The Rural Voice, 2001-11, Page 31
R.V.
Editor & Publisher: Keith Roulston
editorial advisory committee:
Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County
Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty.
George Penfold, associate professor.
University of Guelph
Gerald Poechman. farmer, Bruce Cty.
contributing writers:
Bonnie Gropp, Ralph Pearce,
Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Sandra
Orr, Janice Becker, Andrew Grindlay,
Mark Nonkes, Larry Drew
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Gerry Fortune
advertising representative:
Merle Gunby
production co-ordinator:
Joan Caldwell
advertising & editorial production:
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Behind the Scenes
From farmhouses to food security
They stand proudly in the
countryside, a living symbol of the
fertility of Ontario soil. Ontario's
farmhouses, likely to be constructed
of brick or stone, stand out from the
houses in farming areas elsewhere on
the continent where wood was the
more typical building material.
The very appearance of our
farmhouses tells of the history of our
ancestors and the early years of our
communities. This month Larry Drew
delves into that history with a
fascinating story.
Two stories this month that can be
loosely included under the category
of food security. First of all, in our
news section, OFA President Jack
Wilkinson says consumers should be
more concerned about food security
in the days following the September
11 terrorist attacks and should be
grateful for Canadian farmers and
processors for putting HACCP
systems in place. Farm groups must
tell the story of these systems and
take advantage of this concern for
security to make Canadians more
aware of the value of having locally -
produced food.
Local food production is also at
the heart of a feature on a new
program in Huron County to
encourage people to improve their
diets. The Huron Good Food Box
program will promote local food at
the same time as it provides good
quality fresh fruits and vegetables.
It's the kind of program that has been
instituted elsewhere in the province.
It's the time of the year when
Federations of Agriculture are
holding their annual meetings. Three
local Federations have already met.
As mentioned, Jack Wilkinson spoke
at the Huron Federation's meeting
while Clare Lewis, the Ombudsman
of Ontario spoke at the Grey
Federation meeting. Perth County
heard about farming in Central
America from Phil Anwender, who
toured the area with Class 8 of the
Advanced Agricultural Leadership
Program.0
Correction
In last month's story "All In The
Family" we erroneously reported the
Robinson family at Vista Villa Farms
had only part-time workers besides
the family members. The company
has six full-time and six part-time
workers.0
Update
Money for water projects flowing
Last month we reported on the dozens of applications Huron County farmers
had made in a few short weeks to the new Healthy Futures program in that
county in our story "Perfect Timing". Now farmers in Perth, Oxford and
Middlesex have a similar project in place that can help them deal with problems
with septic tanks, fencing cattle out of waterways, erosion control and more. The
new program $5 million project (half from the province's Healthy Futures
Program) is a partnership of Middlesex, Oxford and Perth Counties as well as the
town of St. Marys and the cities of London and Stratford. Like the Huron project
it will be administered through local conservation authorities. Completion of an
Environmental Farm Plan is a prerequisite of the program which can provide up
to 50 per cent funding of projects that improve protection for water.
Kate Monk of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority says the onus is
on the applicant landowner to show that the existing situation is impairing water
quality and that the solution the funding is sought for will improve the situation.
Meanwhile, Monk says yet another program may help stretch the dollars for
the county programs farther. She told the annual meeting of the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture that all applications for wellhead protection and
plugging abandoned wells are now being referred to the local Federation of
Agriculture office because OFA has received funding for these projects. OFA
field representatives were to receive training to administer the program by late
October.0