The Rural Voice, 2003-06, Page 62PERTH
Tim Shute, R.R. #6, St. Marys, ON N4X 1C8 Ph: 519-229-6395 Fax 519-229-6690
PCFA Office 519-229-6430 Fax 519-229-6269 e-mail: perth@ofa.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
• The Rural Voice is provided to farmers
in Perth County by the PCFA.
BSE situation an issue for all agriculture
The Ontario Federation of
Agriculture (OFA), as a general
farm organization, is working co-
operatively with other Ontario
farm organizations to provide
accurate and up-to-date information
to farmers and the general public
on the "Mad Cow" or BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
situation.
"The most important issue at the
moment is getting the laboratory
results from the quarantined herds in
question. We expect those results will
show no additional infected
animals," says OFA President
Ron Bonnett.
Temporary restrictions on the
export of Canadian livestock and
livestock products by the United
States and several other nations have
already had a devastating impact on
Canada's economy, especially on
producers of ruminant livestock,
Bonnett notes. Getting clearance to
resume international trade in
PERTH COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
8:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 26
Tradition Mutual Insurance Office,
Sebringville
EVERYONE WELCOME
ENVIRONMENTAL
FARM PLAN (EFP)
COURSES
Book yourself for an EFP Course
To be eligible for program funding
One and one half day courses
June 10 and 18, 2003
Mitchell Community Centre
Pre -register by calling
Mary 393-6232
58 THE RURAL VOICE
livestock products is a key
objective for Canadian farmers.
OFA appreciates the timely
efforts of officials with the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
(CFIA) to identify and quarantine
herds with a known relationship
with the BSE -infected animal in
Alberta. The trace -back and trace -
forward features included in
Canada's food safety system are
obviously working. Bonnett says, and
this should illustrate the safety that
comes with Canadian food products.
Knowing the infected Alberta
animal was identified and
condemned before it entered the
country's food system is a great
relief, he• says.
OFA will continue working with
the Ontario Cattlemen's Association
as work proceeds on this issue,
including the potential need for
industry compensation by
governments should the matter have
an extended impact.0
Profile - Ed Danen, PCFA 2nd Vice President
I farm with my brother Jack and my parents Bart
and Gerry. I also receive a great deal of support from
my wife. Julie and daughters; Rose (4) and Emily (2 in
September). We are expecting another arrival at the end
of August. We farm east of Tavistock along the Perth/
Oxford border on a dairy, veal, and cropping operation.
We milk around 100 cows plus dry cows and
heifers. We raise 75 to 100 head of veal per year. The
majority of the heifers as well as the veal that are
weaned are housed at our second farm on Hwy. 7 and 8
east of Shakespeare. This farm is where I live with my
family, hence my involvement with the Perth
Federation. Cropping consists of 400 acres of alfalfa, wheat, soys, and corn.
We do some custom work as well. Most of the crop is used on farm with some
sold depending on the year. We're also very handy around the farm, doing a lot
of our own maintenance and construction/ renovations.
I started attending Perth Federation meetings shortly after I went to a young
farmers forum at the OFA convention in 1997. I sat on communications
committee for a year at the county level and by October 1999 was running for
the regional director position for Perth Central. I was successful in that election
and have been at the OFA board ever since. I'm currently the second vice-
president of Perth Federation.
I was going to take a year at the OFA board to get a feel for things but by
March was asked to sit on the audit committee by one of the vice-presidents. I
sat on that committee for a year and a half and thought I'd try something
different, so I put my name forward for the Farm Finance, Trade and Taxation
committee. As the name suggests this committee has a broad and technical
mandate. They immediately nominated me vice -chair. My second and current
year on the committee I found myself in the chair position with only one other
member from the previous year. He had only as much experience at the
committee as I did. Somewhat overwhelmed I am finding this position
extremely challenging and am trying hard to stay on top of all the issues while
keeping up to a growing family and a bustling farm operation.
I think that it is important to have input in the things that will affect us in the
future. Providing this input isn't always easy and not everybody is good at it,
but it is important just the same. That's why I keep going to meetings and do
the best I can for farmers and the future of farming.0
Ed Danen