The Rural Voice, 2000-06, Page 68HURON
Box 429, Clinton, Ontario NOM 1L0
519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135 Website: www ofa.on ca'huron Email: huron@ofa.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
. The Rural Voice is provided to all farmers
in Huron County by the HCFA.
Budget missed tax cut opportunity
The biggest news this past month
was the provincial budget. Ensuring
safety nets and acquiring equity for
Ontario farmers on federal spending
have been top priorities from the farm
lobby effort. We, in Huron thank
Ministers Eves and Hardeman for their
effort to achieve these goals. However,
little attention was paid to other needs.
For a government that delights in
cutting taxes, the finance minister
refused to accept OFA's request to
eliminate the PST on farm purchases as
other provinces have done. We see
little in the budget to help rural
communities maintain their smaller
schools. Lambton County is gearing up
for another round of school closings
according to some reports.
Rural community development
appears to be a catch phrase with little
substance behind it. Dollars have been
put in the budget for rural development.
The challenge, to -us as farm groups,
will be in how effective we are in
directing how that money will be spent
in ways that are worthwhile to
agriculture as well as the whole rural
community. We must continually
remind government and the general
public that agriculture is the primary
industry that drives our rural
economies.
We need to know that the provincial
government is listening to us. A very
telling point will be how the province
deals with the recommendations on the
drainage consultations. We very clearly
said that drainage was important to the
agricultural community. If we are
ignored on this issue, we will have
learned a very valuable lesson about
how much the govemment cares about
farming as an industry. Let our
Resolution outlines AIDA-OWFRP inconsistencies
The following resolution was
approved and passed at the April
HCFA Board of Directors meeting to
be forwarded to OFA Board of
Directors:
1. Whereas in a descending market the
current OWFRP inventory adjustment
policy results in an accurate and
depressed program payment. Similarly,
in an ascending market the current
OWFRP inventory adjustment policy
results in an inaccurate and
embarrassingly inflated government
OWFRP payment, and
2. Whereas the federal AIDA program
has recently recognized and corrected
the inaccuracy of the previous
inventory adjustment policy, and
3. Whereas even though the OFA and
several other groups: e.g. OCPA,
producers, and accountants have
lobbied for changes to the OWFRP
inventory adjustment policy, the
Ontario Government and/or OMAFRA
refuse to acknowledge there is a
problem. They also indicate an
unwillingness to distribute the 60 per
cent federal portion of corrected
inventory values, similar to the
Negative Margin distributions.
64 THE RURAL VOICE
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
THAT the OFA lobby the Provincial
Government and OMAFRA to make
the OWFRP inventory policy consistent
with the recent changes to the AIDA
program and to make it retroactive to
the beginning of the program, and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED THAT
if Ontario fails to immediately
recognize the problem that the OFA
lobby the Federal and Provincial
Governments to distribute the 60 per
cent Federal portion of that change,
similar to the Negative Margin
distribtdtions.0
representatives know how you feel
when the report comes out good or bad.
Hopefully it will be to thank them for
listening.
On the Huron County home front,
we have been working at visiting our
federation members in Goderich and
Hullett to deliver safety tape and check
on member signs. Thanks to our
members for pitching in to get this
visitation done.
Recently we asked the assessment
office about land that has missed out on
the 25 per cent assessment rate. There
are a number of such properties. We
cannot stress too much how important
it is to make sure, when the provincial
forms come in the summer, that all
your properties are listed. Pay
particular attention to recently
purchased land. If you are not sure,
phone OMAFRA and hang in there
until you speak to a real person.
Let our office know how the new
OMAFRA information system is
working for you. We need your input in
order to work out any bugs and make
the very best of the new system. All the
best for the 2000 crop season.0
— By Pat Down
President HCFA
HCFA OFFICE HOURS
Mondays and Fridays
9 a.m. to 12 noon and 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
PROFILE:
New Board Member on Huron County Federation of Agriculture
Board of Directors
Hans Soer, one of our newer directors on the Huron County Federation of Agriculture Board
resides in Stephen township. He farms with his father and brothers in cash cropping. They own
and operate a total of approximately 1,350 acres including land in Stephen, Hay, Goderich, and
in the Barrie area. Hans. has been in Canada 12 years. Hans and his brothers have their own
website: (ww.tryland.com) which is designed to help out new immigrants to our country in the
form of visa application, immigration process, brokers/real estate fees, setting up farming the
Canadian way, money concerns and many other situations that arise when you are arriving
from a foreign country. We welcome Hans to our board!
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