The Rural Voice, 2000-02, Page 50BRUCE
Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca
website: www.ofa.on.ca/bruce
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
' The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
Water becomes more precious all the time
On January 7 I attended a meeting
at OMAFRA in Guelph called by the
"Water Taking Sub -Committee of the
Ontario Farm Environmental
Coalition's Water Quality Working
Group". Over 50 people attended,
double what was expected. They
represented several county
Federations of Agriculture, MOE,
conservation authorities as well as
other interested parties.
The chair outlined some of the
existing regulations pertaining to
water taking and priorities. The norm
for the order of priorities is
household, municipal, agriculture,
industry. When water is plentiful
there is usually not much problem
but when there are shortages
problems may arise. Alliston has
recently been very involved in
dealing with this.
There were two hours of
discussion on existing concerns,
potential concerns and suggested
solutions. It was agreed that more
data was needed to put together a
water budget to get some idea of how
much water there is, who is taking it,
and where it is.
The MOE is trying to get a well
network operating to monitor quantity
and quality of groundwater. This had
been done some time ago but not
recently.
It was agreed that a committee
should be set up and that a full-time
co-ordinator be hired to try and get a
better grip on this problem and
establish -agriculture's position. It is
hoped that some of the Ontario
government's Healthy Futures
funding might be used along with
other support to bring this about.
The recent droughts in several
areas of the province including Bruce
County have intensified the concerns
about water availability and quality.
The actions of several water -taking
companies have also focused attention
on this. How society as a whole, and
the agriculture community in
particular, deal with this problem will
test us in years to come, especially
since Ontario's population is expected
to double in the next 20 years and
there is a good possibility of more
droughts ahead. Farmers see
themselves as stewards of the land
and are seen by many others as such.
The water that is on top of, and
below, this land it would seem is an
important part of this stewardship.
Perhaps we can lead the way to a
Farm business registration forms
Due to a computer error 15,000
Farm Business Registration forms
mailed out by the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
(OMAFRA) to farmers for the
January 31, 2000, deadline have
incorrect information printed on
them.
The pre-printed portion of the
form is showing the Christian
Farmers' Federation of Agriculture
(CFFO) as the organization the
farmer has supported previously,
when in fact it has been the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture (OFA).
While OMAFRA officials suggest
farmers will be able to sort their way
through the application form and the
printing error, Jon Lazarus, Manager,
OFA Financial Administration, is
concerned the potential confusion
could extend the registration process
46 THE RURAL VOICE
for some farmers, and complicate
what should be a simple process.
OFA hopes farmers who received
the first round of application forms
will take the time necessary to ensure
their $150 cheque is made payable to
the farm organization of their choice,
and that the pre-printed section is
corrected to reflect their intentions.
For information or assistance
contact John Wright, OMAFRA
Guelph, Manager of the Farm
Business Registration program at 1-
800-469-2285 or 519-826-3770.0
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
Directors' Meeting
Monday, February 28, 2000
8:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend
future where water quality and
availability is assured for all
Ontarians at all times.
If you have any thoughts or
concerns on this subject please
contact your Federation of
Agriculture. One of the most
mentioned solutions was conservation
of water which is something we can
all do something about even if it is on
a small scale.0
— By Rick Robson
2nd Vice President, Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture
Heavy Duty Drive Clean -
test and repair cost info
wanted
In the Heavy Duty Drive Clean emissions
tests, neither the test cost nor the repair
costs are established in the program
regulations. OFA would like to track the cost
of both the emissions test and any repairs
necessary to pass the test.
Peter Jeffery, OFA's senior farm policy
researcher is interested in obtaining
information on test and repair costs. It would
be helpful if the information was separated;
test cost and repair cost.
Members can forward the information
directly to Peter by fax 416-485-9027 or
email peter.jeffery@ofa.on.ca or give it to
the local Federation office, phone 519-364-
3050 or fax 519-364-4119.0
Recycling used plastic bale
wrap and plastic baler twine
Two young entrepreneurs from Prince
Edward County have developed a process
for recycling plastic bale wrap, agricultural
bag wrap, and plastic baler twine.
They saw a real need to recycle this
material instead of burning it or filling landfill
sites. The couple have a market for the
processed material and have put a great
deal of work and expense into developing
the process.
They are presently setting up depots to
hold the material for them and if farms have
large quantities they might pick it up at the
farm. The material must be relatively clean
and dry.
For more information contact Matthew
Wright at 613-827-0344 (cell phone) or
Jason Petit at 613-471-0068 (cell phone).0