The Rural Voice, 1998-06, Page 64Advice
Armed with this information,
work through the process of deciding
what you want. Then discuss your
information and goals with advisors.
They will help you identify options
that can be discussed with your
family. After these discussions, select
the options best suit you and
complete the plan. (If you require
some help identifying some advisors,
the OMAFRA office would be
pleased to give some suggestions.)
A truly successful plan will
inform your family of your plans,
and satisfy you that you have been as
fair as possible in your situation.
The bottom line is to hear as few
"Hots" as possible, as the final draft
of your estate plan is reviewed.°
New version of
custom farm rates
now available
The newest version of the Custom
Farm Rates in Ontario is now
available at local OMAFRA offices.
This report is a summary of data
provided by 715 operators who
participated in a survey in 1997. This
free publication replaces the 1994
survey results. The survey will be
updated every three years.
For the purposes of the survey, the
province is divided into smaller
geographical areas. One arca, for
instance, includes survey results
from Waterloo, Wellington and
surrounding counties.
Farmers who are performing
custom work with their own
equipment and those who are hiring
custom operators may find this a
handy reference to determine the
rates that should be charged.
Results are reported for a wide
range of custom operations
including: tillage, planting, weed
control, fertilizer application,
combining, other crop harvesting,
trucking, forage harvesting, manure
handling and snow removal.
To obtain your free copy of this
summary contact your local
OMAFRA office. Copics will also be
available from the OMAFRA web
site.°
60 THE RURAL VOICE
News
Study inconclusive
about source of Lake
Huron bacteria
Deficient municipal sewage
treatment systems, poor agricultural
manure management practices and
faulty or illegally connected septic
tank systems all contribute to the
high E. coli counts that regularly
close Lake Huron beaches say the
final results of the SOLVE study into
Lake Huron pollution. But the study,
released May 12, is inconclusive
when it comes to saying whether
humans or livestock are the main
source of bacteria in the lake.
SOLVE is made up of health
units, an environmental group,
conservation authorities, the Huron
Environmental Farm Coalition, the
Town of Goderich and the Ministry
of Environment and the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
(OMAFRA).
For the study, a total of 245 water
samples were collected from beaches
at Port Albert, Goderich, Bayfield,
St. Joseph's, Grand Bend, Port
Franks and Ipperwash. Five samples
were taken from each beach during
seven different sampling days
between September 23 and
December 5, 1997. The study used
antibiotics to try to fingerprint the
source of the bacteria. In theory,
bacteria from human sources should
be more resistant to antibiotics used
only on humans and therefore harder
to kill. On the other hand, bacteria
from animal sources should be more
resistant to antibiotics used on
animals. The study then took samples
from sewage treatment plants and
swine manure. The final results were
released at a press conference at the
Ausable Bayfield Conservation
Authority (ABCA).
"It's a bit of a disappointment,"
said ABCA manager Tom Prout.
"We had hoped to be able to
determine the relative frequencies of
the sources. However, the science is
still new and the budget was
meager." (The budget of the study
was $7,000.)
There were also several other
limitations to the study:
• The study should have included
spring and summer months.
• Time was limited so the study
couldn't look at the impact of
wildlife.
• A broader range of antibiotics used
by doctors and veterinarians should
have been tested on the bacteria.
• Other sources of animal manure
should have been tested, not just
manure from hogs.
• The E. coli were more resistant than
what was expected.
Despite the flaws in the study,
Prout said he docs not think it was a
waste of time.
"I'm very optimistic and pleased
with what was accomplished," he
said, "It was a very worthwhile
effort."
One of the purposes of the study
was to reduce the amount of blaming
going on between the different
groups.
"We have not totally eliminated
the finger pointing," said Prout. "But
we have been able to provide an
opportunity for a diverse group of
people to get together and learn a bit
about each other.
He said he sees a greater
willingness developing in the
partners to move ahead and deal with
the issues.
The study recommends a number
of ways to deal with these issues:
• Municipalities should create
manure management bylaws so all
farming operations would have to file
a plan. Also, retention ponds should
be required for tiled land.
• An inventory should be established
of every farm recording the method
of manure storage and disposal.
• Establish an inventory of every on-
site sewage system in the county.
• A bylaw should be created to
require residents to provide proof of
septic tank maintenance.
• Require municipalities with sewage
treatment plants or lagoons to
identify and repair points where
storm water gets into sanitary sewers.
• Provide incentives for upgrading
municipal sewage treatment
facilities.
• Require municipalities to avoid
discharging untreated effluent into