The Rural Voice, 2000-02, Page 52HURON
Box 429, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135 Email: huron@ofa.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
' The Rural Voice is provided to all farmers
in Huron County by the HCFA.
Jottings from the president's desk
Recently a farmer in the South
Huron area suffered a devastating
loss in his beef feedlot. Over 30
animals died from botulism
poisoning.
Up until now this has been a rare
problem. Expert opinion points the
finger at bacteria in tissue from dead
animals mixed in with the feed. In
April, 1998 and again in the spring of
1999, two instances of botulism
poisoning occurred in large dairy
herds in California. One lost 430 of
1034 cows and the other lost 180 out
of 600 cows. These are devastating
losses. See the August 1999 Hoards
Dairymen.
Little can be done once the
animals are infected. All livestock
producers must be careful to ensure
that no dead animals become mixed
in with their stored hay or silage.
With larger and larger harvesting
equipment, this could become more
of a problem.
The first general farm registration
forms have been mailed to over
15,000 farmers on Ontario. Because
of a computer problem (this
happened before January 1) some of
the pre -checked boxes are filled in
incorrectly. HCFA staff are receiving
calls from farmers asking why the
organization box is checked for the
Christian Farmers when. they are
currently OFA members. Our best
advice is correct the form and to
check all the pre -filled-in boxes
because some acreage boxes are
incorrect as well.
We have checked with a local
Christian Farmer member and his
membership box was 'not filled in for
HCFA OFFICE HOURS
Mondays and Fridays
9 a.m. to 12 noon
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Please leave a message.
(519) 482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135
FAX (519) 482-1416
Email; huron@ofa.on.ca
48 THE RURAL VOICE
OFA. While we have a good working
relationship with the Christian
Farmers in Huron, it does not go as
far as sharing our revenues.
OMAFRA is endeavouring to fix the
problem before the next mailing goes
out.
Your board is working on getting
support for a rural education strategy
from school boards, teachers,
organizations and any other rural
group that wants to support us. We
want the government to recognize the
special needs that rural communities
have. Call the office if you would like
a copy of our proposal.
OMAFRA office closings: If you
have not heard, the OMAFRA office ,
as you now know it will be a thing of
the past after March of this year. Use
does change over time. The rural
community accepts change for
improvement but not just for the sake
of change. We know that HCFA and
various farm organizations have
made good use of our extension staff
up until now. Even after a meeting in
Seaforth to explain the changes, we
do not feel that senior staff know how
the•new process will work at the
grass roots level. We have been well
served by our local OMAFRA staff.
They truly had an understanding of
rural Ontario. We felt that they
worked for and with us. They knew
and respected the local people and
local rural leaders. We need to ask
our politicians and ourselves why we
thought that the cuts to agriculture
were over.
As your president, I believe that
living in rural Ontario means that we
do not have the same infrastructure as
urban centres. We do not have buses,
subways or street cars although our
taxes help to pay for them. We have a
different kind of infrastructure and
the extension office as a meeting
place was part of our unique rural
infrastructure.
Surely Ontario can afford to
provide that support for our rural
communities. Our country is
supposed to be one of the best places
to live in the world. Is rural Ontario
being condemned to live with third
world infrastructure with the hits
being taken by our schools, our
hospitals, our roads and our extension
services? Does anybody care?0
— By Pat Down
President, HCFA
Reforestation assistance for
Huron landowners
For the spring of 2000, the Huron
Stewardship Council will once again
be offering assistance to farmers and
other rural landowners in Huron
County interested in establishing or
enhancing natural corridors on their
properties. Suitable projects could
include tree planting along farm
drainage ditches or other water-
courses, windbreaks, shelterbelts or
linkages between remnant natural
areas. For approved projects, a
limited subsidy will be available to
help cover costs of nursery stock.
The deadline for applications is
March 31, 2000. For further
information, contact Steve Bowers at
519-482-3428.0
PROFILE:
New Board Member on Huron County Federation of Agriculture
Board of Directors
Marilyn Broadfoot of Stanley Township, a new director on our board has a cash crop
operation with her son, Donald. Marilyn is on the HCFA Environment Committee and is also
involved in the Education group. Some of Marilyn's hobbies are curling, reading, bird watching,
gardening. As well she is a volunteer at the Blyth Festival. Marilyn feels there are many
changes that have happened recently and that are happening in rural Ontario that will impact
on the quality of life of farmers. Some of these are in health, education, water quality, etc.
Please call us if you have any concerns regarding these or any other concerns.°