The Rural Voice - July, 2020

July 2020

Rural Voice

The

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

BACKYARD PIGS As COVID-19 continues, rural families are raising chickens, and now backyard pigs!

GREEN BURIALS A green burial lets you be environmentally friendly – dead or alive

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Contents The

Rural Voice THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE

19

22

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

14 Columns Lisa B. Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Keith Roulston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Kate Procter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Jeffrey Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Mabel’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Woodlots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Agrilaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Departments Ruralite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 News & Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Business Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Newsletters National Farmers Union . . . . . . .66 Perth County Pork . . . . . . . . . . .67 Grey County Federation . . . . . .68 Bruce County Federation . . . . . .69 Perth County Federation . . . . . .70 Huron County Federation . . . . . .72

28 JULY 2020 • Cover Photo Jeremiah and Pamela Sommer with backyard pigs. Photo by LBP.

• Deadlines: August – July 14 September Issue – August 11

14 Yes or No to Nuclear Waste?

Long-term storage of nuclear waste is a complicated and contentious issue in South Bruce.

19 Backyard Pigs Bigger gardens, laying hens and now pigs are living in the backyard.

24 Green Burials Even in death, those who care for the environment find ways to lessen their impact.

28 The Legacy Duck Pond What does it take to transform a boggy area into a wetland to attract ducks and wildlife?

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Arnold Mathers, Donna Lacey, Melisa Luymes, Anne Mann, Nancy Fisher, Dorothy Henderson, Bonnie Sitter, Gary Kenny, Jeff Tribe, Amanda Brodhagen, 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

32 Rural Changemakers Giving youth the skills to develop and lead change in communities.

34 Large Animal Care Veterinarian Lee Siertsema finds creative solutions to animal care.

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.

NH

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A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc.

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Ruralite

•

We have a moral obligation

From the Earth

to take this seriously and see if we can

and to the Earth

be part of the solution. ~ Tony Zettel of Willing to Listen, on believing in the process to determine if South Bruce is an ideal location for a deep geological repository to store nuclear waste.

“I feel that a green burial is in line with my environmental beliefs and I want to be able to die leaving the least trace possible as I aim to do while I am alive.” ~ Christine Forand, of the West Grey Green Burial Committee, on choosing to be buried naturally ~

Neil’s One-Liners (Wisdom from McGavin Files) • When all is said and done there will be more said than done.

{

JULY INSPIRATION “My grandfather used to say that

}

once in your life you need a doctor,

Animals all fed, Barn swept and gardens watered, A moment ... to be. ~ Lisa. B. Pot

a lawyer, a policeman and a preacher but three times a day, every day, you need a farmer.”

~Brenda Schoepp, Farmer

For the Lexophiles

•

• When she saw her first strands of grey hair, she thought she’d dye.

• Acupuncture is a jab well done.

That’s the point of it.

•

July 2020 3

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

When you just can’t win for losing Back in the day I used to party a bit with the Franken boys. Man, they made me laugh. With a drink in their hands, a twinkle in their eyes and a general joie de vivre, they dished out rural Ontario colloquialisms at a dizzying rate.

I wish I had written them down because I’d never heard tell such expressions in my immigrant-family household.

Two that drift into my consciousness in certain situations are: “He’s about as useless as tits on a boar,” and, “I tell ya, you just can’t win for losing.”

It’s this last one I’ve found myself using quite frequently recently.

So I have a patio door, screened, that leads to the porch. It was old and had a few tears so my dad brought it to Watson’s Home Hardware in Blyth and they nicely replaced the screen for me.

Dad is my handyman so he reinstalled it and it all looked so perfect it was almost invisible.

At least my puppy thought so.

Bam, went his hard head as he tried to get outside. Thump, went his head as he tried to get back in. Too late, I thought about using duct tape to mark an X at his eye level. Within an hour, my new screen had a little hole where it separated from the seam.

I just shook my head, thinking I had done a great thing getting that screen replaced, but feeling like “I just can’t win for losing.”

I taught that same pupper to pee in the field where the long grass grows.

“Brilliant”, I thought. “He’ll know the lawn is no place to pee and poop – the field is a natural bathroom.”

4 The Rural Voice

But I have this little patch of grass the riding lawnmower is too wide to cut. I usually mow it same day with the push mower but one day of procrastination led to another and that patch got longer and longer. One morning, coffee in hand with feet bare and wet with dew, I went to check on what was blooming and literally stepped right in it.

I can’t get mad at the puppy, can I? He’s only taking what he has learned and extrapolating his knowledge to decide this long patch of grass is grounds for pooping too.

To top it off, – same puppy, different day – my daughter’s new summer job resulted in her first paychecque. We were so proud! We think the win blowing through the screen door blew it off the counter because puppy found it and literally ate it.

The concept of “can’t win for losing” happens over and over.

You cut hay based on a forecast predicting three days of sunshine and a sudden rainstorm blows in just after the windrows are raked and fluffy.

You crowd the cows into a contained area for vaccinations and one tries to jump the gate, knocks it over, and next thing you have a herd of cows careening down the alleyway.

You have a good day writing and have been diligent about saving your material and now you’re on a roll.

Inspiration is flooding your head and words are flowing into the page when, bang ... power goes out.

You said it, “you can’t just win for losing.”

All these forementioned obstacles are solvable and pretty light compared to what is going on in the world right now. It does seem, though, this is a time when we just can’t win for losing.

Pandemics, racism, protests, anger, disparity, privilege and poverty ... these are such huge issues that have been around for so long.

Have we really not found solutions?

Or do we find them and change them?

Such as plastic bags. All of us have now been trained to bring our boxes or cloth bags to grocery stores to carry our groceries home. During

the past three months, as we tried to protect ourselves and each other, we’ve had to leave our cloth bags in the car along with our excellent intentions while our groceries get loaded into plastic bags.

Fuel consumption decreased; a decided “yay” for the environment but creating volatile swings in energy stocks, impacting our opportunity to create a nest egg for retirement.

Hobbyists are raising backyard chickens and pigs and I am a huge fan of both but I know large-scale producers are worried it could create a disease-crisis ... then what?

Viruses are unseen and perhaps we who are white are blinded to our white privilege. It’s such a huge issue and I’m realizing I need to know what I don’t know when learning how deep systemic racism runs in the epigenetics of our whiteness.

Then I think about those grocery bags. If it were only you or I using cloth bags, it wouldn’t make much difference. However when we model the change, it catches on. Someone watches you carry your cloth bags into the store and it inspires others to do the same. The concept of reducing plastic usage to protect our environment ripples and grows into a movement that changes the very way we function. Then, it DOES make a difference (and will again after this pandemic blip).

That isn’t a win/lose. It is a win/win. We can use the same concepts for almost every issue, can’t we?

We start asking questions. We start learning. We wonder how we can be the change using the skills and advantages we possess. As farmers we physically feed the world and as people, we can form relationships with people of every colour to understand, love and connect as humans. We model the change.

If there’s one thing I know it’s that getting to know someone – really know them – is always a win-win.

It’s true that sometimes, despite our best efforts, it feels like we can’t win for losing. How much worse would it be, though, if we didn’t even try? If someone looked at us, and said “he/she is as useless as tits on a boar?” ◊

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July 2020 5

Keith Roulston

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WHO ARE YOUR ANIMALS MEETING? Rabies is a fatal disease and is present in wild animals in Ontario.

If your animals come in contact with a wild animal they could be exposed and infected. Your risk of exposure and infection can also increase if your animals are exposed.

Protect your animals: • Watch your animals. Where possible do not let them roam free • Vaccinate your dogs, cats and ferrets against rabies • Check your animals for bruises and bite wounds.

For more information, visit www.hpph.ca/rabies 6 The Rural Voice

Keith is former publisher of The Rural Voice.

He lives near Blyth, ON.

45 years meeting fascinating people Because deadlines need to be so early in order to get this magazine assembled and printed – not to mention distributed with pandemicinspired on-line shopping making every week like the week before Christmas for Canada Post – I totally forgot that last month’s June issue marked the 45th anniversary of the first edition of The Rural Voice.

Looking back, it was a scrawny little creature that would have been called premature if it had been human. It was an 8-page, black and white tabloid, undermanned on both the editorial and advertising sides in an organization run by an overlyambitious young publisher who was also editor of a local newspaper and another magazine. As if that weren’t enough, our son was born in June 1975. I was also up to my neck playing midwife in the birth of the Blyth Festival.

The real credit for rescuing this underfed publication goes to the Gunby family and Beverley Brown, and, indirectly, to A.Y. and Susan McLean. As I got more and more wrapped up in the theatre world, I sold The Rural Voice in 1978 to McLean Brothers Publishing, publishers for more than a century of The Huron Expositor newspaper in Seaforth. To ensure they were on top of farm issues, the McLeans recruited an advisory board from the farm community, including Sheila Gunby and Beverley Brown.

In 1982, when the McLeans left publishing, they turned over The Rural Voice to Gunby and Brown, who published it from the Gunbys’ farm home near Dungannon. Later, when Brown left, Sheila’s husband Merle took over the magazine’s sales, and daughter Lise Gunby became editor. It was this team that really built up the magazine.

After a few years ownership by

Signal-Star Publishing of Goderich, North Huron Publishing adopted a now healthy adolescent in June, 1991, and it has grown into healthy middle-age in the years since.

Even when I wasn’t publisher of the magazine, I continued to write a monthly column so I’ve been associated with The Rural Voice for all of its 45 years of ups and downs.

A recent note from a farm leader I worked with back in the 1990s, and the obituary in last month’s issue for John Gaunt, the “naked lady” grower, reminded me of the privilege the magazine has provided me. I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of remarkable people. There were the men and women who led different farm organizations, all dedicated supporting the farming industry even if they disagreed with the particulars of how to do it.

I’ve been introduced to so many fascinating, creative entrepreneurs who realized their dreams to grow something new, or find a new way of processing and selling the products of their farms or gardens.

There have been the constant experimenters, intrigued by finding improvements in the way farming is done. Many of these ideas have changed the way you farm – no-till planting, cover crops to keep the soil green all season long, new drainage methods to preserve top soil.

Then there are the specialists and advisers, often the children of farmers themselves, who want to help improve farmers’ crops or livestock, and through that, farmers’ lives.

How different all this could have been if my life had taken a different turn when I graduated from journalism school. Imagine the people I’d have met if I’d worked as a crime reporter for a daily newspaper. Even a glamorous job reporting on Parliament Hill or Queen’s Park would have meant battling through bafflegab to find the truth, rather than dealing with plaintalking farmers.

Recently I reread The Real James Herriot, Jim Wight’s biography of his father Alf Wight, the English veterinarian/author of several bestselling book. Alf Wight always thought he was blessed to work with farmers. I think I have been, too.◊

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July 2020 7

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

When caterpillars turn into butterflies The year 2020 will go down in most of our memories as being one of confusion, turmoil, and for some, disaster. There have been lots of online jokes about the stream of major events and disruptions that have a good chance of changing things in our society forever – some hopefully for the better.

While our social structure has been disrupted, it has given me the opportunity to spend more time in nature, and I have been surprised at the things I have learned. There is a spring-fed pond on the farm where I

grew up. I have spent countless hours there watching nature through the seasons and I didn’t think anything could surprise me there anymore.

But this spring we were spending a bit more time and observing a bit more closely. We were happy to see the return of beavers, who maintain the water level so that it actually is a pond rather than just a marshy weed nursery with no bottom. I would go in the evenings with my binoculars and watch the beavers do their nightly laps back and forth.

My sister got into it too and sent me some pictures – she thought we had nutria back there. Confused, I thought that sounded more like part of some weight-loss program than something that could be living in our pond. Of course, I Googled it, and discovered that sure enough, her photos of the critter definitely looked like a nutria. It couldn’t be a muskrat because it was much too big, but it also couldn’t be a beaver because instead of the big flat paddle tail, it had a skinny ratty tail. While they are not native to our area and are considered invasive, they have been

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raised for their pelts and may have made their way this far. They may have been here for years, undetected.

From what I’ve read about them, they do not cut down trees but will drive beavers away and can cause substantial damage.

We finally got the bulk of the spring work behind us – all the crops planted, sprayed, and all the stone picking we are going to do tidied up for this spring. Just as we were starting to catch our breath, the hot,humid weather rolled in which was quite a bit ahead of schedule. We had severe thunderstorm warnings and heat warnings issued for our area for the same day. I have to admit, I take the severe weather warnings with a grain of salt these days because sometimes it seems as if a heavy dew will trigger a weather warning of some kind.

But this was not one of those kind of warnings. I had driven into town and was headed home, watching the black clouds and feeling my vehicle shift with the wind. I felt a trickle of fear as I wondered how much wind it would take to flip my car over. I thankfully turned onto my concession and was feeling relief that I’d made it home when I drove past my parents’ house and saw three maple trees snapped off at the base – two laying on the driveway, and one that was lifted across to the other side. My Mom and sister had driven through there minutes before the wind tossed those trees like playthings. Of course the first thing in my mind was “tornado”, but I had not seen any funnel clouds and the trunks were not twisted like a tornado might do.

My sister, having lived most of her life in Alberta, wondered if it was a plough wind. I had never heard of that before but discovered it is a meteorological term used to describe winds that are more common in western Canada than here. Plough winds are “strong, sudden downdrafts that bring cool, dense air from aloft, rapidly spreading it outward ahead of a thunderstorm or squall line. Plough winds often strike a larger area than tornadoes but can be just as strong. Straight-line winds are fairly common in the west, inflicting more property damage than

Kate Procter tornadoes” (Environment Canada).

Looking at the way the trees were laying, it definitely looked like something that could have been called a plough wind. Whatever you label it, that storm did some damage and we are still cleaning fallen trees off lawns and crops.

My daughter has been working as a Personal Support Worker at the Braemar Retirement Centre in Wingham. They have been working hard at her home to keep everyone safe and healthy – and recently partnered with the Registered Nurses Association (RNAO) to become a Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO).

I have been so impressed at the things they have been doing to keep the spirits up of both residents and staff. They have had lots of fun activities, but my daughter came home to tell me that they have started a butterfly farm. They had caterpillars, watched them make their cocoons, and then the butterflies emerged and were released. The Braemar Facebook page has beautiful photos of the residents and their butterflies.

My daughter told me the butterflies were orange and black, but not monarchs. We looked them up – and discovered that they were a butterfly that I’ve commonly seen, but never taken the time to learn about. The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is one of the most widely distributed butterflies in the world and has been found one all continents except Australia and Antarctica.

After the scary stories that we’ve heard from around the world and closer to home, it is reassuring to know that not only is our local seniors’ home staying safe and healthy, but also keeping activities that allow the residents to feel engaged, loved, and cared for when their families can’t be there. Once again, I am thankful for all the caregivers and people who are working so hard to care for others and keep them safe – reminding us of the positivity and good in our communities. “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly,” (Chuang Tzu). ◊

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July 2020 9

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

Charlie and the rhubarb Mariel, dark eyes smiling, would watch our two children from her bathroom window that overlooked our small yard and garden.

They were pink-cheeked youngsters then, playing among the morning glories growing up strings over the back porch, one with blonde curls, the other red.

Mariel and Charlie never had kids of their own. Spent a lifetime farming before retiring in town to a new brick bungalow.

There was rhubarb in their backyard, what remained from that they had planted there, hanging on, spindly stalks near the foot of a fat, soft maple, along our mutual property line.

We spoke of our experience of the plant. Charlie, in his suspenders, nopress work pants and shirt, said to take some, there was plenty to spare.

That was at our first house, more of a cottage really.

We fenced the yard, painted the 1940s siding and replaced the roof over the course of four or five years.

Mariel watched from her window as the children arrived and grew.

She baked cookies for us a time or two. Working with Charlie, she maintained a neat household.

It was Charlie’s weekly duty to transport the small amount of refuse the couple generated to the road for pickup. He’d perform the task on Sunday afternoons, one end of string attached to the bottom edge of a battered metal trash can, the other to his one good leg.

With a wooden cane in one gnarled, brown hand, he’d make his way to the end of the paved drive at a shuffling half pace and then back again, the can to be retrieved the next day by the same method.

10 The Rural Voice

Charlie wasn’t a particularly big man, something less than six feet, and so his weight came as a surprise.

Mariel had called. Charlie had fallen. He wanted up from the floor to the sofa. I remember his eyes yet, seeking dignity.

It was early the next spring that we moved from the floodplain neighbourhood, to higher ground across the river.

Some of Charlie’s rhubarb came with us.

Rhubarb may be propagated by dividing existing plants at a time when they’re beginning to emerge.

Simply use a spade to dig into the middle of a plant, to remove a portion of the root.

There was much more sunlight in the new location. The root sections were planted about three feet apart and a year later, following the necessary establishment period, we were amply rewarded. Rhubarb requires rich, well-drained soil – or a sufficient amount of commercial fertilizer – to yield well.

Over the next two or three years the patch was expanded in the same fashion. It wasn’t long though,

however, before the spindly-stalk appearance of the plants returned.

I came upon the remedy during a backroad excursion that took me through the rural municipality of South West Oxford. During a brief stop for baked goods, I noticed a striking patch of rhubarb to which a few inches of horse manure had recently been applied.

This was evidently a small commercial patch supporting the sales of pies and other goods. For our own purposes back home, I’ve found a yearly or twice-yearly application of a bit of compost works well, providing enough of a biological boost to maintain more than a sufficient supply through spring and well into summer’s heat.

Rhubarb is a vegetable that eats like a fruit. Consume only the stalks.

The leaves are mildly toxic, essentially inedible.

We make pies, crumble, jam and even a beverage (a combination of rhubarb, orange juice and ginger ale) with the plant but the first taste of the season begins with a straightforward elixir, stewed rhubarb.

It was my maternal grandmother

Rhubarb is best suited to full sun but can perform reasonably well in partial shade as these five stalks testify. This patch catches the morning and much of the afternoon sun. The leafy plant, well-tended, delivers on aesthetics as well as offering nutritional value for backyard gardeners.

Jeff Carter who taught me the proper method.

Chop your rhubarb into one-inch lengths and place in a pot. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot and heat gradually to the simmering point.

Above all, go slowly. If you reach a rolling boil, you’ll end up with rhubarb pulp rather than chucks of rhubarb that are tender but retain a modicum of firmness.

From there, add sugar or another sweetener to taste.

I prefer stewed rhubarb that’s been refrigerated for a few hours but it can be consumed warm.

The vegetable is reputedly good for the digestive system, supports weight loss and contains a good supply of many minerals and nutrients.

It’s best prepared when freshly picked. It can, however, be easily frozen. Just cut into chunks and spread on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, the chucks can be transferred into jars or plastic containers and stored for up to a year. ◊

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July 2020 11

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

“You look rough,” George Mackenzie said to Dave Winston the other morning as they sat at the picnic table that’s been moved to the parking lot at Mabel’s Grill and has the company of four others now that Mabel’s allowed to have patio service. “Did you have a good night that just went on too late or a bad night from something like a sow with a tough farrowing?”

“Definitely not a night out!” said Dave. “The smoke detector started beeping at three in the morning – not the smoke alarm but the one that warns you that the battery’s low.”

“Why is it that those things only run out of power in the middle of the night?” wondered Molly Whiteside as she delivered their coffees.

Molly’s back at work now that Mabel can serve more customers.

“I tried to ignore it but that thing’s more persistent than those people who call you to tell you there’s a security problem with a credit card that you don’t even have. And then my wife kept jabbing me with an elbow to get up and fix the thing. The problem with having a slim, fit wife is that she’s got power in her jabs and the point of her elbow is sharp enough to get right between your ribs and really hurt.”

“Did you not change the battery when the clocks changed, like they’re always saying to do?” Molly asked.

“I forgot to buy batteries ahead of time and, of course, by the end of the next week, they’d closed everything down for the pandemic and it was easier to plan a moon mission than to go to a hardware store and buy a couple of batteries. I kept thinking I could wait for ‘tomorrow’ and first thing you know tomorrow became yesterday – or rather, last night.”

“The middle of the night is never the best time to have to do something like that,” said Cliff Murray.

“Tell me about it,” Dave said. “I had to go to the garage to get the stepladder which was behind the car,

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the trim mower and a rake – that I stepped on in my bare feet and which promptly smacked me in the chops.”

“I’ll bet you remember to buy batteries before it’s time to change them come fall,” laughed Molly.

“If I don’t, my wife will,” said Dave. “I got revenge by making her steady the ladder while I climbed up and took out the dead battery.

Neither of us got back to sleep.”

You could tell George had something on his mind even before he’d seen Dave’s condition. He finally got to it. “What’s with all the milkweed I see growing in your fencerow?” he asked Cliff.

“I figure its not doing any harm there and you don’t get beautiful butterflies without milkweed for their caterpillars to eat.”

“Ha!” grunted George. “Butterflies are just worms with wings.”

“Oh come on, Monarch butterflies are beautiful,” said Cliff.

“All that milkweed doesn’t look neat,” grumbled George. “I was brought up to have a neat farm. It took me years to get used to no-till planting because it looks so messy.

My Dad used to work the soil so fine you could write your name in it with your finger. Of course that’s when diesel was cheap. Now, with the carbon tax, you’ve almost have to no-till to cut fuel costs.”

“That might be the reason for the carbon tax,” Cliff said slyly.

“Well I like butterflies so thanks, Cliff, for giving them a home,” said Molly. “In fact I think people are prejudiced against bugs in general,” she said as she collected the cream and sugar and took them back inside before they attracted flies, wasps and beer bugs.

“You sound like my granddaughter,” grumbled George.

“You should hear her if she sees me get out the sprayer for my apple trees. I swear, she’d complain if I swatted a mosquito.”

“That’ll be next,” chuckled Dave.

“PETB – People for the Ethical Treatment of Bugs.”

“Or how about PETV?” smiled Cliff. “People for the Ethical Treatment of Viruses. I mean all this soap and water and hand sanitizers.

Isn’t sombody going to make an argument that viruses have a right to live too?”◊

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Energy

Nuclear waste: wanting, willing, unwilling • By Lisa B. Pot •

The proposed plan for a Deep Geological Repository to store nuclear waste in South Bruce has opponents, proponents and a nuclear organization looking for safe solutions

Becky Smith Nuclear Waste Management Organization

H

Michelle (and Gary) Stein Protect our Waterways: No Nuclear Waste

ow will a new plant, more trucks and deep drilling affect the rural and agricultural flavour of rural Bruce County wonders Michelle Stein, a sheep farmer from Teeswater.

She and her family live and farm right beside one of two sites being considered for the deep geological repository (DGR) of nuclear waste from Bruce Power and other Canadian nuclear facilities.

She is afraid of what the DGR proposal could mean to her farm, to agriculture in general and most importantly, to the Great Lakes.

14 The Rural Voice

Tony Zettel Willing to Listen

The proposed plan by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization to construct a deep geological repository to store nuclear waste in either South Bruce or Northern Ontario has neighbours in South Bruce divided over their stance on the project. However, both groups are promoting education and awareness so that residents of Bruce County can make an informed choice. ~ All photos submitted.

Stein is the leader of a group called Protect our Waterways: No Nuclear Waste and the group is actively campaigning against the choice of the Teeswater location as a site for the DGR. Signs protesting the choice are everywhere in the county and they have ramped up the fight with protests and letterwriting campaigns.

In contrast, a group supporting the process of creating a DGR, known as Willing to Listen, is quietly publishing articles to inform and educate readers about the process and nuclear waste on their Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has set up office in Teeswater so that concerned citizens can come in and ask questions about the whole issue which is to be decided in 2023.

In three years, a decision needs to be made whether Bruce County is a “willing host community” for the project and all sides are urging people to educate themselves so they can make an informed decision.

Following are three voices, from the three different groups, to express each’s goals, worries and hopes for the proposed DGR plan:

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Voice #1

• Becky Smith • Regional Communications Manager • Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Southwestern Ontario ight now, all the spent fuel is managed aboveground at reactor sites and the majority of it is in Ontario, explains Smith.

When fuel bundles come out of the reactor, they go into wet storage for about 10 years during which time they lose about 99 per cent of their radioactivity. The bundles are then transferred into dry storage containers within a heavilymonitored facility. It’s all very safe and has an excellent safety record, explains Smith.

But what happens in say, 300 years? What if there is another ice age and our buildings are under ice?

How long will institutional controls remain in place to ensure people are around to manage the waste? It’s impossible to answer those questions.

“Although the fuel bundles lose 99 per cent of their radioactivity in those 10 years, they do remain dangerous for upwards of a million years,” says Smith. “Things above ground can change rapidly and that’s why we need a long-term solution. The DGR is a long-term solution.”

Simply put, the DGR is a storage container of rock 700 metres below the surface. The rock in South Bruce is dry and has been unchanged for millions of years, says Smith. It has been researched and found to be an ideal site as a future DGR. The NWMO has investigated many sites during its 10-year site

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selection process and is now down to two: the one near Teeswater in South Bruce and one in Ignace in Northern Ontario.

Nearly every country in the world is pursuing a DGR to dispose of nuclear waste, Smith says.

In Ontario, there is still three years before a decision is to be made.

NWMO wants to work with a “willing host community” and still has drilling to do to ensure the proposed site is safe. “People need all the facts before they can make a decision and we need to present a safety case for that particular site so people can make an informed decision,” says Smith.

The other concern Stein and Protect our Waterways has is the identity of South Bruce as a farming community.

“We are not interesting in becoming a mining community with radioactive waste under our feet,” says Stein. “We chose to live here because it is an agriculture area, not a mining area, with work camps and all that comes with it.”

Furthermore, the group is worried about transportation of the material and that nuclear waste will be in two

spots, not just one.

“The spent fuel rods will still have to be cooled before they can be deposited into the DGR. It’s not like there won’t be waste over there (Bruce Nuclear) anymore. We are not moving the risk, we are just moving part of the risk somewhere else. Now there will be two problem spots.”

Stein proposes that the NWMO wait for a decision until new research can find a way to reuse the nuclear waste, “Let’s give science a chance to

Voice #2

• Protect our Waterways: No Nuclear Waste • Michelle Stein ichelle Stein is a farmer who lives beside the 1,300 acres north of Teeswater where the proposed DGR will be constructed.

She, neighboring farmers and concerned citizens have formed Protect our Waterways: No Nuclear Waste which has been gathering petitions, posting signs and recently, staged a protest in Teeswater against the DGR. Over 100 cars and machines participated in the protest.

Essentially, they are opposed to South Bruce being the host site for the DGR. “We are asking for a referendum to have a yes or no vote to the DGR,” says Stein.

Protect our Waterways says they are concerned about the safety of Ontario’s freshwater if the DGR was constructed.

“They keep talking about the rock being undisturbed and stable and dry but once it is drilled and blasted, it will no longer be undisturbed and stable,” says Stein.

She says the difference between atmospheric and geological pressure means ground water could get into the depository. If it does, it could corrode the storage containers, potentially leading to waste material seeping out, she believes.

(Each side says they have documents proving their points and readers wanting specifics should do more research.)

M

16 The Rural Voice

In June, the group Protect Our Waterways hosted a protest in Teeswater (above) to show their unwillingness for the proposed Deep Geological Repository (below) that would provide long-term storage to containers of nuclear waste (right).

come up with a solution. Can we neutralize it? I don’t have an answer right now but I do know the nuclear waste has been safely stored above ground where it can be monitored.

Once it is buried underground and a sensor indicates there is a leak, how long will it take to get to it and fix it?”

Voice #3 • Willing to Listen • Tony Zettel e are a small group of like-minded people interested in the possibility of safe, permanent storage of nuclear waste,” says Tony Zettel of South Bruce. He is a former manager for Bruce Nuclear and has knowledge of the nuclear industry, which he uses to help translate some of the technical aspects of the project into laymen’s terms.

In terms of the DGR, Zettel and Willing to Listen are using their Facebook site of the same name to share articles and stories from around the world to promote community discussion.

“We are in favour of continuing the process of research and review to share information and foster respectful discussion,” says Zettel.

“Our goal is to have the process continue to fruition because we think it is a good process.”

Moreover, the group is trying to highlight the positive aspects of the project which include economic benefits to the community.

“We also see this as an opportunity to help solve the problem of nuclear waste in Canada,” says Zettel.

Bruce County stores about half of Canada’s nuclear waste and there is a “moral obligation to take this seriously and see if we can be part of the solution.”

Like Protect our Waterways, Willing to Listen says protection of Lake Huron is paramount.

“We live here. We raise food here.

We drink the water and we swim in the lake. If the DGR is not safe for our water, then we will not be in favour of the project,” states Zettel.

“All of that needs to be considered but the international consensus is that a DGR is the safest, long-term option

“W

for the safety of spent nuclear fuel.”

In terms of educating themselves about the issues, Zettel urges readers to read material from the NWMO. He credits the organization as a good source of information.

He also encourages Bruce residents and others concerned about nuclear waste to consider two issues: How long is long-term and how deep is deep?

1) How long is long-term: “We don’t think in terms of 10,000 years. The history of our country only goes back a few hundred years.” However, the issue of storing spent fuel does require that kind of long-term thinking.

2) How deep is deep: “We also have a hard time thinking of how deep, deep really is. People have concerns about the groundwater but 700 metres is not anywhere near close to the proximity of groundwater. It’s over three times as deep as groundwater.”

Zettel repeats that the safety of the water is the number one concern and if the DGR is not safe, they will not be in favour.

But long-term storage of nuclear waste is also an important issue and needs a process to find a solution.

That’s why this group is fostering the sharing of information and discussion to promote the process.

Additional Information on Issues: Transportation: Stein and Protect our Waterways have concerns about the increase in trucks on local roads as well as safety of moving the nuclear waste from site to site.

Smith says there is already a highvolume of trucks with Gay Lea trucks going to and from from the Teeswater plant. As to nuclear waste trucks, she says “We need to make sure we can get fuel from where it is stored to that central location. In both communities we have access routes by road and rail. But that’s not important at this stage of the game.

We won’t be starting to transport fuel until 2043. This project has a very long timeline. Once we identify that single preferred site, then we have to go through a regulatory approval stage which will take several years.

Then apply for a license to contract.”

There are still decades before construction begins and years of construction.

If and when transportation does start, it’s estimated two truckloads a day will be arriving and leaving the facility. The transportation containers are designed to withstand “just about everything.” Smith encourages readers to watch online videos from the NWMO to show how robust the container is.

More Information: Smith invited anyone with questions to sign up for tours of the Bruce Nuclear Facility (when they start again). Or visit her at the Teeswater office. “Over the next three years, I hope people will take the time to learn about it,” she says.

Stein is equally open to conversation and is circulating a petition for residents to sign who are in opposition to the DGR. Zettel encourages readers to use the Willing to Listen Facebook page as an opportunity to read, learn and ask questions. ◊

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18 The Rural Voice

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Pork

Going whole hog with backyard pigs A trio of Berkshire-Duroc cross pigs join the fold at the Sommers property where parents and kids are thoroughly enjoying the pigs’ antics while anticipating the meat to come • By Lisa B. Pot •

T

he Sommers family raises chickens, both layers and broilers, to supply their family’s needs for eggs and chicken. When COVID-19 hit they decided to create a space for backyard pigs to produce their own pork too.

Dad Jeremiah owns Sommers Brothers construction while mom Pam is a holistic healing practitioner as they raise and homeschool their two children, 14-year-old Ethan and 11-year-old Paige.

They live on a micro-hobby farm near Dungannon that is powered by wind and solar energy.

“We had always talked about raising pigs but I made the excuse that we were too busy,” says Pam. “Then COVID-19 hit and while Jeremiah kept working, I had more time.” With goals of saving money and growing food already a part of their family culture, the disruptions to the food chain during the pandemic highlighted the issue of food sovereignty.

Jeremiah and Pam Sommers (above) live off-grid near Dungannon and are moving towards a self-sustainable life by generating their own power with wind and solar energy, raising their own meat and egg-laying chickens, growing a large garden and now, raising backyard pigs to fill their freezer, with extras to sell to family and friends. The trio (right) are quite content in their bedded lean-to loft which protects them from the elements. ~Photo above by Lisa B. Pot, photo at right by Pam Sommers

July 2020 19

Plus, they had space to do it. “We know lots of people who want to do this kind of thing. It seemed kind of crazy not to take advantage of the space … it just all made sense,” says Jeremiah.

Though they had never raised a pig before, the family did know how to do research. Many articles and YouTube videos later, the family learned what is required to raise pigs.

They weren’t aware of the 40-page manual called “Small Producers Guide to Pigs” (see accompanying story) being offered by Ontario Pork but were keen to read it after learning about its existence.

Jeremiah knew from experience with their meat birds that it’s easier to purchase animals than find an abattoir to process them so booking an appointment with the butcher was the first thing they did.

Then, Jeremiah used his construction skills to build a substantial lean-to on the side of the small chicken barn to offer shade and shelter and protect the pigs from the wind. A hard-sided paddock was built to ensure the soonto-arrive pigs could be contained which also served as training ground for an interior electric fence. This was necessary as the goal was to fence a quarter acre of hills and bush for the pigs to wander, root and wallow in. The structure is probably grander than what pigs require but since Jeremiah is a builder, it’s just how he does things.

Three Berkshire-Duroc crossed pigs, two females and one male, were purchased from McQuail’s Meeting Place farm near Lucknow and on arrival, the trio quickly settled into their new digs.

“We put a shock fence six inches off the ground in the paddock and they learned how it works in a couple of hours. They don’t go anywhere near it,” says Jeremiah. Pam is pleased. “I’m not nervous at all about them escaping.”

So far, it has been a great project for the whole family. “We find ourselves just standing out there and watching them. Pigs are so funny!” exclaims Pam. Jeremiah says he finds them hugely entertaining as well.

“We expected them to be timid and stay away from us but it’s been the total opposite. They made themselves 20 The Rural Voice

The garden and chicken coop/piggery is literally in the Sommer’s backyard. Jeremiah built the structure and the feeder (above). The Sommers kids (below), Paige (12) and Ethan (14) have found the animals fascinating, along with some hatched Cayuga ducklings which will also supply meat and eggs for the family.

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at home immediately and the next day they were eating out of our hands. They are super friendly.”

“We bribe them with marshmallows,” laughs Pam. With daughter Paige being an animal lover, Jeremiah and Pam made it clear from the start that these pigs were being raised to provide meat to their family with extra to sell.

The goal is to raise the pigs to 250 pounds at which time they will be taken to Green’s Meat Market in Wingham to be butchered. The Sommers won’t attempt to overwinter them and are looking to gain experience from this summer’s experiment to decide if they will try to raise pigs and piglets in subsequent years.

It was early days when this interview was done. The family has read how destructive pigs can be.

They are counting on the electric fence to protect the paddock and so far, the pigs have not chewed their shelter. As to the rooting and wallowing behaviour that can significantly change the topography of the field, they aren’t worried about that either. They live on a farm of hills and woods and say the pigs are free to muck about the pasture to their heart’s content.

“Honestly, it hasn’t been nearly as daunting as we, and other people, thought it would be,” says Jeremiah of the experience so far. Pam adds that the pandemic has created mental space to take on new projects, as well as time to process how their family wants to live and make use of their property moving forward. So far, the “pig project” has been tremendously rewarding, entertaining and a great learning project for them all. ◊

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Pork The COVID-19 food scare has more rural property owners looking at producing pork

Ontario Pork launches “owner’s manual” to raise backyard pigs The 40-page manual walks new hobby farmers through

• By Bob Reid •

T

here will be a steep learning curve for those hoping to raise a backyard pig for the first time this year.

For instance, they will learn that Pig Trace is not an app on their cell phone to locate any pig that might escape its penning.

It is, in fact, a federal program to track the movement of pigs off-farm in case there should be an outbreak of an infectious disease that would damage the industry.

The breakdowns in the food supply chain related to COVID-19 resulted in heightened concern about their food source for many people. Along with planting backyard gardens for the first time, many want to raise their own pork.

That is being facilitated by Ontario Pork which developed a 40-page manual called Small Producers Guide to Pigs. This is the equivalent of the owner’s manual that consumers receive with household appliances, lawnmowers, etc. to maintain and extend the life of the purchase. These are traditionally immediately put aside by the home owner and their whereabouts become unknown.

Fortunately, Ontario Pork has also put out a pamphlet outlining four basic rules for successfully raising one or more pigs to market weight. In bullet form they are: access a small abattoir (not many left); sign your pig up for Pig Trace; proper diet (no table scraps related to meat products) and, escape-proof quarters.

“Pigs are escape artists,” said Stacy Ash, Director of 22 The Rural Voice

issues of housing, handling and biosecurity so they can raise healthy pigs that don’t escape their holdings.

Communications for Ontario Pork, in relation to the final bullet point. While not having quite the Houdini-like ability of goats, they are much more physically challenging to contain.

Don’t consider using leftover half-inch drywall from a kitchen renovation for penning material to contain a 200plus-pound market hog.

While chickens have found their way into many urban backyards at citizens’ request, not so, at least not yet, for swine. Check with your municipality first to see if there is proper zoning (just in case) for raising pigs, said Ash. The sudden rising interest in backyard pigs was related to food security rather than a need for the pork industry to find good homes for excess up-and-coming pigs when packing plants temporarily closed.

Response to the program has been brisk. The first 200 manuals printed by Ontario Pork went quickly with the next 500 then disappearing at a good rate as well, said Ash. While consumers are getting to know where their pork chops and ham hocks come from, they will get to know their pig personally in the process …. and how that months-long relationship will suddenly end.

“People know what they are getting into,” suggested Ash of the transition necessary for their pig to move from its sturdily constructed backyard penning to the deep chest freezer in the garage.

There was concern at Ontario Pork about controlling

disease spread among backyard pigs, since that is mainly how African Swine Fever (ASF) was spread so rapidly through China – absent biosecurity measures common in commercial operations.

“The risk of ASF is there but it was felt it was a risk worth taking,” said Ash since there was also a focus on raising standards of practice that could improve the entire industry.

Newbie pig owners are encouraged to source a pig(s) through their veterinarian who can help them source the animals.

Pigs are said to be more intelligent than dogs, better at solving puzzles than chimpanzees and very social animals, which has now been recognized in the industry’s move to loose housing. Unless new pig owners wish to provide some level of companionship they may consider purchasing a pair of pigs.

Market hogs are now raised to 260 pounds, dressing out at around 200 pounds so raising a pair of pigs may produce more meat than one nuclear family can or wants to consume. Having the pigs butchered at a government-licensed facility will allow some of the pork to be sold.

For the person who wants to know in minute detail where their pork comes from, any animals butchered on-farm by the owner can only be consumed by the immediate family in residence.

Organizers of the backyard pig program have worked with Farm and Food Care as well as the Ontario Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) to ensure the program provides an acceptable experience for pigs participating.

A pig hotline has been established by Ontario Pork to enhance the human experience by talking first-time pig owners through any husbandry challenges. There is also a web site of instructions for those not needing to hear the calming influence of a pig advisor.

Contact: • Pig hot line is 1-877-668-7675 • Email is memberservices @ontariopork.on.ca • Small Producers Guide to Pigs is available to download at ontariopork.on.ca/producers/small ◊

Corey Hoffarth

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End of Life

Promoting the green burial alternative A proposal has been made to West Grey Council to create a green burial area for people concerned about their ecological footprint while alive ... or dead • By Gary Kenny •

C

Natural and climate-friendly alternatives to traditional burial practices are being promoted by the West Grey Green Burial Committee in its efforts to establish a “green burial” area in Grey County for people concerned about the environmental footprint they will leave when they die, such as the one above located at Willow’s Rest Green Burial Area in Niagara Falls. ~Photos submitted by Willow Rest Green Burial Area

24 The Rural Voice

onventional rituals and practices for the burial of the dead have been deeply ingrained in our religious and cultural traditions. So much so that few people have given them much thought.

But with concern over global warming and the health of the Earth’s ecosystems deepening, that is changing. A growing movement of people are pulling back the shroud of conventional burial custom and proposing nature and climate-friendly alternatives.

West Grey County resident Christine Forand is among them. Forand has been working with a local citizens group on a proposal to West Grey Council to establish a “green burial” area within county boundaries. The West Grey Green Burial Committee’s goal is to create burial options for people concerned about the environmental footprint they’ll bequeath to Planet Earth when they die.

“This is an opportunity for West Grey to join a movement which is gaining popularity worldwide,” Forand says.

Conventional burials are not known for their environmental friendliness. The process of preserving human remains in caskets and interring them in the ground is increasingly regarded as an environmental hazard.

As bodies and coffins decay, embalming and other toxic chemicals leach into the surrounding earth. In some cases the leachate has been known to contaminate local groundwater.

From an environmental perspective, burial vaults and liners are also problematic. They are energy-intensive to produce and, cumulatively, require massive amounts of wood, concrete, and steel.

“Each year [in the U.S.], a given 10-acre cemetery contains enough wood (from the production of wooden caskets) to rebuild over 40 homes and enough formalin (a formaldehyde-water embalming fluid) to fill a small backyard swimming pool,” writes author Rebekah Katzman in Modern Farmer.

One critic of conventional cemeteries, alarmed at their environmental impacts, called them “de facto landfills” packed with hazardous and non-

biodegradable materials.

In recent decades cremation has tended to be the favoured burial option among the more ecologicallyminded. So much so that the rate of cremations in Canada has risen sharply, from 48 percent in 2000 to 72 percent in 2018.

But cremation also takes a toll on the environment. On average, cremation releases 400 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere per body, according to Natural Death Center.org. That’s as much energy in the form of gas and electricity as an 800 kilometre car trip.

The fumes from a crematorium can also contain toxic metals including vaporised mercury from tooth fillings, and other noxious emissions from burnt prosthetics and melted bone cement used during common surgeries such as hip and knee replacements.

For all these reasons, scientists, conservationists and others have been exploring more eco-friendly ways to dispose of our bodies when we die.

Their efforts have spawned a “green” or natural burial movement. Forand and her colleagues have joined its ranks.

“I feel that a green burial is in line with my environmental beliefs and I want to be able to die leaving the least trace possible as I aim to do while alive,” Forand says.

Green burials aren’t new. They are simply a return to our premodern, pre-industrialized ways of caring for the dead.

The modern green burial movement is viewed as an acknowledgement of the value of this longstanding practice.

Most burials before the mid-19th century were effectively green. It wasn’t until the mid- to late-1800s in the U.S. that post-mortem embalming first caught on in North America.

Civil war-era chemical companies discovered a method for preserving the bodies of union army officers so their remains could be returned to their often far away families.

This invasive treatment of the dead is almost exclusively practiced in the Western world. Relatively few countries embalm bodies to any significant degree. Most of the world doesn’t even use caskets.

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The Green Burial Society of Canada has identified five core principles of natural burial: no embalming; direct earth burial; ecological restoration of the burial site; using communal memorialization instead of individual stones at each site; and optimal land use.

With typical green burials, bodies are wrapped in shrouds made of biodegradable fibres and allowed to naturally decompose. Shrouded remains can also be placed in a fully biodegradable casket constructed from sustainably-harvested materials. No vaults are permitted.

At a green burial ground, individual memorials such as headstones are discouraged if allowed at all. Communal memorialization that utilizes simple, naturally-sourced materials is preferred. Ultimately, green burial enthusiasts believe, it’s the green burial site as a whole that becomes a living memorial to the persons whose remains are interred there.

Green cemeteries are typically planted with trees, shrubs, and wildflowers native to the local ecological context. People can visit their deceased loved ones and stroll along winding pathways through wildflower meadows and pollinator gardens.

A well-planned green burial cemetery (or cemetery section) will make optimum use of the land it occupies. Design elements include minimal infrastructure, temporary roads that can be removed and converted into interment lots and section lot plans that maximize interment capacity.

Site preservation and protection are also key components of green cemeteries. Land covenants, protective easements and other guarantees can be put in place to ensure the site is never repurposed and the cemetery’s natural ecosystem is allowed to regenerate and flourish, in perpetuity.

The advocacy efforts of Forand and her colleagues are supported by Mark Richardson, manager of cemetery services for the City of Niagara Falls. In September 2017, the city unveiled Willow’s Rest, the 26 The Rural Voice

first green burial ground in the Niagara region. The site is located adjacent to the Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls’ largest burial ground. Richardson was one of the project’s principal initiators.

Willow’s Rest began as a germ of an idea in 2016 and quickly took off, Richardson says. Some start-up funds were secured outside official city structures, and combined with vocal public support and Richardson’s powers of persuasion, convinced Niagara Falls City Council that a green burial option could work.

Over a three-year period the site has grown from a “dirt field” to a biodiverse two-acre garden featuring winding trails, A scene from the Willow’s Rest Green Burial wildflower meadows, pollinator patches, seven Area in Niagara Falls shows how caskets are designated monarch made of fully biodegradable materials from butterfly gardens, honey sustainably-harvested materials. Headstones bee hives, pockets of shade under more than 200 are discouraged. Instead, trees, plants and native trees and creative groundcovers are planted to stablize the earthy statuary, grave and contribute to the biodiversity of the Richardson says. ecological area. ~Photo submitted by Willow Once a green burial is complete and the grave has Rest Green Burial Area settled, it is planted with locally-indigenous plants. bussing in their students to use the They may include trees and shrubs setting as a resource to teach about along with a groundcover to stabilize nature and ecology. The students also the grave. The plantings, “are learn to be comfortable in a cemetery conducted according to a presetting, Richardson says, “so we’re established plan designed to optimize breaking down the barriers, the the creation, enhancement and stigmas about death and dying,” he integration of the entire interment adds. “Suddenly [the cemetery] is no area into its ecological context,” longer a spooky place,” he adds.

Richardson says.

Richardson says he receives calls The popularity of Willow’s Rest almost weekly from municipalities has grown exponentially, “lending and people from all over North truth to the cliché, ‘if you build it, America, and sometimes other parts they will come’,” Richardson says. of the world, asking for information Not only those who want to be buried about green cemeteries and how to there, but many community groups go about creating them. including nature clubs have been Green burials do not have to attracted to the naturally regenerating mean a revenue loss for funeral site. homes. In fact, funeral homes are Soon after Willow’s Rest opened, able to modify their business plans to elementary and high schools began offer or support fully green services

and still be profitable, Richardson says. Many individuals and families committed to ecological principles are happy to pay if they know they are getting something green and meaningful for their loved ones, he adds.

The West Grey Green Burial Committee had hoped to convene a public information session on green burials this spring. But the COVID19 pandemic intervened forcing the committee to temporarily suspend its plans. Forand expects its work will resume once the novel coronavirus has been brought under acceptable control.

In 2019 West Grey Council declared a climate emergency and committed to taking action to mitigate climate change. “We will definitely ask Council to stand true to their declaration” by supporting the idea of a green burial area, Forand says.

For more information on the West Grey Green Burials Committee’s activities, contact: greenburialswestgrey@gmail.com. ◊

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Conservation

The Duck Pond Conservationist’s project transforms farm’s “boggy hollow” into biodiverse wetland to honour parents’ legacy Harry and Jessie Tribe bought the wet, swampy farm in Oxford County because owning property was a dream come true for a Harry, a former ward of the Children’s Aid Society. To honour his parents (and shoot a few ducks) son Jeff created a wetland on the farm.

• By Jeff Tribe •

D

ucks Unlimited Canada conservationist volunteer Phil Holst’s excitement was infectious. Perched on a knoll, he eloquently shared his vision of a selfsustaining integrated wetland replacing marshy, marginal pasture with enhanced natural habitat promoting rich biodiversity: smaller water features leading through a silt capture pond on through two larger reservoirs, and back around a lone walnut tree into Big Creek as cold and cleaned underwater seepage.

In all honesty, we had simply been hoping to shoot a few ducks. But the logistical and financial support of several organizations coordinated through Holst’s conservationism connectivity elevated the idea of a mere pond into another realm.

We had embarked on a journey whose destination would ultimately deviate from our original intent but proved far more rewarding. As such, our experience would be a metaphor for Ducks Unlimited Canada itself.

Beginning with the basic idea of encouraging waterfowl our way, we came instead to value much more highly the associated habitat improvement. If the odd duck got knocked down eventually, we’d consider it a bonus, but 28 The Rural Voice

only as maybe 15 per cent of what had, for us, become an altered focus.

This story may also supply support for others considering a wetland project, whatever their own vision.

“When you’ve been a boy with nothing but a $10 bike, property looks pretty good,” my dad would smile. Harry Tribe experienced the worst of being an orphan. The longdreamed-of purchase of a 90-acre parcel of Oxford County with wife Jessie represented physical and spiritual grounding for the former ward of the Children’s Aid Society.

Like our family, the farm was well-loved but far from perfect. Joking, my sister Lahring would say she wanted the “rocky hills and boggy hollows” as her share of the inheritance, to which I’d reply: “But I want something too.”

Lahring moved on to a director’s position in a multinational publishing firm while her little brother at least managed to keep family on a farm, continuing to define not only where we came from, but the rural values and lifestyle we wanted to continue.

Nephew Nick Sweazey, a high hoe operator with Steve Watts Excavation, suggested enhancing that lifestyle with a weekend “family rate” job designed to

attract migratory waterfowl.

“Just for the heck of it,” I responded, considering an investment potentially including grandkid pondhockey and fishing, “I’m going to give Ducks Unlimited (DU) a call and see if there’s anything they can do.”

Ultimately, DU’s participation proved the vanguard for several organizations. Having since accepted the position of chair of DU Canada’s conservation committee, Holst’s background includes fishing, hunting, trapping and logging, time as a singer, dancer, model and actor, followed by founding a successful landscaping business in his late 20s.

Business sense, negotiation, design and construction experience combined with a passion for conservation have contributed to Holst willingly mentoring or advocating for landowners through what can be a confusing or intimidating process for the past dozen years.

“It’s not that they don’t believe in a project, it’s just most people may not be in the place to comfortably navigate its requirements on their own.”

Holst’s approach through over 40 completed conservation enhancements in his home area and close to another 20 under various stages of consideration is making costeffective use of funding while working respectfully within a landowner’s operation and business plan. He believes a wetland project, for example, can increase productivity while reducing area by improving adjoining drainage, providing additional topsoil, helping control erosion, enhancing pollination, holding and slowly releasing runoff from extreme weather events and improving the underlying water table. Ideally speaking, making marginal ground, unsuitable for corn or soybean production, more valuable by returning it to its original function.

“That is something that resonates with a majority of landowners.”

Holst takes seriously the responsibility of identifying areas of a property unlikely to be altered after a project is completed. He would not consider projects in the middle of an

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otherwise productive 100-acre field for example, preferring instead marginal, peripheral areas.

“Not one that interferes or reduces a landowner’s ability to be productive,” he says.

Where possible, Holst expands scope or diversity by tapping into additional funding opportunities. In our case, Holst sourced supplemental financing from Stewardship Oxford and the Clean Water Program, Oxford to round out a 1.4 acre wetland supported by in total, 8.9 acres of upland habitat. Holst also connected the Long Point Region Conservation Authority (LPRCA) for a native species tree and shrubplanting.

We were required to sign a document Holst views as a gentleman’s agreement, which practically speaking, assesses the sincerity of a landowner’s long-term commitment to a project. This links to DU Canada’s willingness to commit valuable time and financial resources. He emphasized there is no form of legal title or interference with sale. DU is not about to tell landowners whether they can hunt or not, or how they use their land, Holst continued. The organization may contact the landowner in order to assess a project’s development over time.

“That still requires the landowner’s permission.”

Through our community having its equivalent of Mabel’s Grill, we caught wind of those who considered signing a DU Canada project agreement could lower the value of a farm, while others figured it might increase it for the right person. We hope our determination to continue a cash-poor tradition of farming onto the next generation, as well as respect for our parents’ love for the property, makes the discussion moot. The wetland’s main features – not ponds as much as habitat-enriching, multidepth reservoirs designed to rise and fall in level – were excavated during the winter. The land quickly healed, naturalizing with vegetation’s return that spring, enhanced via the LPRCA planting.

The project was nominated and ultimately chosen for the the 2019 Oxford County Stewardship Award 30 The Rural Voice

Phil Holst of Ducks Limited helped the Tribe family navigate the wetland project while Chad and Nick Tribe (flanking Phil) helped with excavating. Below, Phil and Jeremy talk through the project before the excavator starts to transform the existing bog into a pond.

which recognizes voluntary efforts to protect the county’s natural environment utilizing the Clean Water Program. Within the context of bringing attention to past and ongoing progressive and sustainable efforts from the agricultural land ownership community, and a team effort supported by many individuals within several organizations, we were grateful to participate in the initiative.

I had not requested Watts Excavation be awarded our project’s contract, but be allowed to bid on it.

Its success resulted in Holst training a new conservation excavation team, a second project on one of Watts’ properties, and an employee investigating the potential for a third on a family farm neighbouring ours.

Given soaring land values, committing to a long-term conservation zone is a decision which must be weighed carefully.

But it has been our experience that landowners, understanding the potential benefits and process, would consider strategically improving their own selected piece of agriculturallymarginal ground, but simply may not understand the best possible and most cost-effective way to do so.

We had no clue a single phone call would lead to design, financial and very importantly, logistical support from four separate organizations. A landowner can still figure on writing a cheque, but without those contributions, we would have ended up with a pond instead of being able to see that simple concept rise to a whole other level. We would strongly suggest anyone considering their own project begin by reaching out to their own stewardship council, conservation authority, clean water program or conservation organization such as Ducks Unlimited Canada.

We figured we lost the pasture equivalency of our lawn in exchange for a beautiful wetland, an attached external passive watering tank for our beef cattle, along with the aforementioned recreational opportunities. Well beyond that, it’s hard to put a precise price on an attempt to honour our parents’ memory through a memorial project

respecting and hopefully continuing their legacy of stewardship along with ownership.

There is also the purely selfish, butt-covering notion that this is considered an environmentallyfriendly initiative. Should we be fortunate to live another decade or more, our grandchildren may well challenge us on what we were doing when climate change became undeniable. Whether humans have caused or contributed to it or not isn’t as pertinent as the thought that however it got rolling, we’d better try and do something about it.

Our wetland isn’t going to reverse the problem, but we’d like to believe it updates mom and dad’s legacy for environmental respect within our family with the realization each of us is going to have to take meaningful

action, large and small, to counter a huge problem.

Quite frankly, we also love the view each and every time we walk out our back door, regardless of the fact we’ve shot zero ducks to date. A flock of geese touching down was cause for celebration, as was the arrival of a pair of nesting mallards, joyful frog song, dancing fireflies, and a whole host of bugs and critters we have no idea of identifying, flourishing in enhanced habitat – but are pretty happy to think they are.

Theoretically, our farm remains agri-business and the great majority of the property is dedicated to productive agriculture. However, within that model, the wetland remains a very special little corner where Mother Nature enjoys her share. ◊

Lisa Thompson MPP Huron-Bruce

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Youth

Rural Changemakers develops future leaders Participants will create action plans to benefit their communities

Maggie McBride (top left) and Morgan Dykstra (top middle) have just been named two participants in the new Rural Changemakers program led by Vicki Dickson (top right) and developed by the Rural Ontario Institute.

The goal is to train future leaders and help them realize their ideas are valuable and there is a place for them to stay and serve in rural Ontario.

T

here are many issues to tackle from the fallout of COVID-19 and our youth might just be the ones to find solutions, believes Vicki Dickson, Project Manager for Rural Changemakers.

Having just announced 19 candidates for the pilot project of the brand new Rural Changemakers program created by the Rural Ontario Institute (ROI), Vicki believes these bright, ambitious, young thinkers will flourish in a program designed to develop future-focused leaders.

“The quality of these youth selected is incredible...they bring so much experience with issues such as working with women in crisis, mental health, operating food banks...these are the future leaders we want to keep in Ontario,” says Vicki.

Maggie McBride and Morgan Dykstra of Huron County are two of the 19 candidates who have been chosen for the year-long Rural Changemakers program.

Passionate about sharing information regarding food insecurities in Ontario, Maggie currently works as treasurer of the Exeter Community Food Bank where she is heavily involved in the day-to-day activities.

She was recently awarded the Youth Excellence Award by the South Huron Business and Community Excellence Awards.

32 The Rural Voice

Morgan is a graduate from McGill University who majored in Political Science and minored in History. Now working for the town of St. Marys, she also volunteers with the United Way Perth-Huron.

“Volunteering with United Way has been an enlightening experience,” says Morgan. “I never truly understood the need in our community until I began to review funding applications and read the impact statements for those who receive services from supported partners.”

As Maggie and Morgan and the other 17 cohorts chosen for Rural Changemakers begin, they will be encouraged to examine those very needs in their communities and develop action plans to mobilize community members and make change.

The program promises to be challenging. Each participant chosen is between the ages of 18 and 29 from several counties including Huron and Bruce and reaching into Renfrew, Essex-Kent and on to Hamilton.

The goal is to build leadership skills by working closely with the community to solve high-priority issues, explains Vicki.

• By Lisa B. Pot •

First, they will dive into seven weeks of online, experiential and interactive webinar-learning on the fundamentals of community building.

“They will think about their own community, map community assets plus map their own skills and gaps as a leader,” says Vicki. “That will develop their confidence.”

With these skills on board, the rural changemakers will meet with community leaders for first discovery.

As they learn about their communities’ needs and issues, the rural changemakers will create an “action lab” to address the issue they have chosen as their project.

“ROI is not mandating what they work on or how they work with their community,” says Vicki. “How they attack it will evolve out of their training.”

An additional benefit is the creation of community within their own generation. By increasing their skills and working together, they will establish a team of people whom they can depend on for the rest of their lives. “They’ll have these contacts for always to brainstorm and network with,” says Vicki.

Personally, as a person who has been in leadership development for her entire career, Vicki says this program really spoke to her. “I’ve worked in the corporate healthcare side most of my career,” she says. “I enjoy working with people who make this province stronger because of their ability to take us forward.

This program is such a unique way of tackling this. It’s not just training or sitting through a seminar. This is hands-on – working directly with people in their own community.”

Good ideas need to get in the hands of more people and youth are the perfect demographic to implement those ideas, believes Norman Ragetlie, Acting Chief Officer of the ROI. “Rural Changemakers is a new program and we think it is really relevant in the COVID-19 context because we are tapping into a generation which is used to networking on social media in a way that is not necessarily the faceto-face style of older generations,”

says Ragetlie. “Their way won’t be about committee meetings ... they will mobilize action in different ways.”

The ROI is helping them learn skills to develop that network and create their own sense of community.

“Trying to do things on your own in the rural context can make you feel alone or isolated and not necessarily part of a group,” he adds. He echoes Vicki’s assertion that Rural Changemakers will create bonds

and opportunities among the participants.

ROI has long been known for the Advanced Agriculture Leadership Program which has been running for 38 years. Rural Changemakers takes leadership training to a new generation.

The Rural Voice hopes to follow up with Maggie and Morgan late this fall to discover what project they identified and developed in their communities.◊

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Veterinary

Different practices for different animals Blyth veterinarian passes on big clinic approach to adopt frontier doctor mindset at his own farm animal practice in Huron County •

By Denny Scott

•

There are a lot of cryptorchid horses – male horses with an undescended testicle – in the Amish and Mennonite communities that need castrating, says Dr. Lee Siertsema of Blyth Veterinary Services.

It’s a job other vets weren’t performing so he practiced a technique to get the job done and has since garnered a following in those communities as a vet willing to “try new things.”

F

or Dr. Lee Siertsema, owner of Blyth Veterinary Services, taking care of animals is just part of providing for the community in which he was raised.

Siertsema, who was raised just outside of Blyth, had his heart set on medicine when he graduated from F.E. Madill Secondary School, though back then, he thought his patients would be a little more bipedal. He decided, however, to pursue veterinary school and the rest, as they say, is history.

Blyth Veterinary Services is a full-service large animal medical service, Siertsema said, which differentiates it from a lot of larger farm clinics which specialize in specific animals, like dairy or equine practices. The reason he services pretty much any farm animal is because that’s the kind of service that his customers need: different practices for different animals.

Having grown up on a goat farm, he said he knows there is more than just dairy out there when it comes to vet practices.

34 The Rural Voice

Recently, with his hands firmly entrenched in a horse’s mouth, he explained that his business has swivelled thanks to some invaluable word-of-mouth in the Amish and Mennonite communities in Northern Huron and southern Bruce Counties.

“I did some work for one family and they shared my contact information and now I’m working for dozens of people in these communities,” he said.

The reason he’s found such success is because he puts a focus on caring for the animals in a way that makes sense for the customer, he says. The horse he was working on, for example, had a broken jaw.

“This kind of case could be referred to a larger centre or a specialist,” he said. “That comes with some cost though.

Because I’m my own boss, I can take some chances, do some research and try to find a way to fix it that works for me and for the customer.”

In the case of this horse, that means wiring the bones back together and letting the body heal itself, which would

cost substantially less than having a specialist look at the animal.

“My focus is on keeping it affordable, which means some more hands-on and do-it-yourself work, but it’s rewarding,” he said. “It’s good to work with smaller-scale farmers who have animals other than dairy.”

Siertsema said he made a choice to offer a wide variety of services because he felt that Blyth and the surrounding communities needed someone close to home to handle emergencies for all kinds of farm animals.

That choice has paid off, he said, both with how successful the practice is becoming and with how he is able

to help his customers. He’s also found others who share his vision, saying he is bringing on another local veterinary student who will soon graduate, and expects the two of them to have the same passion for the vocation.

Siertsema started at the Blyth Veterinary Services in May of 2014, returning to Blyth after being away for 10 years, and three years later he started to take over the practice from Dr. Lavern Clark and Dr. Phil Garriock, with the latter still working at the clinic with him.

“The option came to take over and I had been here for awhile and wanted to run my own business,” Siertsema said, saying that desire played to his personality. “I had some interest from big clinics that asked me to work with them, but I want to be my own boss.”

Being his own boss allows him to help out where he can, when he can and means he can really be there for the community and his customers. That attitude is what led to his recent surge in popularity among his Amish and Mennonite customers.

“There are lots of cryptorchid animals in some of those communities,” he said, explaining a cryptorchid is a male horse with an undescended testicle. “There wasn’t anyone around that dealt with castrating those animals, but I figured I’d give it a try.”

After doing some research and watching other veterinarians conduct the procedure online, he decided to take the plunge.

“Word gets out when you’re willing to try new things like that,” he said. “That’s part of what led to my name becoming known the way it has.”

He is happy that those communities have reached out to him because it lets him work with what he believes is a big part of the future of farming and build lasting relationships with customers who will be in agriculture for a long time.

“You have young Amish and Mennonite farmers, and other young sheep and dairy farmers, and those are the people you like to be able to help out,” he said. “That’s agriculture in the new millenium: young people without a lot of backing trying to make their way through agriculture. I can see a lot of my younger self in them.”

He said these young farm families sometimes involve every member helping out, so everything is riding on making farming profitable, which means every time he can save them money or time, it’s a help, even when it means adopting a frontier doctor mindset and experimenting.

Siertsema said he’s happy to be in a small clinic because there can be a lot of turnover and drama in larger centres, and he can avoid most of that trouble, though the trade-off is a lot more Dr. Lee Siertsema of Blyth Veterinary Services enjoys the research it time on-call. takes to develop and practise techniques to care for large animals.

Regardless, he says that he’s found the balance Running a small clinic allows him to form lasting relationships with his he can live with and the rewarding days make it all clients though it does require more time on-call. worthwhile.◊ July 2020 35

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Picnics unify us with natural world

A

picnic is one of many joys in the summer. Even in this Covid-19 time, it is possible to find a quiet spot outdoors, on lawn chairs beside the tractor, on the back deck or under a shade tree. Picnic food somehow seems tastier. Eating is relaxed and fun. A meal eaten outdoors restores the spirit.

In the book, Sisters in the Wilderness, Canadian writerhistorian, Charlotte Gray tells the life story of two remarkable sisters, Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill who emigrated to Canada from England in 1837. Both sisters and their husbands, part of the English and Scottish gentry, were unprepared and unable to carve out a farm in the heavily wooded areas near Peterborough, Ontario.

They lived with grinding poverty, endless cycles of pregnancies and births, the death of some of their children, near starvation, house fires and, the greatest indignity of all, Susanna and Catherine, who were published authors in England, could find no outlet for their writing in the rough, soul-grinding toil of their new life.

Several things helped them endure: their trust in God’s goodness, support from family and regular picnics at the lake. Despite their many troubles, eating in nature with others restored them and gave them strength to endure.

Picnics remind us of our unity and dependence on the natural world.

A picnic may be as simple as ham sandwiches, potato chips and fresh fruit. But, if you want to try something slightly more ambitious, these are great picnic choices.

Simple Picnic Spareribs.

These ribs, cooked in advance, are as delicious at room temperature as they are when they are hot. Use either spareribs (side ribs) or back ribs. Side ribs tend to be fattier but slow roasting leaves them juicy and the fat is rendered into the pan. Be sure to pack lots of paper towels or wipes for fingers at the picnic.

Ingredients: 2 racks pork ribs Marinade ¼ cup oil ¼ cup soy or Worcestershire

sauce ¼ cup ketchup, tomato sauce or chili sauce ¼ cup water.

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Spareribs (top), cooked in advance are a sweet and sticky treat to have on a picnic. Not quite as messy are Italian Picnic Sandwiches (above) which improves in flavour when made an hour before serving. Baked S’more Squares (right) are popular with children and teens at summer picnics.

July 2020 37

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Recipes Directions: Combine the marinade items in a small glass jar with a lid and shake.

Brush marinade on both sides of the ribs and place ribs, curved side up in a roasting pan.

If you have time, marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, but if not, bake immediately in a 300° oven for 1 hour. You may also opt to barbeque on low heat for about an hour.

Golden Picnic Chicken Our American neighbours make an art form of serving fried chicken at a picnic. Here is a simpler and equally delicious baked chicken to transport to a picnic.

Ingredients 4 chicken legs or 8 chicken thighs 1 tbsp liquid honey 1 tbsp butter or margarine (melted) 1 tbsp prepared mustard. ½ tsp salt ½ tsp curry powder.

Directions Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper and set chicken on pan.

Combine remaining ingredients.

(Shaking them in a glass jar with lid works well). Use a pastry brush or soft spatula to paint the chicken.

Bake for 1 hour in 350° oven until golden brown.

Italian Picnic Sandwich This attractive easy-to-transport sandwich improves in flavour if made an hour before serving and left to infuse at room temperature. (There is no meat in this sandwich, so it is safe to do so.) I use my food processor to slice the pepper and onions super thin. Remember to take along a serrated bread knife for the picnic. Serves 4.

Ingredients: 1 loaf soft wide Italian or French bread 4 cloves garlic, crushed into 1/3 cup olive oil 1 tsp each dried basil and oregano (If you have fresh basil in the garden, omit the dried herb and layer fresh basil leaves on top of the sandwich filling.)

1 sweet pepper (any colour), thinly sliced About 1 cup of sweet or red onion thinly sliced

1-2 tomatoes, thinly sliced (set on paper towel after slicing to absorb some of the juice) 5 slices smoked cheese Chopped black olives (optional) Salt and pepper Directions: Slice the bread in half horizontally but do not slice completely to the edge. Gently open the bread (like a book) and pull out some of the soft inner bread from each half. (These bread chunks can be dried on a plate on the kitchen counter, crumbled and used later for a crispy topping on macaroni and cheese or a casserole.)

Combine the oil with the garlic, oregano and basil. Pour the oil mixture evenly over the cut inside part of the bread and spread with a kitchen knife.

Layer the pepper, onion, tomato, cheese, olives (if using) and fresh basil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Press the top half of the loaf onto the filled half. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap until ready to use.

To serve, cut vertically into 4 hearty sandwiches using a serrated knife.

Baked S’more Squares Cookies, pan cakes and fresh fruit are good choices for a picnic dessert.

I’ve taken along these S’more Squares to dozens of picnics and they are especially popular with children and teens. S’mores have been a treat for over 100 years and it is believed that this campsite treat had its origin in the Scouting movement. Of course, they get their name from the fact that you eat one and you want s’more.

Ingredients: Graham crackers (enough to fit tightly on a large rimmed baking sheet , lined with parchment paper. I used a large jelly-roll size, 11” x 17”, but use whatever size you have, making sure that the Graham crackers fit snugly to the edge) 1 ½ cup butter or margarine 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1 ½ cups chopped chocolate (Cadbury’s milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chunks) 48 large marshmallows (approximately) Directions:

Arrange graham crackers tightly in a single layer on a rimmed parchment-lined cooking sheet.

Melt butter and stir in brown sugar and salt. Bring to a boil and pour evenly over crackers.

Bake for 8 minutes in a 400° oven.

Remove pan from oven and sprinkle with chocolate pieces.

Return to oven and bake for 2 minutes or until chocolate melts.

(You may need to use a kitchen knife to smooth down some of the chocolate.)

Top with marshmallows, spacing them about ½ inch apart. Broil for 12 minutes, or until the marshmallow are soft and golden.

Remove from oven and, using a metal spatula, gently press down marshmallows. Cool and cut into 2inch squares, leaving one marshmallow on each square.

Mint Tea There are endless choices for chilled canned picnic beverages but if you would like to try your own, mint tea or rhubarb punch are good options.

Ingredients: 2 teabags (black or green) 1 cup fresh mint, washed and firmly packed ¼ to ½ cup white sugar, depending on taste 4 cups boiling water ¼ cup lemon juice Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large tea pot or pan. Steep for 15 minutes, strain and chill. Serve with ice.

Rhubarb Punch Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 3 ½ cups water ¼ tsp cream of tartar 5 cups rhubarb, cut into chunks 1 cinnamon stick, 5 whole cloves, rind from 1 orange Directions: Gently boil together all the ingredients for about 20 minutes.

Using a sieve or cheesecloth, strain to remove cinnamon stick, cloves, orange rind and rhubarb pulp.

Chill and serve, mixed half and half with ice water, ginger ale or club soda. ◊ July 2020 39

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Rural Living

A Country Guide for the Rural Homestead

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

Gypsy moth caterpillars are very destructive this year I hope you are all well and healthy during this time of COVID-19 and when you read this you will be at the hugging stage for family.

With everything going on this year, or rather not going on, I found out it was just as busy this spring as last spring. Due to the cancellation of so many events, we had time to take on a few projects. Despite the extra house projects, I did have time to better monitor insect damage around the garden and react more quickly.

I am sure you were all monitoring for the lily leaf beetle in your garden.

I was so surprised when my Turk’s Cap lily came up this spring. Not all was lost when the lily beetle had eaten it back to nothing last summer.

I feared I had lost them altogether. I began in May this year checking all my Asiatic and Oriental lilies for the striking red lily beetles. They overwinter in the soil or in plant debris and lay their eggs early in the growing season. They start laying eggs on spring blooming fritilaria.

These beetles are pretty smart. They will drop to the ground in response to any movement. And then they flip over so you cannot see their black under-belly against the dark earth. So the trick is to have a small container of soapy water with a drop of cooking oil in it poised carefully at the base of the lily plant, preferably on the side where you see the beetle.

I caught quite a few this way and my lilies are looking pretty good. I am still checking for yellow to orange larvae on the underside of leaves.

They are covered in a slimy black 42 The Rural Voice

fecal shield that allows them to appear as “bird dropping”. Same process, soapy water with oil and a quick wipe. Now if I could do something about the chipmunks.

They nipped off the one Turk’s Cap lily at the base. To save the second one I cut the bottom off a half-gallon pot and used it as a big cuff around the lilies. I can just picture the wee chipmunk leaning over the edge of the cuff and nipping off the top of the remaining lily. So no flowers but at least I will have the bulb well fed and ready for next year. Gardeners have to be ever optimistic and vigilant.

The next big threat/challenge in the garden was first noticed in the newly planted maple trees. We planted five bare root, seven-foot-tall

You can only squish so many caterpillars before you need to get out a spray of soap and oil to deter the damage of gypsy moths caterpillars. They prefer oak but will happily munch on maples and birch trees as well.

To deter them next year, you can wrap the trunks with burlap. The crawling caterpillars get caught in the cuff of the burlap so that the gardener can squish the lot all in one spot.

whips, complete with stakes to support them for the first one to two years.

They are along the end of the lane and we could easily see the leaves coming out when we drove up the lane. A week or so later we were out in the field checking the progress of the much smaller trees. Our attention was distracted with the bluebirds nesting in one of our boxes and a pair of tree swallows swooping over the next box. Both species are voracious insect feeders and yet small caterpillars were decimating the maple trees!

Squishing caterpillars is not a big deal and we set to work. They were on the leaves and we noticed on closer inspection they were also on

Gardening leaf stems and on the trunk. An army moving right in!

You can only manually deal with this so long and then out comes the spray, the same mixture of dish soap, oil and water. Armed with a small hand sprayer and a step stool I headed to the field. I am sure the neighbours were wondering “what are they up to now!” With the step stool I was able to carefully bend the tops down so I could deal with the caterpillars at the top. Spraying is only so good, compared to gloved fingers nimbly squishing everything in sight!

We were up against the gypsy moth! They prefer oak but will not pause when confronted with maple, birch, aspen and other assorted hardwoods. They are not fussy and will eat a lot of other leaves. A friend had two new golden prairie dogwoods decimated before they went into the garden!

We spent a few days last year wiping down light brown fuzzy egg clusters on the large birch tree off the deck and then up along the top of the pergola where we found them tucked along the beams and on the siding.

Just when you think you have them all, you see an egg cluster on the trunk of the gingko tree, or under the lip of a garden planter! They are very sneaky and adaptable. They have some sort of webbing for travel and we have seen the caterpillars “hanging on a breeze” under a tree; wafting along until they land on a plant or another tree.

We are ready for next year. To thwart the caterpillars next spring we have already wrapped the trunks of our new maples and a struggling oak tree with a strip of six or seven-inch wide burlap at ground level. It is secured with burlap twine a couple of inches below the top of the strip so you can roll the top down making a cuff. The idea is that the caterpillars will get caught in the cuff and you simply squeeze the cuff every day when the caterpillars are active and this should reduce their numbers.

You can refresh, if needed, in the fall so you are ready for spring infestation. ◊

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Business

Taking control of medical information Tamvoes has developed online software to help clients manage their personal health and well-being information • By Lisa B. Pot •

W

hen Jessica and Joshua Lunshof’s mother was dying of cancer, they watched how answering people’s questions about her illness was draining her of

In a family photo of the Joshua Lunshof family with his mom, Yvonne De Voes (top) the Lunshof family remembers good times but also how difficult living with cancer was. Daughter Jessica Lunshof and University of Waterloo student Madison McBay (above) designed Tamvoes (middle), a program that would have helped Jessica’s mom navigate, control and share her medical information. Now, it can help others. ~Photos submitted

44 The Rural Voice

energy.

“She was tired and depressed and at times she struggled with the pain and emotional situation,” states Joshua. “It was very draining and hard to watch.”

Keeping track of all her appointments, bloodwork, medical reports and how she felt day-to-day was what daughter Jessica could do. It was also draining.

“I would share some of that information on Facebook with about 20 family members who needed and wanted to know,” remembers Jessica, a nurse, Seaforth property owner and entrepreneur. “It would have been so much easier for her if they could go online and read about her journey rather than make the poor, dying woman repeat herself over and over.”

Out of that need, Jessica came up with the concept of Tamvoes, a digital platform where patients can record all their medical information to share with family, friends and medical professionals. She co-founded the user-based platform with University of Waterloo student Madison McBay and the company is now owned by Madison and Joshua.

“This is a user-based platform that empowers users and gives them control over their medical information,” explains Madison. “It is a virtual journey of events in chronological order so the patients, and whoever they share it with, have time to look it over.”

Jessica’s journey with her mother was emotional but familiar because as a nurse who has worked in many different hospitals, she has seen how all the accumulative information can be overwhelming. “I’ve travelled through the health-care system and seen the repetition,” she says. “This program allows individuals to take the initiative and educate themselves, allowing them to save time and energy with their data and share the most important information.”

She called it Tamvoes to honour family members, including her mother, Yvonne De Voes.

promotion of health,� says Jessica.

The version of Tamvoes that has just been launched has been funded by government grants, including monies from Huron Community Futures specific for being a womenled company.

Tamvoes was incorporated in May 2019 and the May 2020 launch means it only took a year to create the product. “The decision to go live in one year means it is not as robust a product as wanted, but we wanted to launch early so that people could track COVID-19 symptoms from home,� Jessica explains.

The system works fine, it’s just that there are multiple components the team wants to add. These include journaling assistance, health profiles, personal data trust, integrating with other platforms, downloading

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medical reports and working closer with medical professionals to share information.

Currently in the pre-revenue stage, Tamvoes plans to offer a premier version for income generation. Plus, they hope to offer block registration by partnering with companies that could offer it as a benefit to their employees.

Jessica wishes her mother could have used Tamvoes to record and share her journey through cancer so that when people visited, they could spend time connecting with her instead of needing updates on the medical side of the situation.

Nevertheless, she’s excited the platform has launched now so families will have a more efficient way to track and share medical information. ◊

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Jessica’s idea came to fruition with help from Madison who originally partnered with Jessica as a co-op student while studying Health Informatics at the University of Waterloo. Health Informatics combines health and computer science. Now a co-founder and senior vice-president of Tamvoes, Madison explains that Tamvoes is using expertise from JRS Development to create the platform which launched free to users in May. Tamvoes continues to work closely with JRS but is adding its own development team to have in-house expertise moving forward. Security measures to ensure privacy will be “just as good as online banking� promises Madison.

Currently, Tamvoes has 10 employees.

The platform is based on the concept of journaling information to keep track of how the patient feels, their appointments and any results or treatments.

It’s meant to be user-friendly and was tested by seniors in Huron County. “I am quite technical and can have an extravagant vision but we wanted to keep it simple for users,� says Madison. “We wanted to make sure every button on the screen did exactly what users would know it was for. For instance, we had used a privacy button for viewing with an eyeball. Now it also says viewing.� This was important for their audience which will include seniors who prefer simple, easy, data creation.

Once information is inputted or downloaded from hospital or medical clinics (an option currently being worked on), clients can then share the information with up to five family members. “We think being able to share medical information will make their lives more efficient,� says Jessica. “There is a sense of security in knowing all their information is in one spot and that if something happened to them, their family members would know what to do.�

Also, travellers can use Tamvoes to bring along the electronic record of their medical data, making them feel more secure. “I’m all about efficiency and

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News

Demo Farm planted and ready to grow Last year’s contoured/controlled drainage project is working and routinely monitored as new crop is planted One year after showing hundreds of visitors how contoured/controlled drainage on a slope could work to prevent erosion at the Huronview Demo Farm, the fields have been planted. The project included the construction of terraces, a wetland and a grassed buffer.

Routinely monitored, the project can show farmers how similar drainage solutions could work on their farms.

A

demonstration day drew hundreds of interested people from far and wide to the Huronview Demo Farm, near Clinton, Ontario, on June 15, 2019.

One year later, in 2020, the industry and community partners continue to move forward with this innovative agriculture and water quality research project.

“One year ago we introduced this important project, at the demo day, to agricultural producers, people in the drainage industry and other interested people from the community,” said Alan Willits, President of Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association (HSCIA). “A year later, we are pleased to see how much has been done to keep this project on track and progressing.”

The Huronview partners completed the installation of controlled drainage, on a slope, in 2019. This is believed to be a first in Ontario. The Huronview team is continuing to implement work, at the demo farm, in 2020. They are working to find new ways to build soil health, achieve the best possible yields and protect downstream water

quality. Huron County Soil and Crop Improvement Association is leading the project along with the County of Huron, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) and other industry and community partners.

Farmers and agronomists are keeping track of the crop yields and inputs. A team from Ausable Bayfield Conservation is monitoring impacts on flow and quality of water on the surface and below the surface.

Staff have monitored the site since October 2018 to document preinstallation and post-installation data.

The demonstration farm site features a side-by-side-by-side plot of contoured/controlled drainage, conventional drainage, and an area that remains undrained. The site also features a plot comparing 15-foot and 30-foot tile spacing and a demonstration of surface drainage with terraces, a constructed wetland and a grassed buffer.

The team is working with the University of Waterloo to help determine the science-based actions that farmers can implement in their operations. In the meantime, the team

have made some of the data (i.e., air temperature, rainfall, soil moisture, eventually tile water levels) available in real-time (https://www.huronview. net/real-time-climate).

Huron Soil and Crop members are busy in 2020 adding features to the demonstration farm including grassed buffer and pollinator strips.

ABCA staff has produced and shared informative videos about some recent work at the Huronview site (Visit https://www. huronview.net).

The Huronview Demonstration Farm drainage innovation project was funded and supported by dozens of partners, including the Huron County Clean Water Project, the Land Improvement Contractors of Ontario (LICO), Ducks Unlimited Canada and Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. This project was also funded in part through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative. ◊ ~Submitted by Tim Cumming of the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority and the Huron Crop and Soil Improvement Association July 2020 47

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Advice • By Denny Scott •

Wild chervil has gotten too wild Wild Chervil, otherwise known as Cow Parsley, is an aggressive spreader and is very difficult to control

H

uron County is facing a new threat to agriculture in wild chervil, an invasive weed that is relatively little-known in the area according to Morris-Turnberry Director of Public Works Mike Alcock.

Alcock, explained that wild chervil, also known as cow parsley, has been a concern in other areas like Bruce County, but it hasn’t shown up in Huron until recently. The major issue with the weed is how little is known about it and how innocuous it can appear when it’s spotted at the roadside, he said.

“People in the area aren’t used to seeing it and probably think it’s wild carrots,” he said. “Most farmers, including local farmers who have farmed the area for a long time, haven’t heard of it and now we’re finding it all over the place.”

Alcock said it’s been discovered in municipal drains and on roadsides, so it’s hard to tell where it started and where it’s spread, but there’s a definite epicentre for the weed in Morris-Turnberry.

The plant, which is regulated by the provincial Weed Control Act due to its known impact on agriculture, is difficult to control for several reasons, Alcock said, including its own physiology and because it grows on the borders on agricultural fields.

As it has no natural competition, it can infiltrate fields and is a very competitive plant, Alcock said, taking both space and nutrients from crops.

“It’s very difficult to control,” he said. “It’s resistant to a lot of herbicides, is very aggressive and propagates by seed very quickly.”

Alcock said the plant has a twoyear life cycle. During the first year, it can go unnoticed as it doesn’t flower, however in the second year it flowers, spreads seeds and dies.

50 The Rural Voice

Townships can’t keep up with, or afford to control Wild Chervil growing alongside farmer’s fields and are asking landowners to help control the aggressive, invasive weed which is not native and is spreading along ditches and the edges of farm fields.

“The plant has a very deep taproot,” Alcock said. “Even RoundUp will only kill the top growth. It won’t get the root and then the plant can regrow from the taproot.”

Alcock said controlling the top growth will prevent the plant from going to seed, but that control has to be persistent and constant or else it will seed.

“You have to make sure it doesn’t flower again when you focus on the top growth,” he said.

As far as what kind of agricultural projects are at risk, Alcock said regularly-worked soil isn’t going to be as impacted as other agricultural practices like organic farming, pasture-land or no-till cropland.

“Because it goes to seed in a second year, it’s not a big problem in plowed fields,” he said. “It is still a concern with roadside growth.”

Alcock is reaching out to landowners for help because the municipality has no way of

Advice controlling the plant without risking crop damage as it gets closer to farmers’ fields, something the municipality can’t afford. “It would be great if people try to control it,� he said, adding everyone needs to work together to deal with the species.

The municipality uses a product called Truvist, which Alcock says is the most effective herbicide when it comes to wild chervil, but it can still survive the treatment. “We spray where we can,� he said. “Our vegetation management contractor doesn’t want to cause crop damage, so we spray as close as is safe, but that leaves a little strip of untreated plants.�

That untreated strip is a problem, he said, because farmers don’t typically like to use Round-Up or other weed killers over property lines because it can cause strips of barren earth which allow weeds to propagate faster.

While mowing can control the weed, he said the flowering and propagating of the plant falls in between municipal mowing cycles. If the municipality were to try and control the weeds through mowing, it would be an expensive proposition, he said.

Alcock said there is one good thing about the plant: it’s the only one locally that has white flowers at the end of May. He said wild carrots don’t bloom this early, so, for now, the plant is easy to identify. “You have to look closely,� he said. “The real distinguishing figure is the flower.�

He said, from afar, the flowers could look like any wildflower, but wild chervil has a very distinctive white flower that resembles an asterisk with five petals.

Unlike some invasive species of plants that have become widelyknown lately, like giant hogweed, wild chervil poses no known risk to humans or livestock, Alcock said.

Other areas are facing problems with the weed and have been for some time, including Kitchener, Teeswater, and St. Thomas, though Alcock knows it’s more widespread.

He said the outbreaks of the weed are going unreported because people

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don’t know how to identify the weed.

He also said people need to be careful when buying wildflower mixes, saying that was how the plant was originally introduced to the area.

“It was originally sold in European wildflower mixes,” he said. “People need to be really, really careful when they’re buying seed mixes, especially foreign ones.”

He said foreign mixes may have noxious weeds that have no competition, adding that’s how giant hogweed arrived in Canada.

“Where they come from isn’t a problem, but they were brought here and they are now a problem,” he said.

Mike Cowbrough, Chief Inspector for the Weed Control Act for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says that wild chervil is currently a regional issue and not widespread.

“Traditionally, Grey County has had the most abundant amount of this weed, but I can find dense populations in other counties,” he said, adding he has encountered it in Haldimand and Niagara Counties.

Cowbrough said Alcock’s drive to deal with the weeds now when they are in a relatively contained area is admirable because it’s the best way to get ahead of the weeds.

“Usually, with any sort of weedy plant, it’s not until it gets to a critical mass that people start to take notice and want to do something about it,” he said. “Unfortunately by that time, there is a significant amount of seed that’s been dispersed, the population density is high and it will take a long time to bring that population down to a more manageable level.

“Nothing is beyond control, but it will take more time and resources to make an impact if you let it overtake a landscape,” he said.

When asked how long it could take to deal with the appearance of the plant, Cowbrough said it could take several years.

“With any sort of persistent weed problem, I like to set the expectation that it will take between three and five years before you see a noticeable improvement [reduction] in the population density of a species that has been allowed to ‘take over’ an area,” he said. “After that time, there

Advice will still be annual management that is needed to keep such a weed in check, but it won’t be as resource intensive.”

While wild chervil is a problem, Huron County Forest Conservation Officer and Weed Inspector Dave Pullen said it isn’t as big an issue as giant hogweed, which is in the same family as wild chervil.

He said he fields far more calls for giant hogweed because it’s more noticeable and because it bears a resemblance to purple angelica, a beneficial native plant.

Fortunately, he said, control methods are similar for both plants given their shared family, however, due to giant hogweed’s ability to cause significant harm to humans and animals, it needs to be handled with more care.

That said, wild chervil not causing that significant a health problem doesn’t mean it can’t prove to be a serious concern, Pullen said, saying it can be a problem in both pastures and roadsides. ◊

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

Corn: planted and spiked in one week As COVID-19 cases declined steadily some regions began reducing restrictions to begin “the reopening of the economy”. Many markets began to rally as this positive news provided a more hopeful view that economic growth would rebound. Jobs data in the U.S. showed an increase in employment, rather than steep declines, and the stock markets rallied with this optimism.

Around mid-June these markets began to falter and uncertainty increased once again. Numerous U.S. states saw increases in the number of infections and market players began to question if market values got ahead of themselves. From this, some U.S. governors threatened to once again reintroduce lockdowns and reestablish restrictions. On the other hand, some regions experienced much less anxiety as new cases continued to fall, such as here in Ontario, which continued to further reduce restrictions and we began to enter Phase 2 of the Ontario government’s plan.

Generally, markets remain volatile and choppy, and need to see tangible improvements before maintaining gains and extending the move higher.

The U.S. Federal reserve continues to be very accommodating, recently extending their bond-buying program to include corporate debt and also providing forward-guidance in regard to interest rates. The Federal reserve has been very clear that interest rates will remain near zero until the economy recovers sufficiently. The Bank of Canada has echoed these sentiments.

The U.S. continues to press China on its need to fulfill its agricultural purchase commitments in respect to the Phase 1 agreement that was signed in January. Overall Chinese ag trade

this year has been disappointing.

However, recent purchases have been creating optimism that they intend to honor the trade agreement going forward. Recently it was announced that the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet China’s top diplomat – and this will be the first high level meeting of the U.S. and China administrations since the signing of the trade deal. The China/U.S. trade spat has greatly affected the U.S. farmer, and consequently the U.S. administration has doled out various payments to growers.

So how do U.S. farm organizations and ag processors feel about the U.S. administration’s trade negotiations with China? There is no need to speculate, as President Trump released an open letter on June 16. This letter was signed by more than 180 companies and organizations. The first paragraph of the letter states the following: “We write to thank you for vigorously advocating on behalf of U.S. farmers, ranchers, food industry workers, and the entire U.S. food and agriculture manufacturing and marketing sector. We appreciate everything you have done to negotiate and advance the timely implementation of the U.S. – China Phase One Trade Agreement. Under your strong leadership, along with that of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the Phase One Trade Agreement represents historic outcomes that address many of the technical barriers to trade that impeded American agriculture’s fullest suite of opportunities in China – and commits China to significant purchases of American agricultural products.”

This letter is a major sign of support from the agricultural industry in the U.S. towards the policy of the Trump administration and its efforts toward China trade. The letter concludes: “You have our full support and appreciation as you and your outstanding trade team work to ensure that China meets its commitments under Phase One now and into the future.” This letter is very clearly demonstrating the alignment of U.S. policy and the expectations of the U.S. agricultural sector.

Markets The growing season is off to a roaring start in most of the U.S. and in southwestern Ontario as well. While the growing season began with belowseasonal temperatures, it quickly changed and the temperatures swung to above seasonal through late May. The hot May temperatures accelerated crop emergence and within a week of planting some fields’ crops had poked through the soil. I personally cannot remember seeing corn emerge in less than a week, from planting to emerged spike, as I witnessed this year.

The corn market has potentially a massive over-supply situation this fall if the weather continues to be beneficial.

Current USDA expectations for the 20/21 crop is for ending stocks to balloon to over 3.3 billion bushels. This estimate is calculated using a 178.5 bushel per acre average yield, compared to last years average yield of 167.4 bushels per acre. With today’s crop ratings this higher yield expectation is within the range of possibility, but there is still time for weather risks to surface and change the outlook. So far large commodity trading speculators are confident in the crop, as they continue to sell corn futures and are approaching record short levels. If we were to see crop conditions change, these short positions could fuel a surge to the upside as they cover their positions. Long story short, summer weather will dictate the direction of the corn market – same as every year.

The Ontario wheat crop looks promising this season. There have been many fields with visual sulphur deficiencies, however the majority of the crop looks great and should yield well. Dry weather has been experienced during the flowering period and therefore vom is not anticipated to be a problem this year.

U.S. wheat inventories are anticipated to fall to six-year lows. ◊ The Rural Voice welcomes letters and will publish as many as space permits.

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

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

Trees do make us healthier While I am sure that we have all struggled with some of the effects of being under quarantine or isolation over the past few months, not everyone reacts or feels the same about the situation.

I know that I have always enjoyed being outside in nature more than being inside a building, except maybe on those hot summer days. I thought I was just an “outside person” as they say. Turns out there might be more to it than that.

Studies have shown that people who live in areas with a greater number of trees are generally healthier and happier. Most of these studies involve street trees and urban forests, as that is where the greater

number of people live. Similar studies have shown that hospital patients who can see trees out their hospital window recover more quickly than those who cannot.

Students and other test subjects have recorded high test scores following a walk in the woods. People have been recorded as feeling less stressed, less anxious, less tired, more creative, more energetic and happier after going for even a short walk in a forest or down a tree-lined street.

How is it that trees can have such an effect on our lives? For many decades the importance of planting and maintaining trees has been proven to help decrease pollution.

Decreasing pollution definitely helps to keep people healthier. But there is more to it. There is science to show that trees give off chemicals that may help humans fight off many conditions and certain diseases.

Many people believe that it is even more basic than that. They believe that we feel better and have positive behaviour effects when around trees due to our evolutionary ties to trees.

It does seem logical that trees are shedding things that we cannot see.

After all, have you ever seen how

much pollen a tree can release?

Some spring days the edges of crevices, ponds and other outdoor surfaces are lined or coated with yellow. Many people do not take the time to think about what this yellow stuff is or where it came from, but that is tree pollen. Imagine all of the other unseen particles trees release. I think the allergy sufferers in the crowd can most easily imagine these unseen particles.

It wasn’t all that long ago that humans relied directly on trees for shelter, food and fuel for fire. Think about our history as humans and our dependence on trees. Have you ever wondered why we look forward to going to the bush to cut firewood?

It’s a preferred chore for many people.

While a mechanical wood splitter makes the job much easier, it is still hard work. As they say, it heats you three times. The sight of wood curing in a pile is pleasing to most, and good stacking is something to be proud of. For me, the sight of a wood pile has a similar effect to that of a rock pile, the potential existence of snake habitat.

I wonder if all trees are created equal in any of this. While I really

Forest bathing may not be everyone’s thing but trees such as the ones above (smiley face, big pine and bumpy face) can increase a person’s percetion of happiness. Now science is proving that trees have health benefits to help cure physiological and mental ailments.

56 The Rural Voice

Woodlots like trees, I do not like all of them the same. I seem to prefer some trees to others. Is it because of their size and shape? I have not seen any studies on the effect of different tree species or sizes on humans. Upon visiting a forest of large old trees, most people stand in awe of the enormous specimens. Is this a result of natural chemicals or how much provision the tree could provide?

In the 1980s a new practice evolved in Japan. This practice was named shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing”. Now, someone like me hears a term like forest bathing and internally chuckles. However, in trying to explore and understand different perspectives on forests I have given it a try. First and foremost, no, you do not undress for this activity. You are to immerse yourself in the forest while fully clothed. The practice of forest bathing can be different for each person. From my perspective, forest bathing causes participants to slow down, be quiet, and sit within the forest, to experience all aspects of the forest from the forest floor to the treetops. I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience forest bathing to gain another perspective, but I am not good at sitting still or keeping quiet. While the leader of our forest bathing excursion was explaining the next step in our experience and what we were to focus on, my mind was unable to see the forest for the trees. The leader was calm, encouraging, and understanding that we are all different and see forests differently. I think my biggest lesson was, unfortunately, that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks, or at least not with only one attempt.

Whether we look out a window at trees, walk in a park or hike a nature trail through a forest we all may be benefiting from some unseen effects of the trees near us. When you think of all these intrinsic benefits that we receive from trees, it makes the importance of proper planting, harvesting and utilizing of forest products seem even more important for our future. If you really need a space to think about this, how about in a nice forest bath? ◊

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

Normal Farm Practices Protection Board goes to the dogs In 1987, the Ontario Government introduced Bill 83, An Act respecting the Protection of Farm Practices, which led to the enactment of Ontario’s first “right to farm” legislation, the Farm Practices Protection Act, 1988. The Minister of Agriculture at the time, the Honourable Jack Riddell, explained to the Legislature: Ontario farmers have been concerned for some years that normal farming practices may

58 The Rural Voice

increasingly result in complaints and court actions under the common law of nuisance. Under the act, a Farm Practices Protection Board will be established. Individuals who complain about odours, noise and dust from farm practices may ask the board to investigate. The board will hold hearings on odour, noise or dust complaints referred to it.

The board will have the power to dismiss complaints about a normal farming practice or to issue an order to rectify the problem if it is not normal. […]

The act will deal with current and future nuisance incidents arising from existing conditions. The longterm solution is a strong agricultural planning policy to avoid incompatible and competing uses in agricultural areas.

A decade later, perceived shortcomings in the original legislation were addressed in a new Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998 (“FFPPA”), which expanded nuisance liability protection to a number of modern farming activities, added to the list of disturbances covered by the

protection, and addressed conflicts between agriculture and restrictive municipal by-laws. This legislation remains in effect today.

The FFPPA protects “normal farm practices”, which are defined as practices either “conducted in a manner consistent with proper and acceptable customs and standards as established and followed by similar agricultural operations under similar circumstances” or which “[make] use of innovative technology in a manner consistent with proper advanced farm management practices”. Importantly when it comes to livestock operations, a practice that is inconsistent with the regulations made under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 will not be considered a normal farm practice.

The first layer of protection for agriculture created by the FFPPA is the nuisance liability protection introduced in the original Farm Practices Protection Act, 1988. At Common Law (“judge-made” law as opposed to statutory law passed by the Legislature), a person can be liable for use of his or her land in a way that substantially and unreasonably interferes with a neighbour’s enjoyment of his or her own property.

The FFPPA creates an exception by stating that a farmer will not be liable in nuisance for “a disturbance resulting from an agricultural operation carried on as a normal farm practice”. The agricultural operation must be carried on “in the expectation of gain or reward” to be protected. The disturbances covered by the FFPPA are odour, dust, flies, light, smoke, noise, and vibration.

The second layer of protection for agriculture in the FFPPA is the resolution of conflicts between normal farm practices and municipal by-laws in favour of normal farm practices.

According to the legislation, no municipal by-law can apply “to restrict a normal farm practice that is carried on as part of an agricultural operation.”

The FFPPA creates the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, which is a tribunal with the power “to inquire into and resolve a dispute respecting an agricultural operation and to determine what constitutes a normal farm practice” and “to make the necessary inquiries and orders to ensure compliance with its decisions.”

Agrilaw A person directly affected by a disturbance from an agricultural operation can apply to the Board for a determination “as to whether the disturbance results from a normal farm practice.” Farmers directly affected by a municipal by-law or “persons who want to engage in a normal farm practice as part of an agricultural operation on land in the municipality and have demonstrable plans for it” can apply to the Board for a determination “as to whether a practice is a normal farm practice for purposes of the non-application of a municipal by-law.”

At issue in one of the most recent cases decided by the Board was a complaint about a surprising source of disturbance – a barking dog acquired by a small farm operation to guard poultry from predators, namely coyotes. The Applicant lived next door to the farm and alleged that he could hear the dog barking every night and sometimes during the day, and that the barking kept him and his family up during the night and terrified his young son. The Applicant asked the Board to determine whether the alleged disturbance resulted from a normal farm practice.

The Board dismissed the application without having to determine whether having the guard dog on the farm was a normal farm practice entitled to the liability protection under the FFPPA. Based on the evidence it heard, and taking into account all of the circumstances, the Board found that the Applicant failed to meet the threshold test – establishing that he was directly affected by the alleged disturbance. To pass that test, the Applicant would have to have shown that the dog barking caused interference that was “substantial and would not be tolerated by the ordinary occupier in their location, an objective test.” ◊ _____________________________ 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.

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

B U S I N E S S

Brough & Whicher Limited Leadership in energy and environmental design

Devon Henry 84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels

devonjhenry@hotmail.com 519-505-2473

Call for skid pricing

Baler twine, net wrap, bale wrap, black & white silage covers

Call Elvin at Weber’s Farm Supply, Mt. Forest 519-323-1043

• Engineered Roof Trusses • “I” Joint Floor Systems White Cedar Decking, Posts & V-Match

WIARTON, ONTARIO www.broughandwhicher

Tel: 519-534-0340 or 877-866-3434 Fax 519-534-4637 Email: sales@broughandwhicher.com Member of the O.W.T.F.A.

Whitechurch Welding

C E N T R E

- custom tubing gates - 1"x1" sq. tube and diamond gates in stock - custom welding & equipment repairs

STEVEN NIXON

Serving the area since 1999

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

81165 GRIST MILL LINE, BENMILLER $139,900 MLS# 30810617

Great location to build your dream home on this .75 acre property, lots of mature trees on this well treed lot, fronts on a paved road, hydro & internet available, located in the quiet hamlet of Benmiller, listen to Maitland River flowing at night in this peaceful setting, plenty of walking trails in the area, short walk to the Maitland river and Benmiller Inn Resort, only 10kms to Goderich and the amazing beaches and sunsets of Lake Huron.

Luke Martin 60 Grey Ox Ave., Teeswater, ON N0G 2S0

• Bulk Bags • Tote Bags • Super Sacks

Full service to all boats and marine engines

ARGYLE Marine & Small Engines Inc.

33973 Church Camp Rd., Goderich 519-524-5361 Email: argylemarine@cabletv.on.ca

60 The Rural Voice

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

www.bagsupplies.ca Fax: 1-519-271-2027

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

Farm Drainage

220 Industrial Park Dr., Brussels N0G 1H0

519-595-2343

519-887-8763

Fax: 595-4903

Fax: 887-8764

• GPS • Plastic • Bron Plow • Surveys • Maps Glen 519-291-0709 cell Dennis 519-276-9292 cell

Toll Free at 1-888-RING-KCL

Newton, Ont. 519-595-4545

MANUFACTURING STEEL ROOFING SIDING & TRIMS

STEFFEN WELL DRILLING 519-531-0355 TEESWATER, ON

mike@steffenwelldrilling.ca

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

519-363-3757

2051 Bruce Rd. 19, R.R. 1 Chesley, ON N0G 1L0

Also Supplying Other Building Accessories

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

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

Wa n t e d to buy

O L D BA R N S FOR SALVAGE CALL STEVE

519-523-4523

Galvanized Roofing For Sale

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

July 2020 61

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

B U S I N E S S

35 Ellen Street Brucefield, ON N0M 1J0

tarbaby2@outlook.com • Farm Lanes • Campgrounds • Driveways • Horse Riding Arenas Brent Pryce

45’ Crane Truck with

Road Routing & Sealing

Post Hole Augering

Built Up Roofing

519-525-6295 AGRICULTURAL

C E N T R E

Tar & Chip / Laneways

RESIDENTIAL

Silo Top Water Proofing

PACKERS: WE BUILD RUBBER TIRE PACKER SPECIALISTS

Order Now NEW CONSTRUCTION RENOVATIONS

519-524-0253

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

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

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

AUCTION -------------------------------------------------Elmira Produce Auction – Hay and Straw Sales every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Consignors and buyers welcome. Call Noah Gingrich, 519669-3884. 7400 Reid Woods Drive, Elmira.

-------------------------------------------------BALING -------------------------------------------------Custom big square baling, Rotocut, $1.10 per foot, no knives; $1.20 per foot with knives. 519-377-2303.

-------------------------------------------------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.

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

CUSTOM WORK -------------------------------------------------Janmaat Custom Bale Wrapping.

In-line wrapping any size round bale and any size square bale up to 6 1/2' long. Call Cody at 519-955-3384.

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

Call 519-625-8242 or 519-274-1490.

-------------------------------------------------FARM EQUIPMENT --------------------------------------------------

FARM FRESH -------------------------------------------------Hillsview Farms – organically homegrown produce since 1996.

From Lucknow 519-529-3653.

Current convenient locations: Clinton – beside Tim Hortons Fridays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Goderich – Austin’s Appliance parking lot, Wednesdays and Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

New online store and home delivery; localline.ca/hillsview-farms -------------------------------------------------Steckle’s Produce and Flowers.

Fresh homegrown fruits and vegetables, local honey, maple syrup, preserves and Feiges gourmet dressings. Planters and hanging baskets, fall mums, frozen chicken and Black Angus beef. See our website for availability guide. www.steckles.ca Open Monday Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 5857 Hwy. 89 Harriston. 519-338-5381.

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

~~ 62 The Rural Voice

601 Con. 6, Chesley, ON

519-363-0009 Harvesters, Balers, Discbines New & Used Parts, After Market & OEM

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

Tell them you saw their ad in The Rural Voice ~~

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

FARM FRESH -------------------------------------------------Arranhill Garlic Farm, Table Garlic, Scapes and Shallots plus Garlic Seed for fall planting. 110-12 Conc. East, Allenford. 519-270-0022. Email: acowan@gbtel.ca -------------------------------------------------FARM SERVICES --------------------------------------------------

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

-------------------------------------------------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.

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

Closed Sundays, 519-338-3920.

-------------------------------------------------Nine full-sized telephone poles at 30 feet each, $25 each. 519-5380389.

-------------------------------------------------21 1/2 ft. 5th wheel camper, 1996 model, air, awning, microwave, good condition, asking $6,000. 519-5271866.

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

EGGER FARMS CUSTOM BALING

• 3x3 Bales Automatic Acid Applications, Roto Cutter.

Individual Bale Wrapping 6' bales

Call Fritz: 519-292-0138 -------------------------------------------------FENCING -------------------------------------------------FENCIN’ AROUND Installation, Post Pounding and Fencing Supplies. h_laxton@hotmail.com 519-441-2191.

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

HIGHLAND FENCE & SUPPLY INC. Joseph Kirwin

519-475-4868 • 1-800-923-4488 info@highlandfence.ca • www.highlandfence.ca 804075 Rd. 80, Embro, ON N0J 1J0

-------------------------------------------------FIREWOOD -------------------------------------------------Debarked Hardwood Slabs – 16" cut $30 face cord, $10 cord deliveries or pickup in Auburn. huronfirewood.com Call 519-5243493.

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

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

-------------------------------------------------HELP WANTED --------------------------------------------------

S & C Clark TRANSPORT INC. Bodywood • Slabwood Quantity Discounts 519-441-2085 519-656-2057

Serving Southwestern Ontario for over 10 years!

PART-TIME MECHANIC FULL/PART-TIME AZ DRIVERS Owner & Operators

Runs between Canada & U.S. - Competitive Wages - Paid Picks & Drops - Benefits - Wait Time - 2 year experience preferred - Home most weekends 111 PINE STREET, WINGHAM • 519-357-3346

CLASSIFIED IRON & STEEL -------------------------------------------------DISCOUNT STEEL: New second grade steel sales; 1" - 8" square tubing; 7/8" - 14" round tubing; Rectangle tubing, discount plate; New and Used I-Beams; Bar grating, rebar, angles; Custom cutting, welding, punching. Listowel. Phone Aden 519595-7775.

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

Also, coarse wood mulch for horse and cattle walkways, wet areas around water troughs and bush lanes.

Also available is dairy pack starter bedding. 1-877-773-8004. Sittler Grinding. Rick Sittler.

-------------------------------------------------LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Purebred dorset ram yearlings; vaccinated, ready to work, Maedi Visna “A” closed status, can be registered. Call 519-335-6124 or cell 519-492-0814.

-------------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN – quality fall born young breeding bulls for sale. Delivery included. Posthaven Limousin, John Post 519-766-7178. www.posthavenlimousin.com -------------------------------------------------Limousin Bulls – yearlings and 2 year olds, polled, some homozygous polled, thick, well muscled, semen tested. Smart Limousin, Meaford 519-372-7459. www.smartlimousin.ca -------------------------------------------------Suffolks – purebred yearling and ram lambs. British bloodlines M-V negative, closed flock. Several bloodlines available. 519-233-7896.

-------------------------------------------------Red Angus, Simmental and Red Angus-Simmental yearling bulls. For results Google – Ontario Bull Evaluation, Silver Springs Farms.

James and Joan McKinlay 519-5996236. jmckinlay@bmts.com -------------------------------------------------Hypharm Genetics rabbits breeding stock now available in Ontario. Order your PS19 does and PS40 bucks. CuniON@tcc.on.ca --------------------------------------------------

July 2020 63

CLASSIFIED MULCH SALES -------------------------------------------------Morrissey Mulch & Storage, RR 1, Exeter, 70180 Airport Line, 519-872-8925 Bob; 519-872-0010 Rob. Sawmill wood only; no demolition material used. Delivery available.

-------------------------------------------------RESTORATION -------------------------------------------------The Olde Tyme Radio Centre – antique radios, clocks, gramophones, telephones; sold/restored. (vintage autoclock radio, speedometer, tachometer repaired). Belgrave 519357-4304, www.oldtymeradio.ca -------------------------------------------------RETAIL & GIFTS -------------------------------------------------Stitches with a Twist – 404 Queen St., Blyth, 519-523-9449. Yarns, needles, notions, patterns, books and lots more yarn.

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

GLAVIN BARN & COMMERCIAL PAINTING

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

SERVICES -------------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------------TRINAL CUSTOM FARMING – If you are looking for someone to do your disc-bining, big square baling or forage harvesting please call Ken Horst, cell: 519-292-1393 or Kervin 519-357-5557, RR 2, Teeswater.

-------------------------------------------------Barnhem Farm Services. Solid manure spreading; variable rate precision application (optional).

Serving Bruce, Grey, North Huron and North Wellington. Contact for info: Herman Vinckx at 519-881-7663 or Dylan Vinckx at 519-881-8957.

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

SERVICES -------------------------------------------------TOWNSLEY BARN PAINTING – All farm buildings and houses, seamless eavestroughing, liquid rubber coatings, waterproofing, metal, concrete, wood, foam and bin flooring sealing. Serving Ontario since 1955.

Call 518-859-0097 or 519-871-0300 townsleypainting@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------Firearms and hunting training.

PAL & HUNTER ED. Ongoing courses available.

Certified instructors. Call Greg 519-887-9622 or 519-291-0507.

-------------------------------------------------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.

-------------------------------------------------WANTED -------------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------------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.

-------------------------------------------------4x5 or 4x4 round bales of hay picked up. Call Riley Gorman 519321-1012.

-------------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------------WANTED TO BUY – cream separator in good working order. 519-671-8231.

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

FARMERS repaint your faded coloured steel FREE QUOTES ~ FULLY INSURED

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

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

519-692-4232 www.sgspestmanagement.ca

DONALD A ANDREW ACCOUNTING Accounting & Income Tax Services for FARMS, BUSINESSES & INDIVIDUALS 296 Ross St., Lucknow

Ph. 519-528-3019 SEAMLESS EAVESTROUGHING

 Roofs & Walls  Elevator Legs  Air Blasting  Pressure Washing  Fully Insured  Free Estimates

London 519-268-8500 64 The Rural Voice

WHAT LIQUID RUBBER SEALANT DOES Stays flexible in all weather Expands and contracts Won’t become brittle Won’t crack or develop holes Sticks to almost any surface Won’t release from concrete Protects metal from rusting 3 year warranty

DURABLE AND FLEXIBLE SEALANT Liquid rubber sealant is unlike any other sealant.

Our rubber sealant stays flexible in all weather allowing it to expand and contract while bin foundation ring moves.

It eliminates crop spoilage, seals any air and water leaks, keeps concrete floors dryer which reduces cracking and chipping of foundation. Our sealant also prevents bottom ring from rusting unlike tar sealants, spray foam sealants, and white or grey elastic sealants which cause damage to bin by releasing from metal allowing water to lay between bin ring and sealant.

Stop wasting your money and damaging your bins with other sealants. Liquid rubber sealant is the only proven sealant to actually work and last!

519.859.0097 519.871.0300 townsleybarnpainting.com

Deadline for the August issue of The Rural Voice is July 14, 2020

Farmview

Photos from our readers: Deadline for August Issue is July 13 Finding Chickens • Derrick and Sarah VanDriel of Seaforth with son Gavin (right) are one of many families choosing to raise chickens for eggs and meat during COVID-19. So many people are looking for chickens, it was hard to source birds for the coop!

• Faith Nixon-Trealeven had her first experience raking hay with mom, Andrea Nixon, at Rosalea Jerseys in Rockwood. Eighty acres of hay had to be raked before the rains came in early June. ~Submitted by Andrea Nixon

Quiet Time

Blossoms • Enjoying the spring apple blossoms at Crunican Orchards in Elginfield is family employee, Barb Steeper.

Portable wind machines were needed but the blossoms survived and apples are the on the way! ~Submitted by Crunican Orchards

• Bob Hoffman and Linda Arnold started a new perennial garden at their farm east of Dashwood. Linda’s two grandkids, Ethan and Ella Arnold helped plant shrubs and perennials in the space which Linda says will serve as a memorial garden for all those who have suffered during COVID-19. ~Submitted by Linda Arnold

Perennial love

July 2020 65

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

Farming in the face of a pandemic As a grassroots organization, the NFU is its members, and there is no organization without them. So, who are the NFU’s members?

Our members range from young to old; those just starting out and those who were raised on the farm; farmers with lots of acreage and those with just a couple of acres; and farmers who raise all types of crops and livestock. We reached out to a couple members to find out why they joined the NFU and what their experiences have been like farming in the face of a pandemic.

Arwa de Groot from Mapelton’s Organic Dairy My family joined the National Farmers Union in the early 1990s shortly after my parents, Martin de Groot and Ineke Booy, converted to organic agriculture. Ineke was a very active member during her time and felt that the NFU was working towards those things we hold dear. In our eyes, it was the perfect farm organization to represent our views on environmental concerns in agriculture and supporting family farms as a way to work towards food sovereignty.

Additionally, the organization's structure ensures everyone has an equal voice regardless of race, gender, or farming type. The NFU’s solidarity with other like-minded

organizations both nationally and internationally is very important as we believe everyone has a responsibility and a role to play in improving the world. Martin has also been an active member fulfilling the role of treasurer for many years on the local board, and I have sat on the local board for over 10 years since returning to the family farm to run it with my dad.

Farming is fraught with unexpected challenges and COVID19 has certainly proved to be one.

Physical distancing restrictions mean we have not been able to welcome visitors to the farm. Normally we open our doors, barns, and fields to the public which invites droves of people eager to experience and learn about farm life and how their food is produced. In order to make up for this, I have developed a delivery website and online store where people can buy ice cream and meat online and have them delivered to their door.

Danie McAren from Wild Leek Farm This is our second season farming as an NFU member. We have only

been running commercially for three years, and we waited until we had passed the farm business income threshold before we registered.

We are a very small farm, all things considered. We operate as a market garden, growing one acre of mixed vegetables. We grow in a way that meets or exceeds the Canadian Organic Standards and follow the principles of agroecology as closely as possible. The NFU definitely was the right fit for us as the organization’s mission falls in line with our own values. We also felt we would have far more respect and voice as a small farm within the NFU organization, and that community of like-minded farmers.

This year has been a special one for sure. Our earliest safety step was to invite our very first staff person to move in. Luckily, they were agreeable to that situation and came to stay after a two-week quarantine.

We felt it would facilitate our ability to work closely together and share tools and not be concerned about spreading any germs. We wear masks during harvest and at any point that we are handling food or CSA bins, as well as during delivery. We have opted not to wear gloves but instead wash like surgeons before harvest.

During CSA pick-up we sanitize our hands between each customer. We have set up our CSA pick-up to keep everyone physically distanced and have everyone book a 15-minute appointment window so there are never more than two members on site at a time. Only farm staff handle produce and we load into tote bins which customers place in a designated area without touching their bin.

Is there an NFU member you think we should highlight? Do you want to be featured? Reach out to us at office@nfuontario.ca or call 888832-9638.

A subscription to The Rural Voice is one of the benefits of being an NFU-O member 66 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

Let’s break bread and ask questions Last summer our family was given the opportunity to operate a farm in Bruce County. It was a pig farm that needed some help to finish the process of winding down the operation as well as 200 acres of crop land. Much of it was done on faith, we weren’t sure at the onset how the work would get done but we believed it was something we should take on.

I ended up spending much of my summer there; often times alone with my family back here in Listowel.

Cooking for one after a day of work was not often high on my list and I became a connoisseur of the local fry trucks and greasy spoons. My favourite spot was right on Highway 21, a little stand beside a gas bar on the land of the Saugeen Nation.

Beyond the burgers and fries, it offered traditional foods like bannock, corn soup, and Indian tacos.

For much of the summer I enjoyed the wares and made small talk with the owner, but supressed my numerous questions about the origins of the traditional foods and the history of the Saugeen nation.

I don’t usually have any reservations about asking questions and I absolutely love consuming tidbits of local history. My wife can confirm that I struggle not to stop at a little blue plaque I haven’t seen before regardless of how late we might be. So why was I so afraid to ask the kind man running the food stand my questions? I guess I was afraid that I would offend him with my ignorance, somehow. As the summer drew to a close I finally jumped off the cliff and asked him a simple question as I ordered the delicious tacos, “are Indian Tacos actually a traditional indigenous food?” That one question sparked an ongoing conversation that lasted over the waning days of August and my only regret was that I waited so long to ask a question. You see, I didn’t offend him with my questions. In fact he was delighted to share stories of

his food and how he learned to cook traditional dishes from his grandmother. He was excited to share a part of his culture with me that had special significance to him.

My heart has been hit with waves of sadness over the past couple weeks. George Floyd’s murder and the ensuing protest movement against police brutality and systemic racism seem both up close and far away as I sit here in rural Ontario. My social media feeds have been filled with videos from people sharing their stories of oppression and demands for equality and justice. Beyond those calls for action, I’ve witnessed videos of protestors being abused by police; an elderly man in Buffalo knocked to the ground by police while their counterparts walked over him nonchalantly as he bled on the sidewalk; the National Guard walking in military formations up residential streets in Minneapolis, shooting rubber bullets at bystanders watching from their porch; journalists being targeted with tear gas and rubber bullets, some being arrested on live television. The injustice makes me angry in the moment but the lingering sadness comes from a feeling of helplessness. “What can I do,” is a question I have asked myself over and over.

My question of what I can do feels unanswered but I have been wondering if I could start by just trying to ask more questions. My greatest fear in asking questions last summer stemmed from a feeling that I would offend the person because I was so ignorant to the culture of his people. But how can we address our ignorance if not given an opportunity to learn from other humans? Maybe that is why he was excited to share with me – he knew that he had an opportunity to break down ignorance with simple conversation.

Our culture doesn’t make it easy to ask questions; phrase something the wrong way on a platform like

Facebook or Twitter and many in the mob will jump to brand you. To be honest, I don’t think that any electronic platform can really play a lead role in making progress to break down barriers. The algorithms work hard to make our feed nothing more than an echo chamber of like-minded individuals. Is it possible that the best way forward is trying to sit down together, face to face, so that the ignorant like me can learn by asking questions of people willing to share their experience?

I have no wisdom; I have never experienced oppression because of my skin colour. I do not know what it is like to be afraid of the police and feel that the law is against me. I do not know what it is like to have my path made harder by generations of systemic racism. But I do know that I will not accept that nothing can be done and I have to act on the burning conviction inside my soul that I need to do something. Maybe that something will start with breaking more bread and asking more questions.◊ – Submitted by Stewart Skinner

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) Ted and Donna Keller (Mitchell) Jerry and Sandra DeGroot (Kinkora) Leis Feed (Milverton)

519-347-2619 519-348-9836 519-393-5237 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.

July 2020 67

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 Email: grey@ofa.on.ca Website: greyfederation.ca

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

Can you hear me now?

Editorial articles submitted and published on this page are the views of the author(s) and are not meant to represent the position of the Grey County of Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

“Can you hear me now?” How many times have we asked or heard this question ?

At one time, years ago, this question was featured as an amusing way to advertise a better cell phone service.

Today this question remains at the core of our farm business, and while it’s still asked to make sure the cell phone reception is ok, it has much broader applications today.

The audience for farmers is diverse. It includes our traditional farm constituents like our partners in input, equipment, marketing and professional services but also an expanded group who is, albeit interested, most often less connected directly to the life and business of farmers and farming.

Today’s farmer must find ways to effectively communicate with staff and political stakeholders at local municipalities, county and conservation authorities. Media and activist groups also want to be involved and warrant a story from agriculture. This list of interested parties is long and growing.

In the past few years, we have witnessed a heightened interest about farms and farming from an

ever-broadening and diverse audience; some with considerable influence on our farm livelihoods. It’s because of this that we must continue to look for ways to reach out and ask our audience: “Can you hear me now?”

In the past couple of years the Grey County Federation has been reaching out on behalf of the membership in myriad ways to help our audience to hear and understand the unique story about living on and operating a farm business in Grey County: How? Here are a few examples; We are active on Twitter, the social media of choice for the Ag and Ag Sciences sector.

Recently we successfully tested the online meeting waters and hosted a virtual town hall meeting for farmers featuring our elected leaders Alex Ruff MP, Bill Walker MPP and Warden Paul McQueen.

This past year we as a board visited personally with municipal councils to tell the Grey County farming story.

Of course we continue to publish these updates to The Rural Voice magazine as a unique channel for those who prefer hard copy and printed messages.

The Board’s social committee is making plans to virtually deliver “Shed Talks” – a speakers’ forum

idea where experts deliver information through online meetings on topics of interest to the farm membership.

Recently, the Grey County “Committee of the Whole” voted in favour of establishing the Agricultural Advisory Committee – a body made up of Grey County farm groups and policy-makers who will meet regularly to share information about matters material to Agriculture.

The objective is to open the channels so that communication is enhanced by regular meetings and with less formality. Subject matter that would entail debate can be anticipated, discussed and navigated before policy is formally proposed.

This advisory model is one that has been established in other jurisdictions both municipal and County and Conservation Authorities where the feedback from participants is: that “it helps”.

As we continue to ask our audience, “can you hear me now?”, we continue to look for ways to improve the reception quality of our message. It’s not about louder messages, it is about better messaging; understand the audience better and using more and different channels to talk with them.

“Stay tuned”. ◊ – Submitted by Hugh Simpson, President GCFA

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

2020 MEETINGS

August 13 – Directors’ Meeting September 10 – Directors’ Meeting October - GCFA AGM November 12 – Directors’ Meeting November - OFA Convention/OYFF December - Christmas Social DUE TO COVID-19 GCFA Board Meetings have become conference/video call format. Please contact the office if you are interested in taking part.

Watch our Twitter (@GreyFedAg) and Facebook page (Grey County Federation of Agriculture) for new information about our “ShedTalk” videos in the coming months.

Please let us know if there is a specific topic of interest for you.

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

68 The Rural Voice

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

446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551

NEWSLETTER Long hot summer days 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.

With planting season complete and haying season on the horizon busy farm families need to be aware of the movement and location of little ones on the farm.

Unfortunately, this year, due to the restrictions put in place by the municipalities and the Province of Ontario due to COVID-19 we have been forced to cancel the Progressive Agriculture Safety Days for children that were to be held in Tiverton and Elmwood this July.

Although the Safety Days are not being held we still need to be mindful of our children. Growing up on a farm myself, I know that things like large equipment, tractors, combines and trucks were always on the move and so were we.

Large animals such as cattle and horses on pasture also pose a threat to a child, when all they want to do is explore the world around them. What better way to grow up than in the farming community of Midwestern Ontario. As the years go by, you learn all the basics needed to sustain life.

Nurturing animals, growing crops, preserving the extras from the garden as well as the importance of team work and family, these are all things brought to life on the farm.

As for safe practices while doing these tasks here are a few things to keep in mind: 1. First and foremost PATIENCE – take the time. All the little sayings to keep everyone safe throughout the year. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! STOP THINK ACT! BE PROACTIVE NOT REACTIVE and more. The opportunity to teach good safety practices can be taught to all ages, young and old alike.

2. Create a “safe” area for children to play and do activities whether it is an actual fenced-in yard or other safe

areas that are clearly laid out for the child as well as anyone watching the children.

3. Have a variety of indoor and outdoor activities for them to do. A bored child will begin to wander and that is when trouble begins. Games, colouring/drawing, and ageappropriate toys are all good ways to keep them occupied on those long summer days.

4. Have them assist you with some tasks that are age-appropriate, it makes them feel like they are part of the “team”. How many times have you heard “I want to help!”?

5. Have older children keep a summer journal. Drawing pictures, writing stories of activities and outings with the family. This statement will date me, maybe, but I gave my sons disposable cameras once in a while throughout the summer when we were on outings. It began a hobby for my youngest son who to this day still takes pictures of everything that catches his eye. These journals will become an endless resource for school projects in future years and many memories put down on paper to keep forever.

Coming again in July of 2021 will be the return of the Progressive Agriculture Safety Days. The dates for these events have been chosen. They are July 13 for Tiverton at the Tiverton Sports Complex and

* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Bruce County by the BCFA

July 28 in Elmwood at the Elmwood Community Centre.

Each of these days will have hands-on learning activities for children ages four to 12 years to enjoy. They will learn about: 1. Fire Safety and planning an escape route 2. Dangers of large equipment 3. Grain entrapment and safe practices around grain unloading areas 4. Hearing protection 5. Water safety 6. “Stop Think Act” – the steps of working through a task 7. Dangers of power and electrical sites from Hydro One 8. Stranger danger on the street, at school and at home And much more through a play-asyou-learn format.

At the end of the day the children are sent home with a loot bag of reminders of the safe practices at home and on the farm. If you have any questions on the Safety Days, want to register your children or are looking for new, entertaining, ideas email me at: brucesafetyday@ yahoo.com and I can forward you some ideas to use throughout the long hot summer.

Have a safe summer everyone! ◊ – Submitted by Dianne Atkinson Coordinator, Progressive Agriculture Safety Days, Tiverton and Elmwood

BCFA donates to Food Banks Bruce County Federation of Agriculture is proud to support our frontline workers during this difficult time due to the COVID­19 pandemic. We know this has been a difficult time for not only our members, but the community as well. In this regard, the board decided to make a financial donation to each of the food banks (14 total) in Bruce County to show our support.

* The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Bruce County by the BCFA.

July 2020 69

Perth County Federation of Agriculture Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Sue Shafer, Office Administrator 1-833-229-6834 Tim Halliday, President: 519-291-3374

Six by Sixteen The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is addressing the challenge of teaching healthy, lifelong food choices to today’s youth with the development of the Six by Sixteen food literacy initiative. OFA launched the Six by Sixteen food literacy program as part of its efforts to strengthen food literacy among Ontario’s young adults and the next generation of consumers.

What is Six by Sixteen? It’s all about getting young people into the kitchen.

There’s a very clear link between healthy eating habits and lifelong health. Six by Sixteen wants to ensure the next generation knows how to make healthy, nutritious food choices.

That’s known as food literacy. Six by Sixteen will help young people learn to plan and prepare six nutritious, locally-sourced meals by the time they are 16 years old. This site will help arm them with lifelong skills, lifelong health and they’ll be supporting local farmers, food processors and our economy. The program was developed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture who partnered with 20 industry, commodity and local food groups.

The OFA along with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) identified food literacy as an important component of the

National Food Strategy.

Fostering food literacy skills and challenging youth to embrace and enhance their culinary skills also extends their educational studies like math and science as they measure and test ingredients. Six by Sixteen also promotes buying fresh, healthy, local Ontario-grown food to support the local economy.

Food has always been a key ingredient in bringing people together. And during these uncertain and challenging times when so many of us are apart, food is still helping us connect with each other.

The OFA is proud to partner with Ontario and Canadian agricultural organizations to offer Six by Sixteen’s online resource. The OFA has also partnered with education and awareness groups to bring Six by Sixteen and food literacy into local communities. Working together with 4-H Ontario, the OFA’s food literacy initiative has been adapted into a 4-H club that is offered provincially.

Through the club, youth members learn about knife safety, proper handwashing, how to source and prepare six meals, and the importance of food literacy for overall health. The OFA has also partnered with Farm & Food Care Ontario to promote the program at their Breakfast on the Farm events.

Pictured is Tim Halliday, President of PCFA mailing a donation from Perth County Federation of Agriculture to the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre.

An appreciation of food, understanding of how to safely prepare and serve it, and the pride of enjoying a meal you’ve created are all part of the Six by Sixteen experience.

As more families turn to their own kitchens and spend time at home together, why not take the Six by Sixteen challenge – to learn how to plan, prepare and cook six meals by the age of sixteen.

The website, sixbysixteen.ca, offers food literacy resources for families with children and young adults of all ages, including recipes, cooking videos, how to find local, inseason food, and more. The OFA encourages families to share photos of their cooking activities by tagging #sixbysixteen in your social media posts. The OFA is also offering families an exclusive Six by Sixteen recipe guide to help inspire the next generation to learn how to plan and prepare healthy meals. Check out Six

by Sixteen on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. ◊ – Submitted by Joanne Foster, PCFA Director Perth County Federation of Agriculture

DIRECTORS’ MEETING Thursday, July 16 - 8:00 p.m.

Via Web Conference

Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre staff members Marg Deichert and Sharon McNeilly with the $1,000 donation they received from Perth County Federation of Agriculture. They will use the money to buy nutritious food for the centre’s food aid agency clients in Huron and Perth Counties.

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

70 The Rural Voice

Index Argyle Marine & Small Engines ....60 Bag Supplies Canada Ltd ..............60 Bayfield Rec Sales ........................57 BBQ Promotion ........................36,38 BDO ..............................................15 Belore Trailers ..............................61 Bernie McGlynn/SB Flooring ........57 Bester Wood Products ..................57 Bio-Ag ..............................................9 Bluewater Pipe ..............................27 Blyth Brewing Co (Cowbell) ..........52 BP Dust..........................................62 Brennan Custom Poultry..................6 Brough & Whicher..........................60 Buddsteel Architectural Products ..58 Canadian Co-operative Wool ........46 Chalmers Fuels..............................52 Cliff’s Plumbing & Heating ............29 Complete Exterior Renovations ....43 Cover Crops..............................48,49 Cranbrook Customs Ltd ................15 Cross Country Eavestrough ..........27 Dean Dobson ................................62 DJ Henry Homes & Renovations ..60 Donkers Agri ....................................9 Easy Lift Doors ..............................12 Egger Farms ..................................63 Five Star Seeds Limited ................53 free-light ........................................46 Gerber’s Workwear ........................61 Gerrit’s Ag Service ........................45 Grey-Bruce Construction ..............23 GRK Products ................................11 Grober Nutrition ....Inside Back Cover Hanover Honda................................8 Harold Jones Enterprises ..............62 Hill & Hill Farms....Inside Front Cover Hunter Steel SalesInside Back Cover Huron Hauling & Excavating ..........46 Huron Motor Products....................25

Huron Perth Public Health ..........6,59 JA Porter Holdings Ltd ..................29 Kenpal Farm Products Inc ............51 KMM Farm Drainage ....................33 Kraemer Concrete ........................61 Kuepfer Farm Drainage ................61 LAC ................................................17 Lakeside Shelving & Racking ........55 Layton Steve ..................................61 Lisa Thompson MPP ....................31 Live Landscape..............................43 Maitland Welding & Machining ......61 Mapleview Agri ................................7 Marquardt Farm Drainage ............13 Martin Farm Wagons ....................53 Martin’s Nursery ............................43 McIntee Realtor - Steve Nixon ......60 Michael’s Stabling ....................43,52 Mike Boven Carpentry ..................62 MNP LLP ......................................59 Morris Sachs Silo Construction......55 Nature’s Wave Inc ........................25 North Huron Carpentry ..................54 Nuclear Waste Management ........23 Nuhn Forage ..................................21 Preserve & Store ..........................2,5 Ridgeway Metals ..........................61

The Rural Voice welcomes letters and will publish as many as space permits.

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

Royal LePage - Steacy Den Haan 21 Rural Living ..............................40,41 Rural Voice Books ........................18 Sauble Beach Motorsports ..33,55,71 Schmidt’s Farm Drainage ..............46 Schweiss Doors ............................13 Seifried Farm Equipment ..............13 Sew & Save Centre ......................41 Sharp’s Creek Forge......................54 Steffen Well Drilling ......................61 SWO Diesel ..................................11 The Brew Shop ..............................53 Townsley Barn Painting ................64 Triple P Consulting ........................51 Trouw Nutrition ................Back Cover Trucker’s Toy ................................31 WD Hopper & Sons Ltd ................45 Weber’s Farm Supply ....................60 West Wawanosh Mutual ................27 Whitechurch Welding ....................60 Williams Drainage ..........................55 Working Iron ..................................53

The deadline for the August issue of The Rural Voice is July 14, 2020

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

July 2020 71

HURON

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

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

Feeding your Future: Connecting Ontario’s Agri-Food Workforce OFA is excited to launch this new project, which is geared towards attracting new candidates to fill labour gaps in the agri-food industry, and streamlining the process of connecting employers with potential employees during COVID-19 and beyond.

Feeding Your Future will feature a free job matching concierge service for employers, nine virtual career fairs, a series of 10 webinars, and specialized training opportunities. This project will take into account seasonality and regional needs, as we work to launch a collaborative marketing campaign, utilizing key human resources players and county federation networks.

The OFA is working closely with AgCareers.com and Careers in Food.com throughout this project.

Together, we will work to ensure employers from field to fork are supported to fill their labour shortages while job seekers across the province have the opportunity to consider a career in Agriculture.

Please follow us on Twitter If you or someone you know needs help you can begin by calling:

1-888-829-7484 Huron Perth Addiction and Mental Health Alliance

for updates on upcoming events and webinars, @FeedYourFuture, #feedyourfuture or visit the website, ofa.on.ca/FeedingYourFuture for the latest updates, and as tools and resources become available.

If you have any questions regarding the Feeding Your Future project, please reach out to feedingyourfuture@ofa.on.ca.

HCFA Scholarships Did you know that the HCFA provides one award at each Huron County High School to a deserving student proceeding to a higher education in an agriculture­related course?

Congratulations to all this year’s graduates and good luck with your future studies.

IPM 2017 Scholarships The Huron County 2017 IPM Trust Fund is offering scholarships.

Students can apply until July 31. An application file is available on the Huron IPM 2017 Trust Fund Scholarship Facebook Page or email jbishopipm2017@gmail.com for an application Candidates must have completed their first year of post­secondary training and be enrolled in their second year of any College or University, or have completed a school training session in the trades.

OFA Regional Meeting to be held virtually Historically, the HCFA Annual Meeting and the OFA Local Regional Meeting have been held as a joint meeting in October. This year the meetings will be held separately This year the OFA Regional meeting in Huron County will be held virtually.

Details for the HCFA Annual meeting will be firmed up soon. Please watch our August Rural Voice page and our social media feeds for updates.

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

Upcoming Events July 1 – Happy Canada Day!

Huron County Federation of Agriculture

BOARD MEETING July 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Further details to come regarding whether it is an in-person meeting or an alternative format.

If you are interested in joining the meeting please contact us for details.

OPP non-emergency line: 1-888-310-1122 —————————— Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources 1-800-667-1940 —————————— Canadian Mental Health Association Huron Perth Branch 1-888-875-2944 cmhahuronperth.com

OFFICE UPDATE due to COVID-19 The HCFA office is now closed to the public until further notice.

Please be assured that we are still available to address your concerns by telephone: 519-482-9642 or email: ofahuron@tcc.on.ca 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

72 The Rural Voice

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