the United States.
There are also various issues over
who will service the farmer in Can-
ada, and problems of equivalency,
such as will the product - imported
be the same as that in Canada
Exeter 11 4-H
By Chris Passmore
EXETER - Take a Walk on the
Wild Side! Exeter II 4-H did, and
their first meeting was an exciting
one. The pledge. as usual, opened
the meeting; after which they
played a game. They talked over
any ideas for achievement night,
and elected the officers.
Some discussion followed with
the roll call, as they tried to decide
what the highest point of land with-
in 15 km of our meeting was.
The mission for next week is to
find a tide page, a club . name, and
to bring a bag with all of the over-
night camping necessities. Meeting
two will be at Morrison Dam, May
14.
Since its inception, the institute
las devoted itself to educating ('a
radians. While CPI(' is not a gov-
ernment agency, its members will
continue to work with governments
HI all levels to help inform the pub-
lic, shape legislation and provide
information for tomorrow's safety.
CENTRALIA
tbLLEGE
Huron Park, Ontario NOM 1Y0
Interested In a Career In Agri -business?
Then john as for College preview Day! .
Make plans to attend an information session on the 2 -year
diploma program
In Agriculture Business Management
:on
Wednesday May 27, 1992
from
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
- meet the faculty .
- tour the facilities
- discuss career opportunttles
To register, or for more information
contact Centralia College at (519) 228-6691. ext. 245.
(;� Ministry of
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