The Rural Voice, 1991-02, Page 34PURE WATER FOR AMERICA
w•er Gv.a. n.a....«w D..i. ••••«-ora,
For service call your
professional Goulds dealer
for a reliable water system.
CLIFF's PLUMBING
& HEATING
Lucknow
519-528-3913
"Our experience
assures lower cost
water wells"
90 YEARS EXPERIENCE
Member of Canadian
and Ontario
Water Well Associations
• Farm
• Industrial
• Suburban
• Municipal
Licensed
by the Ministry
of the Environment
DAVIDSON
WELL DRILLING LTD.
WINGHAM
Serving Ontario Since 1900
519-357-1960 WINGHAM
519-886-2761 WATERLOO
30 THE RURAL VOICE
CONCERNED FARM WOMEN:
THE ORGANIZATION IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE
AND STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD
COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY ...»<.,<.»>
The Concerned Farm Women or-
ganization is alive and well and look-
ing for new members! The group has
gone through some changes during the
past year, in direction and focus. The
1990 annual meeting recently held in
Kilsyth in Grey County elected a new
board of directors with the majority of
the membership corning from Grey
and Bruce counties.
The new president is Cathy Laird;
vice president Azelda Bothwell (Owen
Sound); secretary Jennifer Pruder
(Wiarton); Sandra Verdonk, treasurer
(Tara); and past president Gisele
Ireland (Teeswater). Other members
of the board are Ellie Ockenden
(Wiarton); Elaine Hill (Chatsworth);
MaryAnn Kirkconnell (Owen Sound);
Shirley Torrie (Chatsworth); and
Donna Vanderham (Chatsworth).
The group's first goal is to update
the membership list, and fees have
been increased from $5 to $10 per
year to cover postage, printing, and
other expenses. Anyone wanting
information is asked to contact Cathy
Laird at R. R. 4, Owen Sound N4K
5N6 (519-794-3475), or any member
of the board.
One of the main focus points of the
group is to continue to be a source of
information and education for the gen-
eral public, as well as for members of
the farming community. Several "in-
formation nights" have been planned.
The first "information night" was
held last April, with Bill Murdoch as
guest speaker on the issue of "land use
in Grey County." Future meetings
will discuss farm liability and insur-
ance, rural waste management, the
future of food production and the fam-
ily farm, and rural child care.
Concerned Farm Women was
asked to present a brief on Grey
County land use for the Grey County
Federation of Agriculture last spring.
Six members drew up a policy state-
ment with three basic points: the CFW
supports locally elected, decision-
making political representatives in
Grey County Council; the CFW sup-
ports the right of existing farmers to
"practice normal farm activities with-
out fear or cost of litigation from ad-
jacent landowners;" and the CFW
supports severancing of lot/lots off
farms as "the difference between sur-
viving the next decade or losing the
entire investment of a family farm."
One of the traditions of the Con-
cerned Farm Women has been to
stress the importance of communica-
tion in the form of lobbying politi-
cians, presenting briefs, writing letters,
and presenting current information to
the public and to the farming com-
munity.
The organization, began in 1981,
has had its share of ups and downs.
The reasons for its formation in the
first place still exist, with the farming
community still experiencing similar
problems and the repercussions of
those problems today. Farm debt still
exists but has become "old news."
Even though farm foreclosures still
occur, many people have become im-
mune to the stories in the media. A
goal of the group is to ensure the me-
dia reports what is still going on, des-
pite the `overkill" of past reports.
Outstanding bank loans still exist
that are hard to service. Prices at the
farm gate are still depressed, and in
view of the general economic outlook,
they are likely to remain down. In-
terest rates are too high, and farm
families are still struggling to survive.
Member Ellie Ockenden recently
represented the group at the Agri -Food
Look Ahead Conference in Toronto in
November. The world-wide agricul-
tural situation is not much better than
in Canada, with food shortages in the
Soviet Union, "global over -produc-
tion," GATT, lower prices generally
for some commodities, and higher
energy costs in general.
Concerned Farm Women has four
main priorities: 1. to ensure the future