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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-15, Page 6PAGE 6 -GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1979 Farmland isn't a dump site BY ALICE GIBB Environmental issues, including waste management and. the need for energy con- servation, were again among the main topics discussed at the annual members of parliament dinner, sponsored by the Huron Federation of Agriculture and affiliated commodity groups, held in Clinton on Saturday. Jim McIntosh, of RR3, Seaforth an OFA regional director, told • Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron - Middlesex ; Murray Gaunt, MPP for Huron - Bruce, and Bob McKinley, MP for Huron, that agricultural land can't continue to be the dumping grounds for urban waste. 1 McIntosh said agriculture is Ontario's biggest industry and the amount of "prime agriculture land taken for a "dump -site" is only one of agriculture's major concerns". The director said an even greater concern is "the potential time bomb effect these sites may be to future generations". McIntosh said there are already 4,000 known chemical disposal site in the Great Lakes basin, which will provide continuous con- tamination of the lakes. Now the question facing society is how many more dangerous chemicals are ,being dumped into land fill sites, Mr. McIntosh said. He told the • three politicians that PLUARG researchers have stated there are 300 to 500 new organic compounds appearing on the market every year, while no rigid testing program for the chemicals exists. Pointing out that pesticides must pass rigid tests. before they can be , used on, farms, McIntosh called for more research into the effects of the chemicals being disposed of in dump -sites. "In the next 10 to 20 to 50 or 100 years, these chemicals could enter the ground water and chemically poison many thousands of acres of farm land for future food production-, or by being in the ground water, poison many farm supplies," the director said. SAFE McIntosh called from mord government ,research to determine ways to safely recycle the chemicals or convert them to products that are safe for the environment. Murray. Gaunt said he agreed with McIntosh that "industry should test as vigorously and ac- tivelyas agriculture is testing." He said as of January 1, 1980jhe Ministry of Environment is banning all new liquid industrial dump sites. However, he said some gf the present • sites will continue in use after 1980, if they are , -considered safe. Gaunt told the federation members that recycling is certainly the If you're NEW IN TOWN and don't know which way to turn, call the re oltp, LT O. hostess at 524-9676 You'll be glad you did. answer to the problem of waste by "there are some very real problems jn recycling, due to the cost not the technology." Gaunt said the technology is there to transform some waste prcidticts,, into neutral blocks • by adding chemicals. He said a Fort Erie company wanted to build a plant to transform 'waste. materials into building materials, but the council turned down the proposal. Bob McKinley said before the government funds expensive pilot projects to look into waste disposal, they should check whether . similar projects have already been carried out in other countries. Jack Riddell, the Liberal agriculture critic in the Legislature, , said protection of the en- vironment is one of the greatest dangers facing government and industry today and added if emissions from in- dustries aren't con- trolled, "48,000 of our lakes in northern Ontario will be pretty well destroyed to the point where we can't bring them back." From the farmer's viewpoint, Riddell •said, the problem is that these emissions blow across the land and "we don't know their effect on vegetation'''. Riddell said white beans for example, have already proven very susceptible to, pollution. He also mentioned the danger of the acid rain condition. • Jake Van Wonderen, of the Gashen Line representing the Stanley Township Federation of Agriculture, also presented a brief dealing with an environmental issue. GULPING GALLONS He spoke about the transition in.. hriculture in the last 40 years from horse and buggy to "big tractors gulping in excess of seven gallons of fuel an hour." • Now Mr. Van Won- deren pointed out, the farm community is faced with the problem of fossil fuels becoming scarcer and more expensive while farmers must keep their machinery going to compete on the market. He called for more research by Agriculture Canada into alternative forms of energy which can be used to operate farm machinery. Both Bob McKinley and Murray Gaunt agreed that more research was needed into the question of fossil fuels and agriculture. Gaunt said the United States and Canada already face the possibility of fuel rationing due to the in- stability in Iran. He said this situation "makes us realize how dependent we are on fossil fuels." Tony McQuail, of the Lucknow area another federation director, also made a plea for less dependence on fossil fuels, saying "the days of cheap, unlimited energy are past."' McQuail suggested' the government could en- courage the development of alternative approaches by maintaining the best agricultural land for agriculture ; by en- couraging more co- operation among farmers in sharing machinery; and by ensuring farmers get enough return on their investment to spend money on new technology and to experiment with new approaches. McQuail said more emphasis should be placed on cropping systems which require fewer non-renewable energy outputs He also called for a new program of farmer instigated energy research to respond to situations encountered by the farm population. He recommended grants of up to $10,000 to assist farmers in ex- perimenting with alternate energy forms. Both Agriculture Canada and O.M.A.F. could then keep farmers posted on the conservation and renewable energy techniques developed under the program, McQuail said. A SWITCH Murray Gaunt com- plimented Mr. McQuail on his own experiments with energy conservation and told the audience that the Lucknow-area farmer is installing a wind generator -on his farm and hopes to feed excess power back to Ontario Hydro from the generator. The Huron -Bruce MP also said if -the capital grants program is renewed by the gover- nment, it will operate in a different form, and might apply to projects like the one ,Mr. McQuail had undertaken. Frank Wall, a munber of the OFA executive, told McQuail he looks forward to the day when "Ontario Hydro will be sending you a cheque every month." McQuail said his philosophy on the matter is "let's use Hydro but take away some of the monopoly control they have...make it a shared resource." Jack Riddell agreedt with his feilow politicians that there should be a research and develop- ment fund to assist farmers like McQuail who are experimenting with alternate energy uses. Huron Fof A wants to .prevent over reaction BY ALICE GIBB Art Bolton of McKillop, president of the Huron Cattlemen's Association, askelO Huron County's three 'members of parliament for their support in preventing consumer over -reaction to the high price of beef at the annual members of parliament meeting on Saturaay. Bolton and represen- tatives from other Huron County commodity groups presented their briefs to MPPs Jack • Riddell and Murray Gaunt and MP Robert McKinley_ at the dinner held in Clinton. Bolton said the beef price increase results from -the-decline in the number of beef cattle and the decline in value of the Canadian dollar. He said it's expected the number of cows will continue to decline until 1980 and relatively high prices for beef will prevail until 1982. Frank Wall, an OFA director from the Niagara region, asked Mr. Bolton if cattle producers couldn't maintain their production at a steady rate. He said there was again talk, by some consumers about boycotting beef due to the high prices QUICK WAY OUT Bolton said cattlemen are trying to get better market information to the producers in order to stabilize 'production and pric-e- -cycles": -He added that mentioning quotas was the "quickest way to get , yourself out of a cattlemen's meeting that I know." Lloyd Stewart, secretary of the Huron County Pork Producers, called for an expansion of the processing and packing' industry in the brief he presented to the three politicians. Jack Riddell said he understood pork cOn- sumption will increase in the future due to higher beef prices and that good pork prices are predicted for the next two years. John Van Beers, of R.R. 1, Blyth, said Ontario hog producers need another slaughtering plant in the province. to keep up with production. • Bill Scott of Seaforth, Htiron 'County director on the Ontario Egg Producers' Marketing Board, said in his brief that both Ontario and Quebec require an in- crease in 'their egg quotas. He said under the federal marketing plan, until a more realistic agreement can be reached, egg quotas can't be stabilized and will continue to fluctuate. MAJOR PROBLEM The director told the members of parliament the major problem facing producers now is the development of an ongoing transfer policy. He said there are currently two trains of thoughts among producers about the issue. Some producers want the quota to be purchased by the marketing board, put into a pool and re- distributed pro -rate to all the producers wanting it, at the same price. Scott said, "This is the fairest, easiest and leas controversial plan to implem en t. HoWeve-r,- other producers favor an open, face to face buy -sell program w rt. h limitations, such as _limiting purchases to five per cent of basic quota. Scott said the marketing board directors are now working on a program for quotas to be put forward at their annual meeting in March. Jack Riddell, the Liberal party's agriculture critic in the Ontario legislature, said he is concerned how a young person gets into •the egg business today. Riddell asked, "Have we closed the doorto the young farmer who wants to go into the business?" Jim McIntosh, of R.R. 5, Seaforth, Said a young farmer could probably still justify buying. a successful poultry operation with quota rather than buying ex- pensive land and going into cashropping. Murray Gaunt said he had heard concern ex- pressed about a cor- porate concentration in the egg business. Scott said at this point he didn't see the industry getting into corporate hands, since individual -farmers and not industries are leasing available egg quotas. "The family farmer is right out 'there c6m- peting," Mr. Scott added. Bert Ellibtt, chairman of the Huron County Cream Producers, Turn to page 7 • TWO -EXTRA CLEAN, WELL LOOKED AFTER 4 -WHEEL DRIVES -7 ..,.. '43" 8g4", 144/1 Trt 1977 CHEV CHEYENNE BLAZER A real sharp unit featuring 2 passenger rear,.seat, 350 1/8 engine with automatic fransraission, centre console, AM/FM radio, styled steel road wheels and special two time paint. Onfy 42.000 miles. LICENSE NO. C6724 PHONE: 524-9381 524-8411 524-8811 $7 19500 STIRICKLAND'S 1976 INTERNATI NAL SCOUT II Finished morange with white cap. This 'unit features a V8 engine, an automatic transmission, AM radio, rear passenger seat and warn locking'front 'hubs. Also only 42;000 miles. 110 0 0 LICENSE NO. 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