Loading...
The Citizen-Agriculture 98, 1998-03-18, Page 39..11•!Aljge.., RACTOR PARTS Stephen (519) 523-4922 Londesborough, Ontario NOM 2H0 Fax: (519) 523-4765 TO BL'TN TO 13ENMILLAR To WINTHROP 'Specializing In Older Tractor Parts ... ...and looking for tractors and combines in any condition" rib Igal r„ Plumbing 528-3913 or 1hr loll al &Heating 1-800-449-CLIF 0/B Cliff Mann Mechanical Ltd. LUCKNOW, ONTARIO Qualified dealer fo • • • THE CITIZEN, PiadElikli 9. Agriculture '98 ----- _ 13 Can OMAFRA be impartial in reviewing NMPs? By Janice Becker Citizen staff It was a small, but well-informed cross-section of agriculturalists and concerned citizens who gathered in Brussels, March 3, to discuss a draft nutrient management plan (NMP). Developed by the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition (OFEC), the plan details the process by which farmers must devise their own NMP, under what conditions and constraints. After hearing that consultants with the Ontario Ministry of Agri- culture, Food And Rural Affairs would act as third-party reviewers for the NMPs, a Wellington County resident, asked, "Why them?" She was unconvinced that OMAFRA would be an impartial third-party as they work for the bet- terment of the agricultural commu- nity. "That is how it would be per- ceived by the public," she said. OFEC member and Simcoe County diary farmer Gord Coukell said OMAFRA would be doing reviews as they had people with expertise in the field. It would also provide a level of comfort for municipalities when building per- mits were issued that a professional had done the review. When asked by Grey Twp. Clerk-Treasurer Brad Knight whether OMAFRA would be able to contend with the number of NMP review requests, a representa- tive said they believed they had the capacity and experience to do the job. Turnaround time for the review was a major concern for farmers, as Wray Wilson, from Howick Twp. said a week or even two could be tolerated but not a month. George Garland, program man- ager, engineer for OMAFRA, said there had to be some onus on the farmer to plan ahead. "The turnaround time will depend on the complexity of the operation." There was equal concern about consultants who do the review, being hired by the farmer. The opinion was expressed that a consultant paid by the farmer, would do as the farmer wanted. Consultant John Vander Burgt of the Dashwood area, said "I take offense to that comment. I have ethics." Vander Burgt is also the chair of the Huron County Farm Environ- mental Coalition. The NMP review would be a component of acquiring a building permit for operations over 150 ani- mal units or one over 50 units with more than two per acre. It will all be part of the building permit application process, said Huron County planner Wayne Caldwell. Vander Burgt also suggested to the OFEC committee that the development of an NMP not be financially restrictive to producers. Verkley replied that NMPs are not a cost to the operation. Using nutrients wisely is not an expense. An NMP benefits the producers' bottom line, said Coukell. Vander Burgt asked that consid- eration be given to varying points of view of consultants whether independent of OMAFRA. Coukell assured Vander Burgt that all OMAFRA consultants would be "working off the same page" with regards to approving NMPs. When it was suggested that, under the strategy drafted, no-till operations could not apply nutri- ents, Verkley said it may just be a matter of doing it in a different way. "They may have to apply 1,000 Determining sources of water contamination has beetran impor- tant topic for both agriculturalists and citizens in recent years as water quality concerns have intensified. Early research has shown a marked difference between infec- tious parasite concentrations in a selection of animal waste manage- ment operations. Ron Fleming of Ridgetown Col- lege has been studying the occur- rence of cryptosporidium, a protozoan parasite which repro- duces in vertebrate, in various waste management scenarios. Cryptosporidium, a commonly known cause of gastroenteritis in humans, has been the source of large outbreaks oi illness. The dis- ease is an inflammation of both the stomach and intestine lining, caus- ing long-lasting diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Fleming undertook the research to determine the levels of cryp- tosporidium in manure storage as well as provide information and recommendations to farmers. A total of 60 southwestern Ontario farms were involved in the study with 20 each from swine far- rowing operations with liquid manure, dairy with solid manure and runoff storage and dairy with liquid manure. Each location was visited three times between November 1996 and March 1997, with 552 samples gathered. The cryptosporidium levels from storage samples were then com- pared to that of fresh manure from calves and young pigs. In somewhat surprising results, Fleming's report indicates lower numbers for the cattle than expect- ed, though the swine was close to expectations. For the swine operations, 90 per cent of the farms tested positive for cryptosporidium, in the combined fresh and storage samples, at least once during the study with 26 per cent of all swine samples being positive. gallons, five times instead of 5,000 gallons at once so there is less con- cern about pooling on the surface." When questioned about the role of the local advisory committee which would handle complaints not in violation of provincial legisla- tion, Paul Verkley, Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture environmental committee member, said "The committee will not be an arbitration board, but mediation. They will not get involved in legal matters. They will let the operator know about the complaint and see what can be done." While the complainant's name will not be volunteered to the oper- ator, all information will be includ- ed in public documents. The dairy farms with solid manure showed positive levels in only 8.1 per cent of the total sam- ples and 65 per cent of the farms having at least one positive test. Dairy production with liquid waste showed the lowest numbers with only 50 per cent of the farms testing positive and just 7.3 per cent of the total samples. Looking at just the fresh manure sampling, 50 to 55 per cent of each farm type had positive results at least once. However, the numbers varied greatly in the storage samples. Seventy-five per cent of the swine operations accrued positive results at least once while dairy with solid manure storage and runoff tanks came in at 20 per cent and liquid dairy had no positive tests. Fleming said, "This marked dif- ference between swine and dairy farm manure storage is the most interesting find of the study." He also notes no tests were done to determine viability of the para- site as organisms lacking infectious capability would still be measured in the study. New procedures have also been developed since the research to dif- ferentiate livestock-sourced infec- tions from human. THE WAR AMPS Child amputees say AFE e A For more Information call: 1-800-250-3030 A Huron County resident volun- teered the county to be a pilot pro- ject for the peer advisory committee. Responding to the comment that the NMPs were too little, too late, because it will only deal with expanding operations, Coukell said the strategy is a starting place. "There is an on-going water monitoring program so if there is a problem, it will be dealt with." Caldwell mentioned that resi- dents tend to see large operations as the big problem rather than small ones, but there are still less animal units in Huron County than there were in 1981. Construction in the last year has required an NMP, so many of the large operations are covered." ''We have to start somewhere, said Coukell. "With the workforce and time, we can address concerns for operations of 150 units now. This number could easily change over time." It was indicated that some munic- ipalities have set different limits than the 150 units at the present time. Most farmers have been doing NMPs for years, there just hasn't been the documentation. It is now formalized and advertised about what is being done, Coukell added. It is hoped this strategy will cre- ate a uniformity across the province so there are not discrepancies between municipalities, thereby making it easier for farmers to work within the guidelines while not affecting competitiveness or giving one area an advantage over another. Though some expressed the opin- ion that the draft strinegy did not go far enough and that specific issues were not covered, Coukell said, "If we wait to act until everything is perfect, we will never act." FM 1.111f Fl UNION GAS HEATING DEALER (1111,140ill AT lull Carrier GOULDS Cryptospordium findings a surprise to researchers 4 .44 Furnaces Fireplaces It has been estimated that injuries cost our nation approximately $13.2 billion dollars per year in medical costs. This figure does not include lost income or the costs in human terms, which are incalculable. SMARTRISK Foundation Air Conditioning Water Systems Geothermal Heating/Cooling/Hot Water Making Your Home More Energy Efficient igaer Furnace