The Rural Voice - December 2019

December 2019

Rural Voice

The

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Contents The

Rural Voice THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE

22

29

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

17 Columns Lisa B. Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Keith Roulston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Kate Procter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Jeffrey Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Mabel’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Woodlots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Agrilaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Departments Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ruralite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 News & Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Business Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Newsletters National Farmers Union . . . . . . .82 Perth County Pork . . . . . . . . . . .83 Grey County Federation . . . . . .84 Bruce County Federation . . . . . .85 Perth County Federation . . . . . .86 Huron County Federation . . . . . .88

37 DECEMBER 2019 • Cover Photo Romy Schill of Wallenstein Photo by Amanda Brodhagen.

• Deadlines: Jan.Issue – Dec.11 Feb. Issue – Jan. 14

17 Selling Farms with Easements Protected into perpetuity the Hindmarsh farm is now up for sale to the right buyer

22 Creating with Natural Fibres Wool and fibres make a comeback among naturalists

29 GMO Debate Continues Over 90 per cent of our food contains GMOs...what is the status on labelling now?

32 Cathy Lennon Connects As the new General Manager of the OFA, Lennon plans to connect the dots for farmers

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Arnold Mathers, Steve Bowers, Melisa Luymes, Anne Mann, Nancy Fisher, Dorothy Henderson, Bonnie Sitter, Gary Kenny, Jeff Tribe, Bob Reid and Geoff Dale Mailed by: McLaren Press Graphics, Bracebridge, ON Sales representative: 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: $20 (12 issues) $35 (24 issues), includes HST Back copies $2.75 each U.S. rates, $65.00

37 Canning Makes a Comeback The next generation is choosing to can fresh foods

42 Alice Munro Leaves Clinton Nobel-winning writer sells home but memories remain

All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. 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.

Changes of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Rural Voice at the address listed above.

A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc.

NH

ORTH URON

PUBLISHING COMPANY INC.

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

In APPRECIATION of your continued support,

warm m

we extend to you

Climate change is not an economic issue

WINTER WISSHES for an enchanted holiday season. n

HOLIDAY AY HOURS: Closed December 24th at noon • Reopen on January 2nd, 2019 Emergency service will be provided for our customers over o the holidays.

On call phone: 519-357-7252 evenings and holiidays only.

Ě˝ ZZZ FOLIIVSOXPELQJ FRP

The Editor, I find I must disagree with Keith Roulston’s column in the November issue of The Rural Voice. Treating climate change as an economic issue is a category mistake. So far from being a solution, the pursuit of profit has created the mess we’re in. An effective solution will require adopting values antithetical to those of the market, climate change being a public order issue not an economic one.

It’s unrealistic to imagine we can rearrange the rules of capitalism without that system acting to perpetuate itself. Societies have only ever stopped bad behaviours that people want by forbidding them.

I realize this must seem a bleak perspective but I believe it only underscores the severity of the challenge that climate changes poses. – Jim Lane, Toronto

From our Home to Yours

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a season filled with every happiness.

Thank you for being such great customers and friends!

P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 519-523-4311

2 The Rural Voice

Ruralite

“

•

“Whether it was rides around the

Alpacas

community, with or without the beautiful saddle, or

”

we were doing acrobatics on his back, nothing

“A goat with a

bothered Major.”

horse’s reproductive tract.”

~ Dot Daynard, on her memories of the Christmas she will never forget

~ Deb Griffey, describing

alpacas which she used to raise for their fibre before starting her own fibre mill near Harriston.

Cards in the mailbox

Glad tidings of silver and gold Sending Christmas joy ~Lisa B. Pot

This and That

• What other time of year do you sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of your socks?

• Why did the lamb call the police?

Because he’d been fleeced.

• Well, to be Frank, I’d have to change my name.

{

DECEMBER INSPIRATION Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; teach us to be patient and always to be kind. ~Helen Steiner Rice

}

Naughty or Nice?

Santa Claus had the right idea.

Visit people only once a year. ~Victor Borge

•

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Luke 2:14

•

December 2019 3

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

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4 The Rural Voice

1-844 -523 5 - 4 7 24

Trying to buy Alice Munro’s house With no fanfare or media attention, Alice Munro’s house was bid on by three potential buyers on October 16. Asking price was $269,000.

I was one of the three but my offer was not the winning bid. I feel both relief and regret.

Alice is, of course, a writer of international acclaim. She has won the International Booker Prize, the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award for English and the big one, The Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. Author of over 15 short-story collections and a Huron County native, Munro lived in Clinton for decades.

Walking the streets at night, a streetwalker of a fitness kind, I would often walk down Dunlop street and pass her charming house on part of a seven-kilometre route that pretty much encompasses most of Clinton..

If you had to imagine a writer’s home, this would be it. White siding, angled roof, a copse of walnut trees in the voluminous backyard, the place screams character, albeit in a cottage way. It’s super cute, is what my daughters might say. I agree.

“If this place ever comes up for sale, I will bid on it,” I told myself. It was a delicious little dream, a highlight of my walk as I imagined living in this dream home, even though it could be described as being on the wrong side of the tracks. The house across from it is sagging and abandoned, hydro lines cut and dangling.

Munro’s house, though, was lovely. I wanted to look inside but did not. I am not a voyeur. However,

it is true that I stalked her in the most benign of ways. Alice Munro was also a walker when she lived in Clinton. I would see her gadding about the town with a friend in tow.

In winter, she would walk the track at the YMCA. Her white hair and hunched back made her immediately recognizable. Sometimes I was skating when I saw her. I would wave but she did not wave back. She would not remember me from the one time we met face to face.

That chance meeting occurred at Knechtels. It is the only time I actually spoke to her. I saw her grocery shopping with her husband, Gerald Fremlin, a geographer and cartographer. He was bagging fruit.

She was looking at condiments in the first aisle. I recognized her instantly but I was nervous so I went up to him instead. “Is that Alice Munro,” I asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Yes it is,” he said with a smile. “I am such a fan,” I gushed. “Well then go tell her!” he exclaimed.

As I pushed my cart in her direction, I tried desperately to remember a clever snippet from one of her works. Nothing. A book title then. Think, think! I could not remember a single one, though I had a few on my book shelf at home and had read ALL her words as found in the red-bricked Clinton library.

I started to sweat. I was going to sound like an idiot and I knew it. But her husband was watching and I truly wanted to express my gratitude. I had to make the most of this opportunity.

“Hello,” I said, greeting her with a smile. “My name is Lisa and I just wanted to let you know I am a great fan of your work.”

She smiled back, friendly-like, and said, “Of course you are! You have such intelligent eyes!”

I have forgotten many things in my life and I take copious notes so I do not forget more things but THAT I have never forgotten. More than that, I believed her. She may have said that to a thousand fans in her lifetime but I felt in that moment, it was the most clever and flattering (to both of us!) reply EVER. If anything was said after that, I don’t remember it. I have treasured that line my entire life, and reread her

Lisa B. Pot books through said “intelligent eyes” combing her earlier stories for descriptions of places I visit in Huron County and her later ones for the sheer joy of the layered stories that just get richer with the familiarity.

I’m clearly starstruck so I was amazed that I would be allowed to traipse through her Clinton home as a potential buyer. While the outside was a writer’s dream, the inside was unexpectedly plain and dated. No matter – we each get to choose how we want to live. I had fun imagining where she might have written her Nobel prize-winning short stories. I finally picked a spot and then, viewed a New York Times photograph which showed Alice’s desk in that very location. Another fan thrill!!

The house, as a friend of hers describes it, “is what it is.” It needed an overhaul to meet the AirBnB, Alice Munro museum, writing-nook dreams I had for it. I also saw vermiculite in the upstairs rooms and fearing a costly asbestos abatement issue, I did not bid over the asking price. Someone else with courage and vision did. Maybe it’s for the best?

I wish I had more resources to fund an expensive renovation that would honour the essence of the home. At the very least, it would be nice to save the walnut grove which I suspect the next owner will cut down or sell, as it was surveyed as a separate lot. Again, their choice!

I have since wondered if my relief is because I was hoping by owning her house, I might yet be able to write a story that would make another reader pause and say, “Holy crap, I did not see that coming.” But a house cannot do that.

Only a gift can do that. And Alice Munro was gifted.

No use dwelling on it. Alice Munro’s home in Clinton has been sold and I am not the owner. I am, thrilled, however, that I gave it a shot. I’m proud that I followed up on a dream to own her house one day. I’m

tickled to have seen the inside of the home where she wrote her stories.

Three of her dictionaries were still in the closet. Huge, they were. I am not surprised that she left them.

The only thing better would have been to sit down and interview Munro herself. I did ask once but did not receive a reply. However, Reg Thompson has! His story about a day hunting down an old cemetery with Munro can be found in this issue!

I won’t see Alice Munro walking anymore. As far as I understand, she is now living near to her daughter in Port Hope. She got old, as all of us will do. It was time to be closer to family.

This is my Alice Munro story. I cherish it. If you get a chance, read some of hers. They are about people

you know, in places you recognize, feeling things you have felt. They will move you and maybe frighten you a little, to think such darkness lives in simple, rural people.

The inside of something is, after all, never quite as you imagine when you only see the outside.

All in all, having this experience was a gift. Since it is the season, I would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, joy on Jesus’ Birthday and a very Happy New Year.◊

While touring Alice Munro’s house (bottom) as a potential buyer, these were some star-struck moments: her hands on the basement wall (below) and a plaque of her Giller prize win on a statue in the garden (at right).

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December 2019 5

Keith Roulston Keith is former publisher of The Rural Voice.

He lives near Blyth, ON.

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6 The Rural Voice

One of the things that makes winter bearable around our place is the day-long show through the big windows of our family room, thanks to feeding the birds .

The amount of money I spend on seed to attract these birds would have amazed, or even horrified, the family I grew up with who were often pressed to the brink just keeping the mortgage and taxes paid, but it’s cheap compared to a vacation in some southern retreat. The constant arrival and departure of blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, juncos, various woodpeckers, sparrows and finches can brighten even the dullest December or January day.

I’ve been reading lately that through things like the annual Christmas bird count, experts have found our bird population is in trouble. The bird population of the U.S. and Canada is down nearly three billion birds over the last 50 years according to one study, a drop of 29 per cent. A study conducted by the University of Saskatchewan and York University found part of the problem is that neonicotinoid seed treatments suppress the appetite of song birds and perhaps delay their migration.

In case farmers think this is another case of urbanites passing off the blame to people who are working to feed them, there’s also the estimate that domestic cats, most of which live in cities, kill 200 million birds a year. Then there’s the huge death toll from birds hitting lighted windows of office towers.

Though I’m nodenier of the science of decline in bird populations, I must say my personal experience is much different than the studies. I’ve seen more variety of birds in recent years than when I was growing up. Perhaps that’s because

our house is surrounded by trees and fairly close to a wooded area compared to a house far from our farm’s woodlot when I was young.

Mostly, then, we saw English house sparrows and starlings.

There are birds I grew up seeing that I haven’t seen for years, like meadow larks and bobolinks, perhaps because we had plenty of hay fields on our farm and hay was harvested later then, allowing more time for nesting. Surrounded by cash crop fields now, there’s no habitat for these species. Apparently it’s a common problem because the birdpopulation study says there are only 30 per cent of the number of meadow larks of 50 years ago.

On the other hand, I’m amazed at the variety of wild birds I’ve been privileged to observe in recent years.

I remember being stunned when I saw my first turkey vulture circling above me as I drove the tractor as a teenager. Today hardly a summer’s day goes by that one or more vultures can’t be seen wheeling above.

Until a few years ago I didn’t even know bald eagles could survive in my part of Ontario and so I was stunned when I spotted my first. The same goes for wild turkeys before they were re-introduced to the region and prospered. Another spectacularly large bird is the pileated woodpecker whose jack-hammer beak on its Woody Woodpecker-like head, can carve huge holes in the trunks of dying trees.

Perhaps because we feed them, we see far more blue jays. cardinals and woodpeckers than I ever saw when I was growing up, even though that study suggested the blue jay count is down 20 per cent.

At our place, feeding the birds doesn’t stop come spring. Though we don’t put out sunflower and other coarse seeds in summer, we supply the finch feed. That’s because we love the bright gold finches and the jewel-like indigo buntings, which I had to look up in the bird book the first time one appeared.

I hope the decline in bird numbers is either over-estimated or can be reversed. I’d hate if my grandchildren and their children were deprived of the delight of their company.◊

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December 2019 7

Kate Procter Wishing all our customers and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

R.R. #2 Zurich, Ont.

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

Can a stoic “we’ll see” attitude help us navigate change and failure?

As part of the Great Purge of 2019, I decided that I was going to listen to every CD I had and discard any that I didn’t love. I’ve been a volunteer at the Celtic Roots Festival in Goderich for about 15 years. I have a lot of CDs. One song that I really got into listening to is called Good Luck John, and recorded on Darkling and the BlueBird Jubilee by Joe Crookston. You can listen to it here https://www.riseupandsing .org/songs/good-luck-john. I like the guitar playing and I like the message.

It is a story about a guy named John who has a series of events happen to him. After each, the neighbours comment on his good or bad luck, depending on the outcome of the event. After each, John just replies, “Maybe, it’s hard to say.”

I recently started reading a new book, You Are Awesome: How To Navigate Change, Wrestle With Failure, and Lead an Intentional Life

by Neil Pasricha. It opens with an old Taoist fable, which, as it turns out, is the same story as Good Luck John. “A farmer had only one horse.

One day, his horse ran away. His neighbours said, “I’m so sorry. This is such bad news. You must be so upset.” The man just said, “We’ll see.” A few days later, his horse came back with 20 wild horses following. The man and his son corralled all 21 horses. His neighbours said, “Congratulations!

This is such good news! You must be so happy!” The man just

8 The Rural Voice

said, “We’ll see.”

The story goes on in this way alternating between good and bad occurrences. But the farmer always responds to every event and the neighbours’ comments with “we’ll see.” Check out the song – it is more fun than reading the parable – but the message is the same. I like John’s stoicism and the way he never gets in a flap about anything that happens, good or bad.

Pasricha takes that stoicism a little bit further – “the farmer knows every end is a beginning.” He defines this as “resilience”, “a skill we now have in very short supply. Not many of us have been through famines or wars, or let’s be honest, any form of true scarcity. We have it all! And the side effect is that we no longer have the tools to handle failure or even perceived failure.”

As farmers living in Huron County, we may have a leg up in this regard, having gone through some tough times with weather, markets, general political uncertainty.

However, with mental health and stress becoming a bigger issue, even amongst the most stoic of us, his book about building resilience in our rapidly changing and uncertain times offers a thought-provoking perspective.

The book is funny and interesting and offers insights into why things are the way they are from historical and cultural perspectives. But it also has some science behind it. “Life is a journey from infinite possibilities when you’re born – you can be anything, do anything, go anywhere – to zero possibilities when you die.

So I’m proposing that the real game is trying to keep those options open as long as you can. Like the farmer, we need to add a “we’ll see” when life blasts us into the stratosphere or sends us screeching wildly into the ravine beside an icy road.”

One of the tools Pasricha explores with detail in the book is the concept of failure. He argues that you aren’t learning if you don’t fail. I have definitely noticed this in my own life.

If you never go out beyond your comfort zone, you may have fewer failures, but you sure don’t learn

Kate Procter much. In the same vein, if you’re too afraid of failing, you will never be brave enough to try anything new. In terms of learning, you definitely learn a lot more about how things work when they don’t work.

Another interesting observation, backed up by a study of 19,000 people published in Science magazine in 2013, is that “we all think the way things are now is the way things will continue to be.” The participants in the study, regardless of their ages or where they were in life, all believed they had undergone a lot of change in the past, but that everything would remain unchanged in the future.

Pasricha explains that the “invisible staircase” is an illustration of our life – we can see backwards – where we’ve been and what we’ve survived and accomplished. Yet we can’t see forward. We can’t predict the future and we can’t know what unknown, futuristic impact events will actually have on us. He sees failures and setbacks merely as steps taking us toward a different future. We are unable to see the next step, let alone 10 steps ahead, so a challenge or failure that occurs in this space and time can be overwhelming and seem like the end of the world. When really, it is just a step heading to the next thing.

While I am not one of those people who believe that everything happens for a reason – I think a lot of things happen for no reason at all – I do believe that most occurrences, whether good or bad, give us an opportunity to learn and to grow. How we react to the things that happen in our lives gives us a chance to contemplate, and learn, and maybe even change our story going forward.

But this can’t happen if we live on autopilot, or blame everyone else for what is happening in our lives.

As 2019 draws to a close and we look forward to a new year – I would highly recommend picking up a copy of Neil Pasricha’s entertaining and inspiring book about navigating life.

Or downloading it if you are following your new mantra of “less is more.” ◊

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December 2019 9

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

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Wedding cake for Christmas “So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.” Matthew 22:11 Christmas isn’t complete without traditions.

Some can be relatively new innovations. In my family, sister number two purchases a turkey that’s prepared by sister number one.

Potatoes mashed with a pound of butter are a contribution from sister number three.

Yet when I returned to Ontario from five years in Alberta, a couple things were missing. The Christmas pudding was absent, perhaps a good thing, remembering my personal over-indulgence one year as a young lad. So was the fruit cake. I have endeavoured to bring back both and have had more luck with the cake though resistance to this family tradition that has been with the Carter family for a century, if not longer, is sometimes formidable Only sister number two has expressed an affection for it in no uncertain terms. The rest are merely lukewarm or worse, place Christmas cake in the same category as doorstoppers.

The process of making the cake begins sometime around the end of October with an investment in ingredients, various dried and candied fruits, sugar, eggs, butter, flour, spices, along with a small bottle of rum, some of which actually ends up in the cake.

This year’s pound of butter was acquired from an Amish family. Its fragrance, flavour and cooking quality were exceptional, recalling what would have been available a century ago.

Preparation begins with washing

the fruit and then setting it out to dry, adding the rum to the fruit mixture, and leaving it sit overnight. Lining the baking pans with parchment paper and blending the ingredients is a first-thing-in-the-morning task. It takes roughly five hours to bake at a low temperature.

The final touch is the addition of more rum to the tops of the resulting three or four cakes. Then they’re wrapped securely and aged.

It was my late mother who passed down her handwritten recipe to us.

We still have it here in Dresden, and several photocopies as well, still legible despite the inevitable stains that have accumulated over past 30odd years.

It was not my mother’s recipe, however, but Grandma Carter’s.

My mother and grandmother had an uneasy relationship. As a young lad on our Oxford County farm, I never heard the two speak, communication being made through my father.

The only thing to top two women living under the same roof with the same man, is when both are women of power. Grandma Carter, who lived into her 90s and had been widowed relatively early in life, maintained ownership of the farm until her death. My mother, for her part, didn’t provide her mother-in-law with the respect she was due, something she told over the last few months of her life with an air of regret.

Yet, if there was unease in their relationship, there was also respect.

My mother was a product of Ontario’s 1930s social services system. It was only when she arrived to the Carter farm that she learned how to properly prepare a meal and preserve the harvest, skills, no doubt, that were taught by the elder woman.

She also embraced her role as a “farm wife” – her words – learned to keep a garden, help around the farm, maintain the household with the “egg money” and celebrate Christmas Day with flair.

I’ve grown up with fruit cake at Christmas but the actual recipe was originally intended for weddings which, if you think about it, is well suited to the December celebration and represents, too, an enduring relationship between two women. ◊

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December 2019 11

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

“I did something stupid yesterday,” George Mackenzie said the other morning as the gang gathered at Mabel’s Grill.

Molly Whiteside, who was in the midst of filling his coffee cup, choked in surprise and spilled some of the coffee. “You’re actually admitting you do stupid things?

That’s a first.”

“I didn’t say ‘things’, I said I did one stupid thing,” George admitted.

“And that was?” Cliff Murray asked.

“Well, the TV went on the fritz and you can’t get anybody to fix them anymore so I went to the store to buy a new one.”

“Uho!” said Dave Winston.

“They’ve got so many different kinds and different sizes. I asked this

clerk to help me and she said this was a smart TV and the other ones weren’t. Well, I mean who wants a dumb TV, so I bought the smart one.

I figured maybe it could do something like make Donald Trump sound intelligent.”

“How’d that work out?” Dave said, barely suppressing a smirk.

“Well, I plug the thing in and push the ‘on’ button on the remote and the screen comes on and all it’s showing is on logos for Netflix and Google and a whole lot things I don’t even know about – nothing that even looks like it’s a TV! There aren’t even channel numbers on the remote!”

“So what did you do?” asked Cliff.

“I got desperate enough I even checked the manual. But they might as well have left that in the original Chinese for all the sense it made.”

“So, you’re not watching TV today, I take it,” asked Molly.

“No, after about two hours of pushing this and that I finally got the darn thing working,” said George.

“So you’re all set,” said Dave.

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blinked,” said George.

“And did you remember how to get it working again?” wondered Molly.

“It took me about half as long as the first time but I finally got the blankety-blank thing working again.”

“So now you’re up and running,” said Molly.

“But then my wife wanted me to show her in case the power blinked and I’m not home.”

“How’d that go?” asked Cliff.

“We’re seeing the divorce lawyer on Monday.”

“Really?” asked Molly.

“No, but we need counselling.”

“I guess they should never sell somebody a TV that’s smarter than its owner,” said Cliff.

“What, you have to give the customer an IQ test?” asked Molly.

“No, if the customer’s over 35 they’re too old for a lot of this electronic equipment,” said Dave.

“When I get some new electronic gadget I just give it to my kids. I get them to explain how to use it.”

“I’m surprised you’re drinking coffee,” Cliff said as George emptied his cup and motioned Molly to give him a refill. “I think what you’ve been through might have made me turn to drink.”

“Or pot,” said Molly. “They say that can be relaxing.”

“I’m not going to smoke pot!” said George. “It took me long enough to quit smoking when I started cigarettes when I was 15.”

“Now you can get your pot in all sorts of edibles like candies and cake,” said Molly.

“I’ll pass,” said George.

“From the projections they’re putting out for the growth of the cannabis industry you and I must be about the only people in the country who aren’t going to be getting high every day,” said Cliff.

“I can’t see all these predictions coming true,” said George.

“Sometimes it sounds like these pot company bosses are sampling too much of their own product,” said Cliff.

“Well, who knows,” said Dave.

“After a year or so of living with the constant politics of a minority government even you might be tempted to bliss out.” ◊

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Leyland Nuffield Suitcase Weights, 75 lb. each, two only................pair $150.

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Cockshutt Trail Plow on steel, good boards, 4 furrow..............................$975.

SOLD Allis Chalmers 72 Combine, pull type, weed cleaner, good shape........$3,800.

John Deere 443 Four Row Corn Head, narrow row, quick attach..........$3,800.

Antique Massey Harris Corn Binder, one row, gear ground drive............$850.

Antique John Deere One Way Disc, 5 blades, rope trip lift....................$1,100.

Bissell Bearcat Turnco Brillion Pack Wheels,various sizes................ea. $20.

New Holland 256 Rake, 5 bar, offset axle, good shape, rubber teeth.....$2,600.

John Deere 213 Straight Cut Head, 13 ft., quick attach, hyd. reel.........$2,600.

Minneapolis Moline 445 Tractor, gas, Freeman loader, no 3PH, pwr. steering................................................................................................$3,800.

Reist 9 ft. Snowblower, 3PH, hyd. hood, double auger, heavy 540 PTO.......$2,200.

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519-338-2688 14 The Rural Voice

Viewpoint Gary Kenny is retired from a career in international human rights, is a writer and resident of Grey County.

Tales of swinging from the cables at the one-room schoolhouse When I first walked through the door of S.S. No. 1, I was bejesus scared. What would all those farm kids think of me, a “foreigner,” a “city slicker,” from London, Ontario who had parachuted into their territory, the 10th Concession of Logan Township, Perth County.

Curiosity is only natural and to be expected. But would I be warmly welcomed, or would I possibly be mocked, ostracized, or even scorned?

I was an overly-sensitive kid and feared all of this.

I was also apprehensive about the school itself – one room, one teacher, eight grades, and located on a concession road in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. It was a far cry from the modern, multi-room elementary school with its several hundred students that I had come from and where I had been perfectly happy. I didn’t want to leave my friends. I didn’t want to move to a farm. But my Dad, a carpenter who had grown up on a farm on Logan’s 10th, had long dreamed of returning to the original Kenny family farmstead (his ancestors were immigrants from Ireland) and farming once again. Back then anyway, a nine-year-old had no real say in such matters.

I don’t recall much of how I was greeted on that first bone-chillingly cold morning in February. To get to the school I had walked 1.5 miles along snow-covered gravel roads the sides of which were piled 12 feet high with snow. I do remember the teacher, Mrs. Thompson, introducing me to the 30 or so students and

showing me to my seat. My “desk” was a far cry from the shiny, modern desk I had known in London. It was a beaten-up wooden structure the top of which was heavily scuffed and carved with initials. There was also a curious hole in the upper right-hand corner. It turned out to be an ink well. Didn’t they use ballpoint pens here? (They didn’t.)

I think I was asked some questions at recess by a couple of fellow students, but mostly I was stared at or ignored. Pretty normal behaviour under the circumstances, I suppose. Except it continued for some months. That wasn’t fun.

Fitting in can be a … well, I can’t say that word here.

S.S. No. 1, Logan Township was one of the last one-room schoolhouses in Ontario. As a building there was nothing particularly distinct about it. It was a mundane, rectangular, yellow-brick structure consisting of his and her cloak rooms with toilets and one large classroom. Some one-room schoolhouses were crowned with bell towers giving them a venerable, church-like appearance. Not S.S. No. 1. The end of lunches and recesses was marked by Mrs. Thompson’s ringing of a brass hand-bell.

If there was anything unusual about the schoolhouse, it was the steel cables that criss-crossed overhead through the vaulted ceiling.

The high walls of the building, erected in the early 20th century, were never buttressed. As the building aged and the walls became frail, they had to be stabilized. On windy days the cables visibly shook and audibly hummed, leaving especially me, a newbie, wondering just how much buffeting the building could take!

Oh, and there was one other oddity. At the front of the classroom was a large map of the world.

Common enough in classrooms. But the map’s imaging of the African continent caught my eye. Taking up much of the middle of the African land mass pictured was a large green splotch. Not included were any of the countries that even I, a nine-year-old, knew were there. At S.S. No. 1, it seemed, Stanley and Livingstone were still hacking their way through

Viewpoint the undiscovered African bush! That story would come in handy many years later when I became engaged in work about how Africa and Africans are wrongly and unfairly perceived in Western culture.

Only once in my four years at S.S. No. 1 was I the object of Mrs. Thompson’s wrath, and the aforesaid steel cables were at the center of the incident. All of us boys were in our cloak room at lunchtime one day, and one fellow student, Larry, was swinging on a cable. Using the cables for recreational purposes was strictly forbidden. Before long Mrs. Thompson, a large and imposing woman, burst through the cloakroom door demanding to know who the culprit was. Silence. I wasn’t the offender, but because she thought I was smirking, Mrs. Thompson hauled me into the classroom and scolded me mightily. To accentuate her point, she cuffed me up side of my head (teachers could do that then) and yelled at me some more. That little display of corporal punishment upset me. And even though justice was on my side, to this day I regret ratting out Larry – my best friend, no less – who received not one, but several smacks from the furious Mrs. Thompson. Sorry, Larry.

When writing about life attending a one-room rural schoolhouse, many tend to romanticize the experience. I hope I’m not one of them. As my fellow columnist Kate Procter has written, one-room schoolhouses did not always live up to the Norman Rockwell image some people have of them. Indeed. Rural kids, I quickly learned, could be just as thoughtless and cruel as their urban counterparts.

Bullying was not uncommon, even among S.S. No. 1’s small student body. The children of one family in particular often came to school wearing threadbare clothing, unbathed and smelling of body odour, and with little in their lunch boxes. They were picked on continuously. I too was bullied at times, or until my “newness” wore off. I’m ashamed to say that, on occasion, I also persecuted one of my meeker classmates. Kids who are victims of bullying will sometimes in turn resort to bullying others. A troubling dynamic, that one.

But I also took away many fond memories: the always interesting annual bus trips to museums, historic monuments and interesting places of commerce; the full-house Christmas concerts that featured skits, recitations, and choral and solo singing; playing fox and goose (anyone remember that one?) in the snow in the wintertime wearing mitts, toques, earmuffs, but no coats; lacing up a pair of black and white running shoes on the first warm day of spring and riding my CCM bicycle to school rather than hoofing it; and the co-ed baseball games with other local one-room schoolhouses. With perhaps feminist leanings even back then, I always felt sorry for the girls on the team who were meanly berated by the boys for their baseball skills (or perceived lack of).

Despite resentment from some parents about sending their children lengthier distances by bus to be educated in consolidated schools, the process of closing one-room schoolhouses was virtually complete by the 1960s. By then, they were no

longer considered a viable option for Canadian students. Their closure, of course, also marked the passing of the one-room schoolteacher. She/he are heroes in my books – even Mrs. Thompson who I’ve long forgiven for hitting me. They had to teach multiple subjects – reading, writing, science, arithmetic, geography, and history – often to 30 or more children of different ages and abilities. It must have felt like herding cats at times.

Their capacity to innovate was key to their success, and survival.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to attend one of Ontario’s last iconic one-room rural schoolhouses, mixed experience though it was. All such schools are now retired and either razed (as with S.S. No. 1 – it’s now a pasture) or converted for other purposes including quaint rural restaurants and private homes and retreats. S.S. No. 1, and rural and farm life in general, made me a better, more resilient person.

And I learned to use a fountain pen. ◊

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Farms

Buying into the legacy and vision: The Hindmarsh family has protected their farm and wetlands into perpetuity with a conservation easement and now the farm is for sale to the right buyer • By Lisa B. Pot •

S

Susan Chan was proactive in establishing a conservation easement via Ontario Farmland Trust on her parents’ Goderich-area farm, protecting 80 acres of farmland and 60 acres of naturalized acreage including forest, meadows and eight ponds. Now it is for sale to someone who understands the value of what has been accomplished at the Hindmarsh Farm.

usan Chan likes what her family calls, her “projects”.

Carrying on the legacy of her father, John Hindmarsh, Susan has continued to create conservation projects on the home farm on Highway 21 just outside of Goderich.

Featuring several ponds, Bobolink habitat, wild meadows and forested area preserving the endangered Butternut tree, the farm has a Conservation Easement via the Ontario Farmland Trust which protects 80 acres of farmland and 60 acres of wetlands and forest into perpetuity.

The farm is now for sale with a price tag of $1.4 million and Susan is hopeful but worried about finding a buyer who will honour her family’s legacy and conserve the diverse agricultural and environmental land the family has owned since 1947.

“It is an important legacy of ours to protect this land in perpetuity,” says Susan, now 77, a keen walker who took me through the property.

To say the farm is gorgeous is an understatement. We see a flock of Mallards fly off a peaceful pond and a muskrat snaking his skinny tail though the reeds. Fall sunshine highlights the golden leaves of the beech trees while cedars cast green shadows over the blue waters of one of the larger ponds. The farmland sits fallow now that harvest is done and the horse barn lies waiting, housing only hay and old harnesses, the horses long gone from the farm.

Squirrels have taken over a little log cabin from which red geraniums still bloom bright this late in the season.

The farmhouse is a product of its time, with wallpapered ceilings and December 2019 17

Wildlife abounds at the Hindmarsh farm outside of Goderich, where farmland and natural areas are protected into perpetuity.

Susan Chan (above right) is hoping the right buyer will see the value of the place which has been recognized for its habitat conservation (bottom left), an award accepted by Susan, her husband Chuck, and her mother Marian who lived at the farm until she was 99!

The farm features ponds, trails and an older farmhouse and barn.

18 The Rural Voice

has listed the farm.

“Certainly there is somebody who will love this property and purchase it, no question. But as far as attracting the stereotypical buyer and tapping into the bigger pool of buyers, they are not interested in this property,” says Rivers. The typical farmer, he explained, is looking to increase their acreage, not to deal with easements which give other organizations (Ontario Farmland Trust in this case) legal control over parts of their property.

“However, we may get a farmer who wants to live there, work the land and enjoy the rest of it,” says Rivers. elisa Luymes, a friend of the family, who helped the Hindmarshes get the funding for a wetland project when she worked with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, agrees.

“Someone will be captured by the vision they (the Hindmarsh family) started,” says Luymes. “The Hindmarshes are so communityoriented. They let people on the property to walk through the bush and they believe in preserving nature and preserving farms and they are so dedicated to that. I just really hope that someone with that same mindset comes to buy that farm because it is a special place.”

That would be ideal, says Susan who, obviously, is a fan of land trusts.

“Land trusts serve a crucial role in being able not only to protect agricultural land but also the ecological values that strengthen and diversify our environment,” says Susan. Working with Ontario Farmland Trust, the farm is now protected, sparing it from the encroaching development. A factory, currently being expanded, is visible from the farm boundaries.

Documentation from the Ontario Farmland Trust describes a Farmland Easement Agreement as a “permanent, legal agreement between a landowner and the Ontario Farmland Trust that ensures land is protected forever.”

The protection is listed on the property title and runs with the land in perpetuity. The easement agreement contains provisions that

M families, versus being eaten up by industry or housing. In this area of Ontario, land sells in the range of John and Marian Hindmarsh (top, at their cottage $15,000 per acre. in 1986) were committed farmers and naturalists, “Farmland is so creating memories with their children and important,” says grandchildren during horserides (above, date Susan from the unknown) and group projects at the farm outside kitchen table where of Goderich, now for sale, a property with a her mother, Marian farmland trust in place. ~Photos submitted Hindmarsh, now 100, ate her meals until just an old stone fireplace. Natural light a few weeks ago. She lived alone streams in the windows and one feels here, supported by her children, until ready to sit in one of the rocking it became necessary for extra care. chairs and reads[ the newspaper.

This is very much a family farm in There is work to be done to bring the the sense of childhood memories buildings back to their former glory being made across generations, along but the marriage of farmland to with it being a one-time beef farm wetland areas is smooth and natural. and now, a crop farm rented to Walkers and runners who use the nearby neighbours.

Maitland Trail actually traverse the Susan herself is a nurse, married Hindmarsh farm when they take the to a doctor in the town of Goderich.

John Hindmarsh Trail. It’s something Her children grew up helping their the family encourages. grandfather build and create. It’s “We love it when people enjoy hard, emotionally, to sell the property this trail,” says Susan, pointing out but it’s what her mother and four rocks and benches that have been siblings agreed on. While the installed alongside the trail Conservation Easement makes total honouring her father and others who sense to her family, will the right played a part in creating the trail and buyer come along? the farm’s ecological features. t’s a fair question says Donny Equally significant, is the value of Rivers, Broker of Record and farmland in terms of feeding owner of Coldwell Banker, which

I

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20 The Rural Voice

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protect the farmland and natural areas by limiting or restricting land uses that are not compatible with agriculture and conservation purposes, such as housing subdivisions or aggregate operations.

“Our goal, through easements, is to permanently protect as many farms as we can for agriculture,” says Kathryn Enders, Executive Director of OFT. Currently, 15 farms in Ontario have legally binding conservation easements through OFT with another 14 more currently being worked on.

The process can take one to two years because there are a lot of processes involved. These can include ecological assessments, surveys, appraisals and a lot of legal work. Costs for the process can range from $35,000 to $50,000 which includes monies set aside into a longterm stewardship fund.

“This is a long-term arrangement so we go to the farms at least once a year to make sure the land is being maintained as the owner (and the trust) intended,” says Elders.

Future builds and expansion are monitored. “If new buildings are related to the operation of the farm, there is usually an easy approval process of keeping with the intent of the farm trust,” says Elders. She recognized that many farmers, lawyers or real estate agents don’t fully understand what having a conservation easement entails. To that end, she encourages people to call her.

“We are here to make sure the land remains in farming so I will sit down with whoever is interested and, across the dinner table, go through the process line by line so they understand what they can and cannot do,” says Elders.

As to the Hindmarsh Farm, Elders says she just loves going there. “It is a beautiful property and they really take care of it,” she says. “It really is a farm for farmers because it will forever stay in farmland.”

The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) has been heavily involved in transforming the “wet and wild” parts of the farm into natural habitat. Wetlands were created to support waterfowl and endangered species, decrease water

runoff, protect shoreline from erosion and reclaim arable land.

“This farm has a good combination of preserving agricultural land and naturalizing the areas that aren’t as productive,” says Geoff King, Stewardship Coordinator with the MVCA. He has been involved in many of Susan’s projects on the farm.

“What amazes me is that a lot of the work done on the farm was done

by John Hindmarsh in his younger days,” says King. “I’m not sure if John was fully aware that what he was doing is exactly what we do with storm water management. The buffers and channels he created were the very stuff of what we were preaching.”

The farm is noted for being a home to species at risk such as Butternut trees and Monarch butterflies. Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks and the Least Bittern also thrive here.

Extensive work has also been done to remove phragmites, says Susan, who says she’s been very pleased with the progress as the invasive species is almost eradicated. ohn Hindmarsh was an environmental visionary. In connection with the farm, he was instrumental in the restoration and preservation of Naftel’s Creek and Saratoga Swamp, both picturesque natural properties. An avid flyer, Hindmarsh was a pilot and flight instructor. He was killed in a plane crash in 1995.

The Maitland Conservation Foundation established the John Hindmarsh Environmental Trust Fund in October 1996 to commemorate his life and ensure his commitment to the environment would continue. The fund supports naturalization projects like dune grass planting to protect beaches, tree planting on marginalized lands, upgrades at conservation areas and community education events at places such as the Wawanosh Nature Centre.

The farmland is currently being rented to nearby farmers who have adopted the Hindmarsh philosophy.

Hayfields are cut later, allowing fledgling bobolinks in their ground nests in grassy fields to survive.

J

Reflecting on the property, Susan recalls an idyllic childhood riding horses, building the log cabin, jumping in hay piles and playing in the streams. “We were free to be outside,” she says.

For those who also love “outside”, this is a place that is preserving those opportunities for that special new buyer who understands both the limitiations and possiblities of properties like the Hindmarsh Farm which make sure those outside places are never lost. ◊

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December 2019 21

Fibre

Demand for natural fibres increases • By Amanda Brodhagen •

A

Donna Hancock raises angora goats, using their hair to create mohair fibre via her own mill called Wellington Fibres. She is part of a larger movement of mostly female entrepreneurs processing fibre and creating product for weavers and designers, meeting a growing need for natural-fibre clothing.

Fibres made from alpacas, sheep and goats are creating opportunities for farmers, mills, weavers and designers.

22 The Rural Voice

s environmentally friendly products grow in popularity and people are becoming more aware of the harm that fast fashion is doing to the environment, so too is the demand for natural, locally sourced farm-raised fibre.

Donna Hancock who farms near Elora, has been raising farm-tofashion fibre since 1988, before it was trendy. She raises angora goats that create mohair – a fibre hair. Not only does she have her own goat herd, but she also runs a mill called Wellington Fibres. A forage research technician by trade, Hancock works at the University of Guelph four days a week while also running a small 40-acre farm and mill.

Having grown up on a beef and dairy farm near Oshawa, Hancock knows what it takes to run a farm, but continuing on with the same commodities that she grew up with wasn’t something of interest to her.

Instead, she got goats – livestock that she felt she could handle on her own.

Interestingly, she got the angora goats after her sister-in-law saw a program on television called Country Canada. After some convincing, she tracked down the farmer that was featured on the program and visited her farm near Freelton, but ended up buying her starter herd from a farm in Quebec. While there aren’t many angora goats in Ontario, there are quite a few in Quebec and Alberta.

Hancock explains that the year that she bought her goats, the buzz word in agriculture was “valueadded” and she felt that angora goats would be ideal to create a premium product. She currently has 55 animals in total.The bucks go for meat or breeding and the females are kept for mohair production. Hancock and her late husband, Lorne Thompson, created the mill to process their own fibre after finding it challenging to find somewhere that would process their fibre. Today, 80 per cent of her

business is custom fibre production largely alpaca and sheep. She has customers from all over the country including – Ontario, B.C., Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. The real hurdle holding back the sustainable farmed fibre industry is that there isn’t enough mill capacity. Hancock has three to four staff and can’t keep up with demand. “There’s an eightmonth to one-year waiting list,” she says.

Hancock says the other reality that she’s faced is getting her angora goats shorn. “Goats are different than sheep, their skin is looser, which makes them more difficult to shear,” she explains. Thankfully she has a shearer who is good to work with, but she notes that there aren’t enough young people learning to shear sheep and to shear goats and alpacas, which could prove to be a succession challenge for the sector.

Despite the challenges and having to “kid-proof everything” she says with a chuckle, she loves what she does. Self described as a shy person by nature, she says that this business has forced her to be more outgoing.

Currently, she goes to four or five different shows a year and is a member of the Guelph Guild of Handweavers and Spinners – a community of fibre enthusiasts drawing members from the Wellington County area. She felt it was important for her to get involved in understanding the end product.

“Mohair has a smooth scale structure and reflects a lot of light,” she says. She likes to blend mohair and wool together to varying degrees depending on what she’s making because mohair has a “tendency to escape just like goats do.”

Hancock even competes in the Sheep to Shawl competition with her guild at The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. The competition is to weave a shawl in under four hours. A component of the competition is to create an educational display and this year her team is focused on educating about the benefits of blending different fibres together. The team ended up placing first.

One of the encouraging things that Hancock is seeing is the decreasing market share for acrylic. She says that the market has changed

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December 2019 23

dramatically from when she first started her business about 30 years ago. “I believe that we are more conscious about what we are eating and what we are wearing,” she said.

“People are now willing to pay $30 for a skein of good quality yarn.”

Hancock is seeing more young people go to shows, noting that weaving is a portable and a relatively inexpensive hobby to get into. “You can create personal clothing and make a statement,” explaining why it appeals to young people.

“A lot of products are

Fibre from one alpaca can create 25 pairs of socks and Deb Griffey (right) of Alpaca Time does just that at her mill near Harriston.

24 The Rural Voice

intentionally made cheap so that consumers buy more, but we’re destroying the environment,” she said, and cautions against merino wool that is super washed with chemicals which changes the fibre structure. It is flooding the market.

Hancock does her best to be environmentally sustainable even right down to her packaging, using cardboard boxes instead of plastic because they are reusable.

As for what’s next, Hancock is enjoying what she’s doing now, but would like to sell the business one

day, and would be willing to mentor on the trade. “It’s not a business you’re going to make a ton of money at, but enough to be comfortable,” she concludes.

Mill capacity challenges and opportunities Deb Griffey of Alpaca Time, near Harriston, has been manufacturing alpaca wool since 2005. Griffey started the business after she retired from dairy farming. Her sister bought an alpaca after seeing one at The Royal Winter Fair.

The two quickly discovered that getting alpaca fibre processed after it’s been shorn is a challenge in Ontario. She called the only fibre mill at the time in the province and was told that it would be at least an eight month wait before they could turn the raw fibre into yarn. With no place to take their raw product, and after a year of research, they decided to start a mill of their own. They bought their machinery from Textek and only received three days’ training before they were left to figure it out on their own. The mill is highly technical and Griffey is glad for her farm background, especially for being mechanically inclined, which has helped when machines in the mill break down and need fixing.

“There are four math equations for every pattern” explains Griffey, adding that understanding ratio and proportion is a skillset needed to run the mill.

Griffey’s cousin, Tom, one of three sock mechanics in Canada, wanted to see if socks would work.

After eight months of testing they found the perfect blend of yarn. The original plan was to get the company that Tom worked for at the time to make the socks. However, the company lost its two biggest contracts in 2006 and closed. But it all worked out in the end, because they bought seven of their machines.

Griffey grew her own alpaca herd and enjoyed the genetic aspect of breeding alpacas which came naturally to her as a former dairy farmer, while most people who own alpacas have little to no farming background. A baby alpaca is called a “cria” and while there’s no industry term for when an alpaca gives birth, Griffey defaults to cattle terminology

like calving. She believes that the term should be called “creating” given that a baby is called a cria. An alpaca can be best described as “a goat with a horse reproductive tract.”

She eventually sold her alpaca herd a handful of years ago after realizing that she couldn’t continue to do it all and has since specialized to focus on processing fibre at her mill.

When Griffey first started the business, she was committed to only sourcing fibre from Ontario and Canada, but after facing fibre shortages she was forced to start buying fibre from the U.S and Australia. The U.S. is 10 times the size of the Canadian alpaca industry and Australia is the second largest producer in the world. Griffey has turned into a real expert in the field and is certified to class alpaca fibre.

There are six different grades, four lengths and 22 different colours to consider when classing fibre. Griffey describes the process like “picking stones”, it’s something you don’t want to do by yourself. There’s a use for every grade of alpaca fibre.

Alpaca fibre has no memory, or elasticity and needs another fibre blended with it to give it memory and elasticity. Griffey often uses nylon, but she has also tried bamboo and silk.

Alpaca Time is currently the only mill in Canada that creates socks from start to finish. One alpaca can create 25 pairs of socks and it takes three weeks from raw product to finish to make a pair of socks. Socks are one of their flagship products with sales reaching about 6,0007,000 a year. Their goal is to increase their sales to 10,000 socks. One of their other staple products is insoles, which were created by accident after they turned some wool into felt and needed to find a way to get rid of the product. It became so popular that they could no longer make them by hand and have since outsourced that segment of their business to a facility in Toronto.

Their first location began at the family’s homestead where the dairy farm used to be and after they outgrew that location, they sold the farm and purchased the location where they’re at now on Hwy. 9 and

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Sock machines (left) allow Alpaca Time mill to create 7,000 socks a year. Spinners (middle) from the Guelph Guild of Handweavers and Spinners create at their annual show and sale at the Wellington County Museum. Romy Schill (bottom, right) is a sheep farmer and wool producer who networks with artisans to create woollen fashions. The final photo is of Donna Hancock’s angora goats raised near Elora.

26 The Rural Voice

have since tripled in size to 6,000 square feet.

From farm to fashion There seems to be a lot of interest in using fibre to create clothing, accessories and art. The Guelph Guild of Handweavers and Spinners is proof of that. Their annual show and sale at the Wellington County Museum was bustling with visitors who came to learn about fibre arts and engage with local artisans demonstrating various skills including spinning, weaving and lace-making. This year there were 21 exhibits.

“Membership numbers remain steady,” said Mary-Anne Dalkowski, guild president. The guild has about 50 members and are seeing younger people join. Currently their youngest member is in her late 20s explained Dalkowski. A young person herself, Dalkowski joined thanks to her mom and says it’s a great way to meet new people from diverse backgrounds – from doctors to farmers, she notes, but most importantly for her, she says, it’s a great way to relax.

A one-year membership to join is $70 and there are guilds that can be found across Ontario.

There’s a group of people who have emerged that are creating a network of farmers, mills, weavers, knitters, natural dyers and textile designers – Upper Canada Fibreshed.

One of their members, Romy Schill who farms near Wallenstein, hosted the group’s fourth annual general meeting. Schill was featured in The Rural Voice in 2017 along with Sandi Brock, talking about their successes, failures and hopes for the future in the sheep industry. At the time, Schill had just started experimenting with her fibre.

The Upper Canada Fibreshed is comprised of producer and maker members living and working within 400 kilometres of Toronto. The discussion honed in on their farm-tofashion project, where they received a micro grant to match eight farmers, including Schill, with nine designers to create products and kits made of locally-produced wool. The project launched this November. Kits can be purchased though Etsy and Raverly.

You can follow the roll-out of the digital stories from farm to finished

product on Facebook at @UpperCanadaFibreshed.

Ontario is home to one of the largest sheep concentrations in the country, yet there are significant capacity challenges at local mills.

Schill sends her fleece to New Brunswick to be processed as she can’t find a mill in Ontario that can take the volume of fleece that she has available.

Schill decided to do something with her fleece as it hardly covered the shearing costs. She has seen much success in networking with artisans and entering into collaborations including Rita Woolly, the creation of whimsical pom pom earrings made from Schill’s wool.

Her dream is to have a sweater produced with her own wool so that people in Toronto who don’t want to make the product from scratch can still enjoy environmentally-friendly fashion. “There’s so much potential and value for sustainable products grown on our local farms,” said Schill. You can follow Schill on Instagram at @circlerlamb. ◊

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December 2019 27

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Food

GMO crops dominate fields in Canada Concern about genetically modified foods is not for what is known, but for what is unknown • By Gary Kenny •

W

hether we care or not, chances are we are eating, possibly every day, whole food items that are genetically modified (GM) and/or processed foods that contain GM ingredients.

Few of these foods are labelled as such. There is no law in Canada requiring food manufacturers to do so. Any “GMO Free” labelling we may encounter is voluntary.

Does this matter? Have GM foods been adequately tested for their safety? Are we worried about possible adverse health effects of GM foods?

As eaters, we will have to answer these questions for ourselves. Doing so may not be easy. A 2018 study on GM plant- and animal-based foods in Canada by researchers at Dalhousie University registered confusion among Canadians on the subject of GM foods. The study found that the majority of Canadians – 56.3 per cent – believe that GM food is thoroughly tested before it reaches consumers, compared with just 16 percent who disagree.

Canadians are also deeply divided on the safety of GM foods.

Dalhousie’s research, which surveyed 1,049 Canadians, found that 37.7 percent believe GM food is safe to consume, while 34.7 percent believe it is not safe to eat, and 27.6 percent didn’t have an opinion.

Thirty-five percent said the health effects of GM food are fully understood, while 44 percent said they disagreed.

What are GM or genetically engineered (GE) foods anyway? To answer that question, it is helpful to know what GMOs are. According to the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), GMOs are organisms – plants, animals or micro-

organisms – in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.

It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, and also between nonrelated species. Foods containing GMOs are referred to as GM foods.

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), comprised of 16 groups that research, monitor and raise awareness about issues of genetic engineering in food and farming, keeps tabs on the number of GM crops available in Canada. GM crops currently grown are canola, corn, soybeans, and sugar beets.

They are mostly exported to other countries. GM cotton, papaya,

alfalfa, squash and, a new food product, GM Atlantic salmon, also are present. Myriad processed foods containing one or more GM ingredients line the shelves of our neighbourhood supermarkets.

Ninety percent of all crops grown in Canada are genetically modified and an estimated 75 to 85 per cent of the food available for sale has at least one GM ingredient, says Sylvain Charlebois, dean of management at Dalhousie and lead author of the aforementioned study.

Because almost all canola and much corn grown in Canada is GM, and because canola oil, like corn derivatives, are present in so many of the processed foods we eat, it is a challenge for Canadians to avoid

There is no law in Canada requiring manufacturers to label foods that are genetically modified (GMO) or contain genetically modified ingredients.

Understanding what GMOs are and deciding whether they are beneficial or not can be as complicated as decoding DNA.

December 2019 29

The recent introduction of genetically modified salmon into the Canadian market is further proof of the distance between those who support or decry GMOs. Critics love the product’s taste and it is marketed as “one of the world’s healthiest foods” but if the GM salmon escape, how will they affect the wild salmon populaton?

consuming GMOs. The sure way to do so is to avoid processed foods altogether and eat only organicallygrown whole foods or processed foods labeled “GMO free.”

Many advocates of biotechnology sing its praises. Farmers who use GMO technologies can increase production yields (by minimizing pest-related losses) or financial returns (by reducing labour). In 2014 the Geneva-based Alimentarium, an international food museum, conducted an analysis of 147 studies conducted around the world over the previous 20 years. It stated that “on average, GM technology adoption has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37 per cent, increased crop yields by 22 per cent, and increased farmer profits by 68 per cent.”

Although these claims, if correct, have obvious appeal for agricultural production, opponents of GMOs say the uncertainties they pose, in relation to environmental impacts, outweigh any benefits. They cite, among other concerns, the possibility of transferring genes to other species and consolidation of intensive cultivation at the expense of other, more sustainable, approaches.

Bayer, a multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences corporation, is a major corporate player on the GMO block. It claims to provide farmers with biotechnological tools to address 30 The Rural Voice

their specific challenges while preserving natural resources. The more tools in the biotech toolbox, Bayer says, the greater the chances of farmers being successful.

Bayer also categorically states that “GMOs are safe.” Not one scientifically tenable study has ever indicated any risk to health posed by the use of genetic engineering in crop breeding, Bayer states on its website.

In 2016, representatives from 15 scientific societies met to explore the findings from more than 900 research and other publications on the purported negative effects and benefits of GMO crops, Bayer adds.

The review found no evidence of risk to human health or the environment.

“Regulatory authorities around the world have concluded that GM crops are as safe for humans, animals, and the environment as non-GM crops,” Bayer says.

On the face of it, Bayer’s claim is correct. The UN’s WHO, for example, has stated that, “GM foods currently available on the international market have passed safety assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health. In addition, no effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by the general population in the countries where they have been approved.”

In Canada, Health Canada monitors all GM foods to ensure they

are safe before they can be sold.

CBAN acknowledges that each GM food on the market in Canada has been assessed for safety by Health Canada. But the regulatory agency does not conduct its own tests on GM foods, CBAN says. It relies on information provided by companies, like Bayer, that seek approval for their products. The information is not public.

“The potential risks from eating GM foods have not been fully investigated and there is no scientific basis to conclude that GM foods are safe,” CBAN says.

Globally, CBAN adds, “there is very little independent science on GM food safety questions, partly because governments are content to rely on corporate science to assess the safety of new GM foods.” Studies that do exist, CBAN says, indicate that “the process of genetic engineering could result in toxic effects, allergic responses, or altered nutrition.”

Additionally, CBAN says, “there is no monitoring of GM foods which means we do not know if the foods we have been eating for the past 20 years have had any health impacts.”

The recent introduction of GM Atlantic salmon into the Canadian market demonstrates, depending on your point of view, what is right or wrong about GMOs. Produced by AquaBounty, GM salmon is the world’s first-ever genetically engineered food animal. The fish eggs are currently produced at a facility in Prince Edward Island and then shipped to a small factory in Panama where they are grown to a harvestable size and then exported to foreign markets, including Canada.

AquaBounty calls its GM salmon “one of the world’s healthiest foods.”

It’s “low in calories, low in saturated and trans fats, and an excellent source of protein, essential vitamins, minerals, and heart-friendly omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids,” says the company, which maintains offices in both the U.S. and Canada.

When consumers read assurances like those given by AquaBounty – and there seems to be no obvious reason to doubt them – they are naturally attracted to the product.

Then more so when food writers like

the Toronto Star’s Michelle Henry trumpet the product.

Of AquaBounty’s GM salmon Henry wrote, “The flesh is exquisite.

Buttery, light, juicy. Just as Atlantic salmon should be.”

But are there really no risks?

Human health concerns aside, Food Secure Canada (FSC) has warned that, if the GM salmon escape, they may be able to survive and breed in the wild. FSC, an umbrella for some 32 Canadian organizations, cite a Canadian study showing that GM salmon are capable of breeding with brown trout. Researchers have found that GM salmon grown experimentally were more aggressive in times of scarcity and could outcompete wild salmon for food.

Ultimately, FSC says, the full environmental impacts of GM fish will only be known if an escape happens. Once released into the environment GMOs, whether fish or plants, can be difficult or impossible to control, CBAN says.

The possible impacts of GMOs on the environment, in particular on soil, are a source of great contention.

Round-up Ready crops utilising glyphosate as a systemic pesticide have enabled farmers to adopt no-till practices. By avoiding ploughing and reducing the number of tractor passes in fields, they can reduce fossil fuel use and facilitate the storage of carbon in the soil.

GM Watch, an independent organisation that seeks to counter the “enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters,” believes that the use of glyphosate with GM crops actually causes serious problems for soil and plant health. Evidence is mounting, GM Watch says, that the herbicide lingers in the soil much longer than anticipated.

Negative impacts, GM Watch says, include absorption by nontarget crops through roots, suppression of beneficial mycorrhizal fungi (which enable plants to acquire more nutrients from the surrounding soil and confer protection against diseases), increase in potentially pathogenic microorganisms, reduction in earthworm activity, and chemical residues in soil and water.

W

ho do conscientious eaters and farmers believe? The manufacturers of GMOs who stand to make billions of dollars from their sale, or independent research bodies concerned about human health and the environment and have no financial stake in biotech?

Labelling would seem to offer eaters opposed to GM foods some conciliation. According to CBAN, 80 percent of Canadians want GM foods labelled. But labelling has its challenges. GM foods like sugar, canola and corn are widespread in our food supply. GM corn, for example, is made into high fructose corn syrup which is used in countless processed foods – breakfast cereals, yogurt, soft drinks, frozen entrees, salad dressings and condiments to name but a few. Manufacturers balk at the complexity and cost of labelling these foods as containing GM ingredients.

Consumer boycotts are another disincentive. By labelling processed foods as containing or possibly containing GMOs, manufacturers

fear consumers may avoid products leading to diminished profits.

For some, only a moratorium on GMOs will suffice, such is the extent and depth of concern about the dangers they pose. In a major study in 2005, The United Church of Canada wrestled with the GMO question. “Our concern with genetically modified foods is not what we know about their safety, but rather what we don't know,” the Church concluded. That uncertainty compelled the Church to call on the Canadian government to declare an immediate moratorium on the approval of new GM food varieties until a more rigorous and independent system of approving, regulating, monitoring, and labelling GM foods has been fully implemented.

Fifteen years later, the wishes of the United Church and other Canadians who share them have not been met, and the debate about GMOs continues – while new GM food products like unlabelled GM Atlantic salmon come to a supermarket near you. ◊

May your hearts and homes be filled with the magic of Christmas and your new year be filled with exciƟng possibiliƟes.

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December 2019 31

Leadership

As one reflects, the other connects There’s been a change of scenery for leaders at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture

While Neil Currie (above) looks forward to spending time outside the office after working 19 years as General Manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Cathy Lennon (right) of Rockford has moved into his former office space and is taking on the challenge of leading the OFA to help Ontario farmers prosper.

• By Lisa B. Pot •

A

fter hearing Cathy Lennon’s extensive resume and analyzing her skillset, I asked her if she felt she was a bridge, or a facilitator or a connector. It seemed as she described her past career choices, all three were relevant.

Connector was the descriptor that resonated with Lennon, the new General Manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). She took over the position in August, replacing Neil Currie who recently retired after managing the general farm organization for close to 20 years.

Facing different challenges but equally keen on the idea of “one voice” for Ontario’s farmers, both Currie and Lennon have had a few months to settle into their new roles. In an interview with The Rural Voice, they talked about the change of scenery with Lennon speaking from her new office in Guelph while Currie took a break from 32 The Rural Voice

raking leaves on his farm near Brantford.

“Yes, you caught me raking leaves,” he laughed. “And yes, it feels good not being in an office!” Embracing retirement, Currie said he will always be there if the OFA needs him but he knew it was time to retire, just shy of the 20 year milestone.

“I’m one of those guys who believes in paying attention to voices,” he says, describing how, at the last annual general meeting of the OFA, he was walking across the carpet towards the stage when he heard a voice in his head saying, “this will be your last one”. Rather than being an ominous message, he met it with relief and certainty. “I gave the OFA six months notice and then I retired. It was time to pass the organization onto someone with new energy and new ideas.”

He did enjoy his 19 years and eight months very much.

“There’s never a dull moment at the OFA! It was

stimulating and exciting work.”

Coming into the organization back in January of 2000 was challenging.

He had come from working at the federal level with the Egg Marketing Agency in Ottawa.

“It was quite different stepping into a provincial organization, particularly one as large as the OFA,” remembers Currie. There were new rules, new politics, new policies and new legislation.

He had also walked into money problems.

The Agriculture Publishing Corporation, of which the OFA was a major stakeholder, had gone bankrupt. Out of that arose Better Farming magazine but at the time, the bankruptcy was a complicated business.

The grain sector was in turmoil with declining margins and a reduction in farm safety nets. The hog industry was also in dire straits, the Walkerton water crisis was a huge issue and then the OFA’s own pension plan (in connection with United Cooperative of Ontario) also went bankrupt.

“Those were challenging times,” says Currie.

Eventually, through collaborative efforts and market changes, the grain market recovered and hog prices rebounded.

Even the Walkerton water crisis, while it was a tragedy, resulted in some positive legislation. “It forever changed the face of farming because it put the focus on water issues and environmental issues,” says Currie.

While cattle farming was suspect, out of that fear of contaminated wells came a nutrient management act. The draft version of the act wasn’t well received and the minister receiving many farmer complaints withdrew it, “to her credit, she rewrote the legislation with the result that it became a good policy,” says Currie.

“It really was a watershed moment for farming, helping people become aware of the need to protect their water sources.”

Twenty years later, Currie says the OFA is in great shape. It is respected, it is financially sound and the team that Lennon will be leading is exemplary, says Currie.

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Cathy Lennon General Manager, OFA

really are experts. We use them to develop and be proactive about policy,” says Currie. “Leaving the OFA, I would say I am most proud of the team that I am leaving in Cathy’s care.”

That, and the “one voice” idea.

Currie says farmers are a strongwilled bunch and there are always going to be diversity in thought.

“They have no shortage of opinions!” laughs Currie. However, as a general farm organization, the OFA has made “strong progress” in recognizing when commodity groups need to take the lead and when the OFA should lead on general issues.

“Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the two so constant communication is necessary to make sure everyone is similar in terms of message. Maybe it has evolved from a different perspective but it should be with the same goal in mind,” he says.

Ultimately, says Currie, working together strategically is much more effective than being in opposition. ennon agrees. “As long as I have been around, there has been a desire for agriculture to speak with one voice. To potentially be the one to facilitate discussion and bring joint concerns forward is something I am passionate about,” says Lennon, who says recent animal welfare and activism legislation that

L

34 The Rural Voice

has just been released by the provincial government is exactly where “one voice” will be critical.

“We have an opportunity as the OFA to bring together all the groups that are impacted whether they be fur breeders, or pork or dairy or poultry.

We can ask them for their perspective, what are the gaps in each sector and how can we make sure at the end of the day that this legislation mets the needs of Ontario agriculture.”

Lennon says she is a listener and likes nothing more than to “connect the dots” between farmers, businesses and government programs so that people can create projects and be successful.

She’s had a lot of experience doing just that.

Though her plan was to become a lawyer after getting her degree at the University of Waterloo, Lennon found herself filling a co-op placement at the University of Guelph when one university’s abundance of jobs (Guelph) was partnered with another university’s abundance of students (Waterloo).

She found herself learning with, and later working for, the Agriculture Adaptation Council in a trajectory that would transform her career goals to focus on leading agriculture organizations.

This surprised her. Lennon’s grandparents had been dairy farmers in Perth County but her father and his eight siblings did not choose careers in agriculture. Neither did the 21 other grandkids from those nine siblings. “I am the only one directly involved in agriculture,” she says, wonderingly.

Which makes it all the more delightful to her that her daugher, now 10, is already saving money to buy her own farm one day. This vision is what she hopes to inspire in the farming youth because it is a huge concern for many OFA members.

Lennon does not live on a farm but over her career, she has worked for Ontario Sheep Farmers, AgriCorp, Farm Credit Canada, and then the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers.

One of the successes she has been proud to be part of along the way was

introducing a branded, Ontario fresh premium lamb program to the retail market. “That is going back 15 years ago when there wasn’t a provincial program encouraging consumers to choose fresh, retail lamb over imported products,” says Lennon.

While with FCC, she had a national portfolio specializing in the seed, chemical and fertilizer business. “That really taught me how farmers and agribusiness experience cash flow challenges with huge expenses in the fall that cannot be recouped until the following year. I did a lot of work understanding cycles and helping people farm,” recalls Lennon.

A new processing plant created in Wallaceburg to process pickles under the Strub brand was another project Lennon was proud to be part of.

“Much of it was facilitating discussions between processors and growers in the area and teaching the company (Whytes) the regulated market scheme in Ontario versus Quebec.”

Lennon says her experience in all these different sectors has given her a broad perspective which will help her understand all the issues that fall under the OFA portfolio.

Her other passion is communication. “The OFA needs to make use of many channels to reach its members, stakeholders and government,” says Lennon. “We need to keep people’s eyes open to all the work the OFA is doing and turn that work into messages.”

Communication goes both ways and in the few months she has been on the job, Lennon has made an effort to attend as many annual meetings as possible. “I want to hear from farmers what the top priorities are.” So far, the three primary issues have been: 1) Attracting youth to farming and agricultural leadership 2) Animal activism 3)The trade file and closed borders.

In terms of her vision, one idea that Lennon is very excited about is expanding on the Producing Prosperity in Ontario message.

“To me, producing prosperity is all about investing in rural Ontario because that brings business, which

brings jobs, markets for farmers and keeps kids in rural schools,” says Lennon. That includes maximizing use of natural gas, getting rural broadband across the province, and attracting big business to the larger centres. She cites the Dr. Oetker pizza facility in London. Last year, the plant size doubled to 18,000 pizzas per day which creates a huge market for Ontario farmers to supply cheese, vegetables and meat.

One of the challenges ahead will be to encourage the next generation to take leadership roles in farm organizations. “We have to look at how we can get young people to an OFA event. I think instead of asking them to be on a committee, we have to start smaller, like helping with a project like a farm show,” says Lennon.

Another challenge is to figure out where and how to dedicate limited resources. “We have a great board and staff but there are an incredible number of issues that come up every day from individual farmers all the way up to the provincial government,” says Lennon.

She does encourage farmers and agribusiness to make the most of the current Conservative MPs in office.

“Traditionally, the Conservatives have a strong bias for rural Ontario and many MPs have a real connection to rural Ontario. We have a good opportunity right now to talk about our need for natural gas and broadband and have our voices heard in Queen’s Park,” says Lennon.

Looking forward, she hopes she can inspire involvement and commitment to agriculture because there are exciting opportunities in agriculture for everyone who comes to the table willing to bring their voice to the issues at hand.

Before returning to his raking, Currie had some encouraging words to pass onto his successor, citing her vast skillset for the job.

“She has tremendous energy and experience,” says Currie. “And she is a great networker. She works very well with people. She can bring people together and do the collaborative work that is so important in the OFA,” he concluded. ◊

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Canning: Saving the sunshine flavour

The pantry in Hetty Stuart’s Wingham-area home is filled with colourful jars of peaches, beans, applesauce, pickles and tomatoes.

She loves to share her knowledge of canning with the next generation.

The next generation is discovering the cost savings, health benefits and joys of canning, and it’s about time!

• By Hetty Stuart •

I

n my exuberance for the art of canning, I’ve spoken to my friends over the summer about canning experiences. I am taken aback at the number of 50-year-olds and older who no longer can. “Too much work,” they say. “Not enough time,” they explain. “Been there, done that,” they say with an eyeball roll.

Then, there is another generation that is taking life by storm – the 30something year olds. With young ones underfoot, they ambitiously put the word out that they are in search of more pint jars. THEY CAN!!

With complete abandon and joy!

There seems to be a grass-roots movement stirring among those women (and some men too) whose philosophy for future living is much “greener” than my generation.

These women mostly have the support and background from their December 2019 37

own mothers; but failing that support, they turn to the ever-present You-Tube channels, or old recipe books. I have used the signature Ball Blue Book – an excellent guide to preserving – for my canning inspiration. This book says – in words that make my heart soar –“The irresistible appeal of canning and preserving is timeless. Let the whole family join in the fun of harvesting, preparing, simmering and preserving homemade goodness.” Oh, yes, let the family indeed capture the abundance, the nutrition, the sweetness of the sunshine!

Even though my mother canned regularly throughout the season, I did not learn the art of canning from her.

She focussed her whirlwind energy on working alone, efficiently accomplishing the blanching, boiling, cleaning, and preserving, by herself.

Her five daughters, of which I am one, did all the food preparation at the kitchen table and never really learned the finer details of canning.

Incidentally, she also used the oldschool inversion method of canning, which was standard procedure in Europe. She couldn’t understand the “Canadian” method, with the hot water bath. Despite her dire warnings of the dangers of inversion canning, we have all lived to tell the tale.

In school, I had an excellent Home Economics class at F.E. Madill, where we learned very exacting methods of canning. (How I mourn the absence of culinary classes in present-day high school!) I loved the art of preserving from the start – it was a scientific process, moving from heaping baskets of peaches to full jars on the countertops – complete with popping sounds as the jars sealed into their state of submission.

In my adult years, my canning days began after we had our daughter: I processed a bushel of peaches without sugar to maintain her sugar-free diet. It took a couple years to finally finish off those tasteless offerings, and our daughter was gnawing on candy canes by Christmas. So much for sugar-free!

Live and learn is my motto and I have not stopped canning since. This year, in addition to the regular pickles, peaches and applesauce, I 38 The Rural Voice

Extra hands make lighter work when it comes to canning fruit like peaches.

Canning allows home preservers to control sugar content and preserve fruits and vegetables at peak ripe stage. Shelves of colourful jars are a welcome sight once winter arrives.

canned tomato soup. This was something new for me to try and I was amazed at the lovely flavour. I cannot wait to open a jar on a future blustery day when the gardens are void of all colour and bounty.

My daughter has her own little girls trailing after her now. At their young ages, they are watching with excitement as their mom plants seeds in mid-February.

“There is something quite miraculous about witnessing a plant growing from a teeny, tiny seed, especially when viewed through the eyes of a child,” she admits. This little family is making some very conscientious choices as to growing and purchasing their food within a 100-mile radius, making their girls aware of the negative impact that our global food system has on the environment. The total number of miles that their food has travelled to get to their table is very minimal, as is their accompanying carbon footprint. Their desire is to educate

their children to be good stewards of the earth.

I, too, am amazed, as I watch seedlings take root. My busy mind can relax and unfold as the sun warms the skies above, and my feet dig into the soft earth beneath. And then, the growing begins. The rows of empty jars are brought to the kitchen floor – hinting, suggesting, SHOUTING every day to be filled.

And the process starts.

“Harvest time,” says my daughter, “is not for the faint of heart.” As she immerses herself in the throes of preserving, her mind goes dreamily to “snowy landscapes, void of any form of work-inducing vegetation.”

She is pining for winter.

What causes this irrational enthusiasm, this manic desire to fill those jars? Without even hesitating to think deeply, I can offer 10 reasons: • When the gardens are bursting with abundance – or the prices of inseason fruits and vegetables are

excellent, well – you buy and can.

We bought peaches, seconds, for $30 a bushel. That is an incredible savings for peaches that had hardly any indentations or bruises. We just turned the blemished ones into jam.

“Waste not, want not,” is an expression my Dutch mother used to say. In the same place that we bought our peaches, a quart of canned peaches cost $10. At approximately 20 jars per bushel, my $30 turns into $200. (Except, mine are not for sale!)

• The taste is amazing. Being able to pick a sun-ripened tomato and process it into a sauce, soup or salsa is lip-smacking good.

• By growing your own vegetables, or purchasing from a known source, you by-pass the harmful pesticides that go into any canned goods off the grocery shelves. I never worry about extra sodium, or unrecognizable ingredients in my jars.

• The sugar amounts are also controlled by you.

• I have family members who have farms, the old-fashioned farms where apple trees were part of the pioneering landscape. These old, gnarled trees still produce bushels of juicy apples. Solomon in all his glory cannot convince me that his “apples of gold in pitchers of silver” will rival my apples of red in bowls of green. To this simmering pot, I like to add crabapples. What a pucker-up, tasty, red sauce that makes!

• I love to hear the rewarding symphony of cans on the counter, obediently popping as they make their seal. “Thank you,” I am wont to say to no one in general, my jars in particular.

• I have a pantry full of unique gifts to give to hostesses and friends, and for stocking stuffers. Nothing says “I love you” quite like a jar of strawberry jam. It is such a rewarding feeling to pass along these traditions.

I feel like “Ma” in Little House on the Prairies, and it’s a terrific, connective feeling.

• In the dead of winter, when a nasty cold assails my whole body and nothing pleases my taste buds, then a jar of pale pears hits me in my sweet spot, and suddenly, my

heart will sing!

• Winter storms bring unexpected power outages in our neck of the woods. Not having to worry about a freezer full of food is pleasant indeed. Even though I still freeze a lot, I know that my pantry shelves are full, and that they will last at least a couple of years. Food security is knowing it’s always there!

• Everybody uses a form of canned tomatoes for things such as pasta, pizza, soups, stews and sauces.

Tomatoes couldn’t be easier to preserve. My jars of tomato soup came from produce in my garden which is less than 40 feet away. I did not rely on a truck belching out

emissions to provide me with the food that I serve on my table. That fact alone makes the cloud of steam that accompanies my canning so worthwhile!

• I’d like to think I’ve equipped the younger generation in some way with the appreciation and skills to preserve. By doing so, I’ve connected another generation to that cloud of witnesses who have gone before me.

What a timeless connection to the past, this preserving is. This traditional method allows us to relate with our mothers, our heritages, our cookbooks. My niece tells me fondly that she remembers working in the kitchen with her mom, all of them

The Stuarts bought bushels of second peaches this season, turning $30 of raw peaches into $200 worth of canned fruit for the winter season. Here, Hetty’s husband Greg, helps with the canning process in their home kitchen near Wingham.

December 2019 39

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standing together in a row by the sink, each with a job to do. What a warm memory to preserve, right alongside the jars of pickled beets!

For myself, as a kid growing up on the farm, we lived off the land almost exclusively. I know that if I had to, I could still live this way, mostly because I have learned, among other things, the skills of preserving!

So, now that you are semiconvinced that this canning process is worthwhile, what are the how-tos?

Well, there are many sources available. This article cannot possibly summarize all the details, but I do have a trick or two from my own kitchen to share.

• This is the first year in my 40 years of canning that I have ever used a magnetic lid wand. I saw my cousin use it when we canned peaches together, and immediately bought my own. What a difference this little $5 gadget makes! Buy one. Now. You will never burn your fingers again when the magnetic wand lifts the hot lids from

the pan of water.

• Be prepared, and organized.

Have everything at your fingertips lids in their hot bath, jars in the oven to sterilize, sugar and funnels and lemon juice at the ready. I have a turkey cooker outside where I do the actual processing. You can truly be your own worst enemy if you do not take the time to organize yourself completely.

• Also, ALWAYS, use new lids.

You should not recycle these.

Canning is still a thrifty way to preserve your food. The jars and screw-on lids are re-usable. There is almost zero waste in canning.

• Do dishes as soon as possible.

Do not wait, not even one second.

You will be thankful when all those big, gangly pots and pans are dripping upside-down on your countertop, as your jars do their proud popping beside them. This is the moment for you to put up your feet and just be thankful.

• If you can get a second set of hands to help, that makes such a difference. My hubby has been roped

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in to help with the peeling, the lifting, and changing the music on my playlist. (I like to listen to music full-blast when I do mindless chores).

When you are finished, and all your stained clothing has been dropped into the washing machine, then it is time to reach for that equally delicious book. Or just sit and unwind. Winter is coming, dear daughter, and the landscape will be void of all vegetation! ◊

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History

Cemetery hunting with Alice Munro • By Reg Thompson •

Alice Munro (seen in this Facebook photo at left) lived in this charming white house in Clinton for many years with her husband, Gerald Fremlin, now deceased. The house quietly went on the market in October and sold to a local resident while Munro moved to be with family. Never a driver but always an explorer, Munro will be missed by Reg Thompson, a friend and local historian, who used to take her on excursions to find historical landmarks, one experience of which he writes about here ...

Nobel prize-winning writer, Alice Munro, has sold her Clinton home but memories of her excursions into Grey County remain 42 The Rural Voice

A

t ten o’clock on a fine morning in late September, I arrived at Alice Munro’s house in Clinton, to pick up Alice and her friend Sally Gregson. We were taking a day trip to Grey County.

This excursion came about from a request Alice made a few weeks earlier.

She asked if I would take her to visit the Mannerow Cemetery again. This was a trip she and her late husband Gerry had done several times. I had not been there before, though I had meant to go for years, ever since they had first told me about it.

Alice does not drive. All their years together it was the team of Gerald Fremlin the geographer, driving, and Alice Munro the writer, riding shotgun.

From that vantage point, she was free to observe, remark and absorb as they explored the countryside. And what has come out of that exploration of the landscape and the life on it is well-known to the world now in the works of Munro.

Alice and Gerry used to travel around with a set of maps that showed in great detail the landforms of southern Ontario. She wrote a fine essay called “What Do You Want To Know For?” about their exploration of Grey County and its varied and interesting terrain, and their chance discovery of the Mannerow Cemetery, the object of our day’s quest. Drumlins, eskers, moraines, glacial till: the evidence of the ice age is easy to spot on the face

of Grey County. That essay was published in 1994 in the PEN Canada travel anthology called Writing Away. It is one of my all-time favourite Munro pieces.

I drove north and east through the counties of Huron, Bruce, and Grey.

It was a warm day, some harvest still going on, just the edge of autumn so far, the beginnings of fall colours.

We discussed the evolving countryside, the changes in buildings, how rare it is to see a big elm now.

We detoured and explored in the towns along the way. In Wingham – the old Lower Town road, Alice’s childhood house, the sites of various old remembered neighbours, the fairgrounds with the metal banner over the gate: To the Fallen Heroes of Turnberry Township – 1914-18, 1939-45.

Alice asked me stop a minute beside the overgrown empty lot where the school used to stand. “The kids beat me up at that school,” she said, and I heard the six-year-old girl and the hurt that has lasted forever.

On to Teeswater we drove, where we saw interesting spires in the skyline, and followed side streets to see the impressive churches they mark. You can tell a lot about a town’s culture and the commitment of its founders and fortunes by the churches they built, and how they stand now.

Then on through Mildmay and Neustadt. The territory becomes noticeably Lutheran. Alice spotted a small cemetery by the roadside and asked if we could stop, so we did, and spent a good half-hour walking among the monuments and history of St. John’s Lutheran.

These people, names, stones were utterly unknown to us, yet we could see the community, the heritage, the family connections between repeated surnames on monuments – the progression of the generations. And as always in an old cemetery, the short lives and early deaths that mark the tragedies and sadnesses of another time.

Then we drove ahead to the very busy town of Hanover. We stopped and lingered over a late lunch.

Leaving Hanover I misread a road sign and mistakenly headed east. It was some time before I discovered

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December 2019 43

the error. We then had to go north, but now were in unanticipated territory. I became pressingly aware of the shrinking afternoon. I was now racing to catch up for meandering time.

Eventually we got to the right area, Sullivan Township, the road to McCullough Lake. Surely we were near the cemetery. But the road wound through a wooded area and around the south end of the lake. I concluded this was a mistake. We looped east on another road, to approach from the extreme north end of the road we had already travelled south on. This was Concession 4.

The cemetery’s geographical location is Lot 19, Concession 4. Still no cemetery.

We passed a driveway sign advertising Accountant Services, and I realized we had seen it a while ago.

We had covered the whole length of the concession with no siting. In frustration, I turned west onto a sideroad, which should not have been the right direction. Over a small hill there was a bend, and near the road, a bungalow. There was a man working at a utility trailer beside the garage. I parked, walked over to him. I explained we were looking for an old cemetery called Cedardale. He said he was from Cambridge and didn’t know the area, but he’d ask his mom.

He fetched mother. I said it’s a small cemetery, called Cedardale, used to be called Mannerows. Mother - God bless her! – said, yes, there’s a cemetery, she’s not sure of the name, but it’s just back down that hill, and around to the right, cross a little bridge, then another right turn, and cross another bridge, and that’s where the cemetery is.

So we did that, and within three minutes we crossed the second bridge, up a slight rise past creek-side cedar trees (hence Cedardale) and there it was. The little cemetery, with the famous earth-mound tomb. I have

“As we drove home across this ordinarily wonderful landscape that Alice has made quietly famous to the world, we were appropriately driving into the sunset.”

had the picture of it in my head nearly 20 years, and here it is. Like a giant barrel lying on its side in the middle of the cemetery, covered in long grass. No gravestones near it.

Alice was overcome with joy.

“Oh, I didn’t think we were going to find it,” she said. “I thought it was getting too late, we were going to have to go home.” And I said, “We came to see the cemetery. It’s not dark yet, Alice; we were not going home without finding it.”

We got out of the car. I grabbed the camera. This was a once-in-alifetime moment. I asked Alice to go over and stand under the iron arch that says Cedardale, and I took her picture. The proof. Then I undid the chain and opened the gate.

We explored the cemetery. I took pictures of the grassy tomb, the big cedar in front of it. Almost identical to the photo of years ago. Maybe the tree is a little bigger? The strange mound is about 20 feet long, seven

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high at the arc of the rounded top. No names, no dates. Stone blocks supporting the rising curve of the mound, and a stone arch in the east end filled and sealed with bricks at ground level. So the burial chamber must be nearly as deep below ground as the rounded mound rises above it.

Think of opening it for a funeral, another occupant, every few years, until it was full. Then sealed up permanently. Never to be opened again. And unlike graves with tombstones, no names, dates, nothing to say who is spending eternity in there.

This was the Mannerow farm.

This is a Mannerow family tomb.

There is a similar smaller tomb in a corner of the cemetery, more Mannerows, no names or marker there either.

Was this an idea the first Mannerows brought from their native Germany? The rest of the cemetery looks as old cemeteries usually look – a variety of styles of monuments, the changing eras in fashion. Many here have German inscriptions, showing the origins of the community.

I took a picture as Alice walked among them, reading the ages, the years, the German words. And I had this thought, as I sometimes do in her company: many people would give anything to be in my shoes right now, to be spending time with Alice Munro. Fans who would be beside themselves with joy at being in the presence of this famous writer. But I am never stunned into amazement; Alice and I have been friends too long for that.

This was 16 days before she won the Nobel prize. She did not change after that. In one of the interviews after the award was announced, she said she is “a straightforward Canadian woman”.

It was a full day. As we drove home across this ordinary wonderful landscape that Alice has made quietly famous to the world, we were appropriately driving into the sunset.

Deceptive ordinariness. When Alice wrote her piece 20 years ago about their discovery of the cemetery and unravelling its history, she ended it by saying “Back where nothing seems to be happening, beyond the

change of seasons.”

It turned out, when I checked the old Grey County atlas from 1880, there was a problem with the 4th Concession location. Lot 19 is a corner lot, so it happens that the access to it is not from the concession road, as you would expect, but from the sideroad that runs along the south side. The cemetery is not even visible from the 4th Concession.

There is a funny aspect to our difficulty in finding the cemetery.

Alice and Gerry had first discovered it by chance, just driving by on the road. When they tried to find it again over a year later, they drove around and could not locate it. They made several visits to the area but without success. A frustrating puzzle.

Alice happened to be in the Clinton library checking the old Grey County atlas for church and cemetery locations when I dropped in. She explained the problem to me. Well, she had forgotten that they had told me about this cemetery with the strange tomb when I was visiting them shortly after the original discovery. And they had given me some directions how to find the cemetery – the names of small places nearby. I had written down a few key words on a piece of paper that I thought I could find in my papers at home. I went home and found it. The words were Peabody, Scone, McCullough Lake.

That was all it took. They realized they had been fixated on an area just south of the right terrain. They found the cemetery with the help of their own directions which they had intended for my future use. After that, Alice was able to write her marvelous essay - “What Do You Want To Know For?” Then on this fine fall day 20 years on, we lost the cemetery and had to rediscover it all over again.

• • • Two days later Alice came to see me at work. She told me what a wonderful day it was, how much she and Sally had enjoyed it. “Can we go again?” she asked, and I said “Of course we can” and she told me she was leaving in a few days for Victoria for the winter, and I thought: Come, Spring. ◊

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December 2019 45

Christmas Memories

A Christmas I will never forget!

Mom and dad insisted we get on our winter clothes and trek to the barn to see what was in the first stall

Dot Daynard (above) remembers the “best Christmas ever” growing up as a child on the farm near Seaforth in 1947. That was the year Major (right) came to live on the farm, a patient pony who allowed the four French kids to have fun on, over or under him!

By Dot (French) Daynard Excitement in the home of the French family of Fullarton township was growing quickly on Christmas Day 1947. Surely Mom and Dad could down their breakfast faster.

The cows were already milked, fed and bedded down, the horses and pigs were enjoying their Christmas breakfast and clean pens, but we four siblings really wanted to get into the living room. You see, we had spotted a huge box under the Christmas tree addressed to Helen, Dorothy, and twins Bob and Bill. What gift would need a box that big?

After what seemed like years, Mom and Dad announced it was time to unveil the surprise so off we raced to our parlour. As we tore off the wrapping paper, the smell of new leather hit us and we spied the gorgeous golden brown leather of a 46 The Rural Voice

new saddle. While it was undeniably beautiful, the note on it was confusing. It said that the saddle was for the horse in the first stall. No, that could not be right! Even we youngsters – ages 4, 6 and 9, knew the horse in that stall was Tony, one of Dad's team, and we all were scared of him. Surely Mom and Dad didn’t expect us to ride him.

With zero enthusiasm, we four young siblings reluctantly pulled on our winter clothes as Mom and Dad insisted we trek to the barn. Why should we? We knew we would never ride Tony. The beautiful saddle was just a wasted gift. Trudging slowly through the glistening white snow, around the creaking wooden gate at the drive shed, and past the cackling hens in the red painted hen house, onward we strolled heading towards the double barn doors, behind which was the horse stable.

As we entered the white-washed stable, the moody silence was suddenly pierced by loud screams.

There in the first stall was THE most splendid brown and white pony we had ever seen. Helen, being older and wiser than her three younger siblings, fortunately admired this beautiful animal from a distance while Bob, Bill and I headed right for him. Of course Mom and Dad panicked and attempted to grab us. However, some of us made it right into the pen and were hugging our new Major, who luckily bore the brunt of our excitement with nonchalance.

That day marked the beginning of a wonderful eight-year friendship with our beloved pony. Whether it was rides around the community, with or without the beautiful saddle, or we were doing acrobatics on his

Christmas back, nothing bothered Major. Sadly in December of 1955, dear Major took very sick and could not be saved. On December 5, we lost our beloved, and way-too-young friend.

Now, so many years later, brother Bob still remembers how the school teacher got angry when he could not remember his lines while practicing for the Christmas concert play.

Obviously she didn’t understand how deeply the death of our beloved Major earlier that day, affected us.

Every time I drive through Seaforth, I think of Dad purchasing Major from the Dixon farm next door to the park, and then hiding him in our uncle’s barn near Mitchell until Christmas Eve when they snuck him into that first pen.

That golden brown saddle still remains a family treasure and resides in our niece’s riding stable. No doubt, she has heard many stories about the years her Dad, her uncle and two aunts used that saddle, beginning that Christmas day 72 years ago. Christmas 1947 was one we four siblings will never forget. ◊

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Looking Back

Dad was more into reality than Santa • By Arnold Mathers •

T

here was always something magical about Christmas Eve when I was growing up on a farm near Wingham. The excitement started a week or so before Christmas. After supper, one night in mid-December, Mother sat my sister and me down at the kitchen table to write our letters to Santa Claus. I remember Mother telling me to draw a picture of what I wanted Santa to bring me for Christmas and she would help me with the words. As my sister was a couple of years younger, Mother wrote her letter for her. There was a lot of prompting and guidance in the writing of our letters to Santa. He could not be expected to bring anything too big or too expensive since he had to get the presents for all the children into the sleigh. I think the “not too expensive” part was probably because of the shortage of money on the home front.

Anyway, the letters were finished and put into an envelope addressed to the North Pole. Mother, my sister and I would walk down the lane to the mail box and leave the letters for Mr. Walker, our mail man, to pick up.

Looking back, I now realize that either Mother or Dad must have made a sneak trip to the mail box a few hours later and retrieved the letters. I should have realized that we never put stamps on those letters to Santa.

Every family has its “remember when” stories and we were no exception. Mother’s family was very much into the Santa tradition. Mother told us a story about what had happened to her family one Christmas Eve. She and her two older brothers were not getting to bed as fast as their parents expected and the children had even expressed the idea that they might stay up and see Santa when he arrived. Her dad told the family that Santa would not come when the children were still awake and might even skip their house 48 The Rural Voice

Santa is like the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan — a beacon of kind giving

When bullies picked on Arnold Mathers as he wobbled around the ice, testing his new skates, the arena manager grabbed the lads and got Mather’s hat back. He was Mather’s “Good Samaritan-Santa” that year.

completely if they did not get to bed soon. Then there was a rattling on the porch and someone with a red hat knocked on the window pane.

Mother told us that she and her brothers ran up the stairs and jumped into bed, setting a new Olympic record. They never knew who was outside since both her mother and dad were inside but years later they realized that the hired man was probably the phantom Santa.

Dad’s family was just the opposite. They were not Santa oriented. It probably wasn’t that they had any sort of disagreement with the jolly old fellow but the circumstances were very different. Dad’s mother died at a very young age and Dad and his brother Charlie were raised by his four maiden aunts who moved in with his father. They were strict,

God-fearing Methodists, probably slightly to the right of John Wesley, and fun was not in their lexicon.

They certainly celebrated Christmas but exchanging presents wasn’t part of it. They were more into reality than Santa. They also suffered from a severe shortage of spare cash. I don’t suppose that Dad ever received a Christmas present from the time his Mother passed away. I certainly never received a gift from that side of the family and we never gave gifts to them. What a pity!

Stockings were a big part of our Christmas tradition. There were some pretty important decisions to be made about Christmas stockings. Which stockings would we hang up? I liked to borrow one of Dad’s wool socks because it would hold much more than my little foot size. Would Santa

realize that I was cheating and leave me a chunk of coal? Mother was sure that Santa might be confused so she made a sign with my name and one with my sister’s name to pin to the wool socks. That was all part of the ruse. We also had to decide where to hang the stocking. Since we did not have a fireplace like the pictures in the magazines, we had to settle for hanging ours over a chair. The next morning we would race downstairs to see if the stockings were full. Always there was an apple or an orange in the toe and a candy cane hanging out of the top. Sometimes, there might be a small gift wrapped in red tissue paper – a car or toy truck for me and a doll for my sister.

We grew up with Santa and the concept of giving anonymously.

Even after we found out that Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were all the same people, we continued to hang up our stockings.

Still today our children and teen-aged grandchildren hang up their stockings on Christmas Eve. Hundreds of thousands of children write letters to Santa asking for gifts.

How many write letters of thanks to Santa? I would guess that the North Pole mail box is pretty quiet in January.

Santa embodies the spirit of Christmas. It is not the government or the church. It is not a program. It is an individual act, unexpected, unseen, and unthanked. It is the Biblical story of the Good Samaritan and it is alive and well today.

There is more to Santa than a stocking or gift on Christmas morning. More and more we see Santa active throughout the year. I was in a line-up in a Dollar store a few months back and a young girl, not too well dressed and with a baby in her arms, had a few things on the counter. She had diapers and milk and baby food and little else. The woman who was ahead of me in line stepped up to the clerk and quietly told her that she would pay for the girl’s order. Bingo! Santa in a dress.

Since then, I have watched for that young girl or a couple like her that need Santa’s help.

The spirit of Santa may be contagious. At a McDonald’s drivethrough a few months ago, a

customer paid for the order of the car behind him. The next customer did the same. In the next hour or so one 153 people in a row did the same thing, all of them not aware that those ahead of them were paying for the order behind them. The Grinch was number 154. ometimes we read about Santa and don’t realize it. When the neighbours pull together to take the crop off for someone who is ill or has been injured, they are playing Santa. When the community turns out to help a family that has had a house fire or an illness, it is a Santa occasion. In our extended family, the community very generously raised the money to buy a van with a special lift for a handicapped child. No one asked for or expected thanks.

When I was a young boy, I was a very poor skater. My first skates were an old pair of used flat-bladed goalie skates. I learned to skate on the pond near our house by pushing an old kitchen chair back and forth across the pond. One Christmas, a few years later, I got a new pair of

S

skates from Mother and Dad. I was very happy that I finally had decent skates. I went to the village arena during the Christmas holidays to skate. I was wobbly-ankled and likely looked like a dork. A couple of the village boys thought it would be fun to take my hat and watch me try to get it back. They were good skaters and they were having fun. I wasn’t. The arena manager came out on the ice and grabbed the two boys and took my hat from them.

He warned them to leave me alone.

Sam was my Santa, my Good Samaritan who helped when least expected.

There are organizations out there doing Santa’s job every day. I like to help and support them. My favourite three are Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the Salvation Army. The guys or gals standing out in the cold ringing the bell for donations, which will go to needy folks, are Santa in disguise. I always talk to them and thank them for what they are doing. I am sure that you do too. ◊

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Recipes by Nancy Fisher

Food indulgences at the Christmas table

I

think everyone has a memory of a special food, be it for Christmas or another festival in December that brings back the warm feelings of family and happy times.

I love Christmas, and I love Christmas food, so to narrow down the choices for this column I decided to focus on three areas; family traditions, eating local, and new special indulgences.

The dishes that fill a family table at this time of year will vary from house to house and will evolve over the years. I don’t know when my family first started having meat pies, but since I love all things in pastry, they have remained a must-have on my holiday table. I think as much as I like eating them, I remember the production of my parents preparing them in the days or weeks prior to the big day. It was a full family affair with everyone crowded into the small kitchen. Cooking together with lots of people can be pure joy. Disaster is never far away, but so is laughter, and stories, and tasting, and sharing.

The best kind of family gatherings.

A few years before he passed I asked my Dad to write down the family recipe for meat pie. What he gave me is one page ripped out from a note book with a hand-written outline of a recipe. I think he believed I should just know how to do it after being part of it for so many years. So every year I start out thinking how do I do this again? And then I just trust the process and it always seems to work.

Fisher Family Meat Pies I do make my pastry in a food processor, something my parents would never have done, and I doubt mine will ever be as good as Mom’s but here it is.

Food processor pastry 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup of both cold butter and shortening that has been in the freezer – cubed 1 egg beaten with 2 teaspoons of vinegar Ice water – add to egg and vinegar to

50 The Rural Voice

Bakewell Blondies (above) are a new indulgence for the Fisher family. Added to recipes that are family traditions with an intent to eat local, having a little indulgence at the Christmas table adds sweet fun to the celebration. make 2/3 of a cup In a food processor with the blade attachment mix flour, salt, butter and shortening. Pulse until mixture becomes crumbs. With machine running add the combined liquid and process until it forms a ball. Press into two two discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour. Then roll out on a floured surface and cut as needed.

Meat Pie Filling Splash of oil for sautéing 2 lbs ground beef ½ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup grated carrot

½ cup finely diced celery 2 tablespoons flour 1 - 2 cups of beef stock 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (my dad wrote HP sauce, but I’m sure he used this…you could use either) 1 egg for wash In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven on medium high heat, sauté the onion, carrot and celery until soft, add the ground beef and break up, cooking until brown. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of flour and stir until absorbed. Pour in the stock scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate all the best stuck-on bits and keep

Recipes stirring over medium low heat until the sauce thickens. You don’t want a lot of gravy, just enough to keep the filling moist. Add salt and pepper and Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Cool slightly before filling pastry.

Roll out your pastry and form into muffin cups for individual pies or a single pie pan. Spoon filling to ½ inch below edge and place a top crust on, pinching the edges, or use a fork to press down. Make sure to poke some air holes in the top to vent the steam. To give them a nice golden top, brush with a wash of egg.

Bake at 400 °F for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. I often make these a few weeks before Christmas and then wrap and freeze.

To serve, thaw in the fridge for a few hours, remove plastic wrap, then place in a hot oven covered with foil until warm through.

Keep it Local Next to your family, friends and the community around us make our holiday season even brighter. Why not try to make sure to include as many local foods on your holiday table as you can? In fact why not do that all year round? All the items in this dish can be bought from a local producer. These are a step up from just regular boiled carrots and while they are definitely on the sweet side, the cinnamon in the apple butter shines through. You could also use a mix of parsnips and carrots.

Apple Butter Glazed Carrots 5 – 6 large carrots cut into 2 inch sticks 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/3 cup apple butter 1 tablespoon honey ½ - 1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme Salt and pepper to taste Wash and prepare your carrots to your preference. Place in a large bowl and drizzle with the oil. In a small bowl combine apple butter, honey and thyme. If using fresh thyme save some for sprinkling over top. Pour sauce over carrots and spread on a foil lined baking sheet.

This is a generous amount of sauce, but you can add more vegetables if you prefer it less saucy.

Bake at 400 °F for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. If you prefer your carrots softer you could

par boil them before coating and batter slightly. It may help to heat the roasting. jam in the microwave briefly to New Indulgences soften.

And we can’t forget the treat Sprinkle with almond flakes. Bake table. I look forward to old favourites 35 – 40 minutes making sure it is and new tastes every year. firm in centre. Cool in the pan and This year I’m adding these to the then cut into squares. mix. I’m a big fan of the Bakewell These are a tasty little treat and tart and I came across this idea and something new for your cookie trays. had to try it. Kind of like a blonde I hope everyone enjoys family and brownie, but with more almond friends and lots and lots of wonderful flavour. I used my own homemade food this season! black raspberry jam, but if you are Merry Christmas. ◊ using store bought raspberry jam I recommend a seedless one.

Bakewell Blondies Adapted to North A m e r i c a n measurements from Jane’s Patisserie blog Line a 9” X 9” cake pan with parchment.

Set oven to 350 °F. 1 1/3 cups melted unsalted butter 2/3 cup white sugar 2/3 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional) 1 cup ground almonds 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon cornstarch 200 grams (almost a whole bag it’s ok to eat a few) white chocolate chips ½ - 1 cup seedless raspberry jam (could use other flavours but raspberry is traditional.) ½ cup flaked almonds Mix melted butter with both sugars until smooth. Add eggs and almond extract, mix, then add flour, ground almonds, and cornstarch mixing until well combined. Fold in white chocolate chips. Meat pies (above) are a family tradition for the Fisher Spread in prepared family. A mutual love of pastry brings the family into pan smoothing out top. the kitchen to make the little treats. A desire to eat Dollop jam over the local makes carrots (top) a perfect dish. These carrots top and swirl into are glazed with apple butter.

December 2019 51

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Gardening Rhea HamiltonSeeger is a skilled cook and gardener who lives near Auburn.

Giving the gift of nature December is upon us. As we turn our thoughts from our gardens to our family and the festive season we are challenged with finding meaningful gifts.

As adults, particularly grandparents, we have the unique opportunity to offer experiences and opportunities to open children up to nature and all the joys and mysteries it offers.

I have been reading with some interest a number of articles that put a finger on problems that I think we sensed were related to loss of nature but had no words for. Children are experiencing stress, bullying, and poor self-esteem. I am not saying it can all be cured with sending the kids outside but it may help us sort things out.

How many of you, as children, were turned loose in the neighbourhood during the summer?

You came home for meals and then at the end of the day for a quick wash and into bed at night, to wake up and do it all over again the next day!

Kids that had chores like weeding a garden, picking peas or beans, husking corn, or even taking care of a farm animal or pet all learned about responsibility, and gained selfconfidence and empathy. While the tasks were simple, we are now learning just how important they are to the healthy development of our children.

We have two scenarios going on here, loss of understanding where our food comes from and loss of connection with nature.

Many of us have felt that the younger generation is having a growing disconnect with nature.

54 The Rural Voice

“Plant blindness” was first coined in 1998 and refers to the fact that a growing number of humans don’t know that we depend on plants to survive. Imagine! Maybe it’s understandable if you live in large communities and all of your food comes from the store. We were once dominated by agriculture with over half our population, before 1900, involved in agriculture. Now the figure is less than two per cent.

What was once folk wisdom is now of medical interest. The Nature Conservancy of Canada published a wonderful article in their fall publication about prescribing nature.

There is evidence that contact, even if only visually, makes a difference.

Something as simple as being able to look out a window and see greenery has surgical patients needing fewer painkillers.

When Goderich suffered through the tornado of 2011, the loss of trees was almost palatable. Buildings were rebuilt but the loss of the green canopy in the streetscape is taking some time to learn to live with. But we have to wait patiently for the regrowth. Continued studies show that even having as few as 10 more trees in a city block improves self-

perceived health, equivalent to being seven years younger or $10,000 a year richer. When I read this I thought of those four acres I planted two years ago are certainly going to make me feel that way! Well maybe not richer but certainly younger.

This is all leading up to how we treat the environment. We will protect what we love. So we have to learn we need plants to survive and green spaces to thrive. Once we grasp that, it is an easy leap to understand we will protect what we love.

So we have to bring this all home.

What to give little Johnny or Sarah for Christmas will be easy. We talked about experiences. A gift of a seed catalogue and spending time picking out what to plant in the spring would make a wonderful gift. Dedicating a spot in the garden or a raised bed on the edge of the deck or patio works with this. Even a tomato and lettuce in a small planter makes a wonderful gift.

Visits to local maple syrup producers and farms like McCully’s Farms by St. Marys will work wonders with young ones. McCully’s offer curriculum-based programs September through June starting with

When choosing Christmas gifts for grandchildren, what could be better than experiences and opportunities? Such as taking along a grandson, like little Andrew (above left) to discover puffballs or giving grandson Julien (above right) the opportunity to help plant tulip trees? Julien will have a connection with those trees, and a connection to nature, which is key to healthy development, believes their grandmother Rhea.

Gardening a trip to the sugar bush, then spring planting followed by harvest time.

Local farmers’ markets introduce our children to the growers in the community, the ones who work hard to bring us tasty food for our tables.

A drive around the countryside locating the farms teamed up with a picnic is another great outing.

We have a wonderful network of trails through many counties. There are portions that are doable for all age groups and all levels of mobility.

Take your time; walking is not a marathon sport when communing with nature.

There are still greenhouses to visit like Huron Ridge that offer plants seasonally. If you have not taken in their poinsettia show, it is worth the drive. The Butterfly Conservancy east of Kitchener is another must see.

Make sure the kids wear orange or pink to attract the butterflies to their clothes. A great reference book for the family will have them looking for butterflies in their own yards. We have assorted butterfly, reptile and bird books inside our back door for quick and easy reference.

Then there are the big projects.

Planting trees ranks right up there.

There are any number of opportunities in your community to plant trees either through the school or local conservation authorities.

Years ago we joined up with the local scout troop in which our son was a member, to reforest an old farmstead. It looks wonderful today and our kids can point to where they were planting trees back then.

Even trees in your yard or local park make a mark on a child that lasts their lifetime. The slender oak tree in the lane that our oldest grandchild helped plant always draws his eye when he comes to visit. He has a connection.

The next item would be to collect seeds to plant out in the fall or hold until spring. Something as simple as beans pushes home the idea that we are dependent on plants and we need to be active in the propagation.

We have so many wonderful projects and outings to do with our kids. It is going to be an educational time. Shhh don’t tell the kids.

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December 2019 55

Advice • By Linaya Pot •

Diarrhea therapy for dairy calves Fluid therapy with oral electrolytes is an absolute must, say calf experts at Smart Calf Rearing conference

D

ue to its commonality and long-term consequences, diarrhea in young dairy calves is not something to take lightly. Calf diarrhea can cause reduced growth efficiency, older age at first calving and decreased milk production during first lactation.

All of this, on average, can cost the Ontario producer $1,309 per calf.

This highlights the importance of identifying and treating scours in dairy calves.

“What’s really important is to identify the calves who are dehydrated, because these are the ones who really need that early attention,” emphasizes Dr. Dave Renaud to the attendees of the 2019 Smart Calf Rearing Conference at the University of Guelph. Dr. Renaud is a veterinary epidemiologist in the Department of Population Medicine.

Over 250 producers and industry professionals attended the conference’s Producer Day to learn from both scientists and producers on topics regarding calf health and rearing practices.

Aside from the obvious fecal scouring, Dr. Renaud recommends assessing the calf’s attitude, analyzing eye recession and checking skin tenting, particularly on the neck of the calves, to identifying these atrisk calves.

Once you’ve determined which calves are showing signs of dehydration, treatment needs to start immediately. Dr. Renaud could not stress enough the importance of fluid therapy with oral electrolytes. “Oral electrolytes are the hallmark of diarrhea treatment, in any calf showing signs of diarrhea,” he says.

“It is absolutely the most critical thing you can do.”

Even if the calf is standing and appears strong, oral therapy is still recommended. “Right at the start 56 The Rural Voice

these calves that have diarrhea are losing fluids and electrolytes. They really do need to be treated with fluids as soon as they have been identified,” he cautions.

For the more severe cases, when the calf is appearing depressed, exhibiting recessed eyes and with the skin tenting lasting around 2-5 seconds, a more intense treatment with IV fluid is recommended. If the calf appears weak, or if it is under one week of age, this IV treatment is paramount. “It is really, really important to treat them with IV fluids, almost immediately, to support them in their recovery,” says Renaud.

These sentiments were echoed again in the afternoon, when several producers were welcomed to the stage to speak about on-farm practices they implement to keep their calves healthy and happy.

Jayne Dietrich of Character Dairy Genetics most emphatically supported the importance of fluid therapy for dairy calves. “There should never, ever, be a calf ever again die of dehydration,” she says, while citing that calf hydration is a priority on her farm. She also reinforced the suggestion of the immediate treatment with IV catheters for weak calves.

“The quickest and easiest way to prevent dehydration, and to keep a scouring calf on its feet, is to place an IV catheter.” If you aren’t comfortable with placing an IV in a calf, start training on it right away.

“Get your vet out next week, tell them to come three times next week,” she recommends, until everyone on the farm is comfortable with placing an IV catheter.

The use of anti-inflammatories, such as meloxicam, was also discussed as a therapy for calf diarrhea. Research has shown that

Dr. Dave Renaud

calves treated with antiinflammatories have improved hydration and fecal scores and improved weight gain, likely due to their increased milk and water intake.

“Basically, these calves [that are treated with anti-inflammatories] are feeling better – and therefore eating and drinking more,” says Renaud.

Dr. Michael Steele, of the Ontario Agriculture College, also emphasized the importance of milk intake in a sick calf. “One question we always get is whether to continue feeding milk when a calf has diarrhea,” he says. The answer is a resounding “yes”.

“Sustaining milk intake allows there to be sufficient energy supplied to the calf, which is critical in any diarrhea case.” He recommended trying to maintain the usual daily allowance of milk, if possible. Meal sizes should be reduced and feeding frequency increased, along with continual access to fresh water. He recommended that if you are feeding milk twice a day, to feed oral electrolytes between the morning and

Advice evening feeds, and then once more in the evening.

Dr. Steele also recommended paying attention to which electrolytes you are purchasing. “We should really be evaluating what is in our electrolytes right now, and moving towards more hypotonic solutions,” he says, predicting that in the next few years that scientists will start challenging and improving the composition of these electrolytes.

Research indicates that a hypotonic electrolyte solution, which contains a lower concentration of electrolytes as compared to a calf’s circulatory system, can improve water absorption.

The frequent use of antibiotics was cautioned against, with Dr. Renaud commenting that very few cases actually require it. Dr. Renaud highly recommends consulting with a veterinarian when antibiotics are considered.

Most importantly, he says, “Prevention is key – think colostrum, nutrition, hygiene, and vaccine strategies.” ◊

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December 2019 57

News

By Amanda Brodhagen

Produce food and then share your story “A farmer’s first job is to produce food and their second is to share their story,” says Scott Miller from CTV News. eople have little to no connection to where their food comes from and that’s why the 70 Bruce County Federation of Agriculture members gathered at the Underwood Community Centre were interested to hear about Scott Miller’s take on agriculture in the media. Miller grew up on a 150-acre beef cattle farm near Tavistock, and has been covering agriculture stories since he graduated from Fanshawe College from both the Broadcast Journalism and Television News programs.

Miller argues that farmers are unique because they make up less than two percent of the population and that’s what makes their stories interesting to cover. He first came to the realization that agriculture was a subject matter that people wanted to learn more about while completing a radio documentary assignment in college when he picked agriculture as his topic – a subject area that he was familiar with. And not surprising, in all the years of his instructors teaching the program – 40 students a year – no one had ever chosen agriculture to feature. Miller ended up winning the radio documentary project that year.

“Real education comes to those that don’t have a unique perspective,” said Miller.

The seasoned CTV News reporter, who has been covering stories in rural Southwestern Ontario for 18 years, reflects on how the depiction of agriculture in the media has changed over the years. The first 10 years there were a lot of negative stories, which put a spotlight on the bad times facing agriculture, including the BSE crisis that saw many farmers exit out of the beef industry.

Fast forward to today, the last 5-8 years have been more positive stories, he says. The creation of the

P

58 The Rural Voice

Farm boy turned CTV news anchor, Scott Miller (far right) was the guest speaker at the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture’s (BCFA) Annual Meeting held in Underwood on October 25. With Miller are Patrick Jileson (far left), outgoing OFA Zone 2 Director and John Gillespie (centre), President of the BCFA.

Fields to Forks series four years ago for CTV News is a testament to the encouraging years that agriculture has been experiencing as of late. The series is growing in popularity with coverage in various pockets across Ontario, Western and Eastern Canada. Miller says that CTV Toronto may be adding the series to their programing next year – home to the largest urban population in the country.

“Today I’m covering stories about growth versus survival,” says Miller, adding that from his perspective there are so many more opportunities in agriculture today compared to over decade ago. Miller says that thanks to his farming roots, he’s passionate about bridging the gap between rural and urban communities through reporting.

Miller says he can remember his dad encouraging him to be anything

but a farmer, noting the difficult years that agriculture was going through when he was a teenager. Fast forward to today, the Fields to Forks series is featuring young farmers and women entering the industry. Several clips of the popular series were shown that night.

But Miller warns that “with opportunity comes scrutiny” citing that with people becoming further removed from agriculture, there comes public opinion that farmers may not agree with. “A farmer’s first job is to produce food and their second is to share their story,” he said.

“Sharing a video of someone milking a goat is interesting to people,” he explained.

During the question and answer period, a question was asked about what Miller thought about animal activists trying to shut down

News livestock shows at fall fairs. His advice to farmers, “truth and honesty is what matters, tell your story and the opposition will be viewed as a dramatic minority.”

BCFA Annual Meeting highlights Elections were held for the BCFA Board. John Rodgers will be returning as President and John Gillespie as First Vice-President.

Bruce County’s Patrick Jilesen gave his final report as Zone 2 Director representing the countries of Grey and Bruce on the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Board. Paul Vickers, a dairy farmer from Grey County assumed the role in November.

The BCFA represents 1,455 farm families in Bruce County who are members of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. In the New Year, the BCFA will hold a Mental Health First Aid course and plans to explore a fair tax campaign to urge municipalities to adjust their farm property tax rate as their members are paying a disproportionate amount of property taxes compared to the municipal services they use. ◊

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December 2019 59

News

Jacquie Bishop awarded for work in agriculture • By Lisa B. Pot •

T

o volunteer is to connect with people and learn from each other, believes Jacquie Bishop, who was awarded the Huron County Federation of Agriculture’s Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award at the federation’s annual meeting held October 25 in Holmesville.

“I learn as much from each and every one of you as you learn from me,” said Bishop after accepting the award from HCFA Vice-President, Mike Colclough.

Colclough read off a long list of Bishop’s activities which include serving as the first female chair of the International Plowing Match when it was held in Huron in 2017.

Bishop has just finished a busy season as a Field Liason Manager with Elections Canada. In the past she has taught pesticide courses, led agricultural tours, led 4-H groups and is an active member of the Huron County Plowmen’s Association.

Bishop received the Warden’s Award at the Huron County Cultural Awards in 2018.

“I am a product of Huron County,” said Bishop, who lives on the family sheep, pig and cash crop farm. “It is humbling to receive this award and I am honoured to accept it.”

John Maaskant of Holmesvillearea accepted a plaque for being named to the Huron County Agricultural Hall of Fame back in February of this year. Maaskant accepted the plaque from Marinus Bakker.

Maaskant was praised for his strategic leadership and consensus building skills while serving as chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario and the Ontario Farm Animal Council.

Maaskant noted he felt honoured to accept the award.

Pride in farming was something Lisa Thompson spoke about as she took the floor as the

60 The Rural Voice

For all her volunteer work and service to Huron Country, including chairing the 2017 International Plowing Match in Huron, as well as being heavily involved in the recent election, Jacquie Bishop (left) of Bluevale-area was given the Huron County Federation of Agriculture’s Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Award at the federation’s annual meeting held October 25 in Holmesville. Presenting the award was HCFA vice-president, Mike Colclough. ~Photo by Lisa B. Pot

MPP for Huron Bruce.

She urged farmers to pay attention to government announcements as they address the red tape issue. “The agrifood industry will be well represented in what we have to table,” said Thompson.

She also urged farmers to ask if their local municipality is part of the Municipal Cyber Security Association. There are 444 municipalities in Ontario and only 155 are members. “We need to be aware of this association and learn how to make sure our local data remains safe,” said Thompson.

Brent Royce, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s (OFA)

Director for Zone 7 said the OFA has received over 700 letters from farmers asking them to deal with animal rights activists.

“A new toll-free number has been set up to deal with it,” said Royce.

“OMAFRA is handling it for now and the number is 1-833-ANIMAL.” He urged farmers to make sure they have biosecurity signs up to reduce the risk of trespassers. Also, for everyone to make sure they are locking doors on their barns and vehicles.

OFA is continuing to work on the amount of taxes agriculture pays toward the municipal government.

Some federations have successfully

News lobbied to have the farm tax rate reduced from 25 per cent to 23, 22 and even 18 per cent in one municipality.

New property tax assessments from the Municipality Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) will be arriving in January, advised Royce.

Also, the OFA continues to address the issue of carbon offset credits, believing farmers should be rewarded for their stewardly use of land and resources. “We won’t make money off it but with carbon offset credits, we could end up cash neutral,” he said.

Project wise, things are a bit stagnant admitted Lois Sinclair, Regional Program Lead for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association. “We expect a window (for funding) to open in December 2020 so now is a good time to make sure you are ready,” she said. Being ready involves having an up-to-date Environmental Farm Plan. Lots of EFP workshops are being planned for November and December.

“Last year, we had one intake (for funding projects). Over 1,043 people applied and 745 were approved,” said Sinclair.

With dinner over and the presentations finished, the last item on the agenda was to conduct

elections for board members and directors. When it was finished, leadership remained unchanged with Ethan Wallace remaining as president, a vacancy for first vice-

president and Mike Colclough continuing to serve as second vicepresident. Directors at Large are Erica Murray, Joan Vincent and Paul Klopp. ◊

Named to both the Huron County Agricultural Hall of Fame and the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame is John Maaskant (right) of Holmesville area, former chair of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario and the Farm Animal Council. He received a plaque for the honour from Marinus Bakker (left) at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture annual meeting held October 25 in Holmesville. ~ Photo by Lisa B. Pot.

December 2019 61

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

Soybeans languish in fields and in the markets U.S. stock markets are at record high levels and the U.S. dollar is also trading firm. This demonstrates that market players have a overall belief that the U.S. economy should remain stable and continue to grow. These recent market movements indicate that an initial trade deal is being anticipated by market participants, however trade deal verification has not been confirmed specifically by the U.S. or China. Rather than clarity, reports from both nations have been contradictory. Recently China announced that they and the U.S. had agreed to the roll-back of

tariffs as part of a trade deal package.

This announcement was quickly denied by President Trump who said this pronouncement was not agreeable to the United States. So it seems that the political players are moving closer to a deal, but so far politics appears to continually complicate an agreement.

It isn’t only the U.S. and China with political issues. Political events in Argentina have the potential to change the agricultural commodity supply outlook. Recently the Argentine people re-elected a protectionist administration; the same party that held power for eight years until the 2015 election. This returning government is not a welcome event to those in farm country. Like in many democratic nations, Argentina also has a rural/urban political divide. The new government is anticipated to increase taxes on agricultural exports and could once again place grain export limits. Currently Argentina has a 25 per cent export tax on soys, with expectations that it will increase to 30 per cent. Corn and wheat export

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62 The Rural Voice

taxes are at seven per cent currently, and the outlook is also for increases, to 12 per cent. These tax increases are expected to occur January 1, 2020, and as a result farmers are expected to be sellers of grain ahead of these tax increases. The fear of corn export limitations may also shift growers to grow more soys. Last time this same government introduced corn export limits, domestic corn prices fell to very cheap levels. Argentine farmers will consider this risk again and make planting decisions according to the risk. Many growers will proceed with caution into the new year. It is reported that there is an old saying in Argentina, “Unsaddle the horse until the sun comes out.” What this means, is that Argentine growers will limit investment and lower production, growing only the minimum that they need to. In order to prevent flooding the local supply too much they will cut back on production. The tax increase will not cause government revenues to increase.

The November 8 USDA crop report was a highly anticipated report in farm country, because market watchers speculated that it would be a farmer friendly report. It was expected that this report would reflect the damage associated with the severe October snowstorm that affected wide areas of the U.S. There were large areas that had immature crops whose growing season was abruptly ended by freezing temperatures and heavy snows.

Harvest losses were expected to occur from immature crop maturity, field losses from stock lodging etc. and general acreage abandonment.

One of the most dramatic anticipated changes in the report was expected to be in soybeans. In previous reports the USDA had consistently been reducing soy carryout quite substantially, and this trend was thought to continue. So how do you sum up the November report with these great expectations? It was a dud: the report did not produce the positive impact hoped for. Rather than lowering ending soy stocks, they were raised slightly. Although the ending stocks were not raised by a large amount, the effect on soy

Markets market prices has been substantial as expectations were so wide from the final result. The price action after the report does not look to be friendly in the short term. Moving on from this report the market emphasis will shift to two key developments. These are again the potential for a trade deal and South American weather.

Ontario harvest is still underway and it looks like it will take a while to be wrapped up. Harvest progress is slow for a variety of factors. Harvest weather has been wet and some areas have seen snow come and go multiple times. As of mid-November there were still more beans in the field than anyone is comfortable with, and some growers still had large acreages yet to harvest.

Soybeans are slow coming to market as prices languish and farmers bin their beans at home. There isn’t much pressure for farms and elevators to bring beans to market – there is lots of storage space in the country with the short wheat crop and the corn crop looking to be reduced. Market sentiment is not one of urgency to move crops to market.

From this we recognize that Ontario growers will hold large volumes of soybeans into the winter and beyond.

Corn moistures and test weights are the biggest problems facing the corn crop today. The late planting of the crop didn’t provide enough time for the corn to fully mature and dry down. Corn harvest overall has been generally slow as producers fight the weather and delay somewhat in hopes that grain moistures fall. The only positive that is readily noticeable about this crop is that vomitoxin levels are very low. Clean corn is welcome after last year’s vom fiasco.◊

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Managing buckthorn requires cutting, spray and perseverance The October 26 outing of the Huron Perth Chapter of the Ontario Woodlot Association was graciously hosted by Nick and Joan Whyte on their Kinburn area property.

Roughly 40 members gathered to start the tour at the Whyte’s cottage.

Many folks drive for hours to visit their cottage; but that would not be practical for the Whytes with their busy farm operation. Their cottage is roughly a 10-minute walk towards the back of the farm, adjacent to their woodlot and a pond. As a result, it is a convenient and busy gathering place for the Whytes and their extended families. The cottage was built roughly 20 years ago with logs from approximately 100 white pine trees cut on another one of their properties. The logs were sawn and planed at Rick Schilbe’s mill near Bayfield. The cottage was built largely under the direction of one of their farm employees who is a carpenter by trade and in Nick’s words, “Can pretty much build anything”.

The Whytes started producing maple syrup about 15 years ago.

They were faced with the challenge of restoring the productivity of their woodlot due to a number of problems present. It had been a very open woodlot with a low density of trees, likely due to past management practices, including pasturing many years ago. The scattered remnant

Woodlots large branchy (“wolf”) trees are indicative that they developed in open conditions and not in a more characteristic, denser forest. In addition there were various stages of younger trees ranging from some just large enough to tap (i.e. 10 inches in diameter) to saplings and seedlings.

The open conditions had also resulted in heavy growth of shrubs such as buckthorn and hawthorn.

Buckthorn is a particularly bad problem as it is not native to North America and is invasive. Both species of buckthorn found locally are present (i.e. common and glossy).

Common buckthorn is on the noxious weeds list as it is an alternate host of stem rust on wheat and oats. Of particular concern to Whyte, the heavy buckthorn infestation was suppressing establishment and growth of maple or other hardwood seedlings and saplings. They’ve undertaken a determined effort to eradicate the buckthorn, much of it

by Bruce Russell, one of their farm employees. All told they’ve spent over 600 hours cutting buckthorn, then treating the freshly cut stumps with a herbicide. They’ve found it is imperative to use dye in the herbicide solution to see which stumps have been treated in order to avoid missing or double treating stumps. Without the herbicide treatment the stumps will just re-sprout.

The Whytes manage their woodlot to promote sugar maple trees, but also are willing to accommodate other native tree species such as cherry, basswood and beech as they recognise the benefits of diversity and providing wildlife habitat. When they started making syrup, Nick devised a tree marking system to make it clear to anyone helping him, which trees to tap. He used red paint on trees that were large enough to tap and also used blue paint on smaller maple trees with eventual potential for tapping. It has been gratifying for him to see the bush develop and now some of the trees originally marked with blue paint have grown large enough to be tapped, so also have a red mark.

Tapping is done with buckets as the bush is not dense enough for a

pipeline. Sap is gathered from the buckets, then pumped into a stainless steel holding tank that feeds the evaporator. Most of the boiling is done on their wood-fired evaporator, then moved into a smaller pan until it is nearly finished. Joan finishes and bottles the syrup on a propane stove in the cabin (there’s a second log cabin in the bush at their syrup operation). The Whytes have roughly 400 taps in total and produce about 400 litres of syrup. They also tap a

few roadside trees and a few trees in another nearby bush.

Nick says much of the syrup is consumed by family and friends.

Their initial vision for the syrup operation was as a fun project for the family. There are lots of family involved including Nick and Joan, their four children, 11 grandchildren and also Nick’s brothers and their families.

In Nick’s words, “We’re having a good time.” ◊ Bruce Russell (left) shows the dye and equipment used to treat buckthorn stumps (below) with a herbicide to prevent their regrowth. Buckthorn is an invasive tree in Ontario woodlots. At bottom, Nick Whyte talks to Huron-Perth Woodlot Association tour participants about the woodlot management at his Kinburn-area farm.

December 2019 65

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

Small Claims Court – not quite so small anymore As of January 1, 2020, the monetary jurisdiction of the Ontario Small Claims Court will increase to $35,000 from the current $25,000, meaning that any action involving a claim of $35,000 or less commenced beginning in the new year must be brought in the Small Claims Court.

The Ontario government has made a corresponding change to increase the size of claims in the Superior Court of Justice to which the “simplified procedure” applies to between $35,000 and $200,000 from the current $25,000 to $100,000 range.

The standard procedure in the Superior Court will apply to all actions involving claims for amounts in excess of $200,000.

The government’s stated purpose for the expansion of the Small Claims Court’s jurisdiction, the first since an increase from $10,000 to $25,000 in 2010, is “to make it faster, easier and more affordable for people and businesses to resolve their disputes in front of a judge.” Attorney General Doug Downey adds that the change will “help people and businesses spend less time in courtrooms and less money on costly lawyer fees … more people will be able to file and respond to claims using less expensive representation, such as paralegals and law students, or through selfrepresentation.” At the same time, a reduction in wait times in the Superior Court of Justice is anticipated, “as many civil cases that would have started in Superior Court will now go to Small Claims Court.”

The Small Claims Court procedure is designed to be user-friendly for claimants and defendants, and to be efficient and (ideally) cost-effective.

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66 The Rural Voice

Unlike under the procedures in the Superior Court of Justice, there are no oral discovery examinations and there is little opportunity for pre-trial motions in the Small Claims Court.

The Plaintiff commences the claim, the Defendant delivers a defence, a mandatory Settlement Conference is held, and then it’s off to trial. The whole process can often be completed in less than a year, if not in several months, though it remains to be seen whether the increase in the number of cases being handled by the Small Claims Court will result in an increase in the length of time to get to trial.

The faster and more-streamlined procedure in the Small Claims Court does come at a price. Recovery of legal fees is generally capped at 15 per cent of the amount claimed in a proceeding, meaning the normal maximum recovery of legal fees following a trial in a $35,000 action would be $5,250. While it may not be necessary to hire legal representation for a Small Claims Court matter, anyone who chooses to hire a representative will need to understand that they are unlikely to recover a significant portion of their legal costs even if they are entirely successful.

For litigants involved in a $35,000 case, which may involve legal and evidentiary issues every bit as complex and deserving of legal representation as a $1,000,000 case, the limit on cost recovery from the losing party may be a tough pill to swallow. That is especially the case for defendants facing unmeritorious or frivolous claims.

It should also be noted that Small Claims Court cases are heard by lawyers sitting as Deputy Judges, not by the federally-appointed full-time judges who sit in the Superior Court, and that the rules of evidence applied in the Small Claims Court are sometimes relaxed. The Small Claims Court process is designed to be userfriendly and is often more forgiving to inexperienced self-represented parties than the stricter Superior Court process. This again can be frustrating to defendants facing claims they believe to be without merit.

But those are the rules that have been set for the parties to court actions involving $35,000 or less, like it or not. People and businesses involved in

Agrilaw disputes that fall within the Small Claims Court’s monetary jurisdiction must review the Small Claims Court’s rules (and user guides) and understand what they have to gain or lose by going to court. In some situations, resolving a dispute early outside the court process will be more costeffective than fighting through to trial.

In other situations, taking a matter through to trial in order to secure a complete victory (whether as claimant or defendant) will be cost-effective.

Determining what kind of case one has is something that should be decided as early as possible to help secure the best outcome.

In the approach to the new year, claimants who have already commenced an action worth between $25,000 and $35,000 in the Superior Court (under the simplified procedure) can consider whether to transfer the case to Small Claims Court. For those who have a potential claim worth between $25,000 and $35,000 and have not already commenced an action, thought can be given to waiting until January, 2020 and then commencing the action in Small Claims Court. However, no potential claimant should delay commencing an action if there is a possibility of missing a limitation period.

Along with the increase in the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court, the Ontario government has also increased the minimum claim amount required for appeals from the Small Claims Court to the Divisional Court from $2,500 to $3,500. As there is an appeal as of right from all final judgments made in the Superior Court of Justice, this change to the appeal threshold in the Small Claims Court should actually reduce the overall number of court matters that can be (and likely are) appealed. Decisions of the Small Claims Court involving claims worth less than $3,500 will be final. ◊ ______________________________ 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 circumstances.

Creek Edge Farms Custom Services: * Forage chopping * Combining * Spraying * Liquid manure hauling * Tillage * Liquid fertilizer and grain trucking

Terry 519-580-1540 • Javan 519-502-4284

WE WANT YOUR GRAIN! • Corn • Wheat • Soybeans • Feed Grains • Feed Ingredients • Food Quality Soybeans

CASH & FORWARD CONTRACTS Call us today for Quotes Dave Gordon Richard Smibert Scott Krakar Matt McKillop Alex Kissler 1615 NORTH ROUTLEDGE PARK UNIT 43 - LONDON, ONTARIO, N6H 5L6 519-473-9333 Toll-Free 1-800-265-1885

Wishing you all the best this coming holiday season BLYTH 519-523-9624 1-800-663-3653

WALTON 519-887-6130

December 2019 67

People

Project One Seed teaches agronomy in Zambia Agronomist learns Zambian customs while encouraging maize production via Enactus, a global learning program • By Lisa B. Pot • At a goodbye ceremony in Zambia, local farmers sang songs and gave speeches to the Project One Seed team. In one thank you speech, a Zambia farmer told the team “When you teach us, I am reminded of Bible stories. Your knowledge will help us move forward.”

Aarom Breimer, an Agricultural Manager with Veritas served as an agronomist on that team. “I’m in sales. I’ve been called a lot of things,” said Breimer, pausing for effect. “But I ain’t never been called Moses.”

With humour and insight, and obviously thrilled by his trip, Breimer shared his experiences teaching Zambian farmers how to grow better corn with farmers and leaders at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture’s annual meeting held October 25 in Holmesville.

Back in 2013, Breimer said he was approached by an Enactus club from Lambton College in Sarnia to use his skills as a agronomist on a project to grow better corn (maize) in Zambia. Enactus is a global learning platform dedicated to creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators. The Enactus network of global business, academic and student leaders are unified by their vision to create a better, more sustainable world.

Zambia is one of the poorest countries of the world, a country where many live on $1 a day and only two students out of 700 graduate high school. Maize is a staple in the Zambian diet. Breimer says there are good crops of maize grown in irrigated parts of Zambia. In other areas, drought and lack of knowledge contributes to lack of crop success.

“Depth control is not a big deal there. The farmers scatter the corn 68 The Rural Voice

Aaron Breimer (above) has travelled to Zambia with students from Lambton College as part of an Enactus mission called Project One Seed to help Zambian farmers grow better maize. He met three young farmers below, packed and ready to travel to pick up a wagon of urea for their corn. Prepared for a long wait, they had packed provisions for four days.

People

Aaron Breimer, above, taught Zambian farmers to grow better maize. In return, he learned about patience, friendship and different customs, such as hand holding which is a sign of friendship among men in that country.

over the field and then go back and forth with a harrow,” said Breimer, showing slides of the trip. “We taught them to poke a hole and drop in one seed. Not three! Hence the name Project One Seed.”

The project also taught farmers how to spray for pests and irrigate using hand-held sprayers.

“They do not have a shortage of help. What they need is knowledge,” said Breimer.

Everything has to be explained.

For instance, the treated corn seen was stored in plastic jugs. Next thing they knew, the jugs were being used to transport water for human use!

In turn, Breimer was exposed to a new culture and social situations he was unfamiliar with. For instance, the Zambians are an affectionate people. Hand holding is very normal between men. One day, while checking the field, his translator reached out to hold Breimer’s hand on the walk. As it is not a Canadian custom for men to hold hands, Breimer felt uncomfortable yet humbled and accepted by the experience.

He also learned to ask questions and not make assumptions. For

instance, the project gave one farmer a rain gauge to measure rainfall. The day the gauge was stuck in the ground, it rained! When the team returned to the farm to ask how much rain had fallen, the rain gauge had disappeared. Turns out the farmer had attached magical properties to the rain gauge, and taken it inside to protect it from thieves because it had the power to bring rain!

Breimer told the story of Chile, a Zambian farmer who “had the worst crops and the worst luck.” He was lucky to average two to three bushels of maize per acre. By adopting the

new methods, Chile ended up with a bumper crop (for that area), had to build two new corn cribs to store his harvest and discovered his newest problem was a good one — he still did not have enough storage!

He said he also learned about patience. While farmers in North America demand visits from crop advisors, in Zambia, everything is a wait. He showed a slide of young men with their cattle-drawn cart.

Local farmers had a chance to purchase urea for their maize crop.

Not knowing how long they might have to wait to receive their load, the friends had packed provisions for four days.

Breimer also met a Zambia farmer named Colin. Orphaned by the AIDS epidemic, Colin was determined to sharecrop his land and make a profit to pay for university. His goal was to return to his village as a teacher, a goal he achieved.

By 2018, the impact of Project One Seed had grown to 18,000 acres of maize, all planted by hand.

Teaching is ongoing to reduce tillage, to encourage farmers to leave corn stalks on the ground instead of burning them to improve water retention, and to develop micro-loans to benefit whole communities.

“I am proud to say that 80,000 people are no longer in poverty from this project,” said Breimer.

He encouraged any farmer present, who had an interest in overseas development, to consider sharing their knowledge with farmers in Zambia or Nigeria and Haiti where other Enactus projects are ongoing.

Farmers could also donate money to help fund the project. ◊

Merry Christmas

The Management & Staff at Nachurs Alpine Solutions wish you the best at this holiday season.

Thanks for letting us supply your fertilizer needs in 2019.

We look forward to serving you in 2020.

800-265-2268 www.alpinepfl.com

December 2019 69

th

54

Elmwood Community Centre,

Annual

38 Queen St. W. Elmwood, Ontario

See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

January 3 – 9, 2020

Goat Day - Friday, 3rd Sheep Day - Saturday, 4th Horse Day - Sunday, 5th Dairy Day - Monday, 6th Beef Day - Tuesday, 7th Eco Day - Wednesday, 8th Crops Day - Thursday, 9th

Conference & Trade Show Tickets at the Door (No Pre-Registration Required):

Payment: Cash, Cheque or Debit All Days (Except Horse) - $30 (Includes HST) Horse Day - $25 (Includes HST) (Includes hot roast beef dinner at noon.

Goat and lamb are served on those respective days.)

An excellent line-up of speakers and trade show exhibits.

For details, please check out our website: www.gbfw.ca.

Email: info@greyagservices.ca or Phone 519-986-3756

Please Note the Different Day Order this Year

Follow us on Twitter Facebook & Instagram @GBFarmersWeek #GBFW20

The best way to experience GBFW is in person! Can’t make it?? Live Streaming Viewing Options will be available all 7 days. This conference content will be available to live stream ticket holders for one month following the event.

Pre - Register for the day(s) of your choice at: www.gbfw.ca $20/day (Plus HST & Processing Fees) GBFW2020 is going GREEN! Please bring your own water bottle.

Single use plastic water bottles will no longer be available.

Premier Event Sponsor

CEU Accredited

CANADIAN CO-OPERATIVE WOOL GROWERS LIMITED

Prebiotic Feed Supplement Murray Gilkinson • 519-504-3022

Serving Ont. Sheep Producers Since 1918

murraygilkinson@gmail.com

Discover Your Herd’s Maximum Potential!™ Now Available

WOOL ADVANCE PAYMENTS

Legendary Custom mer Serv vice - Itt’s In Our DNA

See you in Elmwood at 2020 GB Farmers’ Week! www.robe ertsfarm.com m | www.mcgavinequip.co om CHESLEY 519-363-3192 2

70 The Rural Voice

LUCKNOW 519-529-7995 5

MOUNT FOR REST 519-323-27 755

WALTON N 519-887-63 365

WOOL MARKET CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVING, CALL US FOR A COMPETITIVE PRICE AND TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR WOOL TO BE PICKED UP AT YOUR FARM. For more information contact:

WINGHAM WOOL DEPOT John Farrell R.R. 2, Wingham, Ontario Phone/Fax

519-357-1058

farfieldfarm@gmail.com

Ionson’s Saddlery 14 Bruce Road 30 Chesley, ON 519-363-5598

BAYSHORE COUNTRY FEEDS LTD. Livestock • Pet • Horse Feed Custom Milling & Cleaning

519-376-5830

1304 2nd Ave. E., Owen Sound

We carry a large selection of new and used tack for all budgets. Both English and Western tack available with stock changing daily.

First for Quality & Service

Visit us on Equine Day Like us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram

Come and visit us at the Grey-Bruce Farmers’ Week

LFI

s LiquidaFtioenead l Intern

ip, ON N0J 1M0 PO Box 237, Innerk 35 3 1 -8 0 0 -2 6 5 -8 • sales@liquidfeeds.com om .c ds www.liquidfee December 2019 71

See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

Visit our booth at Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

Protecting Farming Operations since 1873.

See you at the Grey-Bruce Farmers’ Week

We look forward to seeing you at Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week in Elmwood - January 3rd to 9th, 2020!

Staff & Brokers who Understand Farming!

Call us today or visit our website to find a broker near you.

1-800-265-3033 howickmutual.com For a broker or agent near you visit our website www.germaniamutual.com

FARM y RESIDENTIAL y COMMERCIAL y AUTO

www.grrobotics.ca (226) 383-7678

72 The Rural Voice

100% Service Focused

SLUMSKIE BROS. CONTRACTING Since 1979

Dairy & Farmstead Equipment ~ Sales ~ Service ~ Installation ~

519-363-6062 R.R. #2 Dobbinton, Ontario N0H 1L0

REGIONAL DEALER FOR

We Provide: •Tree •Tree Marking Marking using using Good Good Forestry Forestry Practices Practices

Create long-term, sustainable returns from your woodlands and enhance the ecological value of your forests.

Free woodlot assessments in Grey, Bruce, Simcoe and Huron Counties 519-364-8733 www.LANDSANDFORESTS.com

•Woodlot •Woodlot Improvement Improvement •Forest •Forest Management Management Plans Plans •Managed •Managed Forest Forest Tax Tax Incentives Incentives •Harvest •Harvest Advice Advice and and Marketing Marketing Timber Timber •Tree •Tree Planting Planting •• Prescribed Prescribed Burn Burn Specialists Specialists •• Emerald Emerald Ash Ash Borer Borer Protection Protection •• Aggregate Aggregate Pit Pit Reports Reports •• Trail Trail Creation Creation & & Maintenance Maintenance •• Peace Peace of of Mind Mind

Leaders in non-GMO corn seed and organic corn seed See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week for our special prices on all steel buildings, bins and concrete work.

Every operation is unique.

Your advice should be too.

Our experienced and knowledgeable agriculture account managers can help you reach your specific business goals.

Whether you’re looking to expand your operation, pass it to the next generation or you’re focused on managing risks, we’re here to help you succeed.

Exeter

Hanover

Stratford

Cameron Charlton 519-235-0467

Dalia Hopcraft 519-364-2523

Jim Mezei 519-271-8015

Joel Bishop 519-235-0269

Harrison Todd 519-364-2358

Niels Kouwenberg 519-271-8713

Visit rbc.com/farmadvice

®/TM

Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. RBC and Royal Bank are registered trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada.

December 2019 73

See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

SEE YOU AT THE GREY BRUCE FARMERS’ WEEK!

Grain Bins, Steel Buildings Grain Handling & Drying Systems

MARQUARDT

FARM DRAINAGE LTD ESTABLISHED 1968

“Being On Top Of What Goes Below”

See us at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week

We provide: • Plastic and concrete tile installations

• Competitive pricing

• Land clearing, ditch excavation

• Personal service

• Erosion control contractor

• GPS, surveying, mapping and installation

• Free estimates

• Drainage knowledge and expertise

Steve Cronsberry (Owner) 5483 Fifth Line Minto, Palmerston marquardtfarmdrainage.com

74 The Rural Voice

I

1-888-534-0393

I

519-343-3233

of providing professionally designed and installed drainage systems.

YEARS

The Rural Voice

Business Centre To place your ad call...519-523-4311 Horse & Livestock Car, Utility & Recreational any design, hitches trade-ins welcome super after sales service

www.beloretrailers.ca 324025 Mount Elgin Rd. Mount Elgin, Ontario N0J 1N0 Jamie Belore

Est. 1991

Maitland Welding & Machining

• In-shop & on-site millwrighting • Custom fabrication • Steel & industrial supply sales

63 North St. Wingham

Ph.:519-357-2727 Fax: 519-357-4769 www.maitlandwelding.com rstute@maitlandwelding.com

INNIS NEW & USED TRACTOR PARTS LTD.

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

Choose from: Hazelnut, heartnut, Persian and black Walnut, chestnut, hickory, pecan, pawpaw, persimmon, mulberry, fig and more.

979 Lakeshore Rd, RR3 Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0 Tel: 905-YEH-NUTS (934-6887) Fax: 905-YEL-NUTS (935-6887) E-mail: nut.trees@grimonut.com Catalogue Site: www.grimonut.com

• Bulk Bags • Tote Bags • Super Sacks

Agricultural & Combines New & Used Parts Used Tractors & Machinery

1-519-291-4924 Fax: 519-291-1520 Fire No. 6142, Line 84, R.R. #2, Listowel, ON N4W 3G7 Wanted: Early and late model farm tractors, combines, crawlers and construction equipment, fuel injection pumps, starters and alternator repairs

If we don’t have it in stock, we’ll custom make it for you! info@bagsupplies.ca Tel: 1-519-271-2040

B U S I N E S S

www.bagsupplies.ca Fax: 1-519-271-2017 December 2019 75

C E N T R E

SALES & SERVICE

Looking to Buy or Sell A Farm or Home? Give me a Call!

INSTALLATION & PARTS

Rissler KEITH SIEMON FARM SYSTEMS LTD. 81987 Perth Rd. 180, R.R. 4, Walton 519-345-2734 (anytime)

www.keithsiemonfarmsystems.com email: keithsiemon@tcc.on.ca For Free Planning and Estimates

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

Serving the area since 1999

STEVEN NIXON Broker WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. LIMITED

Bus: 519-357-2222 Cell: 519-531-0252 Email: nixon@execulink.com Web: www.stevennixon.com 249 Josephine St., WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0

#27

91 Mary St., Wingham $629,900.

MLS# 30764527 Amazing country views on this beautiful private 14-acre property, large master bedroom with patio, 3 plus bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, gas furnace & central air, field stone fireplace, family room with bar, partly insulated shop 64 ft x 32 ft, 9 acres workable land. Call Steve Nixon 519.357.2222

Merry Christmas

Wa n t e d to buy

OLD BARNS

195 Wallace Avenue North, Listowel, Ontario N4W 1K8

FOR SALVAGE CALL STEVE

519-523-4523 Galvanized Roofing For Sale

Bus: 519-529-1167 Bus.: 519-291-2299 Fax: 519-291-1015

www.peakrealestate.com

Cathy Hendriks Sales, Rep.

519-357-5128

MANUFACTURING STEEL ROOFING SIDING & TRIMS

“Thank you to all my clients this past year for your business.

Wishing everyone a magical and safe Christmas and New Year and please remember don’t drink and drive.”

STEFFEN WELL DRILLING 519-531-0355 TEESWATER, ON

mike@steffenwelldrilling.ca

519-363-3757 2051 Bruce Rd. 19, R.R. 1 Chesley, ON N0G 1L0

Also Supplying Other Building Accessories

TF: 1-877-509-2847

RODENT PROBLEMS? WE CAN HELP! Agricultural Residential Commercial • Unmarked Vehicles • Fully Insured • MOE Licensed Technicians

Ph: 519-799-5000 Web: ruralroutespestcontrol.com info@ruralroutespestcontrol.com

• Agricultural & domestic water wells • Well Cleanouts • Pump Testing • Camera Inspection • Irrigation Wells • Dewatering Services

PACKERS: WE BUILD RUBBER TIRE PACKER SPECIALISTS

Order Now Also large fold-up steel drum packers, lawn & estate rollers, custom manufactured

RR #2, Arthur, Ont. (519) 848-2799

76 The Rural Voice

KRAEMER CONCRETE LTD. Two Locations to Serve You! 5595 Road 130 Brunner N0K 1C0

519-595-2343

220 Industrial Park Dr., Brussels N0G 1H0

519-887-8763

Fax: 595-4903

Fax: 887-8764

GMC Sierra reg. cab, 4x4, 72,000 km .............$24,995 GMC Sierra 4x4, 80,000 km ............................$26,995 Chev Silverado ext. cab, 4x4, 210,000 km ....$15,200 Dodge Dakota 4x4, 146,000 km....................$12,500 Chev Silverado 2500 HD ext. cab,

4x4, 262,000 km ...............................................................$16,995

2010 2009 2009 2008 2007 2000

Chev Silverado reg. cab, 4x4, 239,000 km....$11,200 GMC Sierra ext. cab, 4x4, 207,000 km...............$9,995 Ford Ranger ext. cab, 4x4, 65,000 km............$12,400 Ford F150 crew cab, 4x4, 249,000 km ............$10,800 Chev Avalanche LTZ 4x4, 232,000 km .......$12,995 GMC Sierra ext. cab, 4x4, 226,000 km..............$5,995

CARS

Fax. 519-529-3277

Snowblowers, Quick-attach Buckets, Sweepers, Woodsplitters, Land Rollers, Stone Windrowers, etc.

BUSHELL’S AUTO SALES

TRUCKS 2016 2015 2013 2011 2010

Tel. 519-529-7212

Website: smythwelding.com Email: info@smythwelding.com

Toll Free at 1-888-RING-KCL

WINGHAM

37452 Glen’s Hill Road, RR 2, Auburn, Ont. N0M 1E0

2015 Ford Fusion Titanium AWD, 83,000 km............$16,995 2011 Hyundai Elantra 127,000 km...................................$5,995 2010 Ford Fusion 126,000 km ...........................................$5,995 2010 Buick Lacerne CXL 112,000 km............................$8,995 2010 Honda Civic 183,000 km...........................................$6,995 2009 Dodge Caliber 180,000 km ......................................$3,995 2006 Mini Cooper 188,000 km....................................$4,795 1974 Fiat Convertible 118,000 km...................................$8,995 1971 Chev Impala 77,000 miles ........................................$2,995

519-357-6731

VANS 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan 139,000 km ..............$14,995 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan Crew 70,000 km ...$17,995 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan 111,000 km ..............$11,700 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan 130,000 km .................$9,995 2010 Toyota Sienna 310,000 km ..................................$5,995 1982 Dodge Roadtrek 155,000 km ..............................$4,995

SUVS

2016 Ford Escape 126,000 km .....................................$15,995 2016 Chev TRAX AWD, 121,000 km..............................$16,500 2015 GMC Terrain SLE 75,000 km.............................$18,500 2013 Ford Edge Limited AWD, 82,000 km ............$19,500 2011 Ford Edge AWD, 140,000 km................................$12,900 2011 Honda CR-V EX-L AWD, 75,000 km..................$14,995 2009 Jeep Liberty 181,000 km .......................................$4,995 2001 Honda CRV 156,000 km ...........................................$4,995

Is your car in the Body Shop?

We have rentals available for most major insurance companies.

Give us a call today!

We have a good selection of used tires 12" to 20"

Financing and Extended Warranty Available On All Units Plus 13% Tax ~ UCDA - Buy With Confidence

www.bushellsauto.ca December 2019 77

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

CLASSIFIED AUCTION -------------------------------------------------Elmira Produce Auction – Hay and Straw Sales every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. except December 25.

Consignors and buyers welcome. Call Noah Gingrich, 519-669-3884. 7400 Reid Woods Drive, Elmira.

-------------------------------------------------CONSTRUCTION -------------------------------------------------WE POUR: 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 519-274-1490.

-------------------------------------------------FARM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Show cattle equipment. Blowers, clippers, fans and end panels. Will sell separately or as a package. 519831-4672.

-------------------------------------------------FIREWOOD --------------------------------------------------

Bodywood • Slabwood Quantity Discounts 519-441-2085 519-656-2057

Serving Southwestern Ontario for over 10 years!

-------------------------------------------------FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------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, Blue spruce, pine, cedars, etc. Also…

Complete line of Bee Supplies for the commercial or hobby beekeepers.

We sell Bees (Nucs) in spring and early summer. Come see our selection Monday to Saturday at Emanuel E.M. Martin, 42661 Orangehill Rd., Wroxeter, ON N0G 2X0, one concession north of Wroxeter on Belmore Line.

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

78 The Rural Voice

CLASSIFIED FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Rosco grain bins for sale – 19' and 14' diameter. Parts available. Used grain bins wanted for parts or reuse.

Closed Sundays, 519-338-3920.

-------------------------------------------------Hay and straw and individually wrapped baleage, nice, clean, rotary, combined, good for TMR, 3x3x7' bales and silage bales individually wrapped. Huron East, 519-292-0138.

-------------------------------------------------HAY & STRAW -------------------------------------------------DRY COW HAY – large squares low potassium grass, all types of hay and straw. Test results and delivery available. Call Neeb Agri-Products at 519-529-1141.

-------------------------------------------------LIVESTOCK BEDDING -------------------------------------------------DUST EXTRACTED straw available in coarse or fine cut. Also available in pellets, bags or bulk. Call for details.

Chopped straw and sawdust mix; bags only. Edgar Martin, 519-2916783.

-------------------------------------------------Bedding pack compost starter for dairy and veal barns. 1-877-7738004. Sittler Grinding. Rick Sittler.

-------------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN – Bred cows and heifers, 4H prospects and breeding age bulls for sale. Smart Limousin 519-3727459. www.smartlimousin.com -------------------------------------------------Red Angus-Simmental, Red Angus and Simmental heifers bred Red Angus for sale. James and Joan McKinlay, 519-599-6236. jmckinlay@bmts.com -------------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN-quality breeding bulls and breeding females for sale.

Delivery included. Posthaven Limousin, John Post 519-766-7178. www.posthavenlimousin.com --------------------------------------------------

CLASSIFIED LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Suffolks – purebred ram lambs ready to work. Also 7 spring-born ewe lambs. British bloodlines M-V negative closed flock. 519-233-7896.

-------------------------------------------------RESTORATION -------------------------------------------------The Olde Tyme Radio Centre – antique radios, clocks, gramophones, telephone and vintage auto clock radio. Speedometer, tachometer sales–restorations. Belgrave 519-3574304, www.oldtymeradio.ca -------------------------------------------------RETAIL & GIFTS -------------------------------------------------Stitches with a Twist – 404 Queen St., Blyth, 519-523-9449. Yarns, knit and crochet instruction. Chainmaille supplies. Alterations and repairs, including leather.

-------------------------------------------------SERVICES -------------------------------------------------INCOME TAX FILING – 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. 1-705-434-8187.

-------------------------------------------------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, 519-348-9062.

Cell 519-274-5000. www.cronin pouredconcrete.ca -------------------------------------------------INLINE FENCING – Custom farm fencing. Page wire and horse fencing 519-934-1555.

-------------------------------------------------Firearms and hunting training.

PAL & HUNTER ED. Ongoing courses available.

Certified instructors. Call Greg 519-887-9622 or 519-291-0507.

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

DONALD A ANDREW ACCOUNTING Accounting & Income Tax Services for FARMS, BUSINESSES & INDIVIDUALS 296 Ross St., Lucknow

Ph. 519-528-3019

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

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

TRAVEL -------------------------------------------------AGRICULTURAL & UNIQUE TOURS – Australia/New Zealand – Costa Rica/Panama Canal – India - Enhanced Itinerary – Egypt/Jordan – Portugal/Spain – Ukraine & Romania – Poland & Ukraine – UK, Scotland & Ireland – Alberta Farm Tour & Calgary Stampede – Yukon and Northwest Territories – Peru/Brazil/Argentina/Chile Portion of Tours may be Tax Deductible.

Contact Select Holidays at 1-800-6614326 or visit www.selectholidays.com -------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS -------------------------------------------------Christkindl Market and Sing-along Messiah December 6 and 7, 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Glencolton Farms near Durham. For information and tickets: www.christkindlfarm.com -------------------------------------------------South Western Ontario Dairy Symposium, February 20, 2020, Woodstock Fairgrounds. www.dairysympoisum.com -------------------------------------------------Paisley’s Holiday House Tour, Saturday, December 7, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Cost: $20 (includes lunch 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.). Sponsored by the Friends of the Treasure Chest Museum, Paisley. For tickets call Judy 519-353-5638.

-------------------------------------------------WANTED -------------------------------------------------Hay/Straw - small square bales of hay; timothy and alfalfa. Round bales of hay; timothy alfalfa or timothy grass mix. High class large square bales of hay. Call Riley Gorman 519-321-1012.

-------------------------------------------------Actively seeking farmland to rent for corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, edible beans. Contact Narva Farms Limited: 519-366-2636 or 519-881-9384 or email: sandyfitzsimmons@hotmail.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 --------------------------------------------------

All farm buildings & houses, seamless eavestroughing, liquid rubber coatings, waterproofing, metal, concrete, wood, foam and bin flooring sealing.

519-859-0097 or 519-871-0300 info@townsleybarnpainting.com

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 SEAMLESS EAVESTROUGHING

 Roofs & Walls  Elevator Legs  Air Blasting  Pressure Washing  Fully Insured  Free Estimates

London 519-268-8500 Discount Steel Great for barn posts, stabling or other build-your-own projects

Custom Welding & Machine Shop Custom Stabling Mfg. Open Tues. & Thurs. ~ other days by chance John A.M. Martin 1467 Grey Ox Ave., Lucknow

Specializing in on Farm Pest Management Serving Southwestern ON, Golden Horseshoe, GTA Email: sgschris@ciaaccess.com

519-692-4232 www.sgspestmanagement.ca

-------------------------------------------------STANDING TIMBER -------------------------------------------------STANDING TIMBER - hardwood and softwoods. Quality workmanship guaranteed. B. Kropf Forestry Service Ltd., Bruce Kropf, RR 1, Shakespeare, ON, N0B 2P0. 519-748-7422.

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

Deadline for the January issue of The Rural Voice is December 11

CLASSIFIED WANTED -------------------------------------------------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. 519-3231113.

-------------------------------------------------Cash cropland wanted to rent, good stewardship, competitive rates.

Call Peter Heinrich, 519-523-4461.

-------------------------------------------------Looking for land to rent for upcoming year. Call Adam Braecker 519-524-0615.

-------------------------------------------------28x48 Dion Threshing machine with straw shredder, any condition. 905983-9331.

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

Get breaking farm news on The Rural Voice website

ruralvoice.ca December 2019 79

MORRIS SACHS SILO CONSTRUCTION

ATV & SxS RENTALS AVAILABL E

New stave silos now available SILO ACCESSORIES SILOS DISMANTLED, REBUILT AND REPAIRS

519-363-3900 Cell # (519) 372-5375 R.R. #2 Elmwood, Ont. N0G 1S0

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

Or Joanne at 905-339-6748

80 The Rural Voice

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Offer valid untilDecember December 13, 2019, while Eligible Models: Removable battery. ② Weight withCase, powerhead ③ Don’t miss your chance the Wood-Pro™ Kit. –Simply purchase the be following saws between now and 13, 2019 and you willsupplies receive a last.

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2019. Illustrations are as as known at the time of publication and are subject to change notice.

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Limited is notLimited responsible for a printing error, the local STIHL Dealer has the final authority to set product pricing. Pricing valid at participating dealers only.

FORMOSA

BLUEVALE Schmidt’s Power Equipment

Lloyd Kuntz Sales & Service

519-357-3877 schmidtspower@gmail.com

519-367-2913 lloydkuntz@wightman.ca

MITCHELL

NEUSTADT

Wighty’s Repairs Inc.

The Windmill Sales & Service

Highway 8 West

www.wightyrepairs.com 519-348-0404

519-799-5342 rafilsinger@wightman.ca

CHESLEY /HANOVER

LUCKNOW/MT. FOREST

DUNDALK

390 1st Ave. S. / 450 10th St.

Robert’s Farm Equipment

Highland Supply

Bruce Service Sales /APC

1634 Cty. Rd. 86/435 Sligo Rd. W. 519-529-7995/519-323-2755

519-923-2240 / 1-800-265-9154 www.highlandsupply.ca

519-363-3811 / 519-364-6345

GODERICH

MILVERTON

SEAFORTH

Argyle Marine & Small Engines Inc.

Albrecht’s Chain Saw Service

Delta Power Equipment

3 kms. N. on Hwy. 21

R.R. 1, Milverton (Line #67 Lane 4158) 519-595-2579

519-524-5361

42787 Hydro Line Rd. 519-527-0120 www.deltapower.ca

December 2019 81

National Farmers Union – Ontario NEWSLETTER Strong Communities.

Sound Policies.

Sustainable Farms.

Phone: 1-888-832-9638 E-mail: office@nfuontario.ca Website: www.nfuontario.ca

Strong rural communities start with you

By Sarah Bakker Recently I attended one of our climate change kitchen table meetings where we sat around an actual kitchen table. As we were talking about the effects of climate change, one participant shared about the stress, anger, and fear that farmers were feeling in his community. The uncertainty around weather, planting, and harvesting is taking its toll on farmers’ mental health. When we couple that with the loss of rural schools and local services, we can see why rural communities are struggling.

I think farmers, more than any other group, understand the value of community. Many of us have borrowed a piece of equipment when

one unexpectedly breaks down, helped a neighbour shear their sheep, or chatted best practices at the coffee shop. In fact, I would say farming is almost impossible without a strong community backing you up. Whether big or small, direct marketer or commodity producer, we can’t work in isolation from our neighbours.

We are stronger together. In fact, the NFU has accomplished so many things by gathering together such as reopening the prison farms, the implementation of supply management, or keeping bovine growth hormone out of milk. In fact, that’s the point of the organization; we gather together to amplify farmers’ voices.

As harvests finish up and we move

Local 316 NFU Fall Feast – another huge success!

For the fourth year in a row, the Local 316 Fabulous Farmers Fall Feast sold out ahead of the event and provided a delicious local food meal for 100 happy diners.

A team of volunteers, many of them local young farmers, prepared and served a three-course meal featuring foods in season; Sharon and Will Freeman, of Freedom Farm, Battersea, led the team, with Sharon the self-described “chief cook and bottle-washer”.

About $4,000 was raised for Local 316’s fund that supports learning opportunities for new and young farmers and helps fund climate change mitigation projects by area farmers.

Examples of funding for learning opportunities include assistance in attending conferences and workshops, and sponsorship of an annual scholarship in each of Frontenac and Lennox-Addington Counties for a 4-H member attending university or college for an agriculture or environment-related program.

This summer, members of Local 316 formed a sub-committee to

organize climate change mitigation initiatives for area farmers. The group is working with the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario on a soil carbon bench-marking research project. Thirteen area farmers have signed up through the Local 316 committee to submit soil samples for testing various measures of soil carbon. The Local 316 grants fund is covering the lab testing costs for these farmers.

During the Feast, short presentations were made about NFU Ontario’s climate action project, the Local 316 soil carbon initiative and the Fields of Hope photography book that is a fundraiser for three food and farm organizations. As well, NFU national president Katie WardChiasson, and the newly appointed NFU national executive director Mara Shaw briefly spoke to the crowd.

A big thank you to the Fall Feast organizers, volunteers, contributors and attendees for a wonderful evening of good food, socializing, and raising money to support farmers and farming in this area.

into a slower time of the year, I encourage you to think about how you can strengthen your community.

Can you come to a Local meeting, encourage a friend to join the NFU, or ask a neighbour if they need help?

As Elizabeth Stocking, Local 345 President, said at the climate change kitchen table meeting, “Our strength is community.” – Sarah Bakker is the NFU-O General Manager and farms in Bobcaygeon.

Coming Events Local 330 Renfrew – Next meeting is Monday, December 2, 7:30 p.m. at the Barr Line Community Centre. For more information, contact Connie Tabbert at rcnfu330@gmail.com or 613-646-7753.

Local 320 Bruce – Our AGM and Social is Wednesday, December 4, 7:30 p.m. at Marty’s Bar & Grill, 526 Queen Street, Paisley. Dave Gordon with the Ontario Soil Network will speak about soil health and cover cropping. Finger foods and drinks will be provided. Please RSVP to nfuont320@gmail.com by December 1.

Save the Date!

With support from the Gosling Foundation and the McLean Foundation, the NFU-O and the Ontario Farmland Trust will be holding a series of land-matching workshops that will allow young farmers to access land and retiring farmers to identify possible successors as well as provide legal resources, conservation information and other support.

Saturday, January 25 Guelph Organic Conference Monday, January 27 Ottawa/Lanark Tuesday, January 28 Kingston Wednesday, January 29 Prince Edward County Thursday, January 30 Durham/Peterborough For times and registration, visit: farm-workshops.eventbrite.ca

A subscription to The Rural Voice is one of the benefits of being an NFU-O member 82 The Rural Voice

Craig Hulshof, President craig.hulshof@gmail.com / 519-301-8483

Perth, Huron, Grey and Bruce County Pork Producers

NEWSLETTER

* The Rural Voice is provided to Perth County Pork Producers by the PCPPA perthcountyporkproducers@gmail.com

Plant-based burgers are more processed than real meat burgers

By Clare Schlegel Farmer, Crop & Livestock Producer Have you tried one of the “Beyond Meat” type burgers (plant-based proteins)? How do you like them?

Why did you try it? Do these threaten our livelihoods as livestock producers? Are they healthier (not red meat), more environmentally friendly (takes less grain per pound of protein) or more ethically correct (cause no animals to die)?

It is interesting to consider why plant-based proteins are attracting large investments from traditional meat-based companies. It is also interesting to consider why consumers seem to be attracted to these. It appears to be a fast moving trend. At this point, it is not because of price. It is also interesting why some fast food chains and other restaurants are highlighting these as part of their meal offerings.

Are plant-based proteins less processed than meat? Far from it, in fact most are “ultra” processed. It is true that some meat products such as hams and sausages are processed, the fresh cuts such as pork chops are not.

It is also true that the major ingredient in meat is the cut itself, little else. Compare this to the list of ingredients in plant-based protein product (often in excess of 40 ingredients). Many of these are chemicals we cannot even pronounce the name of and certainly do not know what they are.

Consider the processing required.

Meat involves limited processing while plant-based proteins may require first breaking apart ingredients and then putting them all back together again so they resemble the desired “meat”. Now this sounds healthy, does it not?

What about the environmental argument? Surely plant-based are better! It seems to me that livestock form an integral part of a strong grain production system to require less

chemical fertilizer to grow crops and keep or increase the organic matter and life within the soil.

Recommendations for “sustainable” agriculture and/or organic systems promote diversified systems including livestock using manure as fertilizer.

At a meeting I was at recently, the suggestion was made that consumers simply do not have accurate information to think through their “buy” decision. Through TV ads to simple understanding of health and environmental issues, the assumption is that plant-based proteins are better and animals do not have to die! The consumer understands this seemingly without question. The impression appears to be that meat is bad, plant-based therefore must be better.

However, when presented with accurate information particularly around the amount of processing needed for plant-based proteins and the numerous ingredients contained, some consumers seem to make a

different buying choice. Early indications that these balanced ads presenting logical, factual information give the needed information. With this, perhaps the future of plant-based proteins is not as bright as the current trend would indicate.

Should those of us within the “meat” industry be sure that these balanced ads are presented on TV and in social media? Would anyone else (restaurants) or any other group consider this, especially meat companies who are now so heavily invested in the plant-based protein industry? Certainly we as livestock producers are biased, but are not the others who advertise, such as fast food restaurants, also biased in their attempt to attract shoppers on seemingly popular trends?

I suggest we stand up and be counted and spend the needed advertising money to balance the argument, make shoppers think as they consider their buying decision!

What do you think? ◊

Happy Holidays!

PERTH COUNTY PORK PRODUCERS PORK PRODUCTS • Smoked Pork Chops • Fresh Pork Chops • Stuffed Loin Chops • Smoked Sausage • Smoked Cheddar Sausage • Bacon Burgers • Teriyaki Pork Steaks AVAILABLE FROM: Dave and Ruth Kloostra (Monkton) ..............................519-347-2619 Ted and Donna Keller (Mitchell) ....................................519-348-9836 Jerry and Sandra DeGroot (Kinkora) ............................519-393-5237 Leis Feed (Milverton) ......................................................519-595-2048 Have the Perth County Pork Producers BBQ at your next event or celebration!

Phone Jerry DeGroot 519-393-5237 for more information.

December 2019 83

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 providedEmail: to OFA Members in Grey County by the GCFA

Grey County farmers’ priorities and interests important to GCFA As 2019 comes to a close, your Grey County Federation of Agriculture (GCFA) Board is reflecting and planning about how to best reflect the priorities and interests of Grey County Farmers.

We continue to work in a committee structure with the two committees set as: 1) Social (Chair Diane Booker) 2) Government (Chair Hugh Simpson) This coming year our Board and Committee work will be guided by three main areas of focus: 1) Young Farmers 2) Municipal Politics 3) Environmental Relationships The Social committee is planning to publish its schedule of events soon so that our members and friends can plan ahead to participate. There are fun times and some important information to share so we hope you will stay tuned and chime in when you can.

The government committee intends to work up a plan that will see GCFA raise its profile with

politicians and staff at the municipal level. We expect to bring delegations to municipal council meetings as well as arrange smaller and informal meetings to introduce GCFA and offer our help to Councillors and staff as they conduct their deliberations on policy that will affect Grey County farmers.

This year is the final year in the cycle for farm property tax adjustments and while we were gratified that Grey County agreed to our financial proposal that led to a fair and equitable farm tax adjustment, there is more work to do.

We’ll lead the way in this and when it comes time to vote, we will look forward to our members’ support.

Our partners at the conservation authorities have undergone some changes this past year; personnel retirements and changes to scope are completed or pending. GCFA continues to feel that the farm community plays an important stakeholder role with the CAs and we plan to join them in formal and informal meetings as

appropriate to ensure that our offer to be available to help as community agriculture advisors is known.

We’ve had a busy year, and now as harvest is mostly behind us, we expect to have a busy winter.

Should you feel interested in any of the things discussed here or have input on other matters related to Grey County farms, your voice is welcome. Your GCFA board meets regularly and the agenda and proceedings are open to you.

Watch this space for meeting notices or call us at the Hanover office number 519-364-3050 to find out what’s going on.

Of course, we’ll keep you informed through The Rural Voice magazine and would also like to include you on our emails so that you get updates quickly on important agricultural subjects. If you’d like us to include your email on our list, please make sure that the OFA has your information. ◊ – Submitted by Hugh Simpson, President GCFA

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

DIRECTORS’ MEETINGS 2020

The Grey County Federation of Agriculture

•January 9

would like to extend best wishes for a

• March 12

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

• June 11

to all OFA members and farm families

• August 13 • September 10 • November 12 All meetings are held at Grey Ag Services, Markdale

84 The Rural Voice

Merry Christmas!

in Grey County and thank you to everyone for their support this past year.

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

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 NEWSLETTER Advice from a vet on raising healthy animals

Any opinion expressed is that of individual County Directors or Representatives and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture or Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

By Dr. Sue Burlatschenko, ABVP, MPH Raising pigs on a small scale can be rewarding for those who enjoy animal husbandry and having homeraised meat in the freezer. Before starting with your own pigs, there are a few considerations that will make your efforts simpler.

First, you should think about where you will take your pigs when the time comes to have them butchered. And how you will transport them to that location. What weight of pig would be good for you?

A commercial pig will weigh about 130 kg live before butchering, and produce about 101 kg of meat.

Remember that pigs are social, and you’ll likely want two. You may then want to produce a lighter-weight pig, or sell part of it. Thinking ahead about these things will save a bit of last minute scrambling.

You can source pigs directly from commercial swine operations which may have extra pigs for sale for your purposes. There are livestock auctions where young pigs can be purchased, but buying direct is best for pig health. It is better to buy small scale pigs at a weight of 25 kg or so, as they are hardier at this size than smaller pigs and easier to keep.

Think about pig housing too.

Understanding pig behaviour will help with the design of your pig facilities. Pigs will need shelter from the elements. A small barn or shed is good. Are they going to be kept inside or allowed to roam outside in a pen?

If they are inside, having a “piggy box” is a great idea for colder weather. The box should have three sides and a roof, and be high enough so that the pigs can’t bump against it.

The box can be filled with straw or shavings, and the pigs will have a nice little nest. Pigs like to burrow when cold, so bed them well in cold weather. Remember to clean the pen and the box regularly. Pigs are actually quite tidy and don’t like to sleep in a dirty area.

Pigs that have access to the outdoors will need sturdy fencing, as pigs are very capable of deconstructing pens and getting loose.

Having an electric wire on the inside of the fence will help keep the pigs away from the fenceline. Whether indoors or outdoors, think about manure disposal (yes, you will have to clean pens) and where you are going to put it.

Pigs do enjoy a wide variety of feedstuffs in their diet. Although they will dine on grasses if on pasture, it is not sufficient to allow for growth and health. Pigs require a grain base to grow properly. This base is easily purchased as a commercial swine diet, found in most livestock feed outlets. You can talk to your livestock veterinarian or the feed company about the different stages of feeding pigs. Having a self-feeder for pigs is very handy, and these can be purchased used or built at home. The

feeder is filled, and the pigs can dine as they please. Keep an eye on the feeder, as the larger the pig grows, the more it eats. Note that feeding meat or meat by-products is illegal in Canada, and this includes table scraps from your dinner.

Make sure that the pigs have a good supply of fresh water. You can use troughs or pig drinker devices.

Automatic waterers are a good idea and frost-proof waterers can be used outdoors.

Pigs occasionally become ill, much as people do. You will want to have a veterinarian check out a sick pig and recommend treatment, if necessary.

Having some toys for your pigs to play with is a wonderful idea. Pigs like to keep busy. Old basketballs, soccer balls, hanging ropes or chains are all fun things for pigs. You can purchase commercial pig toys to keep them entertained.

This article is a brief overview of backyard pig production. There are numerous articles and suggestions found on-line for raising smallholder pigs that have more detail. Do your homework and plan ahead before you start with your own little herd.

Raising pigs for yourself is fun, challenging, and always a learning experience in animal husbandry.

Find more information on Small Scale Pig Production in Ontario by visiting the Ontario Pork website at ontariopork.on.ca/producers/small. ◊

Warmest wishes at Christmas!

The Bruce County Federation of Agriculture Executive and Directors would like to wish a Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year to all the farm families in Bruce County and thank you for your support this past year.

December 2019 85

Perth County Federation of Agriculture Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Agnes Denham, Secretary: 519-229-8866 or 1-866-829-8866 Tim Halliday, President: thalliday33@gmail.com or 519-291-3374

5th Annual Perth County Harvest Gala held in Stratford On Saturday, November 16 the Perth County Federation of Agriculture (PCFA) hosted its fifth Annual Perth County Harvest Gala in Stratford. 2019 also marks PCFA’s 75th Anniversary, so it was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the rich history with displays of photos and past boards’ activities.

The evening saw over 350 tickets sold for the event. To help celebrate the 75th Anniversary the Federation presented one extra scholarship and presented a special Anniversary Recognition Award.

For 25 years PCFA has awarded an Agricultural Recognition Award.

This award recognizes contributions to Perth Agriculture and community initiatives.

The recipients demonstrate not only a strong commitment to agriculture, but the betterment of their community and the agricultural industry as a whole. It was PCFA’s honour to present the 2019 award to Bernadine and Warren Wolfe of Mitchell. Our Anniversary Recognition Award was presented to Paul Nairn. Both recipients are strong community leaders and go above and beyond to promote and support the Agricultural Industry.

PCFA presented their Continuing Education Scholarships on Saturday night as well. PCFA awards $1,000 to students entering their second, third or fourth years of postsecondary education. With the extra scholarship three students each received a cheque for $1,000.

This year’s recipients are: Jayden Terpstra, who is enrolled in Food and Agricultural Business at the University of Guelph; Clayton Terpstra, who is at Conestoga College taking ElectricianConstruction and Maintenance and Carissa Marshall, who is attending the University of Guelph, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, majoring in Animal Science. We wish these students all the best in their studies and future endeavours.

The PCFA Continuing Education Scholarships were awarded at the Harvest Gala on November 16. PCFA Director Sharon Weitzel (middle) presents recipents, from left, Clayton Terpstra and Jayden Terpstra with their awards.

Awards were presented at the PCFA Harvest Gala on November 16. From left, Paul Nairn was the recipient of the Special Anniversary Agricultural Recognition Award and Bernadine and Warren Wolfe were the recipients of the 2019 Agriculture Recognition Award.

The evening was a huge success and we want to thank all who attended, supported and were involved. The proceeds of the Gala

will be used to support Ag Education and efforts within Perth County.

A special thank you to our sponsors:

Award Level Sponsor: Tradition Mutual Insurance

President Level Sponsors: MNP, South West Ontario Veterinary Services, Ontario Pork Congress and District 8 Chicken Producers

Benefactor Level Sponsors: Monteith Ritsma Phillips, Trillium Mutual Insurance, Libro, Stolz Sales & Service

Donor Level Sponsors: Grand Valley Fortifiers, Hensall District Co-op, Jantzi Electric, KenPal, Usborne & Hibbert Insurance, Your Neighbourhood Credit Union

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

86 The Rural Voice

Index

Deadline for the January issue of

Keith Siemon Farm Systems ............76 Klondike Guest Ranch ......................45 KMM Farm Drainage ........................64 Kraemer Concrete Ltd ......................77 LAC ..................................................67 Layton Steve ....................................76 Legge Fitness ..........................Cover 6 Lisa Thompson MPP ........................62 Listowel Hearing Centre....................44 Maitland Welding & Machining..........75 Maple Leaves Forever ......................53 Mapleview Agri..................................57 Marquardt Farm Drainage Ltd ..........15 Martin’s Nursery................................64 Mathers Arnold..................................49 McIntee Real Estate..........................76 Metzger Meat Products ......................6 Miller Insurance ................................13 Millstone Crop Services ....................67 Morris Sachs Silo Construction ........80 Nachurs Alpine Solutions..................69 Nature’s Wave Inc ............................27 Nuclear Waste Management ............59 Ontario Standardbred Adoption ........80 Ontario Used Tractor Parts ..............57 Parker & Parker Ltd ............................8 Peak Realty ......................................76

Pride Seeds ......................................33 R.T. Bolton & Son ....................Cover 4 Ridgeway Metals ..............................76 Rural Living ..................................52,53 Rural Routes Pest Control ................76 Rural Voice Books ............................11 Rural Voice Christmas Subs ....Cover 5 Sauble Beach Motorsports......13,63,80 Schmidts Farm Drainage ..................10 Schweiss Doors ................................80 Seifried Farm Equipment ..................14 Sew & Save ......................................55 Sharp’s Creek Forge ........................47 Smyth Welding..................................77 Snowmobile ..................................7,47 South Easthope Mutual Insurance....10 Steffen Well Drilling ..........................76 Stihl ..................................................81 Thies Electric Distributing Co............35 Tradition Mutual Insurance ..............43 Triple P Consulting............................57 Trouw Nutrition ........................Cover 8 Usborne & Hibbert ............................55 WD Hopper & Sons ..........................87 White Carnation ................................55 Wrap up Your Holiday Shopping ......................16,20,28,36,40

W.D. Hopper & Sons Ltd. 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

Our Newest Addition

A & V Kucyk Ltd ................................59 A.G. Hayter Contracting Ltd..............35 Advantage Royal Group....................23 Agri-Solve Inc ..........................Cover 5 Artisanal Chicken Program ..............21 Bag Supplies Canada Ltd ................75 BDO ..................................................23 Belore Trailers ..................................75 Ben Lobb MPP..................................61 Bernie McGlynn/SB Flooring ............64 Bervie Supply....................................13 Bill Walker MPP ..................................9 Bio-Ag ..............................................63 BJ Industries Inc ................................4 Blyth Brewing (Cowbell)......................4 Blyth Festival ............................Cover 7 Brennan Custom Poultry ..................55 Brian Buffinga Electrical....................63 BM&G Community Centre ................49 Bushell’s Auto Sales ........................77 Chalmers Fuels ..................................8 Cliff’s Plumbing ..................................2 Clinton Sporting Goods ....................63 Courtney Grain and Seed ............25,87 Creek Edge Farms............................67 DeDell Seeds ....................................45 Diamond Roof ....................................6 Doc’s Repair ....................................57 Dundalk Credit Union........................41 E&E’s Cloth & Creations ..................27 Easy Lift Doors..................................12 Elma Steel ........................................41 Fawcett Tractor ................................75 Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week ........70-74 Grimo Nut Nursery ............................75 Grober Nutrition........................Cover 4 Hamilton Wood Products ..................59 Haugholm Books ................................5 Hayter & Associates..........................66 Hayter Excavating ..............................9 Hill & Hill Farms ......Inside Front Cover Howick Mutual Insurance..................31 Hunter Steel ............................Cover 3 Huron Motor Products ......................43 Innis New & Used Tractor Parts........75 Interfarms Ontario Inc ..............Cover 3 Jones Harold Enterprises..................76

Licensed by the Ministry of the Environment

May the Peace and Joy of God’s love through Christ, be with you throughout the coming year!

Greetings from Courtney Grain and Seed (2015) Ltd.

The Rural Voice is December 11 December 2019 87

HURON

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

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

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

HCFA holds Annual/Regional meetings in Holmesville

Upcoming Events

The Annual and Regional Meetings for the Huron County Federation of Agriculture (HCFA) were held at the Holmesville Community Centre on October 25.

Results of the elections were: President, Ethan Wallace; VicePresident, Mike Colclough; PastPresident, Erica Murray; East Wawanosh, Ian Scott; Goderich, Jeff Klomps; Hullett, Larry Plaetzer; McKillop, Rob VandenHengel; Stanley, Taylor VanAiken; Tuckersmith: Murray Workman; West Wawanosh, Marinus Bakker; Directors at Large, Paul Klopp, Joan Vincent, Erica Murray; OFA Policy Advisory Councillors, Erica Murray, Rob VandenHengel and Marinus Bakker.

At the HCFA Annual Meeting the HCFA Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture Annual Award was presented to Jacquie Bishop. Mike Colclough presented the award to Jacquie and spoke about the contributions that she has made over the years.

The HCFA is also pleased to announce that John Maaskant has been inducted into the Huron County Agricultural Hall of Fame. John was inducted into the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame earlier in 2019. A wall in the Huron County Museum in Goderich is dedicated to the visionaries who helped shape and develop the agricultural community in Huron County. Pictures and biographies of the Huron County Hall

December 11 & 18 – Two-day Environmental Farm Plan workshop, Wingham. For details email: Lois.Sinclair@ontariosoilcrop.org or call 519-955-3139.

December 12 – Huron County Plowmen’s Association Annual meeting, 7:00 p.m., OMAFRA building, Clinton.

December 25 – Merry Christmas!

HCFA Vice-President Mike Colclough presents Jacquie Bishop with the HCFA Outstanding Contribution to Agricultural annual award at the Annual/Regional meeting held at Holmesville on October 25.

of Fame inductees are displayed in the Huron County Museum. The Huron County Agricultural Hall of Fame is a joint project of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association and the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol.

A huge thank you to the many people who helped with the annual meeting this year. A special thank you to the door prize donors: Blyth Festival, Huron Tractor Ltd. (Blyth), Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Huron Bay Co-operative. Many thanks to those who provided toy tractors to decorate the hall: Huron Tractor Ltd. (Blyth), Garrett Van Dieten, Margaret Vincent, Bob Gordon, McGavin Farm Equipment, TD Canada Trust and Libro Financial Services ◊

Merry Christmas!

The Huron County Federation of Agriculture would like to extend best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all OFA members and farm families this year. Thank you to all for the support you have shown us during 2019. We are looking forward to seeing all that 2020 brings!

Huron County Federation of Agriculture

NO BOARD MEETING IN DECEMBER

Next Board Meeting January 27, 2020 – 8:00 p.m.

Vanastra Office

Congratulations! to Joan Vincent for winning the recent competition to name the Annual Paper.

The “Huron County Ag Review” was circulated prior to the annual meeting in October.

HCFA OFFICE HOURS: The office is open on Mondays and alternate Fridays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

We are also open other days by chance Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/huronfedofag and Facebook at Huron County Federation of Agriculture

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

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