The Rural Voice, 1993-01, Page 48GREY
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER ' The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
`y County Farmers by the GCFA.
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050
"Farmers working for farmers"
When I attended the Annual OFA
Convention in November, I witnessed first
hand, "Farmers working for farmers". The
OFA Executive and staff had spent many
hours making arrangements for speakers,
panelists, committee reports, etc. Almost
40(1 directors and delegates had to make
arrangements for someone to look after
their farming operations while they spent
three days in Toronto at no compensation to
themselves.
The OFA Executive members have
chaired many committees, one of which is
the Credit Review Committee. They were
quite alarmed at the number of farmers
seeking their assistance in dealing with their
creditors.
As a result the OFA set up a Credit
Review Task Force, chaired by Jack
Wilkinson, 1st Vice President. This task
force heard from many farmers, suppliers
and credit consultants about problems being
experienced. The OFA, in turn, is lobbying
the government for a process that will see
farmers have the ability to appeal to a court
of competent jurisdiction when they believe
they have not been fairly dealt with, or
creditors have failed to live up to agreed
upon arrangements.
Another committee working very
diligently for the farmers has been the
Properties Committee. One issue they dealt
with was Bill 162, Amendment to The
Game and Fish Act which they opposed as
it would, in its present form, restrict the
farming of alternative livestock such as
deer, elk, etc. The committee also has great
concerns about the proposed amendments to
the Trees Act because they cause serious
implications in the area of individual
property rights. The OFA has made it clear
to the chair of the Government Committee,
Alex Denys of the MNR, that they see no
reason to open up this Act
The Properties Committee sct up a Task
Force to investigate an attempt by the City
of London to annex 64,000 acres of good
farmland from the surrounding County of
Middlesex. The Task Force will be
entertaining the concerns of rural residents
in the upcoming months.
The Trade Committee has been
gathering and analyzing information
regarding the General Agreement on Tariffs
GCFA Directors' Meeting
Thursday, January 28, 1993
OMAF Boardroom, Markdale
8:00 p.m.
Members are welcome to attend
44 THE RURAL VOICE
and Trade and the North American Free
Trade Agreement negotiations. The
Committee was supportive of the farmers'
rally on Parliament Hill in February and are
supportive of a balanced GATT position.
Another area where it was very evident
that "Farmers were working for farmers"
was in the resolutions presented at the An-
nual Convention. Grey County presented a
resolution asking for the OFA to arrange for
a Property Owner's Bill of Rights which
would include provision of a notice of
intent, the right to a hearing, right of appeal
and compensation for loss of property
rights. This Bill of Rights was deemed
important since there are an increasing
number of incidents where public interests
encroach a private property, such as Areas
of Natural and Scientific Interest, Wetland
Preservation, service corridors, dump sites,
O
etc. Other resolutions dealt with such
matters as lobbying the government to
simplify the NISA forms, lobbying the
Provincial Government to make all building
materials for farm use exempt from
Provincial Sales Tax, lobbying the govern-
ment to have environmental improvements,
such as manure storage, exempt from
assessment for municipal tax purposes.
These are only a few of the problems
facing farmers which the OFA dealt with
during their Convention.
Upon seeing how hard the OFA is
working for farmers and the benefits which
they have achieved for us, I often wonder
why every farmer hasn't joined the OFA
which is addressing the many problems
facing today's farmers.°
Wes Sparling
Grey North OFA Regional Director
Presents A
Rural
1 Weekend
"-"o Connections II Workshop
"SHARING OUR STRENGTHS ... REGAINING OUR FUTURE"
OBJECTIVES
To bring farmers together to talk of how the
present economic environment is affecting
their family and business life through:
1. Learning to control our responses to
stress factors with a positive approach.
2. Offenng a confidential, non-judgemental
atmosphere.
3. Offering time away from the farm.
4. Offering fun, relaxation and friendships.
5. Distribution of available resources for
farmers' assistance.
Couples and Singles alike will benefit from
this program.
_Registration is limited to the first 40 people to
reply. Pnority will be given to residents of the
sponsoring Counties of Grey and Bruce.
Sponsored by:
RURAL CONNECTIONS II
A community project sponsored by the
Grey and Bruce Federations of Agriculture,
and funded by a grant from the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food with support
from Co-operators Insurance.
PROGRAM
— HOLIDAY INN, Owen Sound —
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1993
7:00 p m Registration
7:33 p.m. Welcome 5 Introductions
8:30 p.m Ernenainmern —'A Slice 01 Rural Life'
Black Sheep Productions
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1993
8:00 a.m Breakfast
9:00 a.m. 'Realizing Our Concerns' — Effects of
Pressures on Our Farm Families
9:30 am. Small group discussion
11:00 a.m Sharing wnh whole group
12 Noon Lunch
1:30 p.m to 'Realizing Our Potential'
4:00 p.m. Building Confidence, Seeing Goals
6:00 p.m. Dinner, Speaker Caroline Tykoliz
8:00 p.m. Social Time
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1993
9:00 a.m Breakfast Buffet
10.00 a m. Feliowshp
11 00 a Checkout
Conference Participant Registration Form (Please Print Clearlya
Name:
Address
County: Postal Code: Telephone'
Total Costs —$20.00 per person — Accommodation, meals and Friday night entertainment included.
Please make cheque payable to. "RURAL CONNECTIONS Ir"
Mail to: Rural Connections II, 446 10th St., Hanover, ON N4N 1P9 Registration DEADLINE: Jan. 22,1993
Enquiries: Call or leave a message at 364.7294, Your call will be returned.