Huron Expositor, 2004-03-31, Page 22-THI HURON IXPOS1TOR, !AARON 31, 2004
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News
Almost $r billion in aid gives $56
per animal in federal BSE package
From Pop 1
Grey Community Centre and he's hoping to get a feel for how
Huron farmers are faring from that meeting.
"If there's a good crowd, there's some optimism," he says.
Vanastra-area beef farmer Les Falconer says
the federal BSE aid is "definitely going to help
but it's not the answer."
"It will keep a few guys alive until the fall."
Falconer says beef producers north of Huron
County are in worse shape because they depend
entirely on beef for their livelihoods.
"Most of our guys have something else to
fall back on, more diversity. But, the guys that
are finishing their cattle right now are hurting,"
he says.
For farmers more dependent on beef,
minimum of $56 an animal and a maximum of $80.
Haney says because his operation includes beef, hogs and
cash cropping, he's not doing as badly as farmers whose sole
livelihood is determined by beef prices.
"Everybody's hurting but there are likely some in dire
straits. The price of soy beans is helping me a
lot," he says.
As well, Haney says killing animals through
small local abattoirs and selling to local
families who want to fill their freezers is also
helping him stay afloat.
"We've always done that but this year we're
doing it more," he says.
Winthrop -area farmer Neil Dolmage says the
almost $1 billion in aid will be spread pretty
thinly across the country.
Quoted
'It will keep a
few guys alive
until the fall,'--
Vanastra-area beef
farmer Les Falconer
Falconer says the situation is more dire.
"The next month is going to tell the tale. There's a lot of
cattle to go to market in the next month and it will depend on
how lenient the bankers are going to be."
Falconer says opening the Canada -U.S. border is still the
answer and he's hoping that will happen by the May 19 first
year anniversary of the border closure.
"If it doesn't happen on the year anniversary, it won't
• happen until the fall," he predicts.
Lyle Haney, a Seaforth-area beef farmer, also calls the
federal aid package a "band-aid."
"We're going to get a bit of money but it's still not the
answer. What the hell's $80 a beast? I'm losing $300 to $400
an animal when they go out the door."
The recently -announced package is expected to give a
"Our country can't support us. The aid will
maybe recover some of our feed costs but it's not going to
pay any bills. It's very serious," he says.
Dolmage agrees that a lot of brief farmers are trying to buy
some time by holding onto their cattle longer.
"Some are trying to get pasture to try and hold on for the
next six weeks to two months or even to the fall. But, the
problem there is if the animal gets older than 30 months, they
may be pushing it too long," he says, adding that the cattle
drops in value past the age of 30 months.
"It's getting harder to stick -handle through all this," he
says. "The government can't bail us out with the value of the
cattle and nobody knows how quickly things will rebound
even if the border opens."
Dolmage says that personally, he has lost thousands of
dollars and the federal aid covers 10 to 12 per cent of his loss.
Sinkhole study gives municipalities
head start on source protection plan
Fran Page
concerned about sinkholes
allowing drinking water to be
contaminated, gives local
municipalities a head start on
source protection planning.
In the four clusters of
sinkholes in the two
municipalities, Merry said
most of the farms involved
are cash crop farms, not large
livestock operations.
"Cash cropping doesn't
mean there won't be manure
application," said Seaforth
Coun. Lou Maloney.
Scott added that best
management farming
practices and the buffer zones
recommended in the Nutrient
Management Act will help
protect the water going into
sinkholes.
"Manure restrictions
should be appropriate near
sinkholes," said West Perth
Mayor John Van Bakel.
"What's the difference
between a sinkhole and a
river running through your
property?"
Grey Coun. Mark Beaven
wondered if the local
sinkholes could benefit the
area as a tourist attraction
after Merry showed a slide of
water -filled limestone cave at
the base of a sinkhole in
Florida being explored by
divers.
"There could be huge caves
down there and I suspect
they've been there for
millions of years, even before
the glaciers came. But, we'd
have to spend millions to
excavate to get down there,"
he said.
Scott added that while the
caves created by sinkholes
and karst geology in the
Bruce Peninsula attract rock
climbers, those caves - if they
exist - aren't accessible in
Huron East and West Perth.
"I don't think we have to
worry about spelunkers
(people who explore caves as
a hobby) swarming the area
because they couldn't
squeeze down the sinkholes
the way they are now," he
laughed.
Federal budget is 'good balance of saving
and spending,' says Huron -Bruce MP
From Pogo 1
concerned that we maintain
programs while those on the
left would have us just keep,
on spending money even if
we have to go into deficit,"
Steckle said. "People know
that you can't have it both
ways — you can't at the same
time as you're cutting taxes
also put increases into your
program spending without
running the risk of a deficit.
"Ontario did that for far too
many years at the same time
while they were delivering
Af-
ntkHuro
The Municipality of Central Huron is pleased
to announce the 3rd annual Central Huron
Donation Fund. The Municipality will again
set aside funds to assist and promote
community-based non-profit organizations.
Funding is also available for national and
international non-profit organizations whose programs demonstrate a direct benefit for the
residents of our municipality.
Budget:
The total 2004 Donation Fund budget has been set at $40,000.00. Ninety percent (90%) of
the budget will be considered for distribution on a "first come first served" basis. Funding
may be in the form of a cash or in-kind donation.
To Qualify:
Organizations must be non-profit. Proposed programs or events must clearly demonstrate a
direct social or economic benefit for residents of Central Huron. Successful organizations
will be required to submit a post project report identifying the use of the funds.
Application:
Applications for funding should include:
+ Description of program or event
+ Date of program or event
4. Organization budget for proposed program or event
+ Targeted resident group, if appropriate
+ Supporting information including statistics for previous similar projects
+ Amount of funding requested, specifying whether a cash or in-kind donation is
required
Phase I
Deadline for applications must be received by 12:00 noon May 15th, 2004.
Phase II
Applications will be received throughout the calendar year.
If (your organization has questions or comments they should be directed to the Municipal
office at 482-3997.
Applications are to be addressed as follows:
"Central Huron Donation Fund"
Attention:
Richard Harding, Clerk Administrator
Municipality of Central Huron
P.O. Box 400, 23 Albert Street
Clinton, Ontario NOM ILO
The Municipality reserves the right to fund only programs or events as deemed appropriate.
tax relief and tax breaks
largely at the expense of the
poor and to the credit of the
wealthy in our society."
During his budget speech
Goodale made mention of the
sponsorship scandal that has
caused the Liberal popularity
to drop in recent weeks.
Goodale said his government
would, "accept responsibility
for what went wrong and
accept responsibility to get it
right."
Steckle said the scandal is
now being used solely for
political purposes by the
opposition.
"I think the other very
significant thing is the fact
that while some of the
provinces are going back into
deficit — we see it even in
Ontario — we have delivered
seven straight balanced
budgets," Steckle said.
"While people keep . referring
to the sponsorship thing and
the $100 million — it's a lot of
money — in the scheme of
things it doesn't have a lot of
relevance given the attention
that it's getting.
"I think Canada has been
well -governed over the last
10 years. There have been
things that haven't been right
but this has been going on
forever. There's been a
commitment made to doing
things differently."
Goodale said the Canadian
economy is expected to grow
by 3.2 per cent in 2004.
Growth fell to 1.7 per cent
during this fiscal year thanks
to an unexpectedly high
dollar and national
emergencies such as the
summer blackout, SARS and
the BSE crisis.
After a near -record 7.6 per
cent increase in program
spending in the 2003 budget,
the new budget's increase is a
modest 2.1 per cent, the
government also announced
the cancellation of VIA Rail's
capital expansion and plans to
build a political history
museum. These cuts, along
with the elimination of
Communications Canada, the
national unity reserve and the
controversial Sponsorship
Program will contribute to 16
per cent of the government's
pledge to find $1 -billion in
new savings.
"I believe we've got a
pretty good balance (of
saving and spending) and
we've proven that because of
the fact that we have this
record and fiscally being
responsible," Steckle said. "I
think this government has
been probably the most
responsible government
we've seen for a long, long
while in Canada.
"I know there are some
people who probably
wouldn't agree with me on
balance but I think we've got
it as close to right as we're
going to get it."
Clarification
An article in last week's
paper which outlined Huron
East council's decision not
to let all -terrain vehicles
travel municipal roads left
out the fact that farmers will
still be allowed to use ATVs
for agricultural purposes
while travelling Huron East
roads. The ATV ban only
relates to the recreational
use of the vehicles.
Jennifer Hubbard photo
Concentration.
Tanner Ward, Grade 7 at Seaforth Public School ponders his next move during the annual
regional chess tournament at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Goderich Friday. More than 200
students from Grades 1 to 12 participated in the tbirnament. Ward, who came sixth in the
tournament, had the est results of the students por)idpating from Seaforth Public.
1