The Rural Voice, 1998-05, Page 57replied to the concerns presented in
10 briefs from commodity groups
and the Federation.
Everet Ridder, vice-president of the
Huron Environmental Farm
Coalition, reported the group has
received funding from the National
Soil and Water Conservation
Program toward a $25,000 water
quality study by Professor Douglas
Joy, of the University of Guelph. The
local groups involved, including all
commodity groups, the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority,
Ausable-Bayfield Conservation
Authority, Huron County Planning
Department and Huron County
Health Unit will supply $5,000 in
cash and an equal amount of "in
kind" funding for the study. Prof. Joy
will pull together statistics already
gathered by water and sewage
treatment plants, the conservation
authorities and the health unit to
examine changes in the quality of
water in the county over the years.
Neil Vincent, OFA regional rep,
said cutbacks in funding had
prevented organizations like the
conservation authorities from using
the information they had been
compiling but the study would help
this process.
Ridder argued that programs like
the CURB (clean up rural beaches)
program should be reinstated to help
the general public participate in
environmental rehabilitation.
Farmers, as large landowners, cannot
afford to pick up the whole cost of
programs that benefit all society, he
said.
Snell replied that the provincial
government has committed $1 billion
over the next three years to improve
ground water quality.
But Mason Bailey, reeve of Blyth
and a former president of the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture,
wondered if all the efforts to improve
the situation in Huron County would
have any effect if there isn't an equal
concern around the whole Great
Lakes region.
"We could drive every farmer in
Huron County off the land (through
tough regulations) and we could still
have problems in Lake Huron," he
said. "Are the U.S. states concerned?
News
If they're not concerned it won't
make any difference what we do."
Ridder said the upcoming study
could show that is a problem. Steckle
suggested a way should be found for
someone like Ridder to attend a
meeting of the International Joint
Commission on the Great Lakes to
represent the interests of the region's
farmers and bring back information.
In th : meantime, said John Van
Beers, representing Hullett Township
council, farmers can be proactive in
implementing nutrient management
plans and going through the
Environmental Farm Plan process.
Thousands of farmers have
participated in such programs and
their story needs to be told, he said.
Young Canadian -born farmers
need encouragement and assistance if
they arc to be able to compete for
land with European buyers, said
Dave Linton, presenting a brief for
the Huron County Pork Producers
Association. "These young Canadian
farmers should be the lifeblood of
our industry," he said, yet there is
little to encourage our young farmers
while Europeans are selling out at
high prices and coming to Canada,
able to pay much higher prices for
farms.
Linton remembered being helped
by a long-term, fixed interest loan
when he wanted to start farming, but
those programs aren't available any
more.
Others also remembered fondly the
Junior Farmer Loan program. John
Van Beers called for a new version of
the program, administered through
Farm Credit Corporation.
But the members of parliament had
their doubts. Though expressing
interest in the concept, Steckle said it.
would be foolish to subsidize young
farmer to buy farmland at $4,000 an
acre because a farmer can't make
money at that price.
In one item that could have created
some controversy, Steckle refused to
back away from the federal
government's position against
imposing special measures to block
imports of butter -oil blends.
Adopting a "win some, lose some"
position, Steckle said the negotiators
hadn't expected the tariffs on ice
cream and yogurt to slip through the
GATT negotiations but they did.
"They (the U.S.) missed it Just like
we did (on butteroil)", he said.
Meanwhile no one caught the
potential problems with butter -oil, he
said. "If we open this up (to stop
butter -oil imports) we're going hack
to the law of the Jungle," Steckle
warned. "We will be challenged on
yogurt and ice cream; and that's a
much bigger issue.-
Steckle also worried that Dairy
Farmers of Canada are undermining
the negotiating position in the next
round of World Trade Organization
talks through their export policy. By
intentionally producing milk at world
prices, "It ties my hands in arguing
for the good tariffs," he said. "11
we're going to export, let's make a
profit.
"I believe I need, my government
needs, the strongest hand possible
going into the next round iol
negotiations).-
Several
egotiations)."Several briefs argued for more
money for OMAFRA in the
provincial budget, the strongest
argument coming from Bob Down,
president of the Ontario Corn
Producers. OMAFRA should have an
extra SRO million, he said.
Down also brought up, to Steckle,
the problem of new regulations that
could strangle Canada's farm
publications. New rules through the
Heritage Department mean farm
organizations like the Corn Producers
would have to have signed
subscription forms from all their
members saying they want the
publication and agree to S12 of their
membership going to pay the
subscription. Since Ontario Corn
Producer magazine goes to 210)0
corn pr(xlucers across the province, it
would mean a huge administrative
burden for the association.
Steckle said after learning of the
problem he spoke to Heritage
Minister Sheila Copps and she
agreed to take no action in
implementing the regulations until
next year. With fewer radio and
television stations covering farm
news, the written word is the only
outlet for farmers to talk to farmers,
Steckle said.0
MAY 1998 53