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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-05-20, Page 12WHIT BEAN SEED i STARI WITH HYLAND QUALITY SUE TAG CERTJFIED SEED Your choice of white bean seed is one of the most important decisions you will make concerning your 1992 crop production. Growing a successful crop means starting with blue tag certified seed. Please order early! Due to the popularity of Thompson's Private varieties - Stinger, Midland, Wesland and Rocket, supplies may become limited. Contact your Thompson representative today. Our trained staff will help you develop a complete white bean program for 1992. Quality service and quality seed - our commitment to you. Available at your nearest W G. Thompson 6r Sons branch. Seaforth 345-2545 Ailga C44 293-3223 Port Albert 529-7901 WOO 348-$433 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 V Agriculture ONTARIO and food The On/,DifIIOn Tlfne it9aisFe! That. •Has The No -Till Toolbar Built Into The Main Frame, No Need For Expensive Add -On Coulter Caddies •Has Up To 750# Of Down Pressure Per Coulter •Has Hydraulically Adjusted Weight Transfer To The No -Till Coulters And Openers •Is Designed For Any Field Condition - No -Till, Min -Till, Or Conventional United Farn TOO1s The Leader /n Consen'iton Technology