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34 THE RURAL VOICE
possible to protect farmers from
potential nuisance complains for
"normal" farming practices.
And it looks like this will happen.
An act — officially called An Act
Respecting the Protection of Farm
Practices — was tabled in the Ontario
legislature in December.
Bill 83 legislates a Farm Practices
Protection Board to hear and inves-
tigate complaints against farmers. The
board would decide whether the farm
practices could be considered "nor-
mal." The legislation is supposed to
protect farmers from being prosecuted
by their rural neighbours for odors
from manure, dust from farm opera-
tions, and noise, which is often from
dryers that run through the night..
islation for about eight years. There
is some opposition coming from the
OFA on the wording of Bill 83 be-
cause the OFA does not believe that
the Farm Practices Protection Board
will have enough authority to enforce
its decisions. They would like the
board to be able to fine farmers up to
$500 for a first offence, and up to
$5,000 for subsequent infringements.
The OFA, however, does not want
the bill to be rewritten. "It's not so
bad that we think we have to start
back at square one," Pyke says. But
the OFA does want the bill to have
more teeth, particularly because of
change in the rural population.
The percentage of rural non -farm-
ers has grown from just about nothing
"In terms of pollution potential, many farms are the equivalent of
small cities. For example, a feedlot of 2,000 beef steers produces
the equivalent in organic residues to a town of 20,000 people."
The impetus for the legislation
comes from a New Brunswick case: a
pig farmer, Terry Sullivan, was taken
to court by 22 of his non -farming
neighbours and was assessed $33,375
in costs and damages.
Two weeks after Sullivan fell
afoul of the law -of -nuisance in New
Brunswick, Vance Daurie from
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia was taken to
court by two of his neighbours. The
problem was the odor from his 33 -sow
operation. The suit was dismissed, but
Daurie was hit with $25,000 in legal
fees. Daurie is now out of business.
In Ontario, there have not been
many high-profile cases, but the
Ministry of the Environment does say
that about 1,000 agriculture -related
complaints are reported annually. One
case that is often mentioned in relation
to the need for the legislation is that of
Warren Saunders of Beamsville, a
grape grower in the Niagara Penin-
sula, who has been charged with noise
pollution coming from a bird banger
on his farm. In June, Brigid Pyke,
president of the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture, presented a cheque for
$1,000 to the North Niagara Federa-
tion of Agriculture to help the farmer
with his legal expenses.
The Ontario Federation of Agri-
culture has been lobbying for this leg -
to about 13 per cent. The OFA thinks
that urban people who have moved
into the rural areas do not appreciate
the realities of farm life and will be
imposing a concept of "the sweet
countryside" on their farm neighbours.
THE ALTERNATIVES
Some farmers, like Donna and Neil
Hemmingway, are looking at alterna-
tive methods of manure handling and
storage to avoid problems with their
non -farming neighbours.
Wayne Fear is the president of the
Huron County Pork Producers. He
has used bacteria as a manure activator
for the past three years for his 4,000 -
pig operation. He lives close to
Belgrave and says that since he began
to use the bacteria he's never had any
conflicts with his neighbours.
John Pittens milks 250 cows in
Cambridge. He invested in a methane
digester for his operation. While not
totally pleased with the quantity of
heat produced or its cost effectiveness,
he says that the quality of bio -gas was
very good.
In Quebec, egg farmers are
experimenting with "wind tunnels"
which are attached to the barn and run
off the heat of the barn itself. The
chicken manure is dried into flakes