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The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-07-06, Page 5Wednesday, July 6, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 5 Bruce Community Pasture to celebrate 50 years with farm tour July 16 A celebration of the 50th year of the beginning of the community pasture in Bruce County takes place this July. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday July 16, 2016, with a tour of the farm building and equip- ment and a wagon tour of the pasture farm followed by lunch and cake. If necessary, another tour will proceed at 1 p.m. "We hope you will join us and help us celebrate this wonderful occasion," Bruce Community Pasture chair Murray Howe said in the media release. The event will be located at fire #1514 on Municipality of Kincardine Concession 6, west of Underwood. Lunch will be served by the Paisley 4H club at noon and Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and any memorabilia of our commu- nity pasture history they'd like to share. Bruce Community Pasture History Shortly after taking power in 1957, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker announced a national agriculture program for Canada. The Federal Minister of Agriculture, Alvin Hamilton spoke at the Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture meeting in November 1961 where he explained the program, Agri- cultural Rehabilitation and Development Act (ARDA). The primary objective of the program was to improve the productivity of marginal land. The plan involved three levels of government: federal, provincial, and municipal. The provincial government delegated responsibility to the conser- vation authorities and it was in connection with this that the Saugeen Valley Conser- vation Authority picked up the idea of a large commu- nity pasture project. Among the benefits of a community pasture was that a small farmer who could not afford to buy a grass farm could take advantage of renting his pasture requirement and could benefit in two ways: Could keep his cattle longer rather than selling them before maturity and could free up his home land for cropping. Five Directors were appointed to the Manage- ment Committee which included one representative from each of the following: Bruce County Cattlemen's Assoc., B.C. Soil and Crop Many people turned out for the round -up in August 2015, including riders Andy McCulloch - Pasture Manager, George Holm, Bob Kennedy and his son. Submitted The Bruce Community Pasture celebrates its 50th anniversary with an event at the Municipality of Kincardine Conc. 6 property on July 16, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Many people turned out for the round -up in August 2015, including riders Andy McCulloch - Pasture Manager, George Holm, Bob Kennedy and his son. Long time pasture manager Glen Wells. Improvement Association and B.C. Federation of Agriculture. One of the proposed loca- tions of possibly 1,000 acres for consideration was in Southern Bruce County, Bruce Township to be exact. After some negotiations, the land was purchased in 1966, 1967 and 1968 plus 200 acres in 1970 bringing a total acreage to 1,400 acres. Of the 1,400 acres, 200 acres was bush and 100 acres of steep hills which did not produce great pasture. The land was in a run-down condition and badly grown up with thorn trees. Thorn trees were bulldozed off, new fences erected in 100 acre lots, low pot holes drained, a well was drilled and water piped to all lots. The farm was then seeded down. In 1972, Glen Wells of Cargill was engaged as farm manager along with employee, Ted Parker. Glen and Ted treated the pasture farm like their own by car- ing for the cattle, maintain- ing fences and buildings, clipping pastures and keep- ing the farm operating smoothly. The cattle then and now are checked daily for sickness. Lame and sick cattle are initially treated in the field but if not respond- ing well are taken into the corral for further treatment. Salt and mineral are availa- ble freely at all times and the cattle are rotated to fresh pasture every few days. At the end of the season, a round -up is performed on horseback by the manager along with other local people with horses. Following many years of service, Glen Wells and Ted Parker retired. In 1991, an extensive stream -back erosion project was undertaken with the help from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority and Ontario Hydro: 75,000 cedars, spruce, and white pine were planted. Fences were erected along the creek to prevent the cattle from nwmo NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION polluting the creek and breaking down the shoreline. Although the land was paid for and the initial devel- opment costs were paid by the ARDA program, the farm continued to pay its own way since that time. In 1997, the Provincial government decided to sell off the Ontario pasture farms. All eleven of the Ontario pasture farms lobbied to save them. In 1999, the farms were offered for sale at a price of $1,000,000. SOCIETE DE GESTION DES DECHETS NUCLEAIRES The eleven pasture farm committees formed a non - for -profit corporation, Asso- ciation of Community Pas- tures and purchased the land in 2000. The Associa- tion's head office is in Guelph, Ontario and the affairs are managed by a board of directors represent- ing the eleven farms. The Association meets on a yearly basis. The property under the Bruce Community Pasture has continued to pay its own way and our obligation was NWMO Learn More Centre Everyone is welcome. Drop in and learn more about Adaptive Phased Management (APM), and ongoing work in the area. APM is Canada's plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is working collaboratively with Huron -Kinloss to consider the project and advance preliminary assessment studies. The Township of Huron -Kinloss is one of nine communities involved in this learning process. free of debt in 2010. A new processing chute was pur- chased in 2015 which proved to be beneficial by weighing the cattle on arrival and departure to determine how well the cattle did over the season. This is an edited version from the books, "Bruce Township Tales and Trails" by Township of Bruce His- torical "Society and A Record of Achievement, Bruce County's Leadership in Farm Organizations" by James W. Powers. NWMO Learn More Centre (Huron -Kinloss', 46 Queen St., Ripley ON (across from Lewis Park) 519.386.6711 Wednesdays Thursdays Fridays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.