The Rural Voice - April 2022

Rural Voice

The

April 2022

THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE ... $2.50 PM 40037593

UDDERLY RIDICULOUS Goat yoga and picnicking with animals are part of the experience at a goat dairy farm near Bright

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Contents The

Rural Voice THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE

Published monthly by: The Rural Voice, Box 429, Blyth, Ontario, N0M 1H0 Telephone: 519-523-4311 Fax: 519-523-9140 e-mail: info@northhuron.on.ca

20

Publisher: Deb Sholdice Editor: Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot rveditorlisa@northhuron.on.ca

16

24

Columns Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Keith Roulston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Kate Procter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Jeffrey Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Mabel’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Woodlots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Agrilaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Departments Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ruralite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 News & Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Business Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

APRIL 2022 • Cover Photo Goat yoga at Udderly Ridiculous Photo by Jeff Tribe

• Deadlines: May Issue – April 12 June Issue – May 10

16 New barn is light and airy The new pack barn at Dave Gardiner Farms is appreciated by three generations of beef farmers

20 It’s been 40 years Centralia College graduates reminisce about the “good old days”

24 Flying high in Wingham Tyler and Summer Papple purchase the Wingham airport to encourage pilots to visit Huron County

28 Udderly Ridiculous Adding experiences with animals adds profit to ice cream business on dairy goat farm

Newsletters

35 Beautiful Joe park

National Farmers Union . . . . . . . . . .59 Grey County Federation . . . . . . . . . .60 Bruce County Federation . . . . . . . .61 Perth County Federation . . . . . . . . . .62 Huron County Federation . . . . . . . . .64

42 Living wage businesses

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Arnold Mathers, Donna Lacey, Melisa Luymes, Anne Mann, Nancy Fisher, Carolyn Crawford, Bonnie Sitter, Jeff Tribe, Amanda Brodhagen and Hetty Stuart Mailed by: McLaren Press Graphics, Bracebridge, ON Advertising Sales: Shelley Kroes rvads@northhuron.on.ca Production co-ordinator & Telemarketing: Joan Caldwell Advertising & editorial production:

Dianne Josling PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40037593 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 429, BLYTH ON N0M 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca Subscriptions: $25 (12 issues) $45 (24 issues), includes HST Back copies $2.75 each.

Grey County’s many parks with waterfront attractions make it an excellent day trip destination

Paying a living wage is great for business and the community

All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial content may be reproduced only by permission of the publisher. The Rural Voice makes every effort to see that advertising copy is correct. However, should an error occur, please notify The Rural Voice office within 30 days of invoicing in order to obtain a billing adjustment.

NH

ORTH URON

PUBLISHING COMPANY INC.

A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc.

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2 The Rural Voice

Feedback Letters to the Editor may be sent to The Rural Voice, P.O. Box 429, Blyth, On N0M 1H0

Convoy was about freedom for the individual The Editor, Should truckers be allowed to define “freedom” for all?

I take issue with Kate Procter’s article. The Freedom Convoy is not about “freedom” for all. It’s about freedom for the individual; the right to choose if you wish to join a medical experiment.

The vaccines she references have been around for decades. COVID-19 vaccines were created about three months before their use. We must remember the basic scientific method we all learned in elementary school. Hypothesis and end results are not always the same.

In the 1960s pregnant women took a very “effective” drug to cure morning sickness. We know how that turned out.

Procter’s final statement “health protocols and getting vaccinated will end the pandemic”. She is simply wrong. The pandemic will end because of natural immunity that the poorer nations around the world have experienced. They could not afford vaccines nor did they have the ability to enforce lockdowns.

Please check available statistics.

You will find that many of the poorest countries’ COVID-19 deaths per capita is lower than that of Canada. ◊ – Keith Herman, Renfrew, ON The views and opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Rural Voice and North Huron Publishing.

Keep up the good work!

The Editor, I am really pleased with the content of The Rural Voice. Enough isn’t being published about farming and the farming community. Most city folk visualize farmers with a pitch fork and a red barn. They also assume farmers are low-class ignorant individuals.

However, we know differently. We like to boast at times of our good deeds and efforts. This publication reinforces this all the time. Keep up the good work and thank you for publishing your magazine. ◊ – Diane Bruce, Woodstock, ON

Procter column needs to be shared The Editor, Kate Procter’s article concerning protests, vaccinations and pandemics was a thoroughly research article which needs to be reprinted for access by all Canadians. It may help people avoid some of the frustration, pain, financial hurt and stress associated with this and future pandemics. ◊ – H. Corcoran, Joyceville, ON

It’s interesting how history repeats itself The Editor, I was just reading The Rural Voice and quite enjoyed the well-written articles by both Lisa BoonstoppelPot and Kate Procter. Well said! It is interesting how history repeats itself re: the smallpox vaccine and unrest then. My grandfather would have been a baby back then. Thanks to everyone for their hard work every month. I look forward to reading The Rural Voice and quite often share it with my friends. ◊ – Joan Eadie, Holyrood, ON

Feedback

Stories are interesting and informative The Editor, The March issue of The Rural Voice had a couple of great articles including, “Should Truckers be allowed to define freedom for all”

by Kate Procter alongside Ralph C. Martin’s, “We need all the prime farmland we can preserve”. These were very thought-provoking stories. As always, all the stories are interesting and informative such as the “Eat Local Huron re-opening in Bayfield”.

Keep up the good work! ◊ – Kevin Kimball, Leamington, ON The Rural Voice welcomes letters and will publish as many as space permits.

Write to: The Rural Voice, Box 429, BLYTH, ON N0M 1H0

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April 2022 3

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4 The Rural Voice

Ruralite Debate on a wet corner “I

like having dialogues with people that have a different opinion as that is how I learn best. ” ~ Donna Lacey on discussing draining versus wildlife preservation on a farmer’s field

Might as well joke about it

• There will be a minor baby

Your English Lesson for Today

boom in nine months and then, one day in 2033, we shall witness the rise of the quaranteens.

• Why do they call it the novel coronavirus?

It’s a long story.

• Lego store re-opens after lockdown. Folks line up for blocks.

• Ghosts like to ride in elevators because it lifts their spirits.

FARMING IN APRIL

• Since there was no time like the present, he decided to present his present • When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes • There was a row among the oarsmen how to row • The buck does funny things when the does are present • To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow

•

Progress

“ I look back and those were only two years of our lives but it was a unique time for farming. I came from Bruce County and then I was in Exeter where they had eight-row corn planters!! Now, 40 years later, so much has changed again! ~Andy Magwood, remembering his days at Centralia College, while planning a reunion with his classmates

“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”

•

~Daniel Webster

Neil’s One-Liners (Wisdom and humour from the McGavin files)

• Ideas won’t work unless you do

Return of Spring

•

Geese search the river Looking for a place to nest Heralding spring ~Photo by Bonnie Sitter

• A hard thing about business is minding your own

April 2022 5

Lisa B. Pot Lisa B. Pot is editor of The Rural Voice, and farms in Huron County

Pick a path and start walking Maureen Kelly-Barclay says of her Centralia classmates, “The last time we were all together we rocked shoulder pads and mullets and now we have bifocals and orthotics. But you know what? Mullets are coming back in and so are shoulder pads… we were trendsetters!”

That’s such a great quote!

Maureen is on the Centralia College reunion committee and was able to track down most of her classmates for the April 2 celebration of a school that is now closed but undoubtedly expanded the knowledge, friendships and connections of rural youth across Ontario.

After chatting with committee members, I think I missed my chance to go there myself. I think I would have really enjoyed learning about farming or taking the Animal Health Management course to work with veterinarians. However, I was in the

mode to escape Huron County and small-town life. I wanted to experience being far from home in the city. So I went to Humber College in Toronto where I soon realized the city was not the place for me. I returned to Huron County with no regrets and an abiding love for farm life.

It was so hard to decide what to do with your life back then, wasn’t it? I see the same stress in my 17year-old daughter who, hard-working and smart girl that she is, was accepted to every university and college she applied to on courses ranging from veterinary technician, to animal science to environmental science. Not only does she have to decide on a vocation, she has to choose a school. She has to decide whether to venture far from home for the experience or stay within a reasonable driving distance to come home on weekends to be with family and a boyfriend. She has to think about her interests and skills but also a future income to support herself.

Or, she could skip school altogether to become an entrepreneur and start her own online business to market products around the world.

Today’s girls are not limited or chastised for dreaming big, for pursuing their dreams or launching high-powered careers. It’s so exciting ... and so overwhelming.

How does one choose who to be and what to do at 17 years of age?

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6 The Rural Voice

I’m so proud of her but I’m also at a loss to help her. I keep asking questions about what she REALLY wants to do and I can feel her frustration because she doesn’t REALLY know. It’s such a vast world now. She could go to school in Europe. She could travel for a year or take an apprenticeship in the trades.

There are jobs in the digital world I haven’t even heard of.

There is so much choice. So many opportunities. So many ideas and options and possibilities.

It’s like walking into a giant Loblaws and leaving two hours later, worn out because all you wanted was some bread, cheese and vegetables but the selection in just those three categories required decisive analysis.

Compare that to a friendly Foodland where you can get everything you need in 10 minutes.

I pause here, because I sound dangerously close to complaining when, at this moment, Ukrainian women are fleeing into Poland with their babies. Worrying about too many education options, much less bread choices, is an affront to the plight of our sisters and brothers in Eastern Europe.

It makes me realize what I need to share with my daughter is how lucky she is to have choice. Freedom.

Opportunities.

Sometimes in this life, all we can do is take the next step — pick a path and start walking. It may not turn out to be the right path but lucky Canadians that we are, we can stop.

Choose again. And start down a different path.

The Centralia graduates did the same back when they graduated in 1980. Some returned to their farms.

Some went into business. Others realized the profession they chose wouldn’t pay the bills and went back to school for other vocations. Yet, no matter what path they took, most are keen to meet and connect with their fellow graduates to reminisce about the “good old days”.

My daughter is entering into those “good old days” though she won’t be able to appreciate them until she’s older, like me. I’m excited for her and yes, making decisions is hard.

But aren’t we so darn lucky to have freedom to decide? ◊

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Keith Roulston Keith is former publisher of The Rural Voice.

He lives near Blyth, ON.

We need to fight for farmland—now Visit any food store in Canada (or at least southern Canada) and it’s almost impossible not to take food for granted.

Stores get bigger and bigger to meet shopper’s expectations. Shelves are overflowing. They throw out food that’s still perfectly good because it looks imperfect or it’s past is “bestbefore” date – or they give it to food banks for the small part of our population that can’t afford to buy their groceries.

Given all this – that it’s always there when we want it – it’s perhaps hard to really value food. And so it shouldn’t have really surprised me when I read Ralph C. Martin’s column in last month’s The Rural

Voice. He quoted Globe and Mail writer, John Ibbitson, whose column I usually read, though often disagree with, but I’d somehow missed this.

Ibbitson argued that the answer to Ontario’s housing crisis was to let cities sprawl across southern Ontario’s farmland. The land wasn’t that valuable for food production because “increased agricultural productivity compensates for land taken out of use for housing.”

Certainly, the increase in the production of our farmland since I was a lad is astounding. Fertilizers, weed sprays and – often overlooked – the superb education young farmers get today, has all led to tremendous increases in how much each acre of land produces. Still, Martin points out, our changing climate may reverse all that.

Canada needs 400,000 more immigrants this year and for each of the next few years, in part because we keep growing and in part because people are having fewer children and our population would actually be decreasing if not for immigration.

Since we have fewer people living in

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8 The Rural Voice

larger homes (other than in those downtown apartment towers), we need more housing.

But we also need more food, and more land to grow food on.

According to Martin, we’ve converted 2.2 million acres of farmland to housing in the past 40 years. The provincial government is proposing more farmland be paved over to build new superhighways north of Toronto and the resulting housing developments they will encourage.

Though rural organizations such at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the National Farmers Union – Ontario have made their voices plain about the importance of protecting farmland, they simply don’t have the clout they had back in the 1970s and 1980s when these became items worth fighting over for farm leaders.

Back then, there were more people living on more farms than we have today in a province with a smaller population, so the farm vote mattered more. Still, the evidence shows that many acres of farmland were lost to food production forever as cities expanded.

An increasingly urbanized society, moreover, has lost touch with the nitty-gritty of food production because the food is always there, in abundance, on the store shelves.

Large newspapers, television and radio stations/networks take farming and food for granted. Even local newspapers are usually part of urbanbased chains these days and seldom report on farming and food.

There are lessons to be learned by looking at the troubles in Ukraine.

Consumers have found empty store shelves in the supermarkets of one of the food-baskets of the world as the invasion of that country by Russia interrupted the food supply.

Southern Ontario has traditionally been a food basket too. But food production is too often taken for granted. We need more places for the Ralph C. Martins to illustrate the reality of our position. We need louder, more-angry voices from our farm organizations so they will actually be heard. We need to stop taking food and food-growing land for granted and to fight for its protection before it’s all gone.◊

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Kate Procter Kate farms, hikes, canoes, and plays guitar in Huron County.

The story of a quiet revolution for women in agriculture

M

arch 8 has been recognized since 1911 as International Women’s Day (IWD). The very first gathering was supported by over one million people. It has been gaining momentum ever since as a day to celebrate social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. “The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality” (international womensday.com), with the 2022 IWD theme of “break the bias”.

IWD 2022 lists John Deere as one

10 The Rural Voice

of the partners to #breakthebias, along with LinkedIn and HCL Technologies. “John Deere embraces a culture in which diversity, equity, and inclusion provide the fuel for innovation, opportunity, and teamwork” (international womensday.com).

It is great to see such an iconic agricultural business take this leadership position supporting IWD. In an industry that is largely seen as being male dominated, farm women have had to fight for recognition, regardless of how the workload has been shared over the centuries.

In 2020, Dianne Margaret Harkin, a beef farmer from Winchester, was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame. Harkin, nominated by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), had influence over three broad categories: “the official recognition of the contributions of women to Ontario agriculture, the systemic acknowledgement of the importance of sustainable agricultural systems and the role of agricultural extension

in the promotion of sustainability, and the growing awareness of governments and consumers of the importance of the Ontario agriculture and food sector” (oahf.on.ca).

Along with two other women, Harkin co-founded the Ontario chapter of Women for the Survival of Agriculture in 1975, and recently published a book about her experiences, They Said We Couldn’t Do It – The Story of a Quiet Revolution. The organization came to be during a time when all in agriculture were struggling, and farm women were fighting to help hold onto their homes and businesses. The group grew to include about two dozen women locally, as well as chapters across Canada.

“Harkin emphasizes the movement also aimed to support Canadian farmers and farming generally – both men and women – at a time when there was substantial hardship in Canadian agriculture. ‘Farmers were being treated like crap.’ Some were committing suicide under the weight of soaring interest rates of the day” (nationvalleynews.com/2019/01/08).

Newspaper clippings from the 1980s tell the story of the desperation that people were feeling. Gisele Ireland, a farmer and member from Teeswater, pointed out that “farm economics had deteriorated so badly during the past two years that women can’t afford to leave the farm to attend conferences and lobby for changes” (Edmonton Journal, Friday, November 30, 1984). Women, in particular, were also fighting for equality. It may seem hard to believe today, but during that time, banks were still refusing to loan money to women, and when they did, they required women to have a husband to co-sign the loan.

Harkin’s group got started when the federal Food Prices Review Board was critical of farmers for gouging consumers and making too much money. The Board was established in 1973 “in response to public uncertainty and political tension surrounding rapid food price increases, which began in late 1972” (publications.gc.ca/site/fra). It was replaced in 1975 by a federal antiinflation program.

When farm men refused to talk to her, Harkin was able to talk to farm women, who largely kept the farm financial records. She was able to prove that farmers were not making the massive profits the Review Board suspected, and eventually won that battle. The WSA was able to show that Canadian farmers had increased efficiencies that enabled food prices to stay lower than they would have been otherwise.

She went on, with the WSA group, to lobby politicians, banks, and generally raise awareness of issues affecting farm businesses and families. In spite of being labeled “a crazy radical” and “one of those damned women’s libbers”, Harkin and her group gained attention for issues such as capital gains legislation, day care, and the economic plight of farmers (Edmonton Journal, Friday, November 30, 1984). “A key result was the amending of the Canadian Income Tax Act and the Canada Pension Plan to enable farm women to claim a salary for their work onfarm. They were then able to apply for loans and to purchase farms as independent farm operators. This represented a major step forward in raising the social economic status of women in agriculture” (oahf.on.ca /inductee/Dianne-margaret-harkin/).

This also benefited farm men, as farm households were then able to draw two CPP cheques on retirement instead of one.

Harkin went on to chair the public relations committee for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, was appointed to two terms on the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, a director for the Canadian Senate’s Soil Conservation Canada, and a member of the Ontario Institute of Agrology’s study team on “Directions for Sustainable Agriculture”. She is also a member of the Order of Ontario, and was a founding member locally of Naomi’s Family Resource Centre (nationvalleynews.com/2019/01/08).

They Said We Couldn’t Do It: The Story of a Quiet Revolution is available for $25 per copy through quietrevolutionbookorder @gmail.com. ◊

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April 2022 11

Jeff Carter Jeff is a freelance journalist based in Dresden, Ontario.

Such is the way of families — fortunes ebb and flow My dear friends of Orkney. There was a writer here in Canada, both famous and infamous, who when confronted with proofs contrary to what his stories imagined, maintained that truth not necessarily lays with mere fact.

Father at one time could be cajoled into attendance at the village’s Presbyterian church, typically in the early spring when the crested red birds were calling. He was of a reticent nature yet was well liked. His boyhood friends called him Rusty. He was a solid first basemen on the field, tall with a slight bowlegged stance.

In the barn, he’d sing a single, broken line from a familiar Autry tune, “I’ve got spurs that jingle,

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jangle” never progressing to part about the ties that bind.

We’d sit there, five of us lined along the bench in our Sunday best.

Father would be scrubbed and shaven, in suit and tie, the scent of the morning milking covered with a splash of Aqua Velva.

I’d watch him. His chin would gently sink, eyes close, yet well before the dream and full sonorous volume of his inner and outer voice could merge, a sharp jab would bring him back.

It was father’s way.

Now, before we go much further, you should know there is an Orkney connection.

That sharp jab was delivered by the daughter of the grandson of the man who built the church – James Isbister.

James arrived in Canada from Mainland, Orkney in 1860 at the age of 18 with five siblings, their father, William, having sold a large field to facilitate the voyage at a time when sheep and cattle were the preferred occupants of the islands. The new land was not entirely an unknown quantity for the family, Orcadians, and Isbisters for that matter, having crossed the North Atlantic many times in previous centuries to support the fur trade.

The fact of the matter being, my dears, is that Orkney now lies as

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much beyond its wave-lashed shores as within, Orcadians having become indigenous in their new environment, their bloodlines long having mingled with those of the first inhabitants.

James, though, was a relative newcomer. He made his way first to Peterborough and then to Oxford County, having assessed the area’s potential during an extended walking tour.

He found stone in that place, stone and soils so deep as to make an Orkneyman weep. The combination suited the young mason. Stone to build with; soils supporting a thriving rural community to pay for the building.

James oversaw the church’s construction, assembling first the high stone foundation, its buttressed brick walls then rising. He built large stone homes, too; one within sight of the Canada’s Thames, a mere rivulet there, meandering along the village edge, the names of his children still etched on a broad wooden sill.

Magnus Isbister recalled, James would think in later years considering his grandfather's legacy back in Orkney, “greatness” recalled.

Such is the way of families, fortunes ebb and flow.

Clifton was too young to have engaged in the Great War, and was far too short; a little man with charm, brash good looks, daring and, having learned the fundamentals of electric wiring and the internal combustion engine, prospects.

Estelle was taken. While Cliff’s grandfather may have built the church, hers had paid for it, or at least a significant part. There was even a golden watch given as a testament to his faith and service, now in the hands of her younger brother.

They were young and alive; times had taken a turn for prosperity and Cliff’s indifference to societal norms – he carried small silver flask with him always – had a certain attraction.

She’d bounce about the countryside at his whim aboard Leapin’ Lizzie, the cares of the world dust behind them, the future ahead.

To be continued...

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Mabel’s Grill The world’s problems are solved daily ’round the table at Mabel’s Grill.

“So the wife’s got me tuning up the lawnmower while I wait for cornplanting season,” said Dave Winston as he settled in at Mabel’s Grill the other morning.

“That’s what you get for getting the tractor ready so soon,” said George Mackenzie. “When my wife hit me up about the lawn mower the other day I said I was too busy working on the tractor and corn planter,” “I dropped off my lawn mower at the local small engine shop the other day,” said Molly Whiteside as she picked up the conversation when she came to the table to take the guys’ orders.

“That’s one of the advantages of being a single woman with kids,” said Cliff Murray. “Nobody expects you to fix things yourself.”

“Well thank goodness there are some advantages,” Molly said defiantly. “After two years of staying home more than working, and doing without tips I’d forgotten I ever had any advantages.”

“Well getting the lawnmower ready for the first spring cut was a nice excuse to put off getting all my paperwork ready so the accountant can do my income tax,” said George after delivering his order to Molly.

“If I wanted to do books I would have been an accountant myself and had a whole lot better income.”

“And you might have given a better tip, too! I find accountants leave decent tips – unlike you guys,” snapped Molly as she scribbled down the last of their order and headed back to the kitchen.

“Well it’s worth it to have extra work come spring like tuning up the machinery after putting up with a long winter,” sighed George. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I hadn’t fed the birds and had them and the squirrels to watch on those stormy days.”

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recipients,” said Dave in surprise.

“Hey, I’m just helping the hungry get through the winter,” said George sharply. “Those are hardly welfare cases. As soon as the good weather arrives most of those birds don’t even come to the feeders anymore.”

“Yeah, and spring is a nice break from the winter bills,” said Cliff. “I got to almost hate the sound of the furnace coming on, especially when winter hung on in early March.”

“Well at least you’ll be saving money on fuel and buying bird feed, although it won’t go far compared to how much more expensive it’s going to be to keep the tractor running for seeding,” grumbled Dave.

“Yeah, but higher gas bills are a small price to pay to hurt the Russians for what they’ve been doing to Ukraine,” said Molly as she brought the guys’ plates. “Those people are really paying a high price.”

“Easy for you to say when I’m the one who has to pay for planting 500 acres of corn,” grumbled Dave.

George winked at Dave then suggested, “Yeah, the price of fuel is going to be so high this spring that I may have to stop leaving tips when I come to Mabel’s.”

“You leave any less and I’ll be paying for your meal!,” shot back Molly, then turned on her heel and returned to the kitchen.

“So I suppose you have less crop to plant because you have pasture and hay for your sheep,” Dave said to Cliff as they dug into their breakfast.

“Yeah, it’s one advantage to sheep compared to your pigs,” said Cliff.

“Less work now but more come haying season.”

“Kind of takes away your excuses for helping with things like raking the gardens,” said Dave.

Cliff sighed heavily. “My wife agrees with you but the last couple of springs I’ve put off raking last year’s old stems and such after reading that gardening columnist in The Rural Voice who said bugs like to overwinter in those old stalks and you have to wait for them to get active before you rake the gardens.”

“Huh, and then they probably head straight for my corn fields and I have to spend even more money to get rid of them,” grouched Dave.◊

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Beef

A new barn for a new generation The Gardiner family expands their feedlot operation with a new barn to improve productivity, work flow and reduce both animal and human stress • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

A

Three generations of Gardiners raise cattle at Dave Gardiner Farms Inc., including (left to right) Lexi Soudant and her partner Dominik, Shauna and Ron Soudant, Jackson Soundant and the grandparents, Dave and Mary Gardiner.

Here, they are framed by the metal structure of their new We Cover barn.

16 The Rural Voice

new generation of Gardiners are finding their voice at Dave Gardiner Farms Inc. in Kirkton and Dave is all about hearing it.

Three generations of the family are sitting at the office table. They are all here because Dave said it was their voices that needed to be heard as the family expands with a new barn and a new vision for their feedlot operation.

Dave Gardiner says he’s the “oldest bugger in the room” when he sits on the board of the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association and he’s the oldest one at this table too. He was once the grandson at the table in a long line of Gardiners that have farmed this land since the 1800s.

Still very active in the business as the cattle trader, Dave is handing over the reins to daughter Shauna and her husband Ron Soundant, and their two children, Lexi and Jackson Soudant. Lexi’s partner, Dominik, is also part of the farm dynamic as they learn to combine their skillsets to farm 700 acres and fatten 2,200 head of cattle using both old and new barns.

The new barn is a We Cover structure that was put up last year and filled in September. At Dave Gardiner Farms Inc., cattle are purchased from Ontario, the western provinces and the United States.

Multiple sources are required to fill the barn with cattle that suit their system. The first group is soon to be shipped and the family has been watching their progress carefully to see if their million dollar barn is paying off.

So far, so good. Lexi has already noted that the cattle have more room

and there is less competition at the bunk. The barn has a grooved floor and the benefit of it was noted on the first day cows were put in the barn.

“The cattle never wipe out,” says Lexi. “There used to be so much stress when it was cattle moving day.

Now it’s just another day.”

The flow in the new barn is smooth and also reduces stress. The cattle move progressively around the barn until they are full weight and ready to be shipped. “The cattle seem to understand the new system too and they just move so easily,” adds Lexi.

Curbs were installed to protect the alleyway and water troughs to contain manure and prevent damage from the payloader which is used to clean the barn. The manure is scraped out every three weeks and stored in the north end of the same barn. It was designed with two pits on either end, behind a six-foot wall, to contain the manure and keep rainfall and snow out. Jackson says it was expensive to add more roofline to cover the manure storage but it was so worth it.

“The manure is consistent and easy to work with,” he says. Part of the expansion plan was to sell excess manure and it’s easier to sell dry manure versus liquid manure.

Ron is a fan of the natural light with the white fabric roof of the structure and is impressed with the automatic curtains, installed by Huron Ventilation Systems out of Hensall, which move up and down based on four temperature sensors inside the barn. There aren’t any fans in the barn and Ron doesn’t expect the barn will need them given how well it is ventilated with the curtains and the two, huge doors open on each end. He has ordered additional humidity sensors, finding that sometimes the temperature indicates the curtains need to be closed but humidity created by the cows requires more airflow.

With a new barn comes new responsibilities and as I went around the table, asking each one about their skills and responsibilities, there were clear answers about their responsibilities.

Dave continues his winning ways as the trader, buying and selling the cattle like he has done his whole life.

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He likes being on the road, and meeting people. He relishes his role, while proudly watching his family members find their niche in the beef farming operation. His family teases that he is also their “number one parts guy”.

Farming is what he has always done and what he wants to continue doing. “I have no desire to sit in the coffee shop because if you weren’t full of #$%@ before you went in, you’ll be full of #$%@ when you leave,” Dave jokes.

Daughter Shauna has done the books for decades and takes it as a perk of the job that she gets to see and work with her children everyday.

Ron was a trucker for most of his career and when he retired from that, discovered he had a passion and skill for cattle nutrition. He’s the feed and general manager.

Lexi has worked part-time on the farm since she went to Western University to earn her undergraduate degree and returned full-time to focus on managing the health of the cattle, including reducing cattle stress.

She’s also skilled at grant proposals and the farm has been able to purchase a Gallagher animal management system (to scan animal codes and track animals) as well as a Daniels cattle chute with the help of grant money. She also does the paperwork to manage the farm’s restricted feedlot status, which allows them to import cattle from the United States to fill their barns.

Jackson’s skills are more in the arena of machines and cropping. He does the equipment repairs, helps with feeding and “fixes whatever needs fixing.” He returned to the farm right out of high school and is looking forward to moving the cropping operation side of the business towards cover crops and notill.

Dominik is the main feed guy during the week, is a skilled welder and helps Jackson in the shop. He also has an AZ licence so he trucks the farm cattle.

The glue that keeps them all together and fed is Mary, Dave’s wife who, when she came to the barn for the photoshoot said, “well, let’s get on with it then!”

18 The Rural Voice

Featuring huge windows and a fabric cover, the new We Cover barn (top) at Dave Gardiner Farmers Inc near Kirkton was built to finish 800 head of cattle as the family grows to accommodate three generations of family members working in the business. Dave Gardiner (middle) walks back up the alley after showing the manure storage under cover at the back of the barn while nosy cattle (bottom) watch from their pens, which feature a bedding pack for cow comfort.

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Dave and Mary Gardiner (centre) are proud to see the farm being managed by their daughter Shauna and husband Ron Soudant (right) and have expanded to make room for full‐time help from their grandchildren — Lexi Soudant and her partner Dominik (left) and Jackson Soundant (wearing the black hat).

Technology has been part of the process of improving the feedlot operation and incorporating the skill sets of the younger generation. The Gallagher system traces all the cattle and allows the family to collect data to compare groups of cattle so they can determine which cattle thrive best in their feedlot system. It also allows them to take part in programs such as Performance Beef, which is a subscription program allowing the farm to track data on feed usage.

The data is used to manage costs, reduce margins, and keep track of inventory. Ron says they want to be progressive about records, tracking and data management so that when government mandates come down the pipe, they are ready.

Dave has been buying, raising and selling beef cattle his whole life.

Over the years, he has seen how competitive the industry has become and how tight the margins are. Down the road, he predicts there will be a problem sourcing calves from Ontario because the cow/calf operations require hard work for the income they produce.

“New farmers don’t want to do cow/calf,” says Dave. “It’s a tough business.”

Also, farmers can make more money cash cropping their land than grazing it, which has further reduced cow/calf operations in the province.

It comes down to the final product. If feedlots were paid more for the end product, that could be passed down to the cow/calf producers, says Dave.

He predicts the dairy industry will fill some of the market shortage with crossbred calves, though he prefers not to stock his barns with calves that are half Holstein.

The interview ends with a visit to the new barn. It is a beautiful, highceilinged barn with dramatic windows facing the road. Inside, the cattle are calm and the alleyways full of feed. The feed is scraped twice a day with a blade on a John Deere riding tractor, a fun job. They are considering an automatic feed pusher because the cattle come to the bunk whenever fresh feed is pushed outward but right now, the system works.

There will be more tweaks as the family learns the best way to manage cattle in their new barn but so far, all agree it was well worth the investment to keep the farm viable for the next generation of Gardiners.◊

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Reunion

Centralia grads celebrate 40 years “Last time we were together we rocked shoulder pads and mullets and now we have bifocals and orthotics!” ~ Maureen Kelly-Barclay • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

I

t’s been 40 years since the class of 1982 graduated from Centralia College and though the college is now closed, the graduates’ memories are alive and well and were shared at a reunion held April 2.

“I look back and those were only two years of our lives but it was a unique time for farming. I came from Bruce County and then I was in Exeter where they had eightrow corn planters!! Now, 40 years later, so much has changed again!” exclaims Andy Magwood, who got the whole reunion idea started two years ago.

“It has not been an easy road,” admits Magwood, describing the planning involved in organizing a reunion. The pandemic made it difficult for the committee to meet and finding graduates was a whole task in itself.

“There were 112 students total for our year and we managed to get e-mails for 99 of them. We’ve made contact with all of them but four,” says Janice Van Osch, who studied food services Clockwise: • Morris and Janice VanOsch met at Centralia College and married •Maureen Kelly‐Barclay (middle) poses with friends Mary‐Ann Duynisveld and Jan Hunsberger (Schofield) • The Centralia Reunion Committee (back row, left to right) Morris VanOsch, Aubrey Ross, Andy Magwood and Rob Bumstead. (Front row) Maureen Barclay, Ellen Haid, Tim Breedon and Janice Van Osch.

• Blast from the past at the school 20 The Rural Voice

management back in 1982. She’s the secretary and registrar for the Centralia Reunion Committee along with her husband, Morris Van Osch, who studied Agriculture Business Management. The two met at Centralia and are still married and farming together in Grey County.

Centralia College opened in 1967 under the direction of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and educated students interested in food and farming until 1994 when it was closed due to government cutbacks.

It was a great time for many students, including Ron Bumstead, Centralia Reunion Committee chair and 1982 graduate from the Agriculture Business Management course. “I grew up on a dairy farm near Owen Sound and it was a little far north and maybe sheltered from life’s realities. When I went to Centralia, I met a lot of new people and it really taught me how to get along with people … how to fit in.”

Bumstead had grown up playing sports but in Centralia, he met kids who’d grown up doing 4-H and from them he learned how to class cattle.

The courses themselves gave him an opportunity to learn more about running a farm. “Not everybody went to college in those days. For those of us that did, I think we were looking for something better … we were trying to improve ourselves.”

He remembers having maybe too much free time when classes were done at three or four in the afternoon compared to life on a dairy farm.

“That led to some hijinks, I guess, but the good part was sitting around talking to the other kids. I think I learned as much from them as I did from the courses just by listening to what they did on their farms and what worked for them.”

Bumstead is excited to reconnect with classmates, some of whom he has not seen for 40 years. “It will be interesting to see how their life developed and what they accomplished.” Being on the committee already gave him a taste of how it will go. “It was really special to work with them and despite the obstacles, no one ever lost their enthusiasm.”

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Magwood agrees. “I’m looking forward to rekindling all those memories and being able to talk about our ‘glory years’ for a bit.”

When he thinks back on his years at Centralia, he went there with the intention of bringing back new ideas to the family farm – Magwood Family Farms near Hanover, which he now farms with his brother since their parents retired. “Centralia had a unique program with something called the farm project. It was a big deal. You went to a project farm and learned everything about that farm.

You took down all the information, studied that farm and then made recommendations about crops or livestock or finances or anything else.” entralia was a small school and very affordable, says Maureen Kelly-Barclay who is the social media manager for the committee. She studied Animal Health Technology back in 1982. “It was a small college. Kind of like high school for a lot of people,” she recalls. “It was heavily subsidized by the government in those days and cost me $1,500 a year. And that included the room, a meal plan and the course!” She says her kids laugh at how inexpensive it was compared to the cost of education today.

It was all women who took the course back then and trying to find them all, most with changed names after they married, was quite an endeavour. “I never could have done it without social media. I found 31 of the 32 grads and I had to be a little bit of a detective. Some I found via their parent’s obituary listings. I did a lot of looking up on 411 and made a lot of cold calls. I phoned veterinary clinics and hospitals and lots of places of employment, trying not to be too creepy.”

Along the way, Kelly-Barclay did a little survey and discovered that only four graduates stayed in the animal health field as veterinary assistants. Most of her classmates went back to school for something else, with the majority of those turning to nursing since jobs in human health paid a lot more than jobs in animal health.

C

22 The Rural Voice

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“It’s too bad because the job was exciting and fast-paced but you had the responsibility and stress without the pay (of nurses or hospital workers),” she said.

Kelly-Barclay worked five years as a veterinary technician before taking nine years off to have children. Then she went back part time for seven years before becoming a speech and language pathology assistant which she worked at for 11 years before retiring.

She can’t wait to meet everyone and see what they look like! “Last time we were all together we rocked shoulder pads and mullets and now we have bifocals and orthotics,” she laughs. “But you know what?

Mullets are coming back in and so are shoulder pads… we were trendsetters!”

There were lots of laughs at school, remembers Van Osch. While her best memory is meeting her husband Morris at school she treasures the “good friendships with good people” she made at school.

Many girls did not leave the campus as the school had a good plan and there was a little kitchen to cook meals. She was good friends with a bunch of girls who called themselves the B3 Bathroom buddies.

She recalls a class trip to Toronto in November 1982, where the FSM class stayed at the Royal York Hotel, watched a ballet (which wasn’t their choice but they ended up loving) and then supper at Benihana of Tokyo, which was cooked right in front of them.

She also has good memories of past teachers and recalls being invited to their homes for Christmas parties. It was a close-knit community of students and teachers, says Van Osch. She also put her education to good use, working as a dietary aid in hospitals before becoming a supervisor of various hospitals and nursing homes in Grey County. She currently works at hospitals in Kincardine and Chesley as the environmental supervisor.

Bumstead credits Van Osch’s “doggedness” for being able to contact as many graduates as they did. ◊

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Farming & Flying

Papples expand with Wingham Airport purchase Farmers and flyers, Tyler and Summer Papple think their acquisition of the Wingham Airport will be a communityenriching experience for pilots and residents Tyler and Summer Papple have been offering custom flights and crop scouting for years and have now purchased the Wingham Airport to offer hangar rentals and a spot for other pilots to land, refuel, and explore the area.

I

t sounds quite grand to own your own airport but Summer and Tyler Papple are farmers at heart with a new love for flying that gives them confidence that the acquisition of the Wingham Airport will be a good fit for their own aviation company.

Sitting in the kitchen of their Seaforth farmhouse, it’s much warmer in than out and the gusty winds means it isn’t a good flying day. Later, standing at the hangar where their Cessna 172 is parked. Summer considers if she would fly today or not. “I might but I would not take passengers on a day like today” she says. They don’t encourage winter flying as their business, Papple Aviation, is mostly geared to the May to October window with the bulk of their business being scenic flights. They also do deliveries and crop scouting with the two Cessna planes they own.

Summer and Tyler became pilots later in life once their kids were teenagers. In fact, it was their son Oliver who introduced them to flying. Oliver has his recreational flying licence but he now stays home to shepherd his sheep while his parents fly the skies with Papple Aviation. Summer is the chief pilot and Tyler balances his time between farming and flying.

“When I was a kid, my dad used to fly a lot for work and I imagined I could be a stewardess but I never thought of being a pilot back then,” reflects Summer, now in her 40s. She particularly enjoys taking locals, tourists and fellow farmers into the skies to see the lakeshore or the fields most people only see from ground level. With flights 24 The Rural Voice

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

ranging from $140 to $300 for scenic tours from Goderich, Wingham and London airports, they’ve found themselves booked solid on summer weekends, sometimes taking to the skies over 10 times a day.

Turning their love of flying into a business was a nobrainer for the couple. Flying is an expensive hobby with fuel, insurance and maintenance costs more than the average plane owner can afford. There are strict regulations for aircraft maintenance that requires planes to undergo oil changes and maintenance every 50 hours of flying. And it’s not like pilots can stretch it like car owners do. “There is a tiny bit of leeway but you can’t push it to 60 hours,” says Summer.

Papple Aviation received Transport Canada certification in 2017 and began operation of Papple Aviation that year.

Summer and Tyler both fly for the business, maneouvering their Cessna 172 C-FPAP and the larger Cessna 182 CGPRX, which they purchased in 2020, through the skies.

Both planes are hangared at their farm strip.

Before starting their own business, Summer was a pilot with MedEvac, flying a King Air 200 in Manitoba and Nunavut, working two weeks on, two weeks off. In 2020, she earned her helicopter commercial pilot license as a result of receiving scholarships from The 99s, The WhirlyGirls and Female Aviators Sticking Together (FAST). She also volunteers with Hope Air and Canadian Wings of Rescue as well as The 99s International Organization of Women Pilots.

Being in the air is joyful for her, especially when clients exclaim at the views. From viewing the black holes in the Maitland River, to the winding lakeshore to the patterns of crop fields, seeing things from the sky is kind of like reading a map.

Tyler agrees. “From the sky, Goderich makes more sense. You can see how one road goes north, another south and then east and west out of the Goderich Square.”

Within a few minutes of takeoff from their Seaforth farm, many familiar Huron County landmarks come into view -- the Hensall Coop elevators, Varna Grain elevators, the gravel pits in Holmesville, Bayfield, the Bruce Nuclear Plant and the lakeshore. By the time the plane reaches 1,000 feet, one can see Kettle Point sticking out, the city of London and how organized the farms are in the county.

The Papples do crop scouting as well and had one client require scouting of over 5,000 acres in one day. However, most of their business is offering scenic tours and they find it interesting how some customers instinctively orient themselves and others can’t seem to find their house even when everyone is pointing straight at it. They shared the story of a little boy aged six to seven who went up in the plane and seemed to have excellent geospatial skills. The Papples flew over the client’s house and pointed it out, expecting it would take a bit for him to find it. However, he found it immediately, saying, “And our truck is parked in the laneway!” His mom never did locate it.

They’ve had farmers sitting in the backseat able to name the owner of every property they fly over in their particular township.

Depending on how fast they fly (speed uses more fuel), the planes hold enough fuel for five hour flights. They bring out a thick book called the Canadian Flight Supplement which outlines all the landing strips and refueling stations across Canada. This is important when planning longer flights like the personal flight they took to Montana, their first mountain flying experience. Summer says she’s never

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April 2022 25

afraid while flying but during that trip, when trying to view Mount Rushmore as the sun was setting and the wind was picking up over the mountain, she felt a “little uncomfortable”. Still, it was a trip that gave them so much more trust in long-distance flying.

Flying requires confidence and the Papples knew right from the beginning they didn’t want to be occasional flyers. “Many pilots only fly 10 to 40 hours a year and get scared. We wanted flying to be second nature … to have that muscle memory that allows you to correct how the plane is flying in the wind

without thinking.”

Some people do feel ill while flying and some are frightened. The Papples recall one flight when they had to circle back to Seaforth after one woman who was scared of heights couldn’t overcome her fear.

Not a problem, said Summer. Most people really enjoy the experience.

They’ve had customers with tears in their eyes over the sight of seeing Ontario from a height of 1,000 feet.

Being a pilot means you are also part of the flying community. Before becoming pilots, Summer said she didn’t know anyone else who had their own planes. Now they are part of that sky-high community and they hope to attract both private and commercial pilots to the Wingham airport.

Their plan is to offer a courtesy car and a self-help fueling station so 26 The Rural Voice

Tyler and Summer Papple (top) check out the controls of their Cessna which they use for crop scouting and scenic tours to towns like Goderich (middle) when they launch from the airstrip at Tyler’s parents’ farm near Seaforth. Above, one of their two planes is parked in the hangar during the winter months.

that pilots will see Wingham as a destination. They will fly in, pop in the car, explore the river and have lunch in town or perhaps take in a play or Cowbell Brewery in Blyth.

Interestingly, the Papples take Onewheels (a self-balancing, single wheel, electric board) wherever they go. These electric skateboards allow them to travel from their plane to hotels with a backpack containing their belongings. “They have saved us so much on taxi fares,” says Summer.

They also envision the community making use of the Wingham airport by hosting events, or coming to watch planes take off and land. The air cadets use the airport every year (except during the pandemic) to fly in gliders which is fascinating to watch. They also plan to build more hangars to make the airport more profitable. While they don’t expect the airport will be a big moneymaker they do think their vision will allow it to be financially sustainable. ◊

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All farmers are eligible to participate in the study no matt m er the farm size, or whether they own or rent the land they farm, as long as they use at least part of the farmed land for crop, livestock or haying.

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April 2022 27

Goats

Udderly Ridiculous table manners When eating goat ice cream with goats and alpacas, a new slate of manners must be observed • By Jeff Tribe •

A

s with many new dining experiences, there was prescribed etiquette to be learned and observed at Udderly Ridiculous near Bright.

It wasn’t so much which fork or spoon for which dish or which glass for which wine. In fact, place setting and fingers-first options couldn’t have been more casual. It was, however, important to greet the host alpacas in the

proper manner, bowing one’s head for an introductory sniff prior to petting or tidbit sharing.

“I can’t say I’ve ever eaten lunch outdoors with alpacas before,” laughed Jordan Lenz, having enjoyably navigated not only that opening introduction, but every element of the Udderly Ridiculous alpaca picnic experience and subsequent encounters with roaming chickens and mischievous goats. “Check that one off the bucket list.”

“It’s something that is so unique and enjoyable,” added friend Elisa Fitzpatrick. “So many people are removed from country life. Getting to know the animals and interact in a safe space is very enjoyable.”

An alpaca picnic could be seen as a hard left, or more accurately — the right — pandemic pivot for an operation conceived around the creation of artisan goat milk ice cream. The initiative is a complementary exercise between third-generation Bright-area farmer Greg Haskett and wife Cheryl, whose background in tourism and career as a keynote speaker/facilitator/trainer in emotional intelligence, innovation and engagement for large organizations offers unexpectedly invaluable experience.

“It’s actually bringing all of our skillsets together,” says Cheryl.

Greg’s transition away from potentially-low pork margins passed through a “dabble” in cash crops and sheep before landing on dairy goats. He received his first milk cheque in March, 2010, growing his milking herd from 150 to 1,400 goats. His passage to a “cottage farm business on steroids” was accomplished without the government support or research accessible to more standard sectors.

“I’ve learned an awful lot,” he said. “And we’ve grown a lot.”

Greg’s goal of providing farm-based product melded with Cheryl’s love of cooking into a long-term dream of creating sophisticated lactose and casein sensitivity-friendly goat milk ice cream. A choice preferable, they believed, to wading into a competitive and crowded goat cheese or other related product marketplace.

“It’s a niche within a niche,” explained Cheryl of what she sees as a “feel good” product. “Life’s up and down moments are often complemented by ice The brand name may be Udderly Ridiculous, but Cheryl (above) cream.” and Greg Haskett take the business of producing farm life Their concept was a singular product using highexperiences along with unique artisan goat milk ice cream quality all-natural ingredients in unique combinations extremely seriously.

28 The Rural Voice

targetting an adult foodie market.

“We couldn’t come out with the same old, same old,” she explained.

“In order to start something like this you’ve got to come out of the gate hard in a blue ocean and show something different.”

Sourcing every ice cream crafting resource she could find, Cheryl headed into the kitchen for an extended exploration through 30 culinary concepts including some “disgusting” rejects before arriving at a half-dozen creations worthy of the Udderly Ridiculous brand: Coffee & Craft Brew, Lemon Cream, Peachy Mango Tango, Vanilla Bean Lavender, Spiced Pumpkin and Wine & Dark Chocolate.

“I really do love flavour combinations.”

An elevated “next evolution” approach brought directly-related challenges. The differences between making cow and goat milk ice cream are considerably less says Cheryl than the differences between using natural products versus an ice cream base and flavouring.

Seventy-four per cent bittersweet chocolate and Ontario merlot; or an infusion of Kintore Coffee and Upper Thames Brewing Company porter do waltz across the tastebuds in a unique tango. However, attendant alcohol also alters the product’s freezing point. Alternatively, pumpkin puree may contain problematic textures to some ice-cream making equipment.

Locally-sourced lavender buds pair well with vanilla bean in a tasting kitchen. “But you can’t use buds when you scale up,” said Cheryl, who found herself personally overseeing drop-by-drop oil allocation. She tasted as she went after tossing 600 pints which didn’t measure up to exacting standards.

“Using lavender is very, very tricky.”

The translation from kitchenapproved to commercially-viable replication in a certified plant effectively limited production options to a single provincial copacker, who met their exacting specifications.

“It’s still relatively small-batch,” says Cheryl, noting for example, each lid is installed by hand.

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30 The Rural Voice

They launched in 2019 with product placement in Pusateri’s Fine Foods in Toronto and a booth at the One of a Kind Show. This was a springboard for an ambitious 30-event tour including the 10-day Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. They handed out over 80,000 samples to potential customers on compostable spoons while networking and relationship-building with chefs and mixologists.

Their marketing and branding efforts also saw Udderly Ridiculous embraced by Sobey’s local program, Whole Foods, Goodness Me, Healthy Planet, Fortino’s and “a lot of independents.”

“I love working with the small independents,” said Cheryl, “they care about local food supply and want to learn and be knowledgeable about your product.”

And then, along came COVID-19, physically distancing the very personal connections they had worked so hard to establish. In its wake, Udderly Ridiculous pivoted promotional efforts towards social media. Facing the realization that their products couldn’t be taken to consumers, they decided to expose consumers to their passion through farm-based experiential opportunities in conjunction with on-site retail.

“That became an extension of our brand, to invite people into our family operation.”

It had always been an operational goal, utilizing Greg’s father Alvin’s gregarious, outgoing nature as a greeter/ambassador. An enthusiastic world traveller via choir or mission work, Alvin was always quick to pull his phone out and proudly share photos and stories of the farm. Sadly, he fell ill and passed before even an accelerated effort would allow him to celebrate the official grand opening.

“Legacy and heritage is certainly part of it,” said Greg.

“Losing him was really hard,” agreed Cheryl. “But the reality is we’re keeping that legacy alive.”

Udderly Ridiculous currently offers experiential options such as their signature “Taste of Farm Life”, an immersive two-anda-half hour educational foodie exploration.

They also offer team building exercises, goat yoga, cuddles and recess (four-legged kids on playground equipment tailored for them), photo shoots, and alpaca walks. Encounters and picnics like Lenz, a paediatric RN, and Fitzpatrick, a manager at a farm-based retail outlet, shared include consuming a locallysourced picnic basket amongst a close encounter of the alpaca kind.

Top: Elisa Fitzpatrick (left) makes the formal acquaintance of an Udderly Ridiculous alpaca, captured for posterity by friend Jordan Lenz as part of their farm life experience. Above: Later, the pair prepared to enjoy their alpaca picnic spread at the milking goat farm where the milk for Udderly Ridiculous goat ice cream is produced.

April 2022 31

Fast friends who met at an adult hip hop drop-in dance studio in London, they try and keep in touch through mutually-enjoyable outings, horseback riding, hiking or “farm anything,” says Lenz, She spent time on friends’ properties as a child, and would love to move to the country, something that’s “not gonna happen in this market.”

“We just like to be outdoors and with animals. This seemed to be the perfect opportunity.”

Lenz was introduced to the concept via Instagram, did some additional internet scrolling and flipped Fitzpatrick a text with a time and destination, but no details.

“Full-on surprise,” Fitzpatrick laughed. “Definitely an experience, something new,” she continued, alluding to a preference for outdoor space, quiet and nature “over concrete blocks and city.”

Experiential evolution may have been driven by a global pandemic, but it also dovetailed with cooped-up urbanites.

“They’re stuck and craving outside and some connection with nature,” said Cheryl. “We’ve been able to provide them with that.”

Her habit is to ask visitors upon arrival why have they come and what are they hoping to get out of the experience. This is followed with an exit interview based on what they are taking away.

“It’s very different things,” she said. “They expect to be at a farm and see a goat and something else happens. We want to create opportunities for people to take those nuggets away.”

She recalls the many smiles she sees on guests’ faces; the father who brought his kids for a goat recess running and laughing like a kid himself; her own surprise at the joy people exhibit from picking up and cuddling a chicken; or a 180-degree shift in a young boy quite obviously “dragged here” by parents, who left as the biggest advocate.

“He just had an experience of farm life. He didn’t go up in a helicopter or something like that ... he got to play with a chicken, he got to understand about soil, he got to 32 The Rural Voice

Udderly Ridiculous goat’s milk ice cream is an innovative product using natural ingredients in a half‐dozen unique flavour combinations. Hit hard by the global pandemic, the Hasketts decided to expand their business by offering on‐farm experiences. Elisa Fitzpatrick and Jordan Lenz (right) came to the farm for an alpaca picnic, but were happy to also mingle with Udderly Ridiculous goats and chickens as part of their experience.

interact with goats. How do you walk away and not go, ‘We are doing the right thing here, no matter how hard it is?’”

Make no mistake, it has been difficult. Independent of the challenges of farming — livestock, frozen water pipes, machinery — Udderly Ridiculous is among many independent businesses hit hard by the global pandemic. A tour of the website reveals the structured professionalism of their approach, something of the mountain of work involved, as well as industry recognition including a Retail

Council of Canada Canadian Grand Prix new product award, or South Western Ontario Tourism Corporation nominations for innovator of the year and innovative experience of the year.

They have always operated from a socially-conscious perspective, utilizing recyclable or compostable materials in their production. They donated 5,500 pints of ice cream to women’s and other shelters and food banks plus a percentage of their profit goes to World Vision’s project to buy goats for Third World countries. Their retail outlet includes

a wide range of Udderly Ridiculous branded items, but also showcases 50 other products from Ontario producers. And while farm-based activities are an effort to attract potential customers, they also include conversation around local agriculture, food production and food security.

“This is just part of the work we feel is important to do,” said Cheryl.

“It’s not just about our success, it’s a

community of success and introducing people to these concepts.”

She attributes their tenacity in the face of adversity to the farmer’s attitude of persevering and sticking with it until it’s done.

“Failure is not an option,” added Greg with a smile.

“For either of us,” Cheryl continued. “We are so stubborn, it might kill us both, but at the end of

the day, we didn’t go without a fight.”

“It’s a good story,” Greg added.

In conclusion, he describes their motivation as an “investment in an emotional bank account.”

“At the end of the day, we’re not just here to consume,” Cheryl added.

“We might not always have tons of money in the bank or a fancy car, but our definition of success might be different than someone else’s.” ◊

April 2022 33

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Travel

Red chairs lead to iconic landmarks Meaford’s Big Red Chair Trail and Beautiful Joe Park are highlights of day tripping into Grey County

E

arly in March, I considered a few places to explore that were close enough to home for a day trip since winter weather has kept us pretty close to home for months. As gas prices soar, we are all looking for things that won’t require a mortgage to get to but far enough away that we can find something new. Having briefly visited Meaford a few years ago to see a play in their wonderfully

refurbished town hall, I remembered I had promised myself I would get back to explore more of this little Georgian Bay gem but had never found the time.

The drive to Meaford is certainly worth the gas. The rolling Grey highlands are scenic, even with the remnants of winter snowbanks hanging on. One regret from the trip was not stopping at County Line Caboose on County Rd 10 between Elmwood and Durham. We saw the signs for ice cream before we saw the unique little red caboose housing • By Deb Sholdice • a year-round model railroad store and a seasonal icecream stand. While I’m not a model railroader, I love a good ice cream served in a unique setting so I’m setting a goal of stopping on our way north camping later this summer!

As we rolled into Meaford, our first stop was Beautiful Joe Park, a green space nestled on the banks of the Bighead River that is dedicated to preserving the memory of Beautiful Joe. Joe was a dog saved from a cruel master and the inspiration behind Beautiful Joe, a book by Margaret Marshall Saunders that became a bestseller in 1893 and contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty. As adopters of several rescue dogs, it was an especially moving place for us. We walked among the monuments to police dogs, service animals and the dogs lost in 9/11 and read the touching memorials for pets that individuals have placed. Donations go to support the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society.

It was here that we found our first “big red chair” and it piqued our curiosity. The “Big Red Chair Trail” is a tourism initiative that has placed large adirondackstyle chairs at 10 iconic landmarks throughout Meaford and the surrounding area. While we weren't following the chair trail, we did manage to find four and it drew our attention to spots that we may not have noticed. One was Station Hill, the last remnant of the town’s first train station.

Across from Beautiful Joe Park is the Bighead River Conservation Area and the trailhead for the Trout Hollow Trail. We hiked about a kilometre of the 14-kilometre trail that follows the river out to several old mills. Despite the urge to complete the very picturesque trail, we had more parks to see so we headed back to the car to see what else we could find.

Our next stop was Grandma Lambe’s, a busy Red chairs lead the way to historic and iconic sights in the town of market carrying a wide assortment of local produce, Meaford in Grey County. Meaford and nearby Owen Sound boast baking, eco-friendly soaps and candles, honey and many trails and waterfront attractions, along with parks such as maple syrup. Grandma Lambe’s is known for its Harrison Park where families go to feed ducks and geese and orchards and the apples were very nice. It has a visitors can wander through trails and gardens.

April 2022 35

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36 The Rural Voice

remarkable assortment of baked goods and the prices were reasonable! (I highly recommend the pecan tarts.)

The waterfront was one area we had identified in advance that we wanted to visit, so we headed toward the lake and stopped by the Meaford Museum which is housed in a historic building right on the shore of Georgian Bay that was once the town’s pumping station. The museum tells the history of the area through several rooms that highlight the importance of both agriculture and the lake to the community.

Beside the museum is the Fred Raper Park, home to another red chair and the trailhead for the Tom Thomson Trail, a 44-kilometre, three-season trail from Meaford to Owen Sound that follows paved roads, woodland trails and gravel roads. This puts yet another trail on my to-do list and we made promises to return before we headed out on Highway 26 and decided to extend our day and head to Owen Sound.

We discovered the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre housed in the former CN railway station, complete with coach and caboose still parked in the yard. Although it was closed for the season, it made for some great photo opportunities. We walked along the harbourfront trail and watched some ice fishers getting one of their last weekends of the season in.

Our last stop of the day turned out to be the biggest surprise. We picked a trail called Harrison Park from a hiking app that I use and let Google maps tell us how to get there.

Imagine our surprise when we found a tourist’s treasure waiting for us!

Beautiful paved paths meandered through 40 hectares of streams, trails, gardens, playgrounds, forest and green space. In addition, there was an outdoor ice-skating rink, a bird sanctuary, and full-service restaurant.

We walked through the closed campground to check out the sites that all sit beside beautiful babbling brooks or the larger river. The park trails adjoin the Bruce Trail making it a great base camp to enjoy the escarpment.

Just beside the walking trail is the Black History Cairn and several

plaques that tell the story of the area’s first black settlers, escaped slaves who followed the Underground Railroad all the way to its most northern terminus.

The park was busy even late in the afternoon on a cloudy March day, so I imagine that it is an extremely popular destination in the height of summer when the mini golf, boat rentals and pool are open. The bird sanctuary was busy even as the

afternoon faded into evening, with young families enjoying feeding the swans, ducks and geese.

This was a lovely way to end the day. We enjoyed a dinner out in a beautiful setting before we headed home to Huron County. I always enjoy the view along Georgian Bay and was impressed with all that Meaford and Owen Sound had to offer to visitors for a quick and full day trip away. ◊

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Daytripping to Grey County can include (clockwise) a walk down the Owen Sound Harbourfront Trail; viewing monuments to service dogs at Beautiful Joe Park; a stop for local goods at Grandma Lambe’s store and more natural beauty along the Tom Thomson Trail.

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Case 11 ft. Disc, 18 inch blades, 40 plate, hyd. lift, some new bearings.......$2,600.

9 shank, depth wheels, good shape ...................$2,800.

Ford 3PH Chisel Plow,SOLD John Deere 1000 Cultivator, hyd. wings, tandem, needs paint ..............$2,800.

Chain Harrows, 10 ft., double sided, with pole, 6 ft. long, fine tooth ...............$750.

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Finger Harrows, 16 ft., two row for back of seed dril , etc ............................$675.

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Recipes by Carolyn

Eggs from healthy breakfast to dessert

S

ince this is the month for Easter, I looked at the many ways eggs can be served. Eggs are one of my most favourite foods.

Greeting the day with a good-sized breakfast consisting of eggs makes me feel like I have the fuel needed to take on my day. If I don't have eggs for breakfast, I enjoy incorporating them into my lunch or dinner plans.

There is something equally as settling about having a soft-boiled egg for a light supper.

There are few foods that are as versatile, convenient and nutritionpacked as eggs are.

Breakfast skillets can be made quickly with leftovers in mind.

Cubed potatoes from the night before can form the base and toppings such as chili sauce, salsa, chopped onions, mushrooms, and peppers, slices or cubes of ham or bacon, scrambled eggs, all topped with grated cheese can make a breakfast fit for royalty!

of toast.

From my 1981 “Which Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?” 4-H club manual, I have made mini quiches instead of one big one in a pie plate. Whichever way, this recipe is the starting point (see photo).

Quiches are easy to embellish with as many flavours as you can think of that complement eggs can be used.

Note the quiche recipe is in metric to attempt to convert my generation into going all in with metric measures! Conversions: 15ml = 1 tbsp; 125 ml = ½ cup; 350 ml = 1 1/3 cups; 2 ml = ½ tsp; 1 ml = ¼ tsp; 375 ml = 1 ½ cups.

“The Food History Timeline” a fascinating website https://www.food timeline.org/index.html describing when specific foods originated, and compiled by American librarian Lynne Oliver, tells us that eggs have been consumed since ancient times and humans learned to bake with eggs as a binding ingredient as early as 3200 B.C. In 25 B.C. Apicius, a Roman credited with writing one of the world’s earliest cookbooks, made the first custard using eggs. A translated version simply

reads: “Estimate the amount of milk necessary for this dish and sweeten it with honey to taste; to a pint of fluid take five eggs; for half a pint, dissolve three eggs in milk and beat well to incorporate thoroughly, strain through a colander into an earthen dish and cook on a slow fire in hot water bath in oven. When congealed, sprinkle it with pepper and serve.”

I have always wanted to try this recipe but usually cop out and make custard using Bird’s or Horne’s Custard Powder! My favourite thing to make with custard is trifle. My Grandma Breadner’s recipe uses Bird’s Custard Powder and I have included her recipe here.

Grandma B’s Trifle Ingredients: 1 angel food cake 4 cups frozen raspberries (more or less) 3 cartons (250 ml each) 35% whipping cream 1 double batch of Bird’s Custard Powder (see note) ¼ + 1/8 tsp almond flavouring ½ + ¼ cup icing sugar Fresh raspberries and sliced almonds for garnishing Note: A double batch of custard is 8 tbsp custard powder, 8 tbsp granulated sugar and 5 cups milk.

Directions: To cooled custard, add 2 cartons of the whipping cream, Carolyn Crawford relies on a old 4‐H recipe called Economical Quiche (left) to make healthy breakfasts with eggs.

The recipe can make use of leftovers such as cubed potatoes, chili sauce, salsa, or leftover ham and bacon.

38 The Rural Voice

Recipes Perfect Angel Food Cake whipped with ½ cup icing sugar and Ingredients: ¼ tsp almond flavouring.

1 ¼ cups sifted cake and pastry Cube the angel food cake and flour place 1/3 in the bottom of a large 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, divided crystal or glass bowl. ¼ tsp salt Put 1/3 of the frozen raspberries 1 ¾ cup egg whites (13-15), at on top of the cake and outside edge room temperature of bowl so that when they thaw there 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar is a drizzled effect.

1 tsp vanilla extract Put 1/3 of custard and whipped Directions: cream mixture on top of that. Repeat Preheat oven to 350F (180C). until all ingredients are in the bowl.

Sift together flour, ¾ cup sugar Top with the last carton of and salt until well blended; set aside. whipping cream, whipped with ¼ cup Beat egg whites in large nonicing sugar and 1/8 tsp almond plastic bowl with electric mixer on flavouring. Decorate top with sliced low until frothy. almonds and fresh raspberries.

Add remaining ¾ cup sugar about For a smaller batch of trifle use ½ 1 tbsp at a time beating until sugar is angel food cake, 2 cups frozen dissolved, mixture is glossy and stiff raspberries, 1 batch of custard peaks form. namely 4 tbsp custard powder, 4 tbsp Beat in vanilla. Sift flour mixture granulated sugar and 2 ½ cups milk. over egg white mixture in four parts, Put 1 carton of whipping cream, gently folding until just blended after whipped, in custard and use part (or each addition. all if you want lots!) of a carton for Spoon batter into ungreased 10the top. inch (4L) tube pan. Smooth batter, Variation: Chocolate Mint Trifle then cut through in zig zag motion (fun for Easter!), use chocolate angel with knife to break up any air cake, substitute ½ cup for large trifle pockets, smooth top. and ¼ cup for small trifle of crème de Bake in bottom third of oven until menthe in the custard mixture instead cake is golden brown and top springs of almond flavouring in the whipped back when gently pressed, about 30 cream. Use peppermint flavouring for minutes. whipping cream on top and decorate Immediately invert cake pan; if pan with mini chocolate chips or shaved does not have legs, rest tube opening chocolate. You can drizzle chocolate sundae sauce around the edge of each layer and/or lightly drizzle on top as well. efore the introduction of baking soda in the 1870s, eggs were the only leaveners in cakes (often 6 or more per cake). About this time as well, the first angel cake recipes appeared. Angel cake recipes can call for as many as 15 egg whites. This recipe is from the “get cracking” Egg Farmers of Canada website at Raspberry almond trifle is the Crawford family’s favourite www.eggs.ca. dessert for special occasions.

B

on neck of bottle or funnel or on bottom of glass or can. Cool upside down for a couple of hours.

When cake is cool, run thin spatula or knife around side of pan and centre tube to loosen cake. Invert cake onto serving plate.

To serve, cut cake with serrated knife.

As the above recipe takes 13-15 egg whites only, what should one do with all those yolks? Another of my favourites is lemon curd. Thankfully, it is a lovely addition to an angel cake as a filling. Simply slice your cake horizontally in half and spread a layer of curd and replace the top. If you Google “yolks only lemon curd” there are many different curd recipes that help you use up your extra yolks.

Here is a good one from https://www.bakingsense.com/2020/01/21/yolks-onlylemon-curd/ To make regular lemon curd using both egg yolks and whites, I have used a recipe from The Women’s Institute’s The Erland Lee Museum Home Heritage Cookbook with remarkable success.

When making lemon curd tarts, a friend of mine blind bakes her tart shells before putting in the lemon curd. I bake it in the raw shell. I will start with the first 5 minutes at 450F then turn the oven down to 350F until the shell is evenly browned and baked on the bottom. You can also pipe on some meringue and return it to brown with the broiler in the oven or use a small butane torch to brown it. Garnish with a thin, curled strip of lemon rind.

Lemon Curd Ingredients: 6 eggs 18 tbsp lemon juice 12 tbsp margarine (I use butter) 3 cups sugar Note: 4 tbsp = ¼ cup.

Use double boiler.

Beat eggs until yolks and whites are blended.

Add lemon juice and sugar.

Drop in butter and cook until mixture resembles custard.

Cool. Makes 1 quart. ◊ April 2022 39

Gardening Rhea Hamilton‐ Seeger is a skilled cook and gardener who lives in Goderich.

Success bears repeating

L

ast year was very exciting as we were breaking new ground and planting vegetables that were simply a buffet for wildlife at the farm. I assumed in town this would not be a problem.

I have remarked to anyone who listens that a large portion of town is what I would call a dead zone; limited birds, and little, if any, insect activity. Now I have braced myself for push back on that rude blanket statement.

However, there are cats galore. I think one large fat grey one took out our nesting jenny wrens last spring.

We try to discourage them and place our bird feeders and water bath/fountain in safe locations that don’t offer hiding spots for leaping marauders.

The vegetables still offer a bit of a banquet in this wee yard. We planted climbing pole beans and yellow wax and purple beans. I can taste them now, well not quite. There is a robust bunny in the neighbourhood and I am not sure how it has managed to evade the cats! It fed well on the beans shoots, snow peas and a bit of lettuce.

We planted three kinds of tomatoes, about two plants each, and were inundated with the crop. The basil and dill thrived as did the mint which were all enjoyed and we were still cutting parsley and kale in December. So all in all it was a good year and we learned a lot about our spot in the sun.

Our three roughshod four-by-eight vegetable gardens produced well. We are planning on topping them up again this spring with compost and direct sowing all our veggies except 40 The Rural Voice

the tomatoes. For the wee bit we seed with a mind to plant them again.

Rather, I am a dreamer. I pluck up plant I don’t worry about starting seeds, although that may change with seeds with the best intentions of planting and fail to follow through. time and as new ground gets carved out of the lawn. A couple of weeks So among my seeds are some I inherited from my Dad, from Suttons ago we were surprised with three and Sons in England (yes I come small tomato seedlings putting up from a line of dreamers), and I have a their wee leaves in the pot with an avocado pit we potted up last fall. pack from Butchart Gardens from a visit decades ago. I also have empty They lay dormant all winter and packs saved simply for their design: come spring, voila; tomato plants.

They were in the compost mix we Anchusa Blue Bird from Mandeville and King Company, Bachelor’s used from our garden trimmings and I suspect they are a cherry variety Button by American Seed Company, and Almost White Marigolds from although I could be wrong. These are the magical treasures gardeners look Burpee’s, which were packed for Quaker Oats Company of Canada by forward to. They now have their own W. Atlee Burpee Company in the pot and place on the windowsill.

USA. I also have a number of seeds Another one of the delights last from Dominion Seed House, spring was the planting of annual Georgetown, and packs from White seeds in the back of the perennial Rose Nurseries out of Unionville. border. One year at the farm I planted Dominion is now closed and Friends a stray pack of cosmos seeds. I did not expect much as the seeds were old and could be considered bird food.

They did surprisingly well and I have loved the sight of them ever since.

So last spring I splurged and got a new pack of pink and white Cosmos. I simply scratched up the surface of the soil, sprinkled them in and gently patted them so they would make contact with the soil. They were the stars of the garden last summer! Tall, stately with soft feathery greenery and hits of pink and white floating above the rest of the garden. I harvested some seed and left the rest of them standing for the winter.

My favourite nasturtiums were not so happy and struggled along but did not become the patch I envisioned. The soil was too rich. So I will try again in a different spot and with fresh seed.

I will admit I am a seed hoarder. I am not Cosmos seeds scratched into the surface of the soil like true seed collectors transformed into a dramatic display of pink and that harvest and store white in the summer garden.

Gardening of the Old Seed House Garden, a non-profit, now run their Old Seed House Garden. McKenzie Seeds, Rockwood Gardens of Acton and WA. Jenkins Mfg. out of London are also gone, but there are new players on the racks with wonderful new and old heritage varieties.

Among all these packages are plain envelopes with wispy seeds and large robust looking seeds tucked inside the folds with no names! I am sure that when I collected the seed either from a friend’s garden or from a city garden or trail, I was confident I would remember what I had. So those mysteries need to be solved.

Maybe this year!

Seeds packs are a treasure trove of information and if heeded will present you with more joy in your garden.

I am off to smell the air, I have a pack of Black-Eyed Susans and the pack tells me I can sow outdoors two months before the last frost. Wish me luck and I will wish you the same! ◊

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April 2022 41

Rural Living

Fabrics, Quilts & Much More

Advice

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Living wage is good for people and business Brewery used community real estate model to establish business and meets goal to pay workers a living wage

C

reating a work environment where everyone earns a living wage is good for business and the community, says a brewery owner speaking at a Purpose and Profit workshop offered online by the Fair Finance Fund.

“We managed to get through the last two years without laying anyone off and we were able to pay everyone a living wage, though some of us had to take on additional tasks,” says Aleksandra Szaflarska, member of the Together We’re Bitter cooperative brewery in Kitchener.

Together We’re Bitter (TWB) is Ontario's first community real estate brewery. It attracted academics, welders, graphic designers among its first six founding members who spent “every ounce of our spare time” to learn brewing from scratch.

They developed a business plan, built a bar top out of an old bowling alley, and opened in 2016 with a line-up of craft beers.

The original six discovered their idea of running a cooperative was not met with enthusiasm from traditional loan lenders. They had to look elsewhere for funding. “We realized we had untapped potential in neighbours, friends and families who believed in the idea,” explained Szaflarska, who is one of the original six. Currently, the business has 16 community supporters who bought shares and became communityowned members. Employees who have worked at the brewery for over two years have the option to become worker/owners which is how TWB grew from six to nine worker/owners.

Szaflarska said most of their employees would fall under the “precarious work” definition which is characterized by undefined work hours. As with any new business, it takes time to build a customer base but the worker/owners decided right 42 The Rural Voice

from the start to pay themselves for their work, and increase pay until it met the living wage range for the Kitchener-Waterloo area. “Which we did in three years,” said Szaflarska.

TWB makes use of the Better Way Alliance and the Ontario Living Wage Network to calculate what a living wage in their region is.

Currently, that number sits at $17.20 an hour.

“We are lucky enough to have a number calculated for our region and we use that as a benchmark,'' said Alex Szaflarska (left) is an owner/worker with Szaflarska. “Plus, they Together We’re Bitter, a brewery in Kitchener do all the math our that pays a living wage to employees such as colleagues do not want Amanda Humphreys (right) based on Ontario to do!”

Living Wage Network calculations.

Ann Cleman is the network campaign she said. For instance, the living manager for the Ontario Living Wage wage for someone living in Toronto Network and explained a living wage is $22.08 an hour compared to is defined as the hourly wage a $18.39 in Grey and Bruce Counties. worker needs to earn to cover their The lowest living wage is for basic expenses and participate in employees in St. Sault Marie at community life. A living wage $16.20 an hour. differs from minimum wage because Paying a living wage is a good it calculates the costs to live in each thing, stresses Cleman. “It means community. The calculation includes people are financially able to pay such necessities as rent, food, their bills. They do not have to make clothing and footwear, medical, a decision between buying food and a hydro, cellphone, internet, education, monthly transit pass,” she said. child care and transportation. “It also Earning a living wage allows includes after school activities for workers to spend time with families children plus an amount of a modest and go out with friends. Being paid camping vacation for a family,” well increases worker loyalty and explained Cleman. productivity. It also had health “We gather all that data and enter impacts by reducing stress, and it into a calculation that takes into decreasing sick days. account government taxes and credit From a business perspective, there and produces an hourly living wage,” is also a case to pay a living wage,

explained Clemen. “We hear over and over that when they start paying a living wage, it increases retention rates. They may spend more on wages but less time on hiring and training staff.”

The Ontario Living Wage Network offers an Employer Certification Program. Currently, there are 450 certified living wage employers across the province.

“When employers reach out to us, it’s because a living wage is something that fits their values. They recognize the value of paying employees well.”

Also, due to the labour shortage in Ontario, employers are looking for ways to make themselves stand out so they can attract new workers.

“We like to say that a living wage is good for people, good for business and good for the community,” said Clemen.

Szaflarska believes the same. She is also a firm believer in the cooperative business model. Beyond a living wage, other benefits of the cooperative model being implemented at TWB are that it allows a business to take advantage of skills from people around the table. “One of our worker/owners had internet skills so we were able to put up a webstore and sell our beer online during the pandemic,” said Szaflarska. “We build off each other in terms of skill and energy.”

Having multiple worker/owners reduces stress on individuals as well.

“I know if I need to take a step back, there is someone who can take a step forward to give me the breath that I need,” said Szaflarska. It also allows worker/owners to take vacations, something many entrepreneurs cannot do because the business is their baby and they have to take care of it every day.

“Having a cooperative also means we have the capacity and energy to reach out to our community,” said Szaflarska.

While TWB hasn’t reached a level of profitability where it can offer a benefits package, that is a goal for the company. They do make sure staff have access to training and have created a code of conduct for staff and customers. ◊

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April 2022 43

News

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Climate change: farmers can do better The farmer-led coalition called Farmers for Climate Solutions is promoting six strategies to mitigate climate change and sequester carbon

F

armers can do better when it comes to climate change and they have banded together across commodity groups and livestock sectors to do just that.

Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) is a national, farmer-led coalition advocating to make agriculture part of the solution to climate change. Last year, it received $250 million from the federal government to fund research and implementation strategies towards that goal.

Nutrient management, reduction of chemical use, cover cropping and grazing management are some of the priorities for FCS. “These are not new, shiny things,” says Arzeena Hamir, a small scale market gardener from Vancouver Island who joined three other farmers for a panel discussion on the group and its focus during the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO) annual conference held in December.

Joining Hamir was: • Brent Preston, Director for Farmers for Climate Solution, who farms near Creemore, Ontario • Karen Klassen, who runs an organic grain farm called FaspaFarm with her father in Manitoba • Stuart Oke, of a first generation vegetable and cut-flower farm called Rooted Oak near North Augusta, Ontario One of the main goals of FCS is to change policy but that requires a loud voice. To get that loud voice EFAO joined with 23 other farm organizations with a combined membership of 23,000 farmers to become FCS. Some of the members have large acreages and others, like Hamir, are small-scale farmers growing vegetables. Nevertheless, they found common ground in working together to develop a list of technologies farmers could use to mitigate climate 44 The Rural Voice

change and sequester carbon. “It was a long process and many of the ideas were presented by farmers,” she said.

That list was given to scientists to model them and not return until they determined which techniques, tools or management systems would “give us the biggest bang for the buck,” Hamir describes.

Those six items were: • Doing more with less nitrogen: Agronomists and farmers working together to improve nitrogen management through a cost-share program • Increasing adoption of cover cropping: Supporting farmers to plant cover crops through a per-acre payment program • Normalizing rotational grazing: Supporting ranchers to implement rotational grazing through a costshare program for planning and infrastructure • Protecting wetlands and trees on farms: Reinforcing farmers as stewards of the land through a reverse auction pilot program to conserve existing forests and wetlands • Powering farms with clean energy: Transition on-farm energy beyond diesel through pilot programs • Celebrating climate champions: Shining a light on farmers who implement climate-friendly practices through an awards program and awareness campaigns The organization was so new, it had not even put together a formal structure until recently. “It was a sign of how important the work is that you can bring together this many organizations as we have without a formal structure,” said Oke. “Because the work is that important and the situation so dire, people threw themselves into the work and now we do have some structure.”

The main work of FCS is done through different committees such as

Brent Preston, Director, Farmers for Climate Solutions the communication committee, a policy committee and a farmer engagement committee. From these committees come task forces which pursue the organization’s goals.

“We are careful not to focus on too many subjects so we can prevent the internal bickering that has broken up so many coalitions,” said Oke. Klassen is excited about the mentoring options being worked on.

“We are developing farm training and peer mentorship programs,” said Klassen. “It’s our aim to roll out the first leg of it this winter.”

For Hamir, the group has also been very accepting and welcoming, helping to alleviate feelings of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and in regards to being part of the LGBTQ community. “It was fantastic to witness and hear stories from people who felt they could join and who could identify with their issues. Nobody had to explain the intricacies of being a person of colour, or being a farmer in LGBTQ in a rural area. We created what we felt was a safe space and created an equity framework.”

Education is an ongoing process.

When meeting with government officials to present the FCS mission

News and plan, Preston said during those early meetings, many government officials did not know what a cover crop was. “We explained how they worked and showed numbers of the emission reductions we could achieve and there was a total transformation,” says Preston. “And now we have a federal minister who says focusing on climate change is her legacy as a minister of agriculture. We have been encouraged by how enthusiastic government officials have been to our recommendations and their willingness to listen to us.”

As FCS starts to roll out its programs to mitigate climate change, Klassen warns that the organization needs to start small. “We run 1,000 acres and we are small farmers in this area. I really do not expect any of my neighbours will grow a cover crop and that’s a minimum hook. There is no way they will switch to a wholesystem approach so we need to start training with just a few different aspects.”

Preston said part of the approach will be to show farmers that collectively, the agricultural industry can do better. It’s about changing values and letting that change motivate people.

Nitrogen use will be a huge focus because nitrogen is the largest source of emissions in Canada. “Data says we could reduce nitrogen fertilizer use by 20 per cent without any impact on yield,” said Preston. He wonders if that could be the hook to get farmers interested in nitrogen management. Planting legumes is part of the solution to reduce nitrogen usage, as is rotational grazing and other practices.

Though there will be push back from some farmers, Oke says during his work with FCS he has met and interacted with people from across the country with farms of all different sizes and farming sectors who “feel very keenly the seriousness of the situation we are in and are passionate to figure it out.” He added that meeting them and learning what best management practices work for them that he can transfer to his own farm is what he enjoyed the most. ◊

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April 2022 45

People

Free eggs for students

Bison farmer wins Ontario Pasture Award

Mark Shouldice accepts the Ontario Pasture Award from Ray Robertson, Manager of the Ontario Forage Council (middle) along with Todd Dowd, Ontario & Canadian Bison Association Director (far left) and Terry Nuhn, President, Ontario Forage Council.

M

ark and Healther Shouldice of Big Rock Bison near Shallow Lake in Grey County are the recipients of the 2021 Ontario Pasture Award.

The Big Rock Bison operation includes 140 bison which graze on pasture year round. The Shouldices practice rotational grazing on 150 acres of pasture land, allowing sufficient time for the pasture to regrow and recover before bison return to the paddock.

“The bison stay out 12 months of the year in a low stress environment, with room to roam and be social,” says Mark Shouldice. “They are built for and thrive in the winter, but we do have sacrifice pasture for wet/mud season, so typically the bison move on fresh pasture May 7 and that is when we typically stop feeding hay for the season.”

The Shouldices are committed to sustainable and regenerative farm practices that have a positive impact on the land and the bison. This 46 The Rural Voice

produces nutritious and delicious red meat protein, says Mark.

For pasture health and vitality, the Shouldices try to prevent the pasture from getting grazed below four inches “in order to maintain maximum growth and health and prevent erosion.”

The Shouldices believe that healthy pastures and soil creates a diverse and strong ecosystem which has a positive impact in climate change. As Mark says, “Healthy pastures equals healthy bison equals healthy meat equals healthy profit.”

Ray Robertson, manager of the Ontario Forage Council, commented that even though the applicant was truly unique in the area, they demonstrated the economic and environmental benefits of a wellmanaged pasture operation.

The Ontario Pasture Award is sponsored by MAPLESEED. The Shouldices were awarded $250 and a bag of forage seed for being the 2022 Ontario Pasture Award recipients. ◊

E

gg farmers in Perth and Waterloo counties continue to help schools provide proper nutrition for students and their families who are having a tough time stretching their food dollars far enough by supplying hard boiled eggs.

Egg farmers, with the support of sponsoring companies, have provided thousands of hard-boiled peeled eggs in individual packs, free of charge, to over 100 schools.

The Egg Farmer program also supplies dozens of fresh shell eggs to various food banks and shelters in Perth and Waterloo counties.

Organizers say they are grateful for help as need has increased during the pandemic and now with tougher economic times.

Executive Director Brian Banks, who oversees the “nutrition for learning” program in Waterloo County says the Egg Farmer program has been one of the most beneficial to their organization in the last number of years and notes how students and parents have really appreciated the generosity of egg farmers in supplying the quick and easy healthy snack that hard boiled eggs provide. ◊

Steve, a volunteer with the Nutrition for Learning program delivers hard boiled eggs to schools in Waterloo County. ~Story and Photo by Gary West

News

The Great Canadian Farm Tour Agriculture in the classroom goes on a virtual field trip

C

anadian Agriculture Literacy Month is back this March, bringing agriculture and food learning experiences to students across Canada. The celebrated flagship event from Agriculture in the Classroom Canada and its 10 provincial members offers hands-on activities and programs for students that help them learn about, understand, and appreciate Canada’s agriculture and food story.

Keeping with the theme “Our Food, Our Story”, AITC-C is excited to premiere The Great Canadian Farm Tour, a month-long, virtual field trip for educators and students to connect with real farmers across Canada and learn about the diversity of commodities they produce. This 11-stop tour features a range of farms – from dairy to aquaculture to maple syrup – and is integrated with interactive learning opportunities and

in-classroom, curriculum-linked resources.

“Over the last 11 years, CALM has become a staple learning experience in classrooms across Canada and continues to encourage curiosity, connection and a life-long learning about agriculture and food,” says Johanne Ross, Executive Director of AITC-C. “Collectively, AITC-C and all 10 of our provincial members work to provide interesting and engaging experiences to foster inspiration and motivation for students to discover their role in the agri-food system.”

In addition to co-hosting The Great Canadian Farm Tour, each AITC provincial member offers its own learning opportunities to students in their respective province, including reading challenges, contests, videos, classroom presentations, and ag resource kits.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada has launched The Great Canadian Farm Tour, a month‐ long virtual field trip for students to connect with real farmers across Canada.

“Now more than ever, young Canadians are curious about where their food comes from. It’s important that they connect with farmers and feel a pride and appreciation for the care that farmers have for their land, animals, and crops,” said Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “I join you in celebrating Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month and congratulate the dedicated team at Agriculture in the Classroom Canada for another successful year.”

Although AITC-C offers resources and programs year-round, it takes extra pride during the month of CALM, as hundreds of ag-proud volunteers sign up to give of their time to meet with students from coast to coast. In 2021, CALM provided more than 53,000 student experiences with agriculture and food in all 10 Canadian provinces.

Together with its supporting partners Cargill and Agriculture and AgriFood Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AITC-C will expand its reach and get closer to its vision of having agriculture in every classroom, inspiring every student.

For more information about CALM and the Great Canadian Farm Tour, please visit aitccanada.ca/calm. Follow along on social media: #CALM22 #OurFoodOurStory ◊ April 2022 47

Markets Scott Krakar is a Grain Merchandiser with LAC Inc., Hyde Park, 519‐473‐9333

War has great ramifications on the availability of goods The world’s attention has been fixated upon the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With the invasion, it seems that the stability that once existed with the large world powers has been shaken. While most of us have hope that the situation at hand will somehow de-escalate, the road to stability is not perfectly clear. The plight of many in the Ukraine is

severe. Over two million are now refugees in Europe. Reports indicate that cities are surrounded by the invading army, some infrastructure and buildings are demolished, along with the prior ambitions and lives of the many who are so sorely afflicted by the invading host. Human tragedy in the region is growing, along with a sense of fear, I’m sure, of those who are afflicted, or who are within the possibility of danger. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” This tragic situation has brought grievous mourning.

I bring these things to light in this article before we go on to consider the effects that this course of events brings to market prices and the valuations of various goods. This commentary’s purpose is to discuss market prices, and war in major countries brings great ramifications to the movement, production, and the availability of goods all people of the world need to conduct themselves in daily life. The purpose of this article is not to diminish the human tragedy

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48 The Rural Voice

nor to consider it lightly by transforming the conversation into a purely financial discussion. But the reality of the situation is that the price of goods move in a “cause and effect” manner in a real way. From this we recognize that the values of goods that people need have risen significantly.

Energy, grains, metals – commodities people require in their daily lives – have all rallied. When availability fears arise in commodities, they rally rapidly in price to ration distribution.

There are fears of not only inflation but worries of availability of muchneeded commodities from around the world. As such, buyers have been active.

The Western world began to bring sanctions upon Russia because of its insurgency into a sovereign nation.

Russia responded with banning specific goods from shipment to these sanctioning regions. The specfic sanctions that could have potentially the greatest impact would be in respect to Russian energy, namely oil and gas. The difficulty which chains Europe from this action is that Russia supplies more than 50 per cent of the oil and gas demands to much of Europe.

Within a very short duration of time after Russian forces first invaded the Ukraine, major grain processors began shutting down agricultural processing facilities and grain terminals. One large grain company closed their crush plant, elevators, grain terminal and their trading office which employed 630 people. Another large multinational company closed two crush plants and various other facilities, affecting the operations of more than 1,000 employees. Around this time also there was a vessel in port in the Black Sea that was hit by a projectile due to the military conflict – from here grain vessel traffic essentially ceased.

Immediately upon these events incurring grain futures began to rally as buyers scrambled to cover in commitments that were not going to be met from the region. Wheat prices especially began to trade with great volatility with prices screaming up market limit for days as speculators bought up the market and those short the market scrambled to exit their positions. As we have often discussed,

Markets remember that Russia and Ukraine together are a major breadbasket of the world. Russia is the world’s largest exporter; Ukraine is the fourth largest. Old crop supply worries, turned into new crop worries, and conversations began speculating about what might happen if Ukraine was unable to get a crop planted in the region this spring. Fears of a longstanding military conflict brought fears of farmers becoming soldiers, while access to financing, fuel, and inputs are also a concern. To alleviate a portion of this concern, the Ukrainian government granted farm workers a deferment in military service.

Following multiple limit-up days in the wheat markets, erratic trade once again moved into the market prices after a peak was reached. From here the market traded limit down and prices moved sharply to the downside.

Market commentators indicated that the markets had overpriced the war premium and that the futures price overshot the reality of the physical market cash prices.

Oilseeds are also of great concern, as world vegetable oils are record high in many markets. Not only has South American soy had production issues because of drought in the region, but other areas also have challenges. Indonesia recently announced export rules that limit shipment from the nation to world buyers. Indonesia is a major palm oil exporter, with exports of almost 30 million tonnes of palm oil annually.

For a frame of reference, the U.S. only exports about 650,000 tonnes of soy oil per year. To add further concern for world vegetable oil production we once again consider the Russian/ Ukraine crisis. This region of the world is a significant sunflower producer, growing 33 million tonnes of sunflower annually. Combined these two battling nations grow half of the world’s production. ◊

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April 2022 49

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Huron­Perth Woodlot Association Annual Spring Tour, Luncheon & AGM Friday, April 22nd, 2022, 9:30 am to 2 pm in Huron East Visit ‘McGavin’s Sugarbush‐Freedom Syrup” and “Nostalgic Wood”.

Silent auction, door prizes and luncheon for members and their guests.

Guest Speaker: John Pineau, Executive Director of the Ontario Woodlot Association Network with and learn from fellow woodlot owners.

For lunch reservations or tour and membership information visit: hpcowa.huronstewardship.ca, e­mail hpwoodlot@gmail.com or phone 519­524­8394 Extension 3 For more information on the Ontario Woodlot Association visit www.ontariowoodlot.com 50 The Rural Voice

Woodlots Donna Lacey is a forester with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority

Drain for farmland or save for wildlife?

As I write this article, I am very acutely aware of both the potential to irritate people, and of the importance to state that this is my opinion and nothing more.

I recently had a chat with a local member of a farm family about a portion of their farm which they are considering draining. As I have known this family for many years, I was quite surprised at just how different our perspectives are. I believe that neither of us is wrong, we just have way different opinions.

The area of land which we were chatting about has never, in at least the last seven decades, been farmed by this family. We both agree that it is a natural area. There are larger and smaller trees, shrubs, vegetation, and sightings of wildlife in the area. The ground is quite moist almost yearround and the damp soils that are part of the crop lands nearby have been increasing in size noticeably over the last decade. This increased area of damp soil has sparked the interest in drainage. I will mention that the damp soils have not limited the crop outputs of this portion of the field, but have caused the main haul routes across the field to be altered to limit compaction.

Clearly, given my profession and my employer, I am not in favour of removing this natural area for the potential gain of three or four acres for agriculture. If the family were struggling to support themselves, or the farm would no longer be sustainable as the total acreage is too small to be considered a viable farm,

I could more easily be persuaded to see the need to remove this natural area.

For the farm family, there is no denial of the wildlife that has been observed inhabiting the area, but the field edge could be straightened, three or four acres could be gained, and the haul route could be a bit more direct. The crops produced on this acreage would add to the farm income and help support other improvements to the farm. This would be a progressive move.

As we discuss our opinions on this area, we seem to go round and round in circles, neither of us really willing to bend in our beliefs. So, then I must ask myself, what really is my big concern with this tiny area being cleared and drained?

I have travelled most of southern Bruce and Grey Counties, and a good portion of northern Huron County.

Sorry if you are in Perth, but I really haven’t traveled that much of your County. In my travels, I have observed areas of fence lines, recently overgrown fields, long ago abandoned fields, wetlands, and forested areas cleared for agricultural use. Some of these areas are quite large – more than 50 acres – and others have been smaller. Each time I have been surprised to see the natural or naturalized area changed and wonder where the wildlife will go as an alternative.

From the large birds of prey that perch in the taller trees to hunt in the field below to the slithery creatures that I detest, all will need to relocate or may be destroyed during the removal of the wetland. Maybe I should backtrack, the loss of a few snakes I may have to count as a positive. Again, this is my opinion.

As these inhabitants relocate to another area, what happens to those populations that were already in the new area?

When a portion of a wetland is drained, it is typically drained into the residual wetland or directly into a watercourse. When water levels are altered for an extended period of time within a wetland, many aspects of the wetland change. Some of those

aspects may include soil textures, as finer textured soils are relocated.

Another may be the drowning out of vegetative species including herbaceous and woody stems. With this in mind, the inhabitants of the area will also be affected, as their surroundings change, their requirements may no longer be supported. What I am trying to convey is that in changing one area, another may also be drastically affected. When looking at the bigger picture, many species and at least one more ecosystem will be altered through the removal of the wetland.

Financially, I question the expense versus the gain of these three or four acres. How many years of cropping will it take to pay for the vegetation and stump removal as well as the drainage? I do remember, when I was much younger, my dad telling me that when he had tried to farm a section of one of our fields that was a wetland, he had unfortunately learned that the soil was “sour” and abandoned the section. Looking at that section of wetland, it is now dogwoods, joe-pye-weed and goldenrod; nature has returned.

Please understand that I am not against farming and that I do appreciate the need for more farmland. I just have my perspective on the effects of “reclaiming” the land. I like having dialogues with people that have a different opinion as that is how I learn best. When I have these discussions in no way am I trying to change an opinion, just share mine and try to learn from theirs. ◊

Marvin L. Smith

B.Sc.F. (Forestry), R.P.F. Farm Woodland Specialist 570 Riverview Dr. Listowel, Ontario N4W 3T7 Telephone: (519) 291-2236

April 2022 51

Agrilaw John D. Goudy is a partner in Scott Petrie LLP Law Firm, and also farms north of London.

Built on your neighbour’s property? All may not be lost Everyone knows that you should not cut trees down on your neighbour’s property without permission. You also shouldn’t build structures on your neighbour’s property without permission. In fact, even with a neighbour’s permission it wouldn’t seem to make much sense to build a structure that is located in whole or in part on your neighbour’s property. Fixtures to the land belong

52 The Rural Voice

to the owner of the land. Why build a structure that you don’t fully own?

Sometimes, though, structures are built which unintentionally encroach on a neighbour’s property. The exact boundary lines between properties may not be apparent; without having a surveyor identify a boundary line, mistakes can be made. In some cases, the property owner having the structure built is mistaken about the actual location of the property boundary. In some cases, the mistaken understanding of the location of the boundary is shared by both neighbouring owners. Think of an old boundary fence that has always been there – it’s just that it was never actually on the boundary.

When some encroachments are discovered, the answer is simply to move the encroaching structure. But there are some structures which cannot be easily moved or cannot be moved without great expense. What then? The structure that is encroaching on the neighbour’s property may have been in place for many decades. Perhaps it is a house that was built long ago in the wrong

position. It may be that the current legally recognized property boundary is incorrect and based on a historical mistake and an order from the Court or the Director of Land Titles can be obtained to correct the boundary.

There might also be a case for adverse possession. Depending on how long the structure has been in place, the owner of the structure might actually have obtained legal ownership of the land beneath the structure through the process of adverse possession. Where a person has possessed someone else’s land continuously for a period of 10 years or more with the intention of excluding the registered owner (or other persons entitled to possession of the land), the ownership interest of the registered owner may be extinguished and lost to the person actually in possession. The acts of possession must be “open, notorious, peaceful, adverse, exclusive, actual, and continuous having regard to the nature of the disputed property.”

Building a house or other building on land and having exclusive occupation of it could very well meet the requirements for adverse possession.

However, adverse possession cannot arise once property becomes part of the Land Titles system of land registration. In Ontario, most properties are now part of that system. While it is still possible that adverse possession could have taken place prior to the date when a property became part of the Land Titles system (if more than 10 continuous years of adverse possession were by then completed), no adverse possession of lands after that date will be effective to extinguish the ownership interest of the registered owner in favour of the encroaching party.

So what happens if you accidentally build your structure on your neighbour’s property and adverse possession is not an available solution? What if your neighbour won’t agree to sell you the land or enter into an encroachment agreement with you? There may be another fix available. In a case recently decided by Madam Justice Doyle of the Superior Court of Justice, owners whose garage was accidentally constructed in part on

Agrilaw the neighbours’ property were granted an order entitling them to the encroachment lands upon payment to the neighbours of $18,500. The order was made pursuant to Section 37(1) of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, which provides: Where a person makes lasting improvements on land under the belief that it is the person’s own, the person or the person’s assigns are entitled to a lien upon it to the extent of the amount by which its value is enhanced by the improvements, or are entitled or may be required to retain the land if the Superior Court of Justice is of opinion or requires that this should be done, according as may under all circumstances of the case be most just, making compensation for the land, if retained, as the court directs.

The circumstances of the case before Justice Doyle arose from an unfortunate error. Prior to 2006, the owners of what became two adjoining lots built a garage on one of the lots. In the summer of 2006, those owners sold one lot to one purchaser and the other lot to another, but it was discovered before closing of the transactions that the garage on the one lot encroached onto the other lot. The ownervendors fixed the situation by tearing down the portion of the garage that crossed the property boundary.

Unfortunately, as was discovered in 2015 when the garage lot owners decided to sell their lot, the tear down in 2006 didn’t go far enough – the parties were wrong about the actual location of the property boundary.

By 2015, the cost of tearing down the garage and rebuilding it entirely within the lot where it was supposed to be located was understood to be more than $117,000. Justice Doyle granted the order requested to retain land under the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act because the garage lot owners had an honest belief that the land being encroached upon was theirs and they had made a “lasting improvement” to the land (something “not easily removable”).

The significant cost quoted for the

removal of the garage satisfied the “lasting improvement” requirement.

Justice Doyle determined that the “balance of convenience” was in favour of the garage owners to permit them to retain the encroached land in part because there was no evidence showing that the value of the neighbours’ property would be decreased by the conveyance of the area of the encroachment. Based on appraisal evidence as to the per

square foot value of comparable land, the price for the land was set at $18,500. ◊ ______________________________ John D. Goudy’s law practice includes real property and environmental litigation, expropriation law, energy regulation, and regulatory offences.

Agrilaw provides information of interest to the farming community, not legal advice. Readers should consult a legal professional about their particular circumstance.

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April 2022 53

The

Rural Voice

Business Centre To place your ad call: 519-523-4311 or email: rvads@northhuron.on.ca

B U S I N E S S C E N T R E

Horse & Livestock Car, Utility & Recreational any design, hitches trade-ins welcome super after sales service

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phone: 519-485-5358 toll free: 1-877-247-7227 fax: 1-519-485-6129 jbelore@gmail.com

Profitable, Actionable, Advice Crop Planning SWAT Maps/Soil Sampling Variable Mapping/Scripts Cropwalker Newsletter Jonathan Zettler CCA-ON, 4R NMS 519-323-7505 jz@fieldwalker.ca fieldwalker.ca

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54 The Rural Voice

PACKERS: WE BUILD RUBBER TIRE PACKER SPECIALISTS

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Non-GMO & Organic Seed sales, seed cleaning, drying & licensed truck scale A complete line of nutritionally balanced Non-GMO feeds

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Roasted soybean sales and custom roasting

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April 2022 55

B U S I N E S S C E N T R E

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CONSTRUCTION -------------------------------------------Liquid manure tanks, bunker silos, foundations and pads. All are 100% engineered. Serving Ontario since 1968. De Jong & Sons Ltd. 519-348-0523.

-------------------------------------------DAIRY -------------------------------------------Screened bedding sand, delivered.

Call 519-625-8242 or 519-2741490.

-------------------------------------------FARM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Four-row Kongskilde scuffler and track scratcher. 519-357-2509.

-------------------------------------------Six-section diamond harrows.

519-357-2509 -------------------------------------------Reist, 3 point hitch, pto driven gear box pulley. 519-357-2509.

-------------------------------------------Augers, 3 - 10 ft sections, 6 inch diameter. 519-357-2509.

-------------------------------------------FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Rebuilt water pumping windmills Beatty, Aermotor, etc., parts, repairs and sales. Towers wanted.

519-357-3621.

-------------------------------------------Certified Organic Seed Corn from Blue River. Most maturities available. Volume and prepayment discounts apply. For information call 519-575-5239 or email dshirray@gmail.com --------------------------------------------

FOR SALE -------------------------------------------For prices on forage peas, forage pea mixtures, barley, oats, and mixed grain seed. Contact Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy. 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-395-2972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

-------------------------------------------Alfalfa hay mixtures, pasture mixtures, top dressing for pastures, and a selection of organic grass seeds. All mixed to your personal needs. Also red clover for plowdown. Available at Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy. 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-3952972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

-------------------------------------------Soybean seed for sale – Altitude R2 and Beliveau R2X Roundup Ready varieties.

Treatments and inoculants available. Call Mitch at Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd. 519-440-6712.

-------------------------------------------First-cut alfalfa timothy hay, second-cut alfalfa timothy hay, 3x4 and 3x3 large square bales. No rain. Third-cut alfalfa timothy individually wrapped baleage, 4x6.

Call 519-369-4703.

--------------------------------------------

FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Hawthorn Farm Organic Seeds – vegetable, herb and flower seeds, RR 3, 5961 5th Line, Palmerston, ON, N0G 2P0. 519-343-3375, hawthornfarm.ca sales@hawthornfarm.ca -------------------------------------------Rosco grain bins for sale – 19' and 14' diameter. Parts available. Used grain bins wanted for parts or reuse. Closed Sundays, 519-3383920.

-------------------------------------------Martin’s Nursery & Bee Supplies Etc. Large selection of flowering trees, shade trees, fruit trees and hydrangeas and other shrubs. We have the plants you need to make a living “privacy hedge” or snow fence or windbreaks. Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, White Spruce, Pine and Cedars. Also… a Complete line of Bee Supplies for the commercial or hobby beekeepers. Order your (Nuc) Bees for spring 2022. We now sell select Queen Bees raised under ORHBS program on a weekly basis. Order by Monday evening for Wednesday pick-up – during season. We stock all wooden-ware (bee-hives) foundation, assembled and unassembled frames, smokers, suits, jackets, gloves, mite treatments and some extracting equipment. Honey containers, jars, pails, custom built wooden-ware.

Come visit our nursery and bee supplies store Monday to Saturday at 42661 Orangehill Rd., RR 1, Wroxeter, ON N0G 2X0, one concession north of Wroxeter.

--------------------------------------------

56 The Rural Voice

• Tree Seedlings • Nursery Stock • Shade Trees • Native Species Order for Spring 2022 Now

888-226-6344

www.hrichardsonfarms.com

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HELP WANTED -------------------------------------------Farm Associate - Portland Market near Durham, ON portlandmarketto@ gmail.com – Seeking full-time help from April 1 through the summer working in the gardens, greenhouse and orchards, caring for ducks, geese and guinea and learning all the jobs on a selfsustaining property.

-------------------------------------------IRON & STEEL -------------------------------------------DISCOUNT STEEL: New second grade steel sales; 1" - 8" square tubing; 7/8" - 14" round tubing; Rectangle tubing, discount plate; New and Used I-Beams; Bar grating, rebar, angles; Custom cutting, welding, punching.

Listowel. Phone Aden 519-5957775.

-------------------------------------------LIVESTOCK BEDDING -------------------------------------------MIRACLE FIBER Livestock Bedding.

Also, coarse wood mulch for horse and cattle walkways, wet areas around water troughs and bush lanes. Also available is dairy pack starter bedding. 1-877-773-8004.

Sittler Grinding. Rick Sittler.

-------------------------------------------LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Red Angus, Red Angus-Simmental and Simmental bulls on test. Watch them grow by googling “Ontario Bull Evaluation” Silver Springs Farms. James, Joan and Robert McKinlay, 519-599-6236.

-------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN breeding bulls, quiet, thick, semen tested, guaranteed breeders, delivery included.

Select now for spring delivery.

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, April 9, 2022. Posthaven Limousin, John Post, 519-766-7178. www.posthavenlimousin.com --------------------------------------------

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Rabbit breeding stock. High quality genetics available in Ontario. Order your PS40 bucks and PS19 does today. CuniON@tcc.on.ca -------------------------------------------Suffolks - purebred yearling rams.

British bloodlines M-V negative, closed flock. Several bloodlines available. Taking orders now for 2022 ewe lamb crop. 519-2337896.

-------------------------------------------McKague Charolais Bulls, registered purebred yearlings and two year olds, polled or dehorned.

Open females available. Wingham 519-357-3808.

-------------------------------------------LOCAL FOOD -------------------------------------------The Market Shoppe – Your source for local since 2013, 7 Toronto Street South, Markdale 519-9864144. Find us on Instagram and Facebook.

-------------------------------------------REAL ESTATE -------------------------------------------Selling or buying farmland, residential or commercial. All properties needed. Call Greg or Dwaine Nicholls, Brokers for GA Nicholls Realty Ltd. Greg 519-2910507, Dwaine 519-492-2002.

-------------------------------------------RESTORATION -------------------------------------------The Olde Tyme Radio Centre – antique radios, clocks, gramophones, telephones; sold/restored. (vintage autoclock radio, speedometer, tachometer repaired). Belgrave 519-357-4304, www.oldtymeradio.ca -------------------------------------------RETAIL & GIFTS -------------------------------------------Stitches with a Twist – 404 Queen St., Blyth, 519-523-9449. Yarns, needles, notions, patterns, books and lots more yarn.

-------------------------------------------MADE IN HURON ARTISAN MARKET – A collaborative marketplace showcasing Huron County’s creative artisans and local food. 26 Isaac St., Clinton 519-482-1445.

Web: madeinhuron.ca or visit us on Facebook.

--------------------------------------------

SERVICES -------------------------------------------Custom clover seeding with GPS, $2.50/acre or $3 for pasture. Seed available. Call Kurt Beuerman 519525-0538 or 519-523-9234 (home).

-------------------------------------------INCOME TAX FILING FOR CORPORATIONS and late filers – for farms, small business, truckers and individuals. Will make house calls in the North Huron, Perth and surrounding area. Call Shirley in Wingham – cell No. 1-705-4348187.

-------------------------------------------Cronin Poured Concrete Ltd. Since 1976. Liquid manure tanks to 200'.

Heights of 8'-14' (1-pour). All jobs engineer specifications/inspections - guaranteed. Best firm quote in Ontario. Mark Cronin, 519-3489062.

Cell 519-274-5000. www.croninpouredconcrete.ca -------------------------------------------SERVICES --------------------------------------------

Limousin BULLS and Open and Bred FEMALES

For Sale By Private Treaty Please call to arrange a private viewing

24th Annual Open House - Sat. Apr. 2, 2022 At the farm 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Smart Limousin

137606 Grey Rd. 12 Meaford 519-372-7459

www.smartlimousin.com or Follow us on Facebook

April 2022 57

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

SERVICES --------------------------------------------

WANTED -------------------------------------------Looking for pasture for summer 2022 in North Huron/South Bruce areas. Fence repairs ok. Contact Justin at 519-357-8272.

--------------------------------------------

WANTED -------------------------------------------Cash crop land wanted to rent or share crop. Contact Peter Rastorfer 519-276-9405.

Email: rastorferfarms@gmail.com --------------------------------------------

DONALD A ANDREW ACCOUNTING

Accounting & Income Tax Services for FARMS, BUSINESSES & INDIVIDUALS 296 Ross St., Lucknow

Ph. 519-528-3019

Call today to place your ad in the Classifieds!

519‐523‐4311 or joan@northhuron.on.ca

GLAVIN BARN & COMMERCIAL PAINTING FARMERS repaint your faded coloured steel FREE QUOTES ~ FULLY INSURED

RR 1 Crediton, Ont. N0M 1M0 (near Exeter)

Call: Jim Glavin 1-800-465-4725 519-228-6247 Eugene Glavin 519-228-6801 Specializing in on Farm Pest Management Serving Southwestern ON, Golden Horseshoe, GTA

519-692-4232 www.sgspestmanagement.ca

-------------------------------------------WANTED -------------------------------------------Round bales of horse or cattle quality hay picked up. Wanted to buy: small square bales of wheat straw, conventional or rotary. Call Riley Gorman 519-321-1012.

-------------------------------------------Scrap Cars Wanted – 20, 30, 40 yd. scrap metal bins available. We sell quality used auto parts. Wanted to buy – scrap cars, trucks, farm machinery, heavy equipment.

Kenilworth Auto Recyclers. 519323-1113.

-------------------------------------------Young farmer looking for land rent, sharecrop, or custom work opportunities. Good environmental stewardship and professionalism.

Short and long term. 519-200-7845 or hundt.chris@outlook.com -------------------------------------------Farmland – Long or short term.

Cash rent, share crop. Contact Paul at Hill & Hill Farms, 519-2333218 or 519-525-3137 or email: paul.hillhill@tcc.on.ca --------------------------------------------

58 The Rural Voice

Seaforth, Ont. 1-888-522-1737 Water Well Drilling: Farms, Irrigation, Residential Grundfos Stainless Pumps Well Abandonments Down Hole Videos Geothermal Drilling Serving You For 100 Years+ wdhopperwaterwells.com E-mail: wdhopper@tcc.on.ca Licensed by the Ministry of the Environment

702 MAIN ST. SAUBLE BEACH (519) 422-ATVS (2887) sales.atvdepot@bellnet.ca

Our Newest Addition

Email: info@sgsltd.ca

W.D. Hopper & Sons Ltd.

National Farmers Union – Ontario NEWSLETTER Phone: 1-888-832-9638 E-mail: office@nfuontario.ca Website: www.nfuontario.ca

Strong Communities.

Sound Policies.

Sustainable Farms.

Come together, right now, over Zoom: NFU-O AGM and Convention recapped In the first days of March, the NFU-O held its second virtual Annual General Meeting (A G M) and Convention. While the days of gathering in-person for convention are dearly missed, we were excited that the two-day online format allowed for more delegates, members, and visitors from across the province to participate. This year’s theme was “Deeply Rooted,” and we were pleased to welcome Dr. Priscilla Settee, David Suzuki Fellow and Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, to deliver the keynote address.

Though the focus of Dr. Settee’s presentation was her research documenting the impact of western development on Indigenous traditional economies and food producing capabilities, as she spoke she transported us beyond Canadian borders. As we gathered around our computer screens, Dr. Settee's discussion took us from the trapping communities in northern Saskatchewan to the regeneration of coral reefs off the coast of Kenya, from the plights of land rights defenders in South America to the success of the farmer protests in India.

Such a global perspective is necessary because, as Dr. Settee reminded us “the problems that beset some of us beset all of us. We are all connected.”

Dr. Settee’s presentation skillfully interrogated the political and economic systems that fail to create solid safety networks and social supports for our most vulnerable populations, while finding hope in grassroots movements that act as powerful feminist, anti-racist, and decolonial forces for change.

Paraphrasing Marshall McLuhan, Dr. Settee concluded her presentation by recalling that “...on this earth ship, we are all crew, none are passengers”.

The NFU-O partnered, once again, with the Ontario Farmland Trust to

deliver the first of three panel discussions, “Land-Linking 2022: What We’ve Learned,” on Thursday afternoon. This webinar was the culmination of our winter 2022 Landlinking and Farmland Conservation series. We heard first from Sunil Puri, the NFU-O’s Land-Linking & Young Farmer Support Specialist, who reported on the landscape of land-linking in Ontario and some key takeaways from our workshop series in February & November. We then welcomed Semir Abdul (a hopeful land-seeker), Marshall Buchanan (a land-holder and successful land partner who manages Moonlight Crofters Farm), and Chadwick Lewis (a new farm business operator of Urban Fresh Produce).

Building resilient and sustainable farms requires an ability to mitigate and cope with the unpredictability of climate change–induced droughts and other extreme weather events. Never has that been more evident to us, perhaps, than in the 2021 growing season when we saw intense heat and lack of rain wither crops, pastures, livestock feed, orchards, and vegetable fields and dry up water supplies across B.C., the Prairies, and in western and northern Ontario. In our second panel, “Cultivating Climate Resilience in Farming” we heard from Rav Singh (Shade of Miti Farm), Laura Fash (Salt & Harrow Farm), and Ken Laing (Orchard Hill Farm), who shared both their solutions to mitigating and working with the realities of climate change on their farms and also their approaches to aligning their farm business operations with their values as concerned global citizens.

In our final panel discussion, “Learning Together: Land Sharing & Co-Farming”', we were grateful to be joined by Jenn Pfenning (Pfenning Farm) and Clarence Cachagee who spoke to us about Chachagee’s landbased healing initiative Crow Shield

Lodge, on the Pfenning Farm property. Clarence and Jenn spoke about the early days of their project and the fateful email that brought them together, what their partnership looks like now, alternative ways for conceptualizing land ownership, and the lessons they’ve learned from working within the constraints of municipal legislation.

Members also heard reports from Council on provincial and national work, debated and voted on policy resolutions, and elected new leadership to the Regional Council.

After two years on the Board, serving as a Councillor-At-Large and the NFU-O Board Treasurer, Max Hansgen of Lanark, Ontario was acclaimed as the National Farmers Union - Ontario President and NFU Region 3 Coordinator. Also acclaimed to the N F U-O Board and N F U Region 3 Council were: ● Rav Singh (Mississauga, ON) as Youth Advisor ● Claire Poulton (Bright, ON) as Women’s Advisor ● Orlando Martín López Gómez, (Toronto, O N) as the first-ever BIPOC Advisor ● Jennifer Osborn (Ayton, ON) as a National Board member ● Ken Bassindale (Selkirk, ON) as a Councillor-at-large Brendan Grant (Pass Lake, ON), and Roger Rivest (Tilbury, ON) will continue on the Board in the second year of their terms.

We want to thank all of our 114 AGM and Convention attendees for your participation, your passion, and your patience. Thank you for listening, for asking questions, and for sharing your opinions. We’re counting the days until we can come together under one roof again, but until then we’re so grateful for our N F U-O community that can make gathering in a virtual Zoom room feel like gathering around a kitchen table.

A subscription to The Rural Voice is one of the benefits of being an NFU-O member April 2022 59

St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 Grey County Federation 446 10th519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 grey@ofa.on.ca Website: greyfederation.ca of Agriculture * The Rural Voice is provided toEmail: OFA Members in Grey County by the GCFA

Road Safety – a top priority for planting season Road safety is a two-way street and requires the attention of both motorists and equipment operators.

During this busy planting season, we encourage members to take a moment to review safety tips and procedures with everyone on your farm team before driving equipment on the road.

Action list: 1. Be alert – always be aware of your surroundings and pay close attention to motorists within a close vicinity.

2. Meet your basic needs – it’s difficult to be alert without taking care of yourself first. Make sure you are getting adequate sleep, eating enough food that will boost your energy, drinking water and taking movement breaks if you’ve been in the tractor for a long time.

3. Be visible – don’t forget a slowmoving vehicle (SMV) sign on tractors and attachments that will warn motorists of your maximum speed of 40 km/h. Checking to make sure all lights work is also essential, especially when travelling in the dark.

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

2022 MEETINGS

4. Use proper communication – use signals and make sure to always double check, especially when turning left. This is the most common accident scene although it can easily be avoided.

5. Avoid distractions – make calls and send texts in between operating equipment. Phones are the top distraction when driving a tractor but there is nothing that can’t wait until you are safely off the road.

Share the message, remember the shared responsibility, and take

this issue seriously when it matters most.

The OFA also encourages all farm workers to perform a circle check before starting equipment and remaining highly alert of small children. With children home for online learning, it is important to keep them safe and avoid any preventable accidents.

Let’s ensure this year’s planting and growing season is a safe and productive one. For more road safety tips, go to ofa.on.ca/roadsafety. ◊

Grey County Federation of Agriculture is proud to support

Grey County 4-H and its members For 2022 GCFA will be sponsoring every 4-H member in Grey County with a donation of

• April 14 • June 9 • August 11 • September 8 • October 13 • November 10

$10

towards their annual membership fee If you have any questions, please contact grey@ofa.on.ca or greycounty4hsecretary@hotmail.com

GREY COUNTY 4-H ASSOCIATION

DUE TO COVID­19 GCFA Board Meetings have become conference/video call format.

Please contact the office if you are interested in taking part.

www.4-hontario.ca greycounty4hsecretary@hotmail.com Secretary/Treasurer: Dianne Booker – 519-377-3573 Co-ordinator Volunteer Support: Stephanie Richardson region5@4-hontario.ca

* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Grey County by the GCFA.

60 The Rural Voice

Email: bruce@ofa.on.ca website: brucefederation.ca

NEWSLETTER

446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 * The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Bruce County by the BCFA

Bursary looking for support in spring funding campaign The Building Careers and Futures in Agriculture is a financial assistance program for students entering or currently pursuing a post-secondary education with an emphasis on agriculture.

Please support the Future Agriculture Leaders in Grey/Bruce.

BCFA Spring Funding Campaign The Building Careers and Futures in Agriculture Bursary (The Bursary) is a charity in support of our future leaders.

Through support from agricultural entities (individuals, organizations and businesses) we support successful applicants. Each student can qualify for one bursary in the amount of $1000, paid out in two installments.

The Bursary is currently soliciting for sponsorship for the 2022 year. If you are interested in financially supporting this initiative (receipts will be provided for all donations) please go to our website bcfabursary.ca or call our office at 519-364-3050 We look forward to your support.

Students Grey/Bruce residents entering post-secondary education and who are interested in careers directly related to agriculture or related occupations who show leadership and community involvement while maintaining academic achievement may apply.

Applications can be made until August 31, 2022 by completing the application found online with all supporting documentation.

Winners will be notified on or before October 1, 2022. They will receive their award at the Annual General Meeting of their respective

county to be held in October 2022.

Documentation required: • One page cover letter, explaining education goals and their plans for their future in agriculture.

• Résumé including a list of community and agricultural-related involvement and accomplishments.

• Most recent transcript (high school or college/university). Proof of enrollment (letter of acceptance or timetable if current student).

• Letters of recommendation (from a mentor, employer, volunteer organization community leader, etc.)

Maximum of three references please. ◊

Bruce County Federation of Agriculture

2022 MEETINGS • April 25 • May 24 • June 27 • August 22 • September 26 • October 24 • November 28 DUE TO COVID-19 BCFA Board Meetings have become conference/video call format.

Please contact the office if you are interested in taking part. * The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Bruce County by the BCFA.

April 2022 61

Perth County Federation of Agriculture Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Office: 1-833-229-6834 Julie Danen, President: 519-801-9200

Huron Perth Junior Farmers create docu-series

By Jeanette Schramm Huron Perth Junior Farmers The Century Farm Show is a docu-series created by Huron Perth Junior Farmers in partnership with the Huron Heritage Fund, Lake Affect Media and The Staysh.

Their goal is to highlight the enduring legacy of the Century Farms of Huron and Perth Counties; the series consists of 12 videos that each feature a different family, their farm, and their history. Catch a new episode at the end of each month in 2022 by visiting the Huron Perth Junior Farmers’ Facebook page (@huronperthjf).

Episode 2: Hugh and Rhonda Love’s Century Farm The second Century Farm in our series is owned by Hugh and Rhonda Love of Perth County. This farm has been in the Love family for over 125 years, at times concentrating on dairy, beef, hogs, and cash cropping and facing varied challenges along the way. Each generation guided the

farm in different directions, however a devotion to Clydesdale horses remained a persistent part of the family’s history. This commitment to the breed has taken Hugh and their Clydesdales to provincial and international destinations where they have earned recognition at competitions and shows; their success even extended to a connection with

Anheuser-Busch. To hear Hugh and Rhonda share these stories of resilience and triumph on their Century Farm, watch the episode on the Huron Perth Junior Farmers’ Facebook page (video available as of February 28, 2022).

Thanks to the Perth County Federation of Agriculture for generously sponsoring this episode. ◊

Huron and Perth Federations hosting online workshop In the Know – A mental health literacy program for farmers and the agricultural community The Huron County and Perth County Federations of Agriculture with CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services will be hosting an online In the Know workshop on Monday, April 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We invite you to join us.

In the Know is a free, four-hour mental health literacy workshop created specifically to educate the agricultural community. Designed to fit with farmers/producers’ schedules, it distills critical information and incorporates agricultural community culture.

In the Know is meant for farmers, producers and persons with whom they have regular contact, including family members, peers and allies in the agricultural industry such as veterinarians, breeders, seed or feed

salespeople, financial institutions, accountants or other community members. The course provides education on topics such as stress, depression, anxiety, substance use and how to start a conversation around mental wellbeing.

To register, contact Zone 7 OFA Member Service Representative Margaret Vincent at 1-800-511-1135 ext. 1. To learn more about In the Know, visit ontario.cmha.ca/intheknow.

In the Know was developed at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and is offered through CMHA branches in Ontario with support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. ◊

* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Perth County by the PCFA.

62 The Rural Voice

Index AG Hayter Contracting Ltd ............15 AgLinks ..........................................25 Allied Associates LLP ....................53 Argyle Marine & Small Engines ....56 Behrns Metal Fabricating ..............55 Belore Trailers ................................54 Bernie McGlynn/SB Flooring ........48 Bervie Supply Energy Ltd ..............13 Bester Wood Products ..................48 Bio-Ag ............................................33 Boonstoppel, Dave & Elly ..............63 Buddsteel Architectural ................36 Canadian Co-op Wool Growers ....13 Chalmers Fuels ................................3 Cliff’s Plumbing & Heating ............49 Crop Management............................7 CropQuest Inc ................................43 DL Distributing................................54 Dundalk District Credit Union ..........8 Earth Day ..........................................4 Easy Lift Doors................................14 Farm to Table....................................9 Fiddlehead Nursery ........................41 Fieldwalker Agronomy ..................55 Five Star Seeds ..............................55 Gerber’s Workwear ........................55 Greenville Liquid Plant Food ........25 Grey-Bruce Construction ..............17 GRK Products ................................45 Hanover Honda ..............................36 Hardi ..............................................53 Harold Jones Enterprises ..............55 Heritage Resources Centre ..........27 Hill & Hill Farms ....Inside Front Cover Hunter Steel Sales ................Cover 7 Huron Commodities ........................11 Huron-Perth Woodlot Association 50 JA Porter Holdings ........................43 JJM Concrete Grooving ................17 Keith Siemon Farm Systems ........55 Kids Corner ............................Cover 7 Kingwood Bins ................................10 KMM Farm Drainage ......................23 Kraemer Concrete Ltd ..................55 Kuepfer Fire Wood ........................55 LAC..................................................15 Lakeside Shelving & Racking ..........2 Lands & Forests Consulting ..........49 Lisa Thompson MPP ......................21 Live Landscape ..............................41 Lucknow Auto Parts ......................54 Maple Leaves Forever ..........Cover 4 Mapleview Agri ..............................30 Marquardt Farm Drainage Ltd........13 Martin Farm Wagons ......................21 Martin’s Nursery ....................Cover 3 Marvin L Smith ................................51 Michael’s Stabling Developments 29 MNP LLP ........................................27 Morris Sachs Silo Construction ......2 Nature’s Wave Inc ..........................22 Nuclear Waste Management ........23

Nuhn Forage ..................................63 Ontario Federation of Ag ......Cover 5 RBC Ag West..................................50 Ridgeway Metals ............................54 Roth Drainage ................................56 Royal LePage - Steacy De Haan ..33 Rural Living ....................................41 Rural Voice Books ................Cover 6 Sauble Beach Motorsports 6,12,43,58 Saugeen Valley Cons. Authority....52 Schmidt’s Farm Drainage ..............19 Schweiss Doors ..............................15 Seifried Farm Equipment ..............37 Sew & Save Centre ........................45 Sharp’s Creek Forge ........................2 Shelley Blackmore ........................22

Silver Creek Nursery ......................41 Steffen Well Drilling ......................55 Steve Thompson ............................19 Stihl ................................................34 Stratford Agri Analysis ..................47 Superior Barn Painting ..........Cover 3 SWO Diesel ............................Cover 4 Townsley Barn Painting ................57 Tree Planting/Maintenance ........3,11 Triple P Consulting ........................25 Trouw Nutrition................Back Cover Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Ins ......29 Waddell Engineering Ltd ..............29 WD Hopper & Sons Ltd..................58 Whitechurch Welding ....................54

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April 2022 63

HURON

42 First Avenue, Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0 519-482-9642 or 1-800-511-1135

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

Huron Fed sponsors first episode in docu-series

By Jeanette Schramm Huron Perth Junior Farmers The Century Farm Show is a docu-series created by Huron Perth Junior Farmers in partnership with the Huron Heritage Fund, Lake Affect Media and The Staysh.

Our goal is to highlight the enduring legacy of the Century Farms of Huron and Perth Counties; the series consists of 12 videos that each feature a different family, their farm, and their history. Catch a new episode at the end of each month in 2022 by visiting the Huron Perth Junior Farmers’ Facebook page (@huronperthjf).

For more information about the Century Farm program please email HuronPerthJF@gmail.com.

Episode 1 : Tom and Bev Prout’s Century Farm The first Century Farm in our series is owned by Junior Farmers Alumna Bev and Tom Prout of

Huron County. As the fifth generation of the family to live and work on this small-scale farm, the Prouts take pride in honouring the history of their farm as well as looking to opportunities for its future.

From aggregates to cash crops, beef to bees, the Prout’s Century Farm has been (and continues to be) a space for new ideas; today, children, grandchildren, and members of the community are welcomed to the farm to learn about the traditions of agriculture and horticulture.

To learn more about Tom, Bev, and the big passion for family and community that they bring to their small-scale farm, check out this episode on the Huron Perth Junior Farmers’ Facebook page (video available as of January 27, 2022).

Thanks to the Huron County Federation of Agriculture for generously sponsoring this episode. ◊

“In The Know” – an online Mental Health Literacy workshop to be held April 11 The Huron County and Perth County Federations of Agriculture with CMHA Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services will be hosting an online In the Know workshop on Monday, April 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We invite you to join us.

In the Know is a free, four-hour mental health literacy workshop created specifically to educate the agricultural community. Designed to fit with farmers’/producers’ schedules, it distills critical information and incorporates agricultural community culture.

In the Know is meant for farmers, producers and persons with whom they have regular contact, including family members, peers and allies in the agricultural industry such as veterinarians, breeders, seed or feed salespeople, financial institutions, accountants or other community members.

The course provides education on topics such as stress, depression, anxiety, substance use and how to start a conversation around mental well-being.

To register contact Zone 7 OFA Member Service Representative Margaret Vincent 1-800-511-1135 ext 1. To learn more about In the Know, visit ontario.cmha.ca/intheknow.

In the Know was developed at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph and is offered through CMHA branches in Ontario with support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. ◊

Website: www.hcfa.on.ca Email: ofahuron@tcc.on.ca

Upcoming Events April 13 - Day 1 Environmental Farm Plan worship tentatively scheduled in Clinton. (Day 2 April 20). To register contact Lois Sinclair at 519-955-3139 or lsinclair@ontariosoilcrop.org April 17 - Easter Sunday.

Huron County Federation of Agriculture

BOARD MEETING Monday, April 25 8:00 p.m.

We anticipate this will be a hybrid meeting. If you are interested in joining this meeting, please let us know.

HCFA Director profiles: Ralph DeWeerd Ralph DeWeerd has farmed in Hullett Township since 1979.

Ralph’s family have been members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture all these years and he is proud to serve as an HCFA board member.

Ralph is currently on the HCFA Executive Committee. Ralph also holds the position as a District Committee Representative for the Chicken Farmers of Ontario District 2. Ralph has a keen interest in the well-being of all sectors of food production and the well-being of rural living in Ontario.

Jeff Klomps Jeff is a director with HCFA representing the former Goderich Township.

Jeff operates a cash crop operation outside of Bayfield with his wife and four children.

Jeff enjoys helping in the local community whether it be HCFA, Huron Grain Farmers of Ontario or coaching hockey.

The Rural Voice is provided to all OFA members in Huron County by the Huron County Federation of Agriculture

64 The Rural Voice

Increase your family’s food literacy skills this spring with Six by Sixteen Spring marks the beginning of another growing season as Ontario farmers work hard to plant and nurture over 200 commodities that will eventually make their way from the fields to your forks.

As you list priorities for the upcoming year, make food literacy a part of your family’s spring resolutions.

Source local produce, meats, proteins, dairy, preserves and herbs from the Farmers’ Market, farm gate sales or look for the Foodland Ontario logo when shopping at the grocery store.

You can find the farmers and growers in your community that sell directly to the public on your county’s Buy Local Map or by visiting farmersmarketsontario.com.

Need recipes? Our website sixbysixteen.me has a bounty of locally sourced recipes, youth activities, a downloadable recipe guide and much more.

Make preparing, cooking and plating the meal a family affair by getting everyone in the kitchen. To brush up on safe food handling practices, knife safety skills and more visit youtube.com/ontariofarms.

Follow us on social for additional recipes, what’s in season updates and links to additional food literacy resources: @SixBySixteen sixbysixteen sixbysixteen

The Rural Reading Room Specializing in Rural Living & Local Authors

NEVER SELL YOUR HEN ON A RAINY DAY Some of those old weather sayings really do make sense. This book explains why. $8.95

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BEAUTIFUL BOARDS If you board it, they will come! make mealtimes, special occasions and holidays extra memorable with the 50 delicious, inspiring, family-friendly and easyto-recreate snack boards found in Beautiful Boards. $32.99

CHICK DAYS Raising Chickens from Hatchlings to Laying Hens Here’s “an absolute beginners guide” for all the steps from keeping new chicks warm to collecting eggs. Information on different breeds, housing, feed and stages of growth. $22.95

EVERYONE CAN COOK FOR CELEBRATIONS Eric Akis provides simple festive dishes that can be made in advance with little to no fuss, guaranteeing that you won’t be stuck in the kitchen while the sound of your guests’ laughter drifts in the from the other room. $24.95

HORSE GAMES & PUZZLES For the young person who loves all things horses, this book has 102 brain teasers, word games, jokes and riddles, picture puzzles, matches and logic tests in 130 pages of fun. $14.95

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NEVER SELL YOUR HEN ON A RAINY DAY THE KNITTING ANSWER BOOK CHICK DAYS THE FRESH EGG COOKBOOK BEAUTIFUL BOARDS EVERYONE CAN COOK FOR CELEBRATIONS HORSE GAMES & PUZZLES HATCHING & BROODING YOUR OWN CHICKS Check out huroncitizen.ca for more books

$8.95 $22.95 $22.95 $22.95 $32.99 $24.95 $14.95 $37.95 Total for Books Shipping & Handling $9.00 Add 5% GST on subtotal Order Total

THE FRESH EGG COOKBOOK Farm-fresh chicken eggs are nutritious and delicious and versatile in so many dishes. This cookbook provides recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner and desserts to top off the meals. Lots of information about eggs. $22.95

HATCHING AND BROODING YOUR OWN CHICKS Hatching your own chicks is almost a lost art but it’s a fascinating and fruitful practice. This book offers more than 200 pages of instructions on hatching chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and guinea fowl. $37.95

Send cheque or money order for full amount to: Books: North Huron Publishing P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 or call and pay by credit card 519-523-4311 MAIL BOOKS TO: Name:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Address: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ______________________ Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Phone: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Prices subject to change with increases in wholesale prices, postage, taxes, etc.

Please refer to current issue for correct figures. Incorrect payment will delay delivery.

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Dungannon 519-529-7951 / 800-665-5675 Walton 519-887-6023

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NIEUWLAND FEED & SUPPLY LTD. Listowel 519-291-4660 / 800-265-3229 Drayton 519-638-3008 / 800-263-9818 Elora 519-846-5354 / 800-265-5354