The Lucknow Sentinel, 1998-12-16, Page 8Lueknow Sentinel, Wednesday, P=tuber 16, 1998
.ne rdine township farmer heads up ru:Ge FoA
• by Bev fry
Keeping the voice of
farmers- in municipal poli-
tics is one of the aims of
the Bruce County -
Federation sof Agriculture.
Murray dark, a fifth
generation Kincardine
Township farmer, was
e claimed ptesidene of the
federation in November,
Rick Robson. of
Kincardine was :named
second viae president.
Clark, ,S, has some
concerts about the amal-
gamation of cotufnunitiess
in Bruce County. As of
. Jan. 1, there will only be
eight municipalities in the
county, down:tom 3L
Clark said due to amal-
gamation, there will be no
more Agriculture, Tourism
and Planning carmiitee at
the new Bruce. County
council.
"We have asked for a
egn nittee to deal with
agricultural issues when
they come • up, rather than
having staff deal with
thein. Perth County,
Middlesex County,
Chatham -Kent, .all have
agricultural: committees at
the upper tier level.'
.He said the executive
committee of Bruce
County council, is looking
at the request
Menicipal tan timing*
. concern
Locally, one of Clark's
worries ishow the consul
tant for the new maniei-.
polity of K.incardin.e-
Br4ce-Tiverton is setting
up the new municipality.
""There is a proposal for
six tax payments per year..
Three months in a row in
the spring, (March, April
and May) and•.three
months in a tow in the fall
(September. October.
November). There has
been no eonstiltation'with
anyone but the transition
board." '
He:said every year cash
flows out of farms in the
spring, for seeding eosts.
It's those three months.
in the spring which will be
hard for fanners. Maybe
there .should be some eon-
sideration far this faro and
how it affects fartne's
cash flow. There' arc busi-
nesses who, borrow jn the
spring that will have to
borrow more money to
pay the taxes."
Clark said it may be
better to pay .taxes every
month. '
"I've asked members
across the county to "see
what other municipalities
are prcipasing andto keep
an eye on it.'.'
Bruce County has the
12th highest agriculture
sales in Ontario.., out of
about 50 counties in the
province. Gross sales are
$253 million a year, Clark
said each dollar spent on a
farm multiplies itself
seven times. .
He said .the federation.
is looking at producing an.
eeouomic impact study,
similar to the one pro-
duced .in Huron. County.
t
Clark said another issue
the federation is dealing
with is the drought many
Bruee and Grey County
farmers experienced this
suminee
The' effects of the
drought has left many
farmers with little or no
feed to carry their herds
through the winter, and the
damage to hay and pasture
fields this year may result
in: problem. s agent next
yew
"There ate; aa
tot of guys
scrambling for feed. I
know one young farmer
just starting gut in the
township. He's new to the
area and he still doesn't
knowa lot of people. He's
had to buy feed from other
farmers." •
Across' the two coon -
ties, livestock herds have
been:•sold or reduced, and
yields on corn,' beans and
wheat are down by one
third or more in.many
eases Wells andponds
have gone dry and water
tables: may not recuperate
until spring.
Clark showed a import,
written by faertie Blake
the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture Meld tepresen-
tative,, which said one area
fainter, who lives on Old
Age Security, has beers
without water for three
months,
"It's been quite a hard-
ship to have water deliv-
ered every weep," the
'fanner. wrote.
"We've had to buy drink-
ing water. Now we are try- •
i►'tg to be able to pay to
have a well drilled, At our
ager it is difficult to carry
water."
"Comparison'' otthe
immediate and long -terra
droughtdamage is being
made tothe ice storm that
hit 'Eastern. Ontario. last
Winter, Thl3riace and
they federations are cafl-
isig,-ihe drought a disaster,.
and have the support of a
number • of .municipal
councils which • have
declared the drought a dis-
aster .and are calling .for
financial assistance from
the. province.
"Vire've.been circulat-
ing drought information
sheets along with the Grey •
County Federation of
Agriculture."
Both federations, whish
Share an office in Hanover,.
want to get a. 'sense of thee
impact of the drought on
fanners and c:oine up with
a dollar figure.
The forms will be sent
to a drought den nittee
which, will: break down the
impact by township.
"They'll use the forms
to support the .townships'.
declaration of disaster.
. They.. will show the linen-
• see Drough page.t2
I'M DAVE PALMER FROM TECUMSEH,
A 'BANK OF MONTREAL CUSTOMER::
What do the banks plan to :to with
my service feesbafer the mercer?
Q •`MC•
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