The Rural Voice, 2019-06, Page 6The Editor,
I feel compelled to correct the
erroneous statement made by
Stephen Thompson in the May issue
of The Rural Voice concerning farm
property tax rates. As he should
know, provincial legislation provided
county councils the authority to
establish farm property tax rates from
zero to 25 per cent of residential
rates. Most municipalities assessed
farmland at 25 per cent of residential
assessment. As a result, in Huron
County the percentage that farmland
tax revenues contributed to total
county tax revenue ranged from
11.75 per cent in 2001 to 14.1 per
cent in 2016 with a low of 10.5 per
cent in 2012. This ratio averaged
approximately 12.4 per cent over
those years.
In 2018 the ratio had increased to
18.2 per cent and is projected to
increase to 21.6 per cent by 2020, a
ratio that has doubled since 2012.
This rate increase is a result of
farmland property values increasing
at a rate more than that of residential
property values. The Huron County
Federation of Agriculture has
requested that the rate be reduced
from 25 per cent to 22.2 per cent so
that the farm property tax
contribution will hold at
approximately 18 per cent. This is
not, as Stephen suggested, a request
for tax relief, but a recommendation
to return to the historical equitable
ratio that existed prior to 2016.
Seventeen Ontario municipalities
have, to date, reduced their ratio from
25 per cent (Lambton 22.5 per cent,
Oxford 23.5 per cent, Elgin 23 per
cent) with Perth yet to decide.
Steve’s noted long association
with the HCFA would have
positioned him well for participation
in this tax ratio issue. To suggest that
this proposed tax ratio adjustment
would lead to increased land prices is
puzzling.
I am bewildered by his comments.
The word absurd comes to mind.◊
–Bev Hill, Varna, ON
A pillow case
in shreds!
The Editor,
Hi, this is John Ardiel. You
interviewed me in regards to the old
King Apple tree. I am the apple
grower/grapes/wine and cider guy
over in Clarksburg.
You cracked me up telling the
story of the moving cat in a
cardboard box.
I, too, had an experience. I needed
to take one of the barn cats to the
veterinarian, who also happens to be
my cousin. I did not have a cage so
she said: “No problem. Just use a
pillow case and put the cat in and
quickly tie”. She assured me that cats
go docile when in a closed
environment. Well, I dropped the cat
in the pillow case and before I could
even think of tying it, the pillow case
was hanging in shreds and the cat
was gone! Like in a split second. No
bites though.◊
– John Ardiel, Clarksburg, ON
Will farmers be
replaced by
sophisticated
robots?
The Editor,
Keith Roulston’s column in the
May issue of The Rural Voice, “It’s a
fair and prosperous land”, seemed to
me to overlook a few sociological
trends that might be concerning to
some folks. To begin with, the “big
barn prosperity” is indicative of the
fact that the rural population is
rapidly dwindling. Perhaps this is just
inevitable human progress. I suspect
that the last generation of on-the-
land, independent farmers may
already have been born. Fully
robotacized dairy barns are becoming
the norm. Self-driving equipment is
just around the corner. It is entirely
possible that most of the land will be
owned by sovereign wealth funds,
hedge funds, etc. by the mid-point of
this century. Most operations will be
controlled from a central location.
Staff will include agronomists,
veterinarians, mechanics, etc. to deal
with problems in the field. That is,
assuming that sophisticated robots
don’t fill these roles.
A Saudi wealth fund recently
purchased a half-million-acre
farming enterprise in Australia. This
is the same outfit to whom a
controlling interest in the Canadian
Wheat Board was gifted by our
federal government. Huxley’s “Brave
New World” is just around the
corner.
By the way, I think it is interesting
that it was approximately one century
ago that the United Farmers of
Ontario formed the provincial
government. This turned out to be
possibly the most progressive
administration the Province has
known. Today, we remaining farmers
may be among the most right wing,
reactionary people in the nation.◊
– Ian Campbell
dorfarm@hotmail.com
2 The Rural Voice
Let’s return
to the historical
equitable tax
ratio
Feedback
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Rural Voice,
P.O. Box 429,
Blyth, On
N0M 1H0
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Deadline for the
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The Rural Voice is
June 12, 2019