The Rural Voice, 2001-06, Page 48Huron councillors
concerned over
move to hog barns
on smaller acreages
A move by Brussels -area swine giant
Acre T Farms to sell five of its barns
on parcels of land as small as 50 acres.
caused concern for several members of
Huron County Council. May 10.
But Gary Davidson. director of
planning and development, said there is
nothing the county can do to prevent
the severances from going through
because the Municipality of Huron East
has a provision that allows 50 -acre
farms.
It appears. Davidson says. that Acre
T's strategy is to sell some of its hog
barns and a small parcel of land to
employees who will own and manage
the barn. The only way to stop this kind
of transaction in the future would be to
prevent creation of 50 -acre farms,
Davidson said. and that might hurt
other farming ventures that would be
viable on 50 acres. (Several of the
severed parcels were larger than 50
acres.)
While councillors expressed concern
about the new farms not having enough
land on which to- spread the manure
produced, Davidson said there are
agreements in place with Acre T to
spread the manure on the land it
continues to hold (from 45 to 275
acres). "It's a very difficult situation,"
he said.
"Huron East is quite advanced in
keeping track to make sure there is no
double use of land," Davidson said,
answering concerns that some farmland
might be under agreement to receive
manure from more than one farm.
"We also have concerns about these
issues," said Lin Steffler, Huron East
councillor. "We will continue to
monitor the situation. We keep on file a
large map (marking which farms have
agreements to take manure from which
other farms). Acre T owns 3,000 acres
in Grey Township alone and I just
heard this week they've bought another
400. They've given us assurances and
we'll take them at their word."
Ben VanDiepenbeek, from Ashfield-
Colborne-Wawanosh wondered what
would prevent Acre T from applying
for building permits to build on the
land they've retained.
Davidson pointed out each new barn
44 THE RURAL VOICE
News
must have a nutrient management plan
showing where it will use its manure.
Since Acre T's land is already
committed to the owners of the barns
it's selling there would be no land on
which to spread the manure from a new
barn. he said.
Deb Shewfelt. mayor of Goderich.
said new official plans need to be
drafted for all municipalities to deal
with large livestock operations and
manure problems and plans must be
based on the whole watershed. "You
can have all the plans you want but
people won't obey." he said. "[t rests
with the upper tier (the county) to
enforce the rules."
But North Huron Councillor Jeff
Howson objected to the constant
criticism of Acre T. "A lot of county
people are employed by their
operation." he said. "Sometimes it
bothers me to hear all of the negativity.
If they're following our guidelines they
need to be given the benefit of the
doubt."0
Warning issued over
West Nile Virus
dangers
The Huron County Health Unit is
warning people to beware of
mosquitos this summer.
Aside from the regular irritation of
a mosquito bite, the insects could be
carrying a deadly disease, the West
Nile Virus.
The West Nile Virus is spread by
infected mosquitos and cannot be
spread by human contact. Symptoms
of fever, headaches, swollen lymph
nodes, skin rash and muscle aches
develop three to 12 days after a
mosquito bite. In some people,
especially the elderly, the virus
causes severe headache, high fever,
confusion, coma, and possible death.
Although the West Nile Virus is
most common in Africa, West Asia
and the Middle East, the first
outbreak in North America was in
New York City in the summer of
1999. There have been 61 confirmed
. human cases of the virus and seven
deaths around New York city.
According to Craig Metzger the
resource services division manager of
the Huron County Health Unit it is
only a matter of time before the virus
hits Canada. Last summer, a bird
with West Nile Virus was found
three kilometres from the border.
A good indication that the virus is
in the area is dead birds. In fact,
Metzger said birds have fallen dead
three weeks before any human cases
were found.
"The crows and the jays are most
susceptible to dying as a result of
being bit by a mosquito carrying the
virus," Metzger said.
The health unit is asking people to
call if they find a dead crow or blue
jay, so the bird can be investigated
for the virus. Do not touch it.
To prevent the disease people
should reduce the potential mosquito
breeding sites on their property by
getting rid of standing water.
Mosquitos flock to garbage cans,
clogged-eavestroughs, birdbaths and
old tires.
"After getting rid of containers that
are not being used, 'drain the rain'
once a week from those containers
that you must keep. Be sure to
include flower pots, pool covers, and
bird baths in your weekly 'drain the
rain' activities," said Dr. Beth
Henning, the Huron County Unit's
medical officer of health.
The health unit also suggests
people wear insect repellent, but with
five to.10 per cent DEET on children
two to 10 years old and no repellent
on children under two. It also
recommends that people stay inside
or wear long pants and sleeves in the
early morning and at dusk when
mosquitos are most abundant, and
that door and window screens do not
have holes.
Metzger said the weather will play
a large role in how many mosquitos
there are.
"If you get rid of the standing
water so they're not breeding right
where you are living, and it's a dry
year, mosquitos will prefer to feed on
the birds," Metzger said.
"If it is a wet year and there are a
lot of mosquitos, there may not be
enough birds to go around. Then
people and horses and other animals
are suitable sources of food for them
and they will come after us," Metzger
said.0