The Rural Voice, 1999-04, Page 70PERTH
Andy DeVries, R.R. #1, Atwood NOG 1E30 Phone/Fax 519-356-2133
PCFA Office 229-6430 Fax 229-6269 e-mail: perth@ofa.on.ca
Rural Voice is provided to farmers R
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER The in Perth County by the PCFA.
Time to finish those environmental farm plans
If your unfinished Environmental
Farm Plan (EFP) book is still sitting
unfinished on a shelf in your office,
you are not alone. During this past
winter I have made contact with
some of you who are still at this
stage.
I have good news for you in that
this can still be completed. You can
finish this on your own, have a
refresher on the procedure by
attending one of our courses or call
me for some advice.
Phase two of this program will be
comp.leted in March 2000. I am
encouraging folks to complete their
book, get it in for review so that
when the Peer Review Committee
have deemed the action plans
appropriate you can apply for the
$1500 towards the actions on
completion.
If you have NOT applied for the
full $1500 and have something
eligible that has been identified in
your plan and has been completed
please call for an additional incentive
application. If your project has been
properly completed you are eligible
for this assistance.
There are a wide variety of
projects being applied for in Perth
County. There are many who have
identified an abandoned well to be
properly plugged and closed. So
often class members will tell me their
PERTH COUNTY FEDERATION
OF AGRICULTURE
APRIL DIRECTORS'
MEETING
Thursday, April 22, 1999
ALL MEMBERS ARE
WELCOME TO ATTEND
Contact the office or a director
for further information.
66 THE RURAL VOICE
unused dug well won't effect
anything as it is just used to water the
flowers. Meanwhile it is 20 feet from
the septic system and is an area of
concern. If ground water becomes
contaminated then we are all at risk.
Other projects includes:
• pesticide storage areas
• fuel storage areas
• manure storage containment
systems
• energy efficient lighting
• septic system improvements
• field drainage improvements
• proper well abandonment
• fertilizer storage systems
• livestock yard improvements
• milking centre washwater treatment
system
• no till drills
• coulter caddys
• foam markers for sprayer
• soil, water and manure test
• planting buffer strips
• planting trees and windbreaks
• and the list goes on
The best result of taking the time
to do this Plan is the knowledge that
you learn about your operation. It is a
snap shot view of your business
looking at the effect of what you do
on surface and groundwater. Please
call Mary McIntosh at 393-6232 for
more information on completing your
plan or to register for a workshop.
Call today. Any of your family
members or team members in your
operation can complete this plan.° ,
— Submitted by Mary McIntosh
EFP Co-ordinator, Perth County
Well water testing
available
The Baseline Water Well Testing
Program is a program being managed
by OFA. It is available to all rural
well owners whowish to benchmark
their water supply. This program
includes five packages which are
color -coded for convenience.
The Ontario Drinking Water
Objectives are used as the set of
criteria on which the potability of
drinking water is determined. Each
of these packages goes beyond the
drinking water objectives, which
simply means that the parameters are
widened to give the well owner more
assurance that each package is very
thorough in each test. Brochures are
available from the OFA office or
Field Representative. Call Paul Nairn
at 1-800-51 1-1 135 for more
information.°
Water quality update
A provincial Groundwater Monitoring Network is being developed.
Under the leadership of the Ministry of Environment & Energy, and in
partnership with the University of Waterloo, Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Ministry of Municipal Affairs and
Housing, this network will give a better picture of the groundwater
resource.
At present 10 watersheds in Southern Ontario have been identified
and cover the major aquifer systems in the area. Historically MOE has
monitored water levels throughout the province, but because of
cutbacks this activity has been substantially reduced.
The data collected does not present a regional picture of the state of
groundwater resource, nor does it show emerging trends. It is hoped
that the network will address this concern.°