The Rural Voice - June 2023 - sample issue

TheRural Voice

TheRural Voice

FIELD TO FLOUR

The DeVitts grind what they grow, changing wheat into specialty flours

DRAINAGE AND DRONE DAY

Controlled drainage and phosphourus treatment structures viewed in Bruce

EGG FARMER GETS CRACKING

Tonya Haverkamps’s passion for promoting agriculture and eggs is honoured

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

Website: ruralvoice.ca

Publisher: Deb Sholdice

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

Columns

• Cover Photo

Tyler and Angela Devitt, Kincardine Photo by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

• Deadlines: July Issue – June 13 August Issue – July 11

18 Drones

Phosphorus reduction structures and drainage issues were hot topics at Bruce Peninsula’s D-Day meeting

Departments

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Arnold Mathers, Donna Lacey, Melisa Luymes, Anne Mann, Carolyn Crawford, Bonnie Sitter, Jeff Tribe, Amanda Brodhagen and Hetty Stuart

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37 Careers in Agriculture

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Who are we and where did we come from?

The Editor:

I wish to comment on the excellent column by Mel Luymes in the May issue of The Rural Voice (“Shared responsibilities in the headwaters”).

Her column reminds us, in a nutshell, of our responsibilities, and how some are taking these responsibilities seriously. We need to remember that any input, any process, any output or product or waste affects not only those in our area and downstream, but also those downstream in time.

Apparently, the artist Gauguin put a caption into one of his paintings, asking “…where did we come from?...who are we?...what is to become of us?” Mel’s column suggests we ask this of our ancestors, ourselves, and our descendants, as well as the processes and products we use in our personal and occupational lives. Thanks again.

– Art Wiebe The Ark

Farm,

Tiverton

CROP MANAGEMENT

Farmland vs. Development

“Farmland is farmland no matter what colour its belt is or what designation it receives. Once it’s lost to development, it is gone forever.”

~ Drew Spoelstra on concerns over Bill 23 and the provincial government’s new Provincial Planning Statement regarding more housing. See page 26

New Definitions

● Beauty Parlour: Where women curl up and dye

● Mosquito: An insect that makes you like flies better

● What do you call a cow with no calf? Decaffeinated

Drainage Issues

~Melisa Luymes on drainage concerns and solutions in the Bruce Peninsula. See page 18.

Aphorisms

(a short sentence that expresses a wise or clever observation)

● No one ever says “it’s just a game” when their team is winning

● How comes it takes so little time for a child that is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

FARMING IN JUNE

As mankind becomes more enlightened to know their real interests, they will esteem the value of agriculture; they will find it in their natural — their destined occupation.

Rural-Urban Night

Neil’s One-Liners

(Wisdom and humour from the McGavin files)

• Advice from my dad: I was rethinking what I did. He said if you look back you will go back. If you look forward you will go forward. So which way are you going to look?

~ Edmund Burke

“There is no denying that tile drainage systems are a transport pathway for soluble nutrients...”

Sally and Mike Van Straaten of Egg Farmers of Ontario served up devilled eggs at the Rotary Club of Stratford’s Rural-Urban banquet, a fundraiser which features donated food from various Perth County producers.

Photo by Gary West

Future Farmers and Gardeners

Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

Icould hear them coming down the road, chatting and laughing, a group of a dozen 4-H club members and two leaders walking to my farm to learn about gardening. I had a wheelbarrow full of weeds from hoeing my gardens before they came and my hands were dark with soil, noticed by one girl who said “Your hands are looking rough.” Indeed they were, but I like having my hands in soil and washing them in a rain barrel afterwards.

Another fellow was waving his hand enthusiastically in the air while I was mid-sentence. “You have a question already,” said the leader. Indeed he did, “What is the name of your dog?” he asked, a huge smile on his inquisitive face. “Jack,” I answered and said dog wagged and wiggled in delight at all the attention.

And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the tour. I did lead them around the gardens and some were very interested. When I mentioned the bleeding hearts were in bloom, one girl inspected the blooms and seemed amazed that they did, indeed, look like upside bleeding hearts. I felt a kinship with her because the garden always feels like a magical kingdom of discovery ... you never quite know what you’ll see.

I taught them my garden-making trick of laying down cardboard from appliance stores and topping it with compost, manure and soil to instantly create a new garden. They listened politely as I pointed out different plants as we made our way to the barn. There, I had to field questions about why the male bunny was in a separate cage from the female bunny. This, however, was a meeting about the flowers and vegetables, not the birds and bees.

“Let me tell you my favourite things from this tour,” said question-boy. “First, I like the pony and next, I like the chickens.” Rock on, I thought, I like them too! I also thoroughly enjoyed him and the whole crew with their youthful, spontaneous energy. I had such fun showing them around and wondering what would pique their curiousity. Turns out, it was more the animals than the gardens but so what?

To me it’s all part and parcel of the same thing — a love of growing things and the blessed position we are in to be stewards of the plants, animals, fields, farms, rivers and lakes in our care. ◊

Lets just move cottages onto farmland...pardon?

The title of the meeting was Land to Lakes, a Huron Stewardship Workshop with the idea to learn about what is being done via the Lakewide Action Management Plan (LAMP).

Material I received for the event described it as “sharing and opening the conversation for nature-based approaches to protect Lake Huron and its shoreline. We are focusing our efforts on landowners and their ability to protect watercourses that feed into the lake.”

Very good. I am a landowner living on the Maitland River and thought I DO need to learn more. So I went, even though most farmers who signed up for the event could not pass up on nice weather this Saturday morning. It happens... there are only so many nice days in spring to work the ground and plant.

While the farmers did not show, some cottagers did and they had lots to say. However, it wasn’t so much about lake quality as it was “we need protection to preserve our cottages.” A few of these cottage owners had properties on the bluffs and were witnessing their back yards literally falling down the cliff due to natural erosion processess.

I do have an inland cottage (run as an Airbnb — there were lots of comments about that too) and if it was at risk of teetering into the lake, I would likely be equally concerned and looking for solutions.

Some of the solutions mentioned were concrete. However, leaders at the event said “hard” solutions aren’t effective or powerful enough to prevent the power of nature and those fierce waves from Lake Huron’s water levels. Erosion is a natural event, they suggested and human solutions can’t always fix it.

It was then one cottager suggested lakeside cottages be moved to farmland behind the cottages. I turned full around at this comment. I felt (whether it was intended or not) such a lack of respect for farmers and farmland that cottagers would think “it’s just a field, so in order to save my family cottage, we’ll just take over the farmland.”

It’s happening EVERYWHERE and farmers are making their concerns known (see Kate Proctor’s column, Agri-Law and Kate Russell’s story inside). For years, we have watched cities swallow prime agricultural land. Now, we are worrying about Bill 23 and a new provincial draft on housing that intends to increase residential properties on farmland. Then to hear cottagers think their solution will be to simply move their structures onto the farms behind them seems to amplify a lack of respect and understanding many people have of those farm fields. It is in such fields that food is grown. If we keep covering that soil with houses, I wonder what meal cottagers will be able to put on their tables in a few decades time. ◊

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

I awoke one morning recently to the news that a huge part of shaping the Canada of today had died the night before with the loss of Gordon Lightfoot at age 84.

My age is going to show here when I reveal that I had collected an early album of his when I went to see him in concert in the theatre at Ryerson Polythecnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in 1966-67. He was a rarety then — a Canadian building an international career creating music, who still lived in Canada.

I came away from that concert stunned because I heard, for the first time, him perform his song Canadian Railroad Trilogy , a six-minute-plus

retelling of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, including several shifts in rhythm. I later learned it had been commissioned by CBC and took Lightfoot three days to write. I also learned that author Pierre Berton, who wrote a two-volume story of building the same railroad in The National Dream and The Last Spike said that Lightfoot told the same story in his six minutes.

Over his lifetime, Lightfoot wrote 500 songs, many recorded by greats such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Neil Young and Barbra Streisand. But the songs he sang himself such as Early Morning Rain, Don Quixote, In My Fashion , Beautiful , Sundown , Carefree Highway , If You Could Read My Mind, Bitter Green and The Way I Feel made him famous – and wealthy.

He tackled the sinking of the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 with the 1976 hit The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, another sixminute epic.

Lightfoot became famous during the folk music era of the 1960s and

early 1970s, but his music outlasted that time. Songs like Sundown and Bitter Green, were simply lovesongs. He may not have been in tune with the music of Drake (who lived in a mansion across the street from Lightfoot in a fashionable part of Toronto), but he wrote music which will be played despite trends in the hit parade..

Lightfoot became a regular at Toronto’s venerable Massey Hall, playing for up to a week at a time for 170 concerts. His was the last act to play in 2018 before the 128-year-old hall closed for $184-million in repairs, and the first to play when it re-opened in 2021.

I grew up in Western Ontario, meaning I grew up with the country and western music of CKNX radio, so I was a tadbit rebellious, growing to appreciate Canadian performers like Lightfoot. It was a time when Canadians were hardly ever heard on radio, before Pierre Juneau, president of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled that a percentage of the music played on Canadian radio stations must be produced by Canadians.

Lightfoot was one of the first Canadians to prove you could be an international star although staying at home. Other big stars of the era such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young moved to the U.S. Another star, Anne Murray, said one of his strengths was showing performers like her that they could be popular world-wide but live in Canada.

He was no saint. He damaged his health with too many drugs and too much booze. Like many stars, he ruined marriages with affairs.

Still, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music — and helped shape Canada’s soundscape.” The House of Commons paid tribute to Lightfoot with a moment of silence — after many MPs sang a few lines from one of his songs for TV cameras.

Younger Rural Voice readers may not recognize what the fuss about Gordon Lightfoot is all about. It’s hard to look at Canada today and see the 1960s. Lightfoot is part of the difference.◊

We lost a Canadian legend

Keith Roulston

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One little trick governments of all stripes love to play is to introduce new legislation that they expect to be controversial at times when they think we are all distracted and looking the other way. This happened just before the Easter long weekend, when the Ford Government dropped the proposed Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 along with changes to be enacted in the new Provincial Planning Statement (PPS).

The government has touted the changes as a way to deal with the

chronic housing shortages in Ontario – who would have a problem with helping home buyers and protecting tenants? You may have even read in this very column some rant about the rural homelessness problem.

Unfortunately, as with a lot of things in life, the devil is in the details. The first detail we all need to pay attention to is the 60-day window for commenting. Since this Bill dropped on April 6, right before a long weekend, and farmers’ busy spring work schedule, it does make me wonder… what do they not want us to see before it is too late?

Perhaps one of the most significant changes that will affect farmers represented in the Bill is the relaxation of the rules around residential severences on prime agricultural land. I know there will be some people who think this is a great idea – “woo hoo – now we can sever three residential lots and make out like bandits on this high-priced land we just bought…” It may seem great for you, but what happens when all of your neighbours also do it?

Closer scrutiny and a sober second thought should remind us that having residential development up and down the side roads is not such a good thing for farmers or for the rural municipalities that have to provide services to those residences. Multiple studies in both the U.S. and Canada have shown that the cost of servicing rural residential lots is higher than the increased residential tax revenue they generate. What will the option of severing residential lots from prime farmland do to the price of that land and the resultant taxes paid by farmers?

University of Guelph’s Dr. Wayne Caldwell has devoted his professional life to rural development, including studying the impacts of rural severances on viability of agriculture in Huron County and across Ontario. Caldwell is raising alarm bells about these planning changes both for agriculture and for other sectors of our rural environment. He has been speaking about this issue and has released several tweets on Twitter.

“In the 1970s Ontario released Countryside Planning/Foodland Guidelines. Both championed agriculture over residential sprawl. Variations of this guided planning for 50 years. The new PPS introduces much uncertainty for the future of Ontario agriculture”, Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Twitter.

“The proposed new PPS will force municipalities to allow up to three new residential lots per farm parcel and two accessory residential units on each of these new parcels. This is a radical shift in 50 years of planning for agricultural lands in Ontario”, Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Twitter.

Considering that the Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) requirements have not changed, how will the livestock sector be affected? Imagine your local area with an addition of three new residential lots per farm property, then draw the MDS circles and consider if you could build a new barn?

“On a typical concession block the proposed new PPS will allow at least 30 new residential lots. With the MDS there will be virtually no space for growth in the livestock sector.

Who trusts Doug Ford to care about farmland?

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

Kate Procter

Indeed, we should ask the question: Is this the beginning of the end for animal agriculture in Ontario?,” tweets Dr. Caldwell.

“While Greenbelt changes caused much concern, the province’s proposed new PPS agricultural severance policy is in many ways much worse. It would allow hundreds of thousands of new lots and many more residences scattered amongst farms. How will agriculture cope with this new reality?” asks Dr. Caldwell.

You may be wondering if this is necessary to combat the shortage of housing that seems to have been fueling high housing prices, not just in big cities, but also here in Huron County. Experts say this is not the case and allowing rural severances is not the answer to this problem.

The Region of Waterloo’s by-law established in 1973 meant to protect farm land within the municipality will be over-ruled by Bill 97 (https://thepointer.com/article/202304-24/experts-say-pcs-proposed-bill97-is-a-sprawl-inducing-full-frontalassault-on-ontario-agriculture). “The four rural townships of Waterloo Region could see large, estate-like lots far from transit and other services. It will reverse the nearly 18year-long focus on mixed-use, transit-supported, multi-residential developments along the urban spine of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge.” (https://www. therecord.com/news/waterlooregion/2023/04/12/new-housing-lawthreatens-farmland-in-waterlooregion.html).

The Ford Government’s Bill 97 will take away municipalities’ ability to direct their own futures with regard to development. As citizens we should be asking ourselves, what do we want our communities to look like? Do we want urban areas sprawling into the countryside, draining wetlands, and paving over productive farmland? Do we want to promote more commuting, forcing people to live in one community, but work in another? A healthy future for everyone requires us to plan, think ahead, and avoid hastily-made decisions that create irreversible unintended consequences. ◊

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While there were references to existing issues, such as the labour shortfall and aging farmer population, the report did not touch on wider issues affecting farmers, rural communities and the needs of all Canadians.

If plans are to develop for a successful future within Canadian agriculture and the food system, an honest assessment of where we’ve been and the current state of affairs is of paramount importance.

environmental and economic fallout from the food system that’s been in place.

I read the Royal Bank of Canada’s Farmers Wanted report hoping for new insights and ideas concerning Canada’s agricultural future but, unfortunately, was sadly disappointed.

The report was put together primarily by RBC economists, a U.S. consulting firm with no obvious experience with agriculture, and staff members with the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Actual farmers did not appear to be part of the effort.

The core purpose of the food system is to provide adequate nutrition to Canadians and, given Canada’s ample agricultural resources, others on this planet. Yet while the farming population has plummeted and so-called efficiencies have been built into the system, nutritionally balanced diets have become unaffordable for a growing percentage of the Canadian population. More Canadians today are turning to food banks and other charitable means of being fed than ever before.

The authors of the RBC report might also have considered the

On the environmental front, soil resources continue to be on the decline in many parts of Canada, including in Ontario where the loss of topsoil continues. Agricultural nutrients continue to be an issue. The quality of Lake Erie’s waters, for instance, has not improved to any significant degree despite a concerted effort in both Canada and the U.S. to introduce improved agronomic practices.

Agricultural pesticides, both herbicides and insecticides, continue to be used widely despite growing evidence of their negative impacts within the environment and upon the human population and their declining efficacy. Mostly recently, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency released a report concerning dramatic impacts on aquatic and terrestrial lifeforms from the use of the neonicotinoids – clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid –and yet the products remain the most widely used insecticides throughout North America.

The power of agriculture and the food system could be harnessed for the benefit of the planet to mitigate climate change. Yet the authors of the RBC study point to investment in industrial greenhouses – the most energy intensive form of agriculture – and most other segments of the farming industry remain inefficient in that regard.

At the same time that a growing number of Canadians find themselves unable to purchase homes or find affordable housing, agricultural land prices have risen to a point that the pathway to a farming career is largely limited to people inheriting farmland or individuals or companies with millions to spend on low-margin farming businesses.

The food system does remain a lucrative business for some of its participants. Input suppliers continue to flourish and at the other end of the chain, the distributors and retailers of food are coming under increasing scrutiny for what is perceived as excessive profitability.

Public agricultural research has

Jeffrey is a freelance journalist based in Dresden, Ontario.

old, same old... report contributes little

increasingly been replaced by private research or private-public partnerships which essentially amounts to the same thing. Various new technologies have been developed yet profitability is concentrated outside the farm gate.

Government needs to focus more on research directly benefiting primary production, specifically, operations that are self-sustaining

rather than input dependent. Efforts should also be made to provide primary producers with greater influence within the marketplace.

Society, especially young people, needs to be engaged in the food system beyond their role as eaters and access to land is supported. The issue of concentration of farmland ownership needs to be addressed as well, a controversial issue since some

would have a great deal to lose if farmland prices were to fall to a level at which it would be accessible to ambitious people of moderate means, if not modest means.

As the RBC declares, “…Canada needs to build the Next Green Revolution.” I agree. Yet change needs to be truly green and an actual revolution, not just more of the same.◊

Mabel’s Grill

hope,” said Dave Winston, who has a big hog barn at his place.

“Well I’m sure she’s not importing it from China when we have all these hog barns around here polluting the air,” said Molly with a sour look on her face.

supermarket and get some chickenwings for supper.”

“Hope she’s not preparing some sort of Chinese dish with those wings,” Dave smirked.

“What’s this wonton soup on the lunch menu?” George Mackenzie asked Molly Whiteside when she came to get their breakfast order the other morning at Mabel’s Grill. George pointed to the black board on the wall where Mabel writes the daily lunch specials.

“Oh Mabel’s just trying to add a little variety to the menu,” Molly replied. “If it doesn’t sell well, she can drop it next week.”

“I hope it doesn’t sell,” said Cliff Murray with a humorous wink. “I’d hate to think China had enough people under its influence that they’re buying Chinese food.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” said George in all seriousness.

“Well Mabel makes all hers from scratch,” Molly added.

“Using good Canadian pork, I

“Hey, I didn’t smell pigs at all when I came in here this morning,” said Dave.

“That’s ’cause the wind’s from the east today,” said Molly. “About one day in seven the wind’s from the east.”

“Yeah well pigs are paying for this breakfast,” Dave said as he picked up his menu. “And I see a lot of other pig producers in here, too.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s why you should have pork chops on the menu, not some Chinese soup,” grumbled George, as he picked bacon and eggs from the breakfast menu. While Molly scribbled it down, George’s cellphone rang and he answered.

“Yea, I’ll do that,” George grumbled as he slipped the phone away. Seeing the expectant look on the others’ faces he explained, “the wife wants me to stop by the

“Say, was that an Apple phone you were talking on?” asked Cliff. “You know they make those in China, don’t you?”

“Really?” George said, surprised.

“Really!” said Cliff. “Imagine, something as Canadian as the telephone, with the first long-distance call made by Alexander Graham Bell in Brantford, and now people’s phones are made in China.”

“And they are using it EVERYwhere!” said Dave in disgust. “I’m sitting in the barber shop the other day, ready to talk to my neighbours while we wait – the way I did for years – and on both sides of me they’re thumbing through their phones and never even look up.”

“See, the Chinese are using our own invention to undermine our country!” George said. “How can we stand up to them if we don’t even talk to one another!”

“Well, I mean half the stuff we use anymore is made in China,” Cliff said. “I mean I was in the store looking for a new hoe the other day and even that was made in China.”

“Exactly!” said George. “All these heads of companies, all our government leaders, they turned our entire economy over to the Chinese. And now that they have, the Chinese are trying to run the world.”

“Yeah,” sighed Cliff. “I was doing a little research after the hoe, and Chinese exports to Canada grew from $2.82 billion in 1995 to $57 billion in 2021.”

Molly arrived with their breakfast orders and had some news to add. “Mabel says to stop complaining about China because a big part of the canola, wheat, pork and barley that we grow in Canada – that you guys grow – goes to China. If that didn’t drive up her prices maybe she wouldn’t have to serve wonton soup!”

The talk became noticeably quiet around the table after that until somebody brought up the weather.

After the guys left, Molly was even surprised to find her tips higher than usual.◊

Gary Kenny

Road signs, racism and grace in action

I’m continually humbled by Black, Indigenous and other people of colour who find patience, compassion and grace in the midst of the overt, subtle and systemic racism they often have to endure.

Carolynn Wilson is one such person. In a conversation with her, I could detect none of the anger and resentment one might expect of a person who’s had to resist efforts to erase the memory of her Black ancestors in Ontario.

A resident of Collingwood, Wilson self-identifies as a seventhgeneration descendant of a lineage that includes enslaved Blacks (Canada permitted slavery for 200 years), freed Black men and women, Black loyalists, and Blacks who escaped slavery in the United States (U.S.) and came to Canada in the 1840s via the historic Underground Railroad.

Perhaps because of her background as an elementary school teacher, Wilson believes education is the most effective way to address racial enmity and discrimination when and where they occur.

“I was born and raised in a settlement of predominantly Black families and several White families,” she says. We were “raised to respect others’’ and taught that “education was always paramount” when responding to racism.

The co-recipient of the Companion of the Order of Collingwood (2022) and other awards, Wilson is co-owner of the

Sheffield Park Black History and Cultural Museum located in the Grey County town of Clarksburg. The museum pledges “to raise public awareness and respect for our ancestors by telling our stories,” she said.

Twice Wilson has had to utilize her skills and passion for activist teaching at the municipal political level in Grey County. The first time was in 1995 when former Holland Center Township Council removed local road signs bearing the historic name, Negro Creek Road.

Negro Creek was the name of a Black settler’s community situated near the juncture of Grey County Highway 6 and Negro Creek, near the village of Williamsford. It was settled by escaped Black slaves from the U.S. in the 1840s.

Accompanied by other descendants, local White residents and several local Indigenous supporters, Wilson briefed councillors on the history and importance of the Negro Creek settlement, and asked that the road signs be restored. A 5,000-signature petition and supporting letters from local residents reinforced the request. But councillors “adamantly refused to restore the road name,” Wilson says, which descendants considered offensive on two counts. It dishonoured the memory of their ancestors by effectively erasing any public trace of them. And, in what some thought bordered on racism, it proposed to rename the road after a White pioneer settler, George Moggie.

The renaming “was an injustice to the Negro Creek settlement,” Wilson says. The Moggie family resided in the Holland Center area for only four years, but Black pioneers were there for decades, she adds.

So Wilson and her fellow descendants took things up a notch. She filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. “I realized this matter was larger than just renaming the road,” she says. “It was erasing an entire culture from view and (dismissing) our very existence.”

Now in the public eye, the case

The Rural Voice

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

apparently agitated some local residents. “Our local Black church in Collingwood was defaced with paint and racial slurs,” Wilson says.

It took two years, but in 1997 the Tribunal deemed the Negro Creek Road sign “historically significant.” Holland Center Township councillors got the message, and the Negro Creek Road signs were soon restored.

At least, in a manner of speaking. On February 1 of this year, fittingly the first day of Black History Month, once again Wilson and her fellow descendants found themselves addressing local municipal officials in Grey County. This time it was Chatsworth Township Council. And also once again, nearly three decades after the Holland Center campaign, road signs were the issue.

In the years since the Tribunal’s ruling, Wilson says, Negro Creek Road signs have been continually vandalized, some 27 times. They’ve been spray-painted, riddled with bullets, cut down, and stolen.

No one (except the perpetrators) can be sure of the motives behind the vandalism and thefts. One of the signs vanished shortly after a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Owen Sound in June 2020. Another was vandalized in June 2021 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of Black citizen George Floyd.

Coincidence? You be the judge.

Wilson and her friends presented a plan to Chatsworth Township Council to place a permanent stone monument in an appropriate location on Highway 6, near the former Negro Creek settlement. In a thoughtful gesture, local farmer Jason Hayes pledged to supply a large limestone rock for the project from his farm on Negro Creek Road. The monument will bear an inscription that outlines the history of local Black settlement.

Wilson and her colleagues asked for the Council’s moral, advisory and financial support to move the stone to its location and install a commemorative plaque. Ben Heywood-McLeod, a local resident who coordinated the effort, said

councillors, unlike their Holland Center predecessors, listened intently and with obvious compassion for the descendants’ appeal. They voted unanimously to support the project.

Descendant Rob Green later told the Owen Sound Sun Times he was overjoyed at the collegiality and generosity shown by Chatsworth councillors.

Will the commemorative monument also be a target of

vandals? Probably. But with the new marker, Heywood-MacLeod says, our focus is more on addressing the root causes of the vandalism.

That, of course, will be an objective close to Carolynn Wilson’s heart. “I believe,” she says with characteristic optimism, “that education and recognition of the Black heritage in this area” will ultimately stop the vandalism.

May it be so. ◊

Crops

Controlled drainage on the Bruce Peninsula

On March 29, over a hundred farmers from the Northern Bruce Peninsula met in Bill Ceaser’s new shed near Lion’s Head for a day about drainage and drones, aptly named D-Day. Organized by the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association (BPBA), the event also highlighted some of the work that the BPBA has been doing on phosphorus reduction structures.

The Peninsula has long been cattle country, but that is changing. Overtop a limestone karst system, many areas are shallow to bedrock and remain in trees and pastures. But there are a few thousand acres of historic floodplain and swamp that were drained for agriculture a century ago. This soil is deep, rich and, more recently, it has been bought by grain farmers from the south.

There are three main water systems in Northern Bruce Peninsula (NBP), the largest one being Judges Creek. As it crosses the Ferndale flats, the drain has very little slope and it is prone to extensive flooding after a rain, even during summer months. As Peninsula grain farmers are investing in drainage for their fields, they are dependent on old municipal drainage systems for outlet and have been struggling with the municipality for solutions to their flooding concerns. As drainage improvements can be quite costly and are charged to all landowners within the watershed area, drainage is now a hot topic on the Peninsula.

So, it was fitting that D-Day began with a presentation by NBP’s drainage superintendent, Stephen Cobean,

P.Eng. of Cobide Engineering in Hanover. He outlined Ontario’s Drainage Act and the history of the municipal drains on the Peninsula. Under the Act, these drains are municipal infrastructure with a right-of-way easement across private property. Farmers may be tempted to bring an excavator back to the drain to do a cleanout themselves, but modifications to the ditch bottom could have major issues up or downstream. He explained that maintenance and improvements are done by the municipality on a complaint-driven basis and the complaints need to be filed in writing.

Brent Weigel spoke next about how drainage works and why it is an important investment for farmers. He runs

D-Day addresses growing concerns of drainage and water quality on the Bruce Peninsula

• By Melisa Luymes

John Rodgers, a retired teacher and current research coordinator with the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association, stands on this farm at a tile outlet to Judges Creek municipal drain. Below is the “manhole”, a cartridge of cedar bark containing carboxymethyl cellulose is being tested for its efficacy in removing phosphorus from the water. ~Photo by Melisa Luymes

Weigel Drainage Inc. and has been doing much of the drainage work on the Peninsula. Weigel began his presentation describing how drainage systems work to lower the water table by 2-3 feet and allow for air in the soil to promote deeper crop root development. Drainage also allows for farmers to get equipment onto a field sooner in the spring or after a rain. According to research, even a day or two earlier for planting can make a big increase in yields.

Next up, I spoke about some of the trade-offs of drainage and introduced controlled drainage as a potential innovation for the Peninsula. Drainage has come under scrutiny as being a contributor to Lake Erie phosphorus loading and I discussed the concerns with nutrients and drainage system in more detail, concluding with opportunities for water quality improvement within drainage systems.

To begin, phosphorus and nitrogen are very different nutrients, but they are both only valuable to a plant when they are dissolved in water and both are a concern when they get into rivers, groundwater or lakes. There is no denying that tile drainage systems are a transport pathway for soluble nutrients in the soil, but blaming tile drainage is like blaming the exhaust for pollution from cars on the roads. They are merely the pathway.

Both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have two main ways that they are lost in the environment. Simply put, nitrogen is either gassy or leaky and phosphorus is either sticky or leaky. The most cost-effective way to reduce both N and P loss is to avoid it in the first place by using 4R Nutrient Stewardship principles and applying the right fertilizers and manures at the right rate, the right time and the right place. Nutrient loss can also be avoided by keeping living roots in the soil to uptake the liquid nutrients instead.

Denitrification (gassy nitrogen) occurs in wet soils and makes a greenhouse gas (nitrous oxide) that is more potent than carbon dioxide. The best way to reduce denitrification is through drainage. According to Dr.

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Mike Castellano’s presentation at this past year’s Ontario Ag Conference, tile drainage reduces nitrogen off-gassing by about half. Furthermore, drier soils require less nitrogen for optimum yields and Castellano’s research at Iowa State University indicated that the optimal agronomic rate of nitrogen was 87 lb/ac less on corn (after corn) on a drained field, reducing the energy costs to make and transport that N in the first place.

Tile water runs through a cartridge filled with carboxymethyl cellulose/cedar bark media (right), a topic discussed at a drone and drainage day where Melisa Luymes spoke

Phosphorus, on the other hand, is sticky and binds to soil, so any avoidance of soil erosion is avoiding phosphorus loss. Again, tile drainage is one of the best ways to mitigate soil erosion because it allows for greater infiltration rates into the soil, so water doesn’t run across the surface as easily. Dr. Merrin Macrae’s research at the University of Waterloo has shown higher concentrations of the “sticky” phosphorus in surface water than in tile water, though soil type and slope determine by just how much.

Other ways to reduce soil erosion are to minimize tillage, grow cover crops or install erosion-control berms and blind inlets to bring surface water safely into the subsurface tile system.

However, both nitrogen and phosphorus have a leaky component and can leave a field as dissolved nutrients, and this is the concern with drainage systems being a pathway. Total nutrient ‘loading’ is calculated by multiplying the concentration of nutrients in water by the flow rate of the water. So, that means there are two ways to reduce losses: we can treat the water to reduce the concentrations, or we can control drainage to reduce the flow.

There are several ways to treat field water. To treat nitrogen, the water can be run through a wood chip filter (called a bioreactor) that can reduce nitrate levels or it could be filtered through soil and a vegetated buffer (called

John Rodgers (above) calls out winners of the Farm Credit Canada swagalong with John Williamson. At right, Jenny Chan of Wonderful Inc. presents information on DJI drones at D‐Day. ~Photos

Attendees at D‐Day in the Bruce Peninsula had a chance to see a drone in display by Alex Li (above, left). Brent Weigel (above, right) was also a guest speaker at the event. ~Photos by Scott Parent

~Photo by Scott Parent

by Scott Parent

a saturated buffer). For phosphorus, water can be filtered through iron, calcium or aluminum media that can filter the water. The BPBA has done research on a few other media to trial phosphorus removal structures on the Peninsula, which was presented at DDay after lunch.

The other way to reduce nutrient loads is to minimize the flow by controlling drainage. Control structures are basically underground dams within drainage systems that can hold back water and raise the water table the height of the stop logs. In this way, water outflow from a system is reduced by 20-40 per cent and both N and P losses by the same, according to Purdue University’s research. Obviously, bringing up a field’s water table needs to be done carefully, especially when there is a growing crop in the field or when there are heavy rains in the forecast. Technology now allows for automatic control gates to be programmed based on soil moisture probes or via software.

While the term “controlled drainage” is often left to the scale of a field’s tile drain system, its definition can be so much more encompassing. Tile outlet ponds are a farm-scale solution for controlled drainage. This pond water can be irrigated back on the field through overhead systems or, if the grade is flat enough, through the drainage system itself. If the control gates are in place at every 1 foot of fall and the slopes are ~ 0.1 per cent within the drainage system, water can be pumped to the top during dry periods and flow right back into the system it came from, to infiltrate back into the soil. The flat grades of much of the northern Peninsula make it an ideal location for controlled drainage, though subirrigation would require a restrictive layer below the level of the tile to be able to raise the water table.

After lunch that was served up by Bear Tracks Inn and Restaurant, John Rodgers, outlined the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association’s work on phosphorus treatment. Rodgers is a farmer, retired teacher and BPBA’s research coordinator, who has

partnered with Dr. Bulent Mutus from the University of Windsor and done years of research into phosphorus removal media on his farm near Lion’s Head.

They have researched tomato plant roots in the past and are now having success with an iron chloride dried on cedar bark. They have tested both high and low concentrations of phosphorus in water, through both passively-drained filters and actively pumped filters. The project involved developing the P sorbent media (carboxymethylcellulose – iron) at a larger scale and testing it in the field. As well, they have designed and tested a controlled drainage structure that could be automatically triggered by remote sensors in other parts of the watershed through Internet of things (IoT) technology.

This research was funded by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s Agri-Science program and also by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership through the Ontario Agrifood Research Initiative administered

by Bioenterprise.

Rodgers went on to discuss some of the drainage concerns he was having on his own farm and the potential that road bridges were now under-sized and creating flooding issues upstream. D-Day concluded with a presentation by Jenny Chen of Wonderfull Inc, a distributor of DJI agricultural drones. Their drones can now do spraying and cover crop seeding as well as making highresolution elevation maps that will be important for drainage system design.

Farming on the Peninsula has never been easy. Jutting out between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, farmers have extreme rains and longer periods of drought than their neighbours to the south. As well, with more cottagers and tourists by the year, they are under more scrutiny than most. Controlled drainage and phosphorus treatment structures will be important to consider as drainage infrastructure is upgraded on the Peninsula. ◊

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From farm to flour— finding her way

Angela Devitt wanted to find her own way to connect to the family farm so she started a flour mill with grain grown in the fields

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Sometimes it just takes reading what someone else is doing to get the gears turning. That is how it began for Angela Devitt who is now the creator, owner, marketer, miller, designer and packager of Stone Bridge Flour in Kincardine.

“I was looking for something to create a small business that would be more flexible for my family's needs,” remembers Angela, who was teaching elementary school at the time. With two young children involved in many activities, and a busy husband, she needed both a job and more time.

“I read an article about a woman who was milling beans that grew on the family farm and I realized, ‘hey, we grow our own wheat!’” remembers Angela. “What if I milled our own wheat into flour?” The idea was exciting, especially since Angela realized it could be her way to be part of the family farm. Husband Tyson was the primary farmer, sharing machinery with his parents and brother, in their cash crop operation. Angela, however, had not grown up a farmer. In fact, she was a prop maker who had designed and created props for the Stratford Festival Theatre before working in banking and teaching.

Angela loved the idea of being able to use her creativity while making a value-added product with wheat grown on their farm. The idea took root and research began…what would it take to start financially? What kind of mill was needed? What kind of flour should she make? Where should she sell it?

“I researched the business for a year and half,” remembers Angela. First, was location. Having moved off the farm into Kincardine to try city living, the couple did have a garden shed in the backyard that, while small, actually made for an efficient floor plan for a flour mill. The imagination wants to conjure a giant apparatus with a water wheel moving two large stones, but today’s mills are quite small and efficient. Angela ordered a Danish-made Engsko mill from an Alberta distributor. It uses two stones to grind the seeds and incorporates a sifter to separate the wheat germ, endosperm and bran, the three parts of a wheat seed.

The endosperm is about 83 per cent of the wheat

Angela Devitt was a prop maker for the Stratford theatre and a teacher before deciding to become an entrepreneur and make flour to connect to the family farm and have more flexibility for her family. A compact flour mill from Denmark (above) means her entire mill fits into a garden shed at the family home in Kincardine.

seed and is the source of flour. The wheat germ and bran are removed allowing Angela to create different kinds of flours by adding them back in different percentages. Angela makes four types of flours: Cake and Pastry, Bread, Everyday (allpurpose) and Whole Grain. She says adding back the germ and bran make the flour tasty as well as benefiting from the natural nutrients.

Large flour companies remove the germ and bran because long shelf life is a primary concern for them. The germ and bran can make flour go rancid because they contain oils present in the wheat seed. When shelf life becomes a priority, commercial flours can lack taste and nutrients. That’s why you will see some flour listed as “enriched” because companies have added vitamins back in.

“I don’t have to enrich my flour because my customers are getting flour the way it was meant to be,” she says. “I can control my own formulas,” she says.

As such, Stone Bridge Flour is an artisanal flour and is noted for its freshness, flavour and nutrients. Full of the natural elements of the seed, it does have a shorter shelf life. Angela recommends six months which can be extended to 12 months if the flour is stored in the freezer.

Angela doesn’t just grind wheat into flour. She has a rye and spelt flour as well. Pulling her flour canisters out of the cupboard, she shows they aren’t even labeled. She can differentiate the flours by colour — spelt flour has a pinkish tinge while rye is greyer compared to the wheat flours. Stone Bridge also produces a whole range of baking mixes including whole wheat hot cereal, chocolate chip cookie mix, cheese and garlic biscuit mix, fish fry batter and pancake/waffle mix.

Baking with stone-milled flour is a little different than using commerical flour. “They are thirstier because of the bran and germ,” she said. Angela recommends adding a little more water than the recipe calls for or checking out her website for recipes she calls “tried and tested” using her flour. Also, her flour is a little darker so your baking will come

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The farm grows a soft, red winter wheat for her business. Hard red wheat, spelt and rye grains are purchased from other grain producers.

Tyson explains that the grain is run through a seed cleaner and during this process, the seed is also sized. “We prefer a large size seed because it has more endosperm and better milling quality,” he explains. Seed is bagged and then stored in the mill room where it undergoes further drying because the stone mill works better when seeds are at 11 per cent moisture or less.

While the mill does the hard work of grinding the seed, it requires constant monitoring. Angela chose a stone mill because it does not generate as much heat as other grinding methods. Still, the process does generate heat and heat can kill nutrients so Angela is constantly checking temperature to prevent this from happening. “There is no setting on the mill so I mill by sounds, smell and feel,” she explains.

She did a “tonne of test baking” in the early days, a task she really enjoys. It invokes memories of time spent in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother. Describing herself as a “hands-on” person, even the tasks of designing the labels, sticking them on, and sewing the bags for that “authentic” look is something Angela really enjoys. While she feels she should imagine a grand flour empire someday, she admits that right now, being a sole proprietor and employee is very rewarding and satisfying.

“I really want to enjoy this part of the journey,” she says. “The first part was all research plus trial and error.”

Another part of the puzzle is being part of the local food-creating web that is growing across Ontario. She is thrilled when selling at specialty markets at Christmas to meet her customers and hear how they use her

Angela Devitt takes grain grown by husband Tyson (above) and his family near Ripley and transforms it into specialty flours and mixes under the Stone Bridge label. It’s a one‐woman show as she mills, dries, grinds, packs, labels and markets the flour with support of her family.

flours.Two local bakeries made good use of her flour as well. Farro and Rye in Kincardine, Crust and Crackle in Sauble Beach and The Tusk restaurant (also in Kincardine) all use her flour in their baked goods.

Finally, the business has allowed her to meet her goals of making money while also having more time for her children. Right now, it is fulltime with a part-time income but the hours are flexible and she is able to work while the children are in school, and can stockpile a certain amount of bagged flour when it is time for the family to go on vacation. Her kids help with moving and stocking but at age 12 (Bryna) and 8 (Blake) making flour isn’t high on their fun list.

Stone Bridge flour is sold at The Market Stand in Kincardine along with other specialty stores like Beefway, Edgar Feed and Seeds, Eat Local Huron, Maitland Market near Goderich and others. She also ships her products from her online store. Shipping is $20 or free with an order over $99. ◊

Policy Provincial planning shifts affect farmland

Rezoning land for new housing raises concerns over loss of farmland and farmers’ ability to build new barns

• By Kate Russell •

Farmers across the province are concerned about recent changes in process and development around agricultural lands and planning policies. As we heard late last year, when Bill 23 was passed by the Ontario government, Greenbelt areas and wetlands are under threat of development with the More Homes Built Faster Act. The act includes changes to several other pieces of legislation including the Planning Act, the Conservation Authority Act, the Development Charges Act and the Ontario Land Tribunal Act.

In an Ontario Federation of Agriculture viewpoint opinion from OFA Vice-President Drew Spoelstra, back in November after the bill was passed, the challenge of farming close to urban areas was addressed.

A sample agricultural block (above) shows how the new draft Provincial Policy Statement on A Place to Grow could allow up to 30 residential lots with additional severances of agricultural lands. Ontario Federation of AGricuture’s vice‐president, Drew Spoelstra (right) says this is a “serious concern”.

“The Ontario government announced it is proposing to rezone thousands of acres of prime farmland in the Greenbelt and other regions to build up to 50,000 new homes,” wrote Spoelstra, whose family farms just outside the urban boundary of the City of Hamilton, which happens to be in the Greenbelt. “That’s a change that’s of serious concern to the OFA.”

Citing 2021 Census of Agriculture, Spoelstra wrote that farmland losses are already at an incredible 319 acres per day in our province.

“Farmland is farmland no matter what colour its belt is or what designation it receives,” he said. “Once it’s lost to development, it is gone forever, and that’s why preserving it is one of the OFA’s top priorities.”

Spoelstra attended a politicians’ day, hosted by the Bruce and Grey County Federations of Agriculture, back in late March, where he noted the OFA had made presentations to the provincial Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy about Bill 23.

“We want to make sure we have the ability to perform agricultural activities in our counties,” Spoelstra said at the politicians’ day, adding a detailed submission to the standing committee, available in the OFA’s website resources, “drills down through Bill 23.”

The submission takes the form of several letters, signed by OFA President Peggy Brekveld. While applauding the province’s efforts toward addressing Ontario’s housing crisis, they each note various concerns about actions which may affect agricultural land, which currently makes up only five per cent of the province’s land base.

“The OFA opposes any re-introduction of severances in agricultural areas and desires to work with the Ontario government to increase density and housing in rural Ontario in ways that do not sacrifice farmland,” the submission reads, in response to continuing urban sprawl which is eating up farmland. “Agricultural lands are a finite and shrinking resource. We cannot sustain continuing losses of agricultural land while maintaining our ability to produce food, fibre and fuel from this limited and declining agricultural base.”

It seems clear the province was not necessarily listening to these concerns, as on April 6, a new proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) was released. It was written to clarify and expand the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement and A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (A Place to Grow) 2019, across the province. This new PPS not only allows for additional (up to three)

severances on agricultural lands, it also appears to permit rural plans of subdivision and condominium.

Where Bill 23 sought to remove protected lands from the Greenbelt, reduce Conservation Authority oversight on natural heritage areas and even seek protected lands to be sold for development, it also sought to remove third-party appeals and public meetings around plans of subdivision.

“It diminishes opportunities for meaningful public engagement and stakeholder input,” the OFA submission reads. “As Ontario becomes more urbanized, farmers increasingly need to engage with their municipalities in land use planning, as councils and staff may not apply an agricultural lens.”

In Grey County, Director of Planning Scott Taylor is well aware of agricultural concerns. In a recent Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting, he presented a report on the proposed PPS, which he finds is much more concerning for agriculture than Bill 23.

“At the county and municipal levels we’re struggling with Bill 23,” he said in an interview after the meeting, noting Grey County has hired a planning ecologist to take on some of the review process removed from Conservation Authorities in the act. Referring to his report on the PPS, he observed there is “no one voice of farmers,” as many on the advisory group saw some parts of the new PPS as positive, even though it may have “some deleterious impacts on farmers.”

He suggested some farmers may welcome being able to sever additional lots to help with economic need or to purchase ever-moreexpensive equipment. But, he added, from a planning perspective, the potential of severances and additional residential units (ARUs) on farms, which could also potentially be severed now under the new provincial policy may have huge impacts on farmland across Grey and other parts of the province.

“We did a sample analysis across the county and it could result in 10,000 residential lots within our

agricultural lands,” he said, stressing this took the assumption each owner would want to sever property. With an estimated lot size of one to two acres, this could remove 5,000 acres from agricultural production. “It would be much more efficient to create new lots within settlement areas.”

His report also included a look at minimum distance separation (MDS) which would affect existing and sometimes overlapping areas and add to congestion as new lots would adversely decrease available space for new barn builds for livestock operations.

“For every new residential lot created, this would cast a larger shadow in which livestock operations could not be sited or expanded,” Taylor explained in his report, using a sample land block as illustration. By using a map with MDS added, his report showed the amount of land potentially removed from production. “The actual impact on agriculture, particularly livestock production, would be much greater based on the impacts related to MDS formulae.”

Taylor also noted, the PPS is unclear on many details, with the entire natural heritage portion of the policy not included in the draft as it indicates “policies and related definitions remain under consideration by the government” at the time of the proposed PPS release on April 6.

“The intent of the proposed PPS is to accelerate the development of housing and to increase the housing supply in Ontario,” Taylor’s report read. “However, staff do not believe the agricultural lands are the appropriate location for increased residential development and lot creation.”

He also noted concerns of unintended consequences of these new policies could be to drive up the price of farms across Ontario. If a landowner selling a farm knows that the future buyer can sever up to three lots from the farm, it could dramatically increase the asking price of that farm.

“This may have the effect of creating an additional barrier to entry

for young farmers,” the report read, “or creating an additional tax burden on existing farmers (ie. if the assessed value of their farm increases).”

Finally, from a recognition of the need for housing, as seems to be the impetus for both Bill 23 and the proposed PPS, Taylor noted both seem to be seeking more housing in rural areas. These homes are often not on services, have septic systems which create need for capacity of pump out and disposal and generally do not have access to transit, so require vehicles and large front-end costs for building.

“Our most critical need is for affordable and attainable housing for lower income people,” he said, in wrapping up his interview comments,

noting rental housing and townhouses in settlement areas are more likely to provide affordable living. “Our concern is if we have rural agricultural lots, is it providing the kind of housing we really need?”

The OFA submission about Bill 23 is available onthe OFA website. The Grey County Planning report to the Agricultural Advisory Committee is also online at Grey County’s website.

Taylor’s report will go through the Grey County council review process and be forwarded to the province as a comment on the PPS. The proposed PPS is online on the Environmental Registry of Ontario at https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/0196813. Comments on the proposal will be accepted by the province until June 5. ◊

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Poultry Haverkamp earns ‘Get Cracking’ award

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

If there are three facts Tonya Haverkamp will never forget, it’s these — eggs have six grams of protein, 14 nutrients and 70 calories.

Haverkamp is an egg and pullet producer, managing several barns owned by her father, Ralph Haverkamp located outside of Listowel. You may recognize her from Egg Farmers of Ontario advertisements, recipe segments on television shows like CityLine and radio shows. She’s an avid agriculture and egg promotor and her efforts were recently awarded with the “Get Cracking” award which she received at the Egg Farmers of Ontario annual meeting in March.

I met up with Tonya and her husband, Don Storey, at the layer barns outside Listowel on the edge of Wellington County to talk about her journey becoming a farmer and spokesperson for eggs. I was surprised to learn her dream job was actually to have a Spa on Wheels!

“I became an esthetician and then got my DZ licence with the idea to put a spa on wheels in 2000,” remembers Tonya. “I got my licence but no one would hire me to drive a truck.” In 2023 it might be a different story but 20 years ago, it wasn’t a common job for a woman. “They thought she was too small,” adds Don.

Instead, she took a job at Zehrs in Listowel and quickly climbed the ladder, moving from cashier to office clerk to manager to corporate work opening other Zehrs stores in the province. She liked the job and it gave her confidence working with people. “I wasn’t confident in front of people and that job got me out of my shell,” she remembers. “When you are hiring and training people, you need to talk!”

Meanwhile, her parents Ralph and Janet, had moved the eqq quota from the home farm in Milverton, to a farm in Strathroy, then to Listowel in 1999. Wanting a career change, she considered the offer to manage her father’s layer and pullet barns. She had been helping on the farm for years, picking up parts and bringing meals to the fields but had yet to make a move to full-time farming. “I had a lot of emotions,” remembers Tonya. “Fear was one because I did not think I could handle all aspects of farming, such as fixing broken equipment.”

So she started by doing books, ordering and managing and eased into the physical components of the job. It helped when an employee named Johnathan was hired. He was a handyman which

For her work promoting eggs and agriculture in print, radio and television, Tonya Haverkamp was given the “Get Cracking” award by Egg Farmers of Ontario in March. She did this while managing several layer and pullet barns for her father and battling breast cancer.

When you’re shy, radio talks and television segments can be stressful but promoting eggs and agriculture is worth it says Tonya Haverkamp

allowed Tonya to focus on her skill sets, which were business and marketing. Don also helps when needed but has his own full-time job off-farm.

Tonya had always enjoyed working in the pullet barn, watching day-old chicks grow into healthy, egg-laying hens. As she worked in both the pullet and layer barns, she began to take personal pride in producing home-grown eggs and feeding Canadians. “Less than two per cent of the population are farmers,” she says. “People are so removed from how food is produced and I think it is so important to put a face to food.”

It’s something her generation is more aware of, she thinks, stating that farmers of her father’s generation generally aren’t as keen to get out in public and tell the farming story.

Don remembers an encounter they had with a man in Niagara Falls who asked, “are you really farmers?” When Don and Tonya confirmed it, the man was so excited to meet “actual” farmers and had lots of questions for the pair. It was an opportunity they took advantage of.

Tonya has also served on the board of Egg Farmers of Ontario. She’s been to Queen’s Park to promote agriculture and has toured Premier Doug Ford through the pullet farms.

Tonya says barn tours are critical to reaching consumers and helping them move past their worry of animals in housing. “I will ask visitors what they notice and they will say things like ‘it’s quiet’ or ‘the chickens are so calm.’” Visitors also note how clean the barns are and fresh the air is.

What makes Tonya’s story somewhat extraordinary is that during all her promotion work -which required travel, time and energy all while still farming — she was facing her own health battle. Tonya was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. A lumpectomy in June was followed by a double mastectomy in September. In December of that year she had reconstruction which went well until 2019, when she underwent an

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Site Grading Laser grader for flat floors and slopes.

Clearing Land Fence lines and field edges, excavators, rock buggies, dozer and track loader with grapple and brush cutter.

etc.

33267 Coursey Line, Lucan, ON N0M 2J0

implant exchange. A year later, she had fat grafting to further support reconstruction. In 2021, more cancer was detected which was removed. She is currently in remission.

“It has been a long bunch of years,” she says simply.

Through it all, farming continued because animals require care every day, no matter what else is going on. Raising pullets and producing eggs is highly automated but management is required to monitor the birds, lighting, feeding and collecting and pack eggs. Egg farmers work closely with feed companies to adjust the feed to the bird’s growth and production levels. Pullets move into the layer barns at 19 weeks and stay in the layer barns for 365 days.

The Haverkamps also raise hens for other layer operations and Tonya says it’s a source of pride for her to grow a bird that will “produce the best eggs she can” for other producers. Looking to the future, Tonya says she isn’t focused on ownership. “I’m a ‘do-the-work-andget-it-done’ kind of person,” she says. “I don’t need to have ownership to take pride in what I do.”

Of increasing egg prices, Don says he still believes eggs are a “cheap protein” that can be used in so many ways to feed families. He and Tonya add that egg farmers are paid on a cost of production model, meaning as feed, labour and transportation prices increase, so does the cost of producing the eggs and therefore, their value.

Receiving an award for her efforts was appreciated but Tonya says it also makes her “extremely uncomfortable”. She would rather talk about the farm and the birds than herself and admits it’s kind of ironic that she would get an award for her volunteer and promotion work when, as someone who describes herself as “shy”, many times she would rather just be in the barn. Of being on television, being interviewed and meeting people she says, “I enjoy it yet I kind of hate it at the same time.”

Conflicted she may be, but Tonya’s ready smile and willingness to share her passion for eggs and agriculture has been noticed and honoured. ◊

June 2023 35

Don Storey and Tonya Haverkamp (top) are fans of eggs as an ideal protein which is good because they manage barns for Tonya’s father, Ralph Haverkamp, which produce tens of thousands of eggs daily at barns located outside of Listowel. Tonya manages the barns and has been an egg ambassador for years.

CONTACT YOUR HARDI DEALER TO LEARN MORE.

ROBERT’S

Careers in agriculture are rewarding

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

What is it really like to be a woman working in agriculture? Five women working in agriculture gave an honest account of their experiences at the Women in Agriculture club networking night at the University of Guelph in February. The panelists were (left to right) Clarissa McCallum, Maranda Klaver, Lauren Benoit, Nicole Toebes and Michelle Linington. Photo by Nathalie Amyotte.

Coming from a farm family of five girls, Maranda Klaver said people have said right to her face that they bet her dad wished he had a son to farm with.

“It’s hard not to be insulted by that,” says Klaver, who is the current Queen of the Furrow. She was one of five women speaking on a panel about what it is like to be a woman in agriculture at a University of Guelph club of the same name. “Meanwhile, my parents just wanted a lot of children. We never had an excuse to get out of work. However, I did get a truck license. It was definitely a step outside my comfort zone but it also proved I could do what males do and I found when you step outside your comfort zone, you can achieve things you never thought you would.”

Each panelist was given a chance to answer a series of questions and their answers rang with frankness, confidence and thoughtfulness. Besides Maranda, the other panelists were Michelle Linington who is a research analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAFRA); Lauren Benoit, an agronomist with Bayer Crop Science; Clarissa McCallum, a marketing coordinator with Semex and Nicole Toebes, a farmer, market gardener and Founder/CEO of Mudeas Workwear which creates overalls for women.

What do you love about working in the agriculture industry?

Nicole: “It keeps me involved with the community and I

can tell you that the people in agriculture are some of the best people you will ever know.”

Clarissa: “You do not have to come from a farm to be in agriculture and I have found a way to be part of it in a way that I love and is successful. People in agriculture have been very welcoming.”

Lauren: “We are always innovating and learning new things. I travelled last week to learn about new breeding techniques and it was so cool to be a part of it.”

Maranda: “Everyday is different. When I graduated from Ridgeotwn there were four jobs waiting for me and none were the same…there are so many career paths to choose from.”

Michelle: “Agriculture is a phenomenal community … these are my people. Like Maranda, I love that every day is different. Every county is different. Every farm is different. There is always an opportunity to learn and see things you’ve never seen before.”

What is the perception of being a female in the agricultural industry?

Michelle: “My perception has changed as I get older. I did not find my dream job right out of school and I suspected I would have to work harder to prove myself. But I didn’t really find that to be true. I’ve had a positive experience so far and have worked for companies that have been predominantly women which were just as hard as working in companies that were predominantly men. I’ve

From needing courage to finding mentors to creating boundaries, five women share their experiences working in the agriculture industry

had issues with sexual harassment from both men and women. Overall, though, it has been very positive.”

short-term job and you don’t think good things can happen to you. But they can. You just need goals and a plan, then work towards that goal and don’t say ‘no’ to a foot in the door.”

Lauren. “Earning a masters was a challenge but there are lists on how to do it and you can start checking the boxes to achieve your masters. As to a career, you look at the skills you have, the skills you need to build. Then you find the opportunities and take them when they show up. Other times you may not know what you want to do. There is no shame in jumping around and trying new things … keep working on yourself and building your resume.”

things. As an agronomist, my work is technical so when I need tech advice, I go to certain people. Also, do not underestimate your ability to mentor someone else and be their champion.”

Lauren: “The people you surround yourself with consistently have a lot of influence on how you see the world. I work in a collaborative environment and have a lot of talented friends and their support has been powerful. Certainly, I do run into people who do not see my value. I just ignore it because I know my value. I know I am incredibly smart and talented, and always have been.”

Clarissa: “I work on a team where men are the minority but I find the men are supportive of the women. There are companies that recognize women are better at marketing than men. You need to find the place where you fit to make an impact.”

Nicole: “My perception was that women’s workwear was severely lacking and I had a problem to solve. Going into it, I had a huge cheerleading section of women but there are very hard days being a business entrepreneur and I have not always been kind to myself. I need that community of women. I had a friend text me, alerting me to the fact that I am kinder to her than I am to myself and that made me think.”

What are the biggest challenges you have faced as a woman in the agriculture industry?

Clarissa: “I applied three times before I found a successful summer job after graduation. It led to an internship. You do not know where you will end up when you settle for a

Maranda: “You have to have confidence that things will work out. I struggled after college. I applied for jobs I did not get so I took a step back and rethought it. I realized no one really has it all together and when you get told ‘no’ do not take it personally. Think of ‘no’ as a ‘new opportunity’.”

Michelle. “I am a person who does not live to work. I work to live. Part of my process was accepting that I do not love my job all the time. And I may have to compromise on pay and location to do other things in my life. What has guided me in my career path has been a strong mentor. Tom is my champion and I find his encouragement has been crucial to every job I have had. He has been a beacon of light. When I applied to the ministry, I was full of doubts but he said, ‘worst-case scenario, you get experience creating a government resume’. When I got an interview, he said, ‘worst-case scenario, you get experience with a government interview.’ Well, I got the job!”

How do you find mentors?

Michelle: “Well, you don’t just walk up to someone and say, ‘will you be my mentor?’ They kind of fall into place.

Maranda: “I don’t have a specific person but I have social media. I follow people who are encouraging, who have tips and tricks and who teach me that it is okay not to be okay.”

Lauren: “Finding a mentor is an organic thing that evolves over time. I have different mentors for different

Nicole: “The entrepreneur’s brain works daily. I also have three little kids. So there is this 75-year-old woman who is a neighbour of mine who, if I have questions or need a shoulder to cry on, she is there. In business, I have a friend who also runs a business and we talk every day. We ping ideas off each other and go on little retreats to talk about what is right in our businesses. I am now starting to get people asking me for advice and I have a deep appreciation for people who come to me and ask questions. If you are kind and respectful, I will tell you just about anything!”

~ Image from Mudeas website

What piece of advice would you give to women in agriculture in this room?

Michelle: “I laughed when I saw the first presentation talked about the need for women to make boundaries. I did not at first and I have paid for it. I have had to take stress leaves and go on medication and therapy. I would have been more confident if I had set boundaries and put up with less bullshit. I also think my colleagues would have respected me more if I had. Now I have set

“I know my value. I know I am incredibly smart and talented, and always have been.”

~Lauren Benoit

“I have a deep appreciation for poeple who come to me and ask questions. If you are kind and respectful, I will tell you just about anything!

~Nicole Toebes

boundaries and I push back…if you say something that is not okay, I will tell you that it is not okay. Also, if a boss calls me at six in the morning, I push back. I do not work for them at 6 a.m. I work within my set hours and that allows me to have a life outside of work and a strong relationship at home. It’s so important to set boundaries, even with people in your family though that can feel awkward.”

“I would have been more confident if I had set boundaries and put up with less bullshit. I also think my colleagues would have respected me more if I had.

Maranda: “Whatever you do, do it with purpose and confidence. A lack of confidence is a killer of dreams.”

Lauren. “Looking at my career, what has been a good force has been the people around me who support me. It adds to happiness. Professionally, it pays to invest in people.”

Clarissa: “My advice is to not be afraid to graduate. I find my 9 to 5 workday is way more relaxing than university was. I love my office job but when I am done, I am done. I go home and live my life. For me, that includes photography, specifically show cattle photography.”

Nicole. “I am learning the boundaries thing. I also truly love what I do and am happy to do it 24/7 but how can I do it all at my best? I also need to be a good mom to my kids and not be on my phone answering emails. What matters is your core passion about what you do in the agriculture industry.” ◊

~Michelle Linington

Recipes by Carolyn Crawford

A history of the sweet joy of butter tarts

On April 15, I spoke to the Oxford District Women’s Institute at the Embro Legion about the history of the butter tart. Janice Mitchell of Janice’s Fine Country Catering from St. Marys demonstrated how to make butter tarts. She provided the group with many tips and four excellent samples of butter tart recipes.

Since the butter tart festival dubbed “Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival” happens on June 10 this year in the town of Midland, I thought it simple to make this month’s article about butter tarts. The last Butter Tart Festival that I attended in Midland was in 2019 just before COVID-19 struck. I was amazed about how many unusual types of butter tarts there were! Ingredients varied from only plain to savoury additions. Maple, bacon, chocolate chip, fruits, spices, or herbs added, or tea or coffee flavoured, the combinations were endless in creativity! It was something to see the many kinds of butter tarts for sale and that were available to be sampled. In the last round of judging, the public is invited in to watch the judging process and sample what the judges must be challenged with in deciding the winners of the various categories. There are many Butter Tart Festivals, Trails, and Tours throughout Ontario. You can Google to find out when and where they are or check with your favourite Destination Ontario kiosk.

I have had the privilege of judging butter tarts at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. It is a head rushing experience in two ways: trying to pick out the best ones and trying not to get a stomach or headache! I will also admit that I am not a fan of the oversized commercial butter tart, but I love a smaller, old-fashioned one from a rural Ontario baker.

Butter Tart Origin

It has long been debated as to where the butter tart originated. A Mrs. Malcolm McLeod was the first person to submit a butter tart recipe to a community cookbook. The

Simcoe County Archives has a copy of the Royal Victoria Hospital cookbook published in 1900 in Barrie, Ontario, which contains Mary Ethel (nee Cowie) McLeod’s recipe. Her recipe found on the Simcoe County Archives website (link: https://www.simcoe.ca/Archives/Pag es/Mrs-MacLeods-Butter-Tarts.aspx) simply entitled “Filling for tarts” with no other instructions is listed as follows: 1 cup sugar, ½ cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 cup currants mix; fill the tarts and bake.

I find this recipe open to much interpretation. Brown or white sugar? Salted or unsalted butter? Butter melted or not? What size of eggs? Should the currants be plumped (soaked in boiled water to soften them)? Fill the tarts how full? What size of tart? What type of pastry is used—lard pastry or buttery shortbread based? Baked at what temperature and for how long?

We have come to know that butter tarts are made many different ways today but in 1900 was it made only with brown sugar or did that change because of WWI? It could even be that Mrs. McLeod, as a prideful baker, submitted her recipe ambiguously to avoid copycat versions of it. Being incomplete on details for recipe submissions was not an uncommon practice for renown bakers of Mrs. McLeod’s time so that only they would receive the accolades for that particular recipe.

Is There A Scottish Connection?

Butter tarts quickly found their way throughout the Scottish settlement areas of Ontario. Was the butter tart brought to us from Scotland via the Ecclefechan or Border Tarts? This recipe was posted by Neil Forbes on the BBC Radio Scotland website:

Ecclefechan or Border Tarts

Ingredients:

4-6 fluted individual sweet pastry lined blind baked tart cases (about 56” in diameter)

75 g unsalted soft butter (approximately 1/3 cup)

70 g soft, dark brown sugar (approximately ½ cup)

1 egg

Zest and juice from half a lemon

¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder

One small handful of (California) raisins

One small handful of chopped or crushed (California) walnuts

Directions:

In a bowl, mix together the butter and sugar.

Add the egg, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts.

Combine all the ingredients and spoon the mix into the pre-baked tart cases.

Place in moderate oven (approximately 350°F) for 25 minutes until just cooked being careful not to burn the fruit if it is poking out the top of the tart (a tray on top of the tarts can stop any burning issues)

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Dust with icing sugar and serve

Carolyn Crawford holding one of eight Maple Syrup Pies she made for a Culinary Historians of Canada presentation given by Julian Armstrong, Author of Made In Quebec: A Culinary Journey

with whipped double cream sweetened slightly with icing sugar.

An English Source?

The English may have their claim on the butter tart, too. Treacle tarts are made with Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Made with sugar cane, this syrup began production in 1881. But Treacle Tarts have no butter and no sugar (just the syrup) but do have lemon juice and bread crumbs. The buttery golden taste of these tarts lies solely in the Lyle’s syrup, the main ingredient or in the pastry. Some treacle tarts are made with molasses, too. English tarts are often made with a short crust (pastry made with butter) or a shortbread like crust which is not as popular with rural Ontario homemakers. For this recipe, I have left the English measurements and terminology as is—in my imagination, I hear a little old English woman reading this recipe!

Treacle Tarts

(Source: www.bbcgoodfood.com)

For the pastry:

250 g plain flour

½ teaspoon fine salt

140 g cold unsalted butter

3 tablespoons icing sugar

2 medium egg yolks

2-3 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

400 g golden syrup (such as Lyle’s)

1 ball stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped, plus 50 g of the syrup

1 lemon, zested

2 eggs, lightly beaten

100g fine fresh white breadcrumbs

Directions:

Sieve the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and rub together with your fingers to a fine breadcrumb-like texture (you can also do this part in a food processor). Stir in the icing sugar, then quickly add the egg yolks and two tbsp water, mixing swiftly with a cutlery knife to combine. Form into a ball (add another tbsp water if you need to), wrap and chill for 30 mins. Roll out to the thickness of a pound coin, and line a 22 cm fluted tart tin with the

pastry, leaving an overhang. Return to the fridge for 30 mins. Heat the oven to 200°F. Put a baking sheet into the oven to heat up. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and baking beans, then put in the oven on the baking sheet, and bake for 15 mins. Remove the parchment and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Leave the pastry to cool before trimming off the overhanging edges with a small, serrated knife. Lower the oven temperature to 160°F. Combine the golden syrup, ginger, ginger syrup, lemon, eggs, and breadcrumbs in a bowl, briefly whisking everything together until combined. Carefully pour the filling into the pastry case and put in the lower part of the oven to bake for 3540 mins or until the filling is just set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down for 20 minutes before serving with ice cream or thick clotted cream.

A Little Closer to Home: Quebec

Still another source for the butter tart comes from the maple sugar pie of Quebec origin. Maple sugar pies are connected with the “Filles du Roi,” some 800 women sponsored by French King Louis XIV from 16631673 to emigrate to New France and be matched with the established male settlers. Maple sugar pies were created by the “Filles du Roi” to use the readily available maple syrup.

I have seen and tasted butter tarts made with maple syrup. They are much richer than the standard butter tart. This recipe for Maple Syrup Pie or Tart au Sirop D’Erable from Julian Armstrong’s Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey (HarperCollins, 2014), p. 84. It makes two, nine-inch pies. I am warning you now: It is extraordinarily rich!

Maple Syrup Pie

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

5 eggs, at room temperature

2 cups maple syrup, preferably amber or dark

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 9-inch unbaked pie shells (or ready-made thawed frozen pie shells), not pricked

Directions:

Place two large pizza stones, two cast iron rings from a wood stove, or two large cast iron frying pans (upside down) on the centre rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F for 20 minutes to make sure the pans are very hot. The heat from the stone/cast iron along with the oven heat, is essential for the pies to gel properly.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy, then gradually beat in the brown sugar until mixture is creamy. Add eggs (I beat each one before adding) one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in maple syrup and then vanilla. Divide mixture between the pie shells. For best results, place the filled pie pans in larger ovenproof glass pie pans (I did not do this for fear of the glass breaking!) for baking. Place pies on the pizza stone and bake for 45 minutes. Filling will swell in the pie shells.

Remove pies from the oven. Test for doneness by inserting a knife in the centre of a pie; it should come out clean but moist. Cool pies on a rack; filling will thicken as it cools. Transfer cooled pies to plates and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving. ◊

Filles du Roi

Gardening

let it grow last summer and it is doing quite well. We are pruning it carefully. Even in the garden there are great patches of shoots erupting. But a quick sharp shovel takes care of them.

So how does one kill a tree? If it were a native of grand size you probably would not have this problem. But imports are pretty aggressive.

has white flowers streaked with pink and in clusters of two to three. The fruit is round and green and sour to our taste buds and they stay on the tree over winter. I checked with a few of the native plant nurseries in the area and there are no offers of native crab apples. They are not what you would consider showy and can suffer from several diseases.

The will to grow is so strong in some plants that long after the parent plant is gone stray roots continue to send up shoots. Vigorously!

A couple of springs ago we cut down and ground out the stumps of several flowering crabapples. They had been poorly pruned over the years and trying to remedy it was more than we were prepared for. Some branches that crossed over each other had actually fused together. The trees started dropping leaves as soon as the buds were set and by August they were the saddest looking specimens around. We did try fertilizer stakes and we monitored the watering but the trees never really looked happy. We suspected they were planted in the late 1980s and had run their course.

Thesesmall treeshad massive roots. The multiple root stems had merged to form a major system roughly 30 inches across. The root of one of the three trees was so wide the stump cutter was barely able to grind it out to about an inch below the surface.

But despite the main force of the tree being gone, the robust root system was sending up shoots to survive. We would wiggle them and break them off before we cut the grass. This spring they are back.

Another crabapple tree that was in the centre of a garden was cut back to five feet with the intention that we would mount a birdhouse on the tall stump. All the branches were cut off too but later that spring, a few sprigs of leaves appeared and amid them a cluster of blossoms. Now wouldn’t that simply break your heart! So we

My first inclination is to simply keep doing what we are doing — cutting out the suckers until the root gives up. There are chemical solutions but I am not suggesting them as each situation requires more information. Be careful with these choices as there are always repercussions.

When you take a tree out of the landscape should you be planting three to make up for the loss? We took out four trees and planted 30 trees and shrubs. That list included three red oaks, two cherry birch (although the rabbits feasted on one so we are keeping our fingers crossed that the roots are strong enough to push past the damage) and of course a larch, a birch and a tulip tree. If you are looking at planting a native crab you will have to look very hard. There are nine native species of crabapples to North America, mostly east of the Rockies. Malus coronaria

So if you are looking for a real show, there are a number of trees to choose from. The one thing I have noticed is the profusion of crab apples blooming in the spring around southern Ontario. Vanastra once had boulevards of pink clouds of blossoms. There was an ornamental crab apple breeding program at the Horticulture Division, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa begun in 1920 by Isabella Preston, one of my favourite plant breeders. Her aim was to find a substitute for the nonwinter-hardy copper beech. Her Rosybloom crabapples were perfect with their bronze spring foliage and spectacular flowers. Her successor D.F. Cameron set out to breed fruitless Rosyblooms as they were quite messy in many gardens and parks. From his program came Malus Cameron, with deep purplish red buds with two-toned blooms edged in almost a pink shade. Moreover, birds ate the fruit in late fall.

Malus Maybride had larger white blooms that start as pink buds. What fruit did appear was more like the native variety, dull red to russet with yellowish underside that remains on

Crabapples do not give up easily

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

Crabapples that were cut down and ground up with a stump cutter are continuing to send up shoots through the soil (above) while another crabapple stump left for a birdhouse is resurrecting itself (left).

the tree over winter.

The last one was Malus Prince Charming. The flower buds are very dark red and open as a strong purplish red with frilled edge petals. Very little fruit produced with this one. I believe our crab trees were descendent from this line.

Today there are so many varieties of crabapple. If you are set on a flowering crab check with your local garden centre and I don’t mean those pop ups at the big box stores. You can also pose the question to the Landscape Ontario site https://landscapeontario.com

Most varieties sold today are resistant to scab, some are fruit free and there is a variety of mature sizes but most tend towards the dwarf and mid-size range.

You know I would be remiss if I did not offer a native choice. If you are looking for a small tree/large shrub consider a pagoda dogwood or any number of the viburnums. All showy and they feed both pollinators and birds. A win win! ◊

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

Lake health begins inland, says LAMP speaker

Landowners and cottagers learn details of the Lakewise Action and Management Plan (LAMP) to improve Lake Huron

The guest speaker drove over two hours to share work on the Lakewide Action and Management Plan known as LAMP at a Lake to Lake Workshop on April 15 but good weather kept busy farmers away.

It was unfortunate for organizers who put a lot of work into the event but cottagers were there who had a lot to say about the erosion of their banks with one expressing her desire for “concrete solutions — and by that I mean concrete” to protect their properties from disappearing. However, concrete is not the preferred solution, said Elizabeth Huber-Kidby, an outreach technician with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority.

“Erosion is a natural process and not always preventable but we want to mitigate it. However, bluff hardening is not effective,” she said.

Cottagers had more to say but in fact, the goal of the meeting was to talk about how to keep the lake healthy with water and land practices inland because Lake Huron has been assessed in “fair” condition.

Featured speaker Paul Parete, a Great Lakes Program OfficerChemicals & Groundwater with Environment Canada explains that LAMP is a bi-lateral plan with the United States and stressed everyone needs to be in it together. “Conservation authorities, government, Indigenous communities, farmers and cottagers, we are coming together and this is a tool to focus our efforts on dealing with stressors on the lake.”

The threats to the lake are many and include chemical contaminant pollution, nutrient and bacterial overload, threats to habitat and species and invasive species. “Climate change overall is also a concern and exacerbates all the other threats,” explained Parete.

The key threats to Lake Huron are

invasive species and recreational use. Part of LAMP is to determine where improvement dollars are best allocated and a draft form of the action plan is available for comments from the public. In March, the federal government announced it would invest $420 million over 10 years towards the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes.

“You live here and we take all that information and use it because you understand the local conditions,” said Parete. More information on LAMP can be found at https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lakehuron-lamps-and-associatedreports#plans

The most vocal voices at the meeting were from cottagers who expressed their dismay. One expressed concern that cottagers “have millions in property and pay their taxes only to see it wash away. I know we are working against nature but as a landowner, I would like to

keep my land. How far will you let erosion go?”

Huber-Kidby says MVCA has a shoreline hazard map indicating where the erosion line will likely exist in 25 years and 100 years. “The erosion is significant on the border,” she said. Trees, shrubs and native plants do help with erosion as their root system stabilizes soil and are worth planting. However, they may not be there at that 25 or 100 year erosion line.

MVCA restoration specialist, Shannon Millar, further explained that there are two sides to the issue. One is restoration and the other is adapting to erosion. “We are looking at the science and figuring out what to do on a large-scale.”

Jim Ginn, the mayor of Central Huron, was also in attendance. He sits on on various water health committees and says lake water traditionally rises and falls and in this period of high water, everyone is

Shannon Millar (above) a Restoration Specialist with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority points out areas of water quality concern at a Land to Lake Workshop held in Goderich in April. Guest speaker, Paul Parete (right) spoke about the Lakewide Action and Management Plan to improve Lake Huron.

relearning how to cope with flooding and erosion. “The years 1986 to 2005 were a low period and people never saw high water.” Now that it is back, “erosion on the lake bank will happen,” he says. “Large rocks, steel and concrete will eventually wash away. When water levels go down, that is when we need to do the work,” he said.

Another cottager said “we need solutions!” She brought up the idea of terracing as a potential solution. However, every time heavy equipment is brought in to create solutions, the weight and vibration of the machines actually weakens the existing banks and bluffs.

Ginn said research is being directed to nature-based solutions. The problem is most solutions are “extremely expensive” and can cost more than the cottages themselves. Another cottager suggested cottagers would be moved back onto farmland. Again, Ginn suggested the cost of moving everyone would be extremely expensive, with the added issues of those who owned cottages closest to the lake would fuss if they were then furthest back from the lake.

Millar then took the floor to bring the conversation back to the concept of Lake to Lake and how strategies adopted on land can improve the ecosystem health of the lake.

“Our watershed is agriculturebased,” explained Millar. “Our goal is to reduce the loss of soil and nutrients from agricultural lands.” Alongside that, the MVCA helps farmers source funds for protection work, provides technical support and coordinates projects.

Stream buffers are one such project, which encourages farmers not to work land too close to waterways. It also protects waterways from nutrients running off from the fields. Reduced tillage is another goal as it helps increase organic matter, which then creates “spongier” ground that can absorb more water. The addition of cover crops also helps with water filtration so that by the time water reaches the lake, it is cleaner, explained Millar.

Wildflower meadow strips are a newer project being promoted while

berms, grassed waterways and tree planting are long standing projects of the MVCA.

Millar shared slides of a stream connecting project where barriers are removed between waterways, increasing the accessibility of the river for migrating fish. Old barriers can create areas of sitting water that cause algae blooms while dams can create problems with rushing water and erosion.

Speaking to the audience, she encouraged everyone to:

● plant native vegetation (Lake Huron Coastal Centre has a list of native species for planting on bluffs)

● have regular septic inspections

● volunteer with water health organizations

● join a local environmental group (Lake Huron Coastal Centre, Green Goderich, Pine River Watershed)

● talk to neighbours and spread awareness about water issues

● plant trees (the MVCA has tree ordering opportunities in spring and fall) ◊

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

Site preparation key to successful tree planting

Conservation authorities are keen to be involved in cover crops and the creation of tallgrass prairies but when people think of them, they often think “trees” and Rob Davies of the Upper Thames Conservation Authority says he’s okay with that.

Tree planting starts with site preparation which involves mowing to break down existing vegetation and controlling residue and regrowth with more mowing or herbicide application. “We like going into soybean stubble because beans have organic matter and most of those crops are RoundUp Ready so there are few weed seeds in the area to compete with the trees,” said Davies. Rototilling and disking are other strategies applied to create an ideal tree-planting site.

Cover crops can be planted to retain moisture in the soil and reduce soil erosion around seedlings. “We recommend Dutch white clover because it’s a low crop and it provides nitrogen to the trees.” It can be mowed two or three times a season to eliminate tall weeds. Winter wheat is also a good cover crop for trees.

In open fields, smaller seedlings can be planted but in areas where there is competition, large stock is used. These might be hardwood trees four to eight feet high, which arrive bare rooted. These need to be planted as quickly as possible before the roots dry out and desiccate. Other large stock trees might come balled and burlapped. Both hand planting and machine planting are options. “We can get 4,000 seedlings into the ground in one day,” said Davies.

Embarking on a tree-planting project can be a legacy for many landowners. But the work doesn’t stop at planting. Tree plantations require a lot of maintenance the first year to make sure they don’t lose

vigour from competitive vegetation. “You will lose growth and yield (from competing vegetation) and that tree will never gain the growth potential it lost in the first year of its life.”

Herbicide needs to be applied around the trees, or if going organic, a good mulch. Plastic mulch that disintegrates over time can also be used.

In the summer months, watering during drought is critical. “We recommend using a 20-litre pail with a drilled hole so that water can percolate into the ground,” said Davies. The pails should be refilled every seven to 14 days.

Maintenance is required for three to four years until the trees are tall enough to shade out competing vegetation themselves. “More tending will influence the success of your project, especially with native hardwoods,” said Davies.

A project is considered successful when it has a 75 per cent survival rate though many projects are greater than 90 per cent, revealed Davies. Drought is particularly tough on trees but so is standing water. Rodents take a toll as do deer who like the “juicy, new trees”. Damage from mowers is also a risk for the trees as are sprays that accidentally hit the trees.

Tallgrass Prairies

Davies was excited to share plans for tallgrass prairie meadows that the CAs are offering to landowners in their watersheds. “It is a relatively rare habitat and has been degraded across the landscape over the last 150 years,” he said. These sites are full of

diversity and great for pollinators, as they support over 200 native grasses and wildflowers.

Tallgrass prairies also benefit wildlife, aid in erosion control and offer opportunities for biofuel.

“Some tallgrass prairie species have massive root systems and can be used as biofuel late in the year,” said Davies. There is also potential for rotational grazing of livestock in these tallgrass prairies.

As with trees, site preparation is key. It’s important to start with bare soil and remove cool-season grasses because they will out-compete prairie plantations over time. Herbicide is used to kill existing vegetation. The site is then disked and new seeds planted with good seed-to-soil

Rob Davies of the Upper Thames Conservation Authority taught attendees at the Rural Landowners Workshop how to plant and care for trees

After planting, trees require three years of watering, site mowing and/or mulching to thrive in their new space

contact.

These seeds take time to grow and establish and it can take three years before the stand reveals itself in all its glory. “The first two years you might question what you have done because all the weed seeds will come up,” explained Davies. That’s because many tallgrass prairie plants start slowly and may only grow three inches tall the first two years. However, once established, the prairie becomes a unique, colourful addition to the property, blooming yellow in summer and purple and red in the fall.

Plants in the tallgrass prairie include big bluestem, small bluestem, switchgrass, Indian grass, butterfly milkweed, sky blue aster, roundheaded bush clover, wild bergamot, evening primrose, slender mint, grayheaded coneflower, black-eyed susan and stiff goldenrod.

As the years pass, controlled burns take out woody vegetation that tries to take over and allows seeds to germinate again. ◊

• By Shawn Loughlin • News

Breakfast on the Farm in Huron

Wagyu beef cattle and a dairy farm are Breakfast on the Farm highlights

Farm and Food Care Ontario is expanding its popular Breakfast on the Farm event in Huron County, which will host the first-ever two-site event this June with locations near both Brussels and Blyth.

Breakfast on the Farm in Huron County will go ahead on Saturday, June 17 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The event traditionally welcomes over 2,500 people and this year they will begin at Grazing Meadows wagyu beef farm near Brussels owned by Tim and Donna Prior.

At Grazing Meadows, just east of Brussels, there will be an allOntario breakfast, interactive and educational displays on farming and a chance to meet and greet with local farmers. In addition, tours of Grazing Meadows itself will be offered.

The second stop will be Steve and Arletta Hallahan’s seventhgeneration dairy farm in East Wawanosh. That will be the event’s ice cream stop and it will give attendees the opportunity to tour the farm and speak with a family that has had farming in its blood for nearly 170 years.

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Christa Ormiston, program manager with Farm and Food Care Ontario, spoke with The Citizen about the event, saying this will be the first time that a second stop has been added to the Breakfast on the Farm event. The organization, which aims to connect everyday residents of both urban and rural communities with the farmers that grow and produce their food, hosts between two and three such events a year and coming to Huron County is something that has been a few years in the making.

Ormiston says the Hallahan farm had applied to be a Farm and Food Care Ontario Breakfast on the Farm stop several years ago and

had been chosen for 2020, but that event would not go ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckily, the farm remained on the books and now can be part of a two-stop tour this year.

Ormiston said that the Brussels Agricultural Society and one of its long-time members, Monique Baan, who is also a Farm and Food Care Ontario committee member, worked to bring the Priors on board to showcase their unique farm in the heart of Huron County.

Ormiston says the events are all about connecting consumers with farmers, education and building trust among those buying food and those producing it in rural, farming communities like Huron County.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ormiston said Farm and Food Care Ontario would frequently sell out these events weeks before they were set to be held and she hopes that level of enthusiasm for the June 17 event will continue now as pandemic-associated lockdowns and travel restrictions have been lifted.

And, while the events have been a lot of fun over the years and connected people with farmers, Ormiston said the impact of the events is being felt. The organization has conducted preand post-event polls, asking attendees about their opinions towards farming, etc. and she says there have been noted improvements in confidence levels after people have attended a Breakfast on the Farm event, which, she says, is what it’s all about.

Tickets for the event went on sale on April 13 online at farmfoodcareon.org and each ticket will be subject to a $5 deposit that will be refunded on the day of the event. ◊

Farmers abandon acreage as drought continues

The condition of the U.S. Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat crop has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. The crop establishment and growth has been a concern to many, ever since planting.

The crop was planted into drought conditions last fall, with hopes that rains would eventually come along through the winter and into the spring, giving the crop an opportunity to grow and develop. The growing season has progressed, but for large swaths of the U.S. plains, the rains haven’t materialized as hoped for. Not only has drought severely reduced crop potential widely, but late season freeze damage has also damaged standing wheat.

As the crop moves further toward maturity, it becomes easier to assess crop potential and recently, widelyfollowed crop tours have been providing a glimpse of the potential yields out there. The results are dramatically poor. In respect to the crops outlook, a representative of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission is reported to say that, “I just don’t think in the last 25 to 30 years, we have seen anything quite like this in the southern Plains.”

Many are predicting that the U.S. HRW crop will not only be one of record-low yields, but also of recordlow harvested acres. At this stage of the wheat’s life cycle, rains wouldn’t be expected to even improve crop prospects, but would at best stabilize the crop from deteriorating further. The Kansas crop is rated at only 13 per cent good-to-excellent currently, compared to 25 per cent last year and

40 per cent good-to-excellent on a 10-year average. Conversely 64 per cent of the Kansas crop is rated poor to very poor, compared to 39 per cent last year and 27 per cent poor to very poor on a 10-year average. Many fields have either been abandoned completely or have been cut for hay or grazed, as forage is also scarce in the region from the lack of rain. Currently it is estimated that at least 25 per cent of the Kansas wheat crop will never come to harvest. This level of acreage abandonment is higher than is traditionally seen in the state, however, the drought years of 1996 and 1989 saw severe drought effects also, with similar abandonment of 25 per cent. For comparison, Kansas growers abandoned 10 per cent of the crop last year. By far the worst abandonment Kansas saw was during the Dust Bowl times of the 1930s when around 50 per cent of the wheat crop was abandoned completely.

Russia continues to leave the market guessing as to whether the Black Sea shipping deal will continue or be extended as it expires in midMay. Russia is continuing to indicate that they are not receiving enough in response to their demands for it to continue with their participation. Prior to the deal expiring, Russia began refusing registration of new incoming vessels, effectively stopping Ukrainian movement from expanding, as all ships need to be approved by Russian inspectors prior to entering the region and loading.

With the uncertainty as to whether the Black Sea deal would continue or not we see very little change to grain prices. In the past, the market followed very closely to the news from the region and market prices changed (sometimes dramatically) with the statements of Russian officials, as the market feared what a stoppage or slowdown in shipping from the region might do to world trade flows. Currently the market isn’t overly concerned about the continuation of the deal at present, and in the past, it was fixated on this news. From this we may ask why the difference in response now?

This difference stems from the situation existing in the grain market today, versus the outset of the

conflict. Free markets are very effective at valuing goods, including agricultural commodities. Given certain assumptions of supply and demand – buyers and sellers can reasonably determine fair market value for goods. This happens in the futures markets where we see a large array of independent and unrelated world buyers and sellers simultaneously bidding and offering. When uncertainty comes into the assumptions of supply and demand –the market reacts and prices move. When the Russia/Ukraine conflict began, the assumptions that existed prior to the conflict were no longer valid and prices skyrocketed as uncertainty prevailed. That fear is now in the past. The market has grown to expect difficulties in the region. The market has anticipated the region would produce less grain and ship less grain than they once did – and other regions would fill the void.

Since the start of the conflict, world flows have changed in some ways. Part of this change has occurred because other regions have experienced large crops and have had capacity to meet the needs of world buyers. Also shipments from Ukraine have become more diversified. The Ukrainian agriculture minister recently said, “Ukrainian farmers and Ukrainian traders have shown that they can do a lot, and a lot of (export) routes can be laid.” His words indicate that with or without the Black Sea shipping deal, Ukrainian grain will find its way to market.

With more certainty toward grain supply, because needs are being shifted away from the Ukraine, we have seen market prices fade lower as world supplies are not seen to be threatened at this time. Lots of grain is looking to move into the world market, including grain here at home in Ontario. ◊

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

At the Birds, Bees, and Butterfly Expo in Ayton on May 6, I listened to a wonderful presentation given by Martin Tamlyn, a teacher at The Owl’s Nest which is a holistic alternative school.

Martin shared his experience in teaching children about the natural world. He explained that his teachings aren’t just about nature because our natural world works in response to being a planet. All who were in attendance were quite mesmerized by his ideology. In his talk, he covered the importance of teaching an understanding of where food comes from (from seed to harvest), the dependency of all things in nature to work together, and the reconnection of humans to nature.

The majority of the questions, comments, and open discussion led by the audience demonstrated how much those in attendance desired to be given the opportunity to learn these lessons and take part as the children do. The longing to learn more was quite overwhelming and I found myself thinking we need to do this better.

In this post-pandemic world people are bombarded with learning opportunities available on-line through webinars, YouTube videos, and website content. Most of the information that I have sought out is available for free in any of these formats. The most arduous part of using on-line information is finding information that is relevant to us locally. I believe that the hardest part of acquiring information from on-line sources is that I don’t learn well from a screen. I am a hands-on learner. I learn best by listening to other people and through experiences and I don’t think that I am alone in this.

Discussions about the Expo and

educating adults then evolved into how is the best way to spread the word? If I were to host workshops, how would people find out about them? I think I am one of the few that still subscribe to our local paper and look forward to reading it. I also listen to local radio, and often watch our local (ish) television channels. Many people that I speak to no longer read local newspapers, listen to local radio, or watch local television. News is gathered from many on-line sources, music is received by satellite, and shows are viewed through streaming.

It would probably be wise to mention here that I do read The Rural Voice and look at most of the advertisements. I like reading things that are relevant to me and my interests, that educate me and cause me to think.

In speaking with the attendees of this Expo, I became aware that we have somehow failed to keep everyone informed of the opportunities for people who are interested. The information that people are seeking is quite proudly and openly presented through meetings, workshops, and tours by many local groups. I learned that it is difficult for those people that are not already immersed in an interest group to find out about the existence of such groups. I was rhyming off events that had taken place and are planned by various groups, yet no one had heard of the group or the event.

Regardless of where you are in southern Ontario (I don’t know about the north) there are groups of volunteers that both love to share their internal knowledge but also hire talented, educated speakers or tour guides to lead workshops. People need to know that the event is happening in order to attend. Currently, the easiest way to find an event is on-line through social media and websites though I have learned of many through the grocery store bulletin board.

Ontario Nature is a great place to start. Formerly the Ontario Field Naturalists, Ontario Nature has groups in Saugeen Nature, Huron Fringe Field Naturalists and the

Owen Sound Field Naturalists. The field naturalists are a mixture of novices interested in learning, those that know a little about nature, and absolute experts. There is much shared informaton in these groups and the enthusiasm is overwhelming.

Another great place to learn is via the Ontario Woodlot Association (OWA). Again, there are chapters throughout Ontario including the Huron Perth chapter. There is also the Bruce Grey Woodlands Association (BGWA). The OWA and BGWA host great tours and workshops on everything forestry, from mushroom growing to timber harvesting. If you are interested in forests, these groups are great. Again, members range from complete novices to experts and information sharing is enjoyed.

Really, how could I not direct people that are interested in learning to their local Conservation Authority (CA)? There are a wide range of specialties within each CA. Staff are bursting with knowledge and happy to share information. Not only do CA staff host tours and workshops, but many staff are part of the other groups that I have mentioned as well. I would like to host more tours and workshops and would appreciate learning how to best get the word out that these events are taking place on a limited budget. The events are only fun if people come out and share their experiences and knowledge. ◊

There is a group for you!

Donna Lacey is a forester with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority

Woodlots

Martin Tamlyn speaks at the Birds, Bees and Butterfly Expo about the journey from seed to harvest.

More houses coming to prime agricultural areas?

In April this year, the Government of Ontario released its proposed updated Provincial Policy Statement (“PPS”), the over-arching set of rules that governs municipal land-use planning in the province. Local decisions about land use by lowertier municipalities such as townships and by upper-tier municipalities such as counties and regional municipalities must be consistent with the PPS. The current version of the PPS severely restricts the subdivision of “prime agricultural areas” – areas where “prime agricultural lands” predominate – in order to protect those areas “for longterm use for agriculture.” If adopted, the new proposed changes to the PPS will significantly erode that protection to make room for new housing development.

At present, the PPS prohibits the creation of “new residential lots” in prime agricultural areas with one exception: severances of surplus farm residences. Under Policy 2.3.4.1(c), a municipality may permit the severance of a “residence surplus to a farm operation” where the residence becomes surplus as a result of farm consolidation. The new residential lot must be limited to “a minimum size needed to accommodate the use and appropriate sewage and water services” and no new residential dwellings will be permitted on the retained parcel of farmland.

The Government now proposes to

add a second exception for the creation of residential lots in prime agricultural areas. According to the proposed change, identified as policy 4.3.3.1(a), the creation of new residential lots “from a lot or parcel of land that existed on January 1, 2023” may be permitted provided that:

1. agriculture is the principal use of the existing lot or parcel of land;

2. the total number of lots created from a lot or parcel of land as it existed on January 1, 2023 does not exceed three;

3. any residential use is compatible with, and would not hinder, surrounding agricultural operations; and,

4. any new lot:

i. is located outside of a specialty crop area;

ii. complies with the minimum distance separation formulae;

iii. will be limited to the minimum size needed to accommodate the use while still ensuring appropriate sewage and water services;

iv. has existing access on a public road, with appropriate frontage for ingress and egress; and

v. is adjacent to existing nonagricultural land uses or consists primarily of lowerpriority agricultural lands.

This policy permitting the division of a single farm lot or parcel into as many as three new lots or parcels –two new residential lots or parcels plus the remaining retained agricultural lot or parcel – would be implemented through changes to municipal Official Plans and Zoning By-laws. It is important to note that the new proposed PPS also states that: “Official plans and zoning bylaws shall not contain provisions that are more restrictive than policy 4.3.3.1(a) except to address public health or safety concerns.” That statement would suggest that the implementation of the policy allowing for new residential lots or parcels is not something that

municipalities can choose to avoid.

In fact, it may be that the new proposed PPS would also make it mandatory for municipalities to implement Official Plans and Zoning By-laws that provide for surplus farm residence severances. Currently, the PPS says that “lot creation in prime agricultural areas is discouraged and may only be permitted ” [emphasis added] for agricultural uses, agriculture-related uses, infrastructure and “a residence surplus to a farming operation”. The policy in the new proposed PPS would now read: “Residential lot creation in prime agricultural areas is only permitted in accordance with provincial guidance” [emphasis added] for new residential lots (the new ability to create up to three lots or parcels from a single farm lot or parcel) and for “a residence surplus to an agricultural operation”. If it is currently possible for a municipality to opt-out of surplus farm residence severances, it seems that the new PPS may eliminate that choice.

Subject to any special transitional regulations made under the proposed “ Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 ”, the new PPS policies including those related to the division of lots and parcels in prime agricultural areas would apply to any decision on a planning matter made after the effective date of the new PPS. The Government is targeting fall 2023 as the date for implementation of the new PPS.

In December, 2022, Ontario’s accredited farm organizations, the OFA, NFU-O and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, along with Sustain Ontario, the Greenbelt Foundation and the Ontario Farmland Trust, made a joint submission to the Government on proposed PPS changes. The organizations stated: “Farmland is under risk of speculative investment. Any policies that might open land for speculative purchase and investment need to be discouraged. We do not support policies that will increase residential lot creation in prime agricultural areas or in rural areas that are actively farmed.” The OFA has since made a further submission to the

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

Government following the release of the proposed updated PPS in opposition to the proposed change to allow new residential lot creation and in support of the existing PPS protections for prime farmland. Similar submissions from NFU-O and the CFFO are likely to follow before the Government’s consultation period ends on June 5, 2023. ◊

John D. Goudy’s law practice includes real property and environmental litigation, expropriation law, energy regulation, and regulatory offences. Agrilaw provides information of interest to the farming community, not legal advice. Readers should consult a legal professional about their particular circumstance.

People

• By Gary West •

Perth 4-H members and leaders win awards

The Perth County 4-H Association recently held their volunteer and sponsor recognition banquet along with their annual general meeting at the Listowel Agriculture Hall.

President Carolyn vander Heiden reported that membership continued to grow over the last year, with 34 new members for a total membership of 277. There were also a total of 54 volunteer 4-H leaders.

She said it was obvious that the members wanted to follow the 4-H motto of “learn to do by doing” by meeting in person for the first time in three years. Zoom meetings were also offered.

Throughout the year, Brian Anderson was presented with the Keith McLagen award for his outstanding leadership in 4-H clubs in Perth County, while also receiving the 2023 “Arbor Award” from 4-H Ontario, for many years of his solid leadership.

Three long term 4-H membersAbby Debus, Brianna Marshall and

Spenser Dunsmore, were also congratulated and recognized for their commitments over the years, and have now aged-out of the 4-H program.

Delaney Bauerman, in abstentia, was also presented with the Ralph White memorial trophy, recognizing

her as the outstanding Perth County 4-H member for 2022.

There were 19 clubs offered in the county last year, including clover buds, livestock clubs, conservation, seed art, chocolate, home for the holidays, cooking through the milk calendar and many more. ◊

Frank McKay embodies spirit of conservation and wins award

Hickson construction operator has recently received the “Upper Thames River Conservation Authority”(UTRCA) award, for his outstanding work with the authority in preserving and conserving water quality in the Upper Thames River watershed.

Alocal

Frank McKay was presented with the award at the recent annual meeting of the UTRCA.

The award recognizes his commitment to improving the environment and embodies the spirit of conservation through his actions to create a more livable and resilient watershed.

He has worked with the authority staff for more than 40 years. One of McKay’s recent local initiatives was to help shore up the river banks of the Avon River in Stratford to prevent further shore erosion, and also methodically was able to complete the job in a timely fashion.

In accepting the award, McKay said it has been a great experience over the years, working with the authority and learning there is a better way to look after the water and land in the future. He said “we have to leave the land and water in a better condition then we found it in, and is proud of working with the conservation authority team, for improvement of the natural environment in the Upper Thames River watershed”. ◊

Brad Blasman (left) presents Frank McKay (centre) with a conservation award along with Craig Merkley (right).

President Carolyn vander Heiden (left) presented gifts to contestants at the annual meeting’s public speaking contest. They were Hailey Royce, Hannah Johnston, Trinity Skinner, and the 1st place winner, Greta DeWettering.

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COMING EVENTS

Breakfast on the Farm – Join us for a visit to a beef and dairy farm on June 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Register now at farmfoodcareon.org

Huron County Cruisers is hosting a Cruise-In night, Friday, July 7, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. (rain date July 14); Harriston Rd. 87, Howick Community Centre. Donations to local Wingham Foodbank. Music, food booth, celebrity guests and draws during the event. Contact Verdun Zurbrigg for information, 519-444-8551.

South Bruce Tourism’s Annual Father’s Day Vintage Tractor Tour

Sunday, June 18th from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

“A Daytrip Back in Agricultural History” On-farm displays of tractors, automobiles and other vintage pieces.

Throughout South BruceMildmay, Formosa, Teeswater and Belmore More info and maps available at: www.visitsouthbruce.ca

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COMING EVENTS

Returning for 2023!

Lucknow Agricultural Society Fall Fair Crops Competition

Attention Growers: please register your crops with Allan Scott at 519-524-0044 ascott@lucknowco-op.com

CONSTRUCTION

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

DAIRY

Screened bedding sand, delivered. Call 519-625-8242 or 519-2741490.

FOR SALE

Farm buildings, homes, cottages repaired, remodelled, restored and jacked up. Also roofing, siding, doors, windows, cement work, foundations, piers, framework, decks, doors, fencing, beams, eavestroughing repaired, replaced or installed. Brian McCurdy, 519375-0958/519-986-1781. 04-6W

Rosco grain bins for sale – 19' and 14' diameter. Parts available. Used grain bins wanted for parts or reuse. Closed Sundays, 519-3383920.

Alfalfa hay mixtures, pasture mixtures, top dressing for pastures, and a selection of organic grass seeds. All mixed to your personal needs. Available at Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy. 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-395-2972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

Available for cover crops after winter wheat we have forage peas, oat/pea mixes, pure oats and special mixes with radish and brassicas. For pricing contact Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy. 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-395-2972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

FOR SALE

Webwood Truss – We manufacture roof trusses and floor joists, and supply steel roofing, siding and trims. Come visit our shop at 382 Whitechurch St., RR 5, Lucknow, N0G 2H0.

LIVESTOCK BEDDING

MIRACLE FIBRE 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. 519-669-2456. Sittler Grinding Inc. Rick Sittler.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

Suffolk Sheep – Taking orders now for purebred breeding ram and ewe lambs. Born in February/March. GenOvis tested, M-V negative, closed flock. Florence Pullen, Clinton, 519-233-7896. 06-W

Cuni-ON – Supplying Europe’s best breeding stock for the commercial rabbit producer. Bucks and does available year-round. 519-4508308. CuniON@tcc.on.ca 06-1W

LIMOUSIN breeding bulls, quiet, thick, semen tested, guaranteed breeders, delivery included. Posthaven Limousin, John Post, 519-766-7178. www.posthaven limousin.com 06-W

Watch them grow by googling “Ontario Bull Evaluation” Silver Springs Farms. James, Joan and Robert McKinlay, 519-599-6236. 05-2W

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Limousin bulls – ready to work for you; semen tested. Open and bred females available. Smart Limousin, Meaford 519-372-7459. smartlimo@bmts.com www.smartlimousin.com 06-W

McKague Charolais bulls, registered purebred yearlings, polled and semen tested. Heifers available. Wingham, 519-357-3808. 06-1W

MARKETS

Flesherton & District Farmers’ Market – A “true farmers’ market”. Locally grown, produced and handmade, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Saturdays until Thanksgiving. 101 Highland Drive, Flesherton, 519924-0777.

RESTORATION

The Olde Tyme Radio Centre –antique radios, clocks, gramophones, telephones; sold/ restored. (vintage autoclock radio, speedometer, tachometer repaired). Belgrave 519-357-4304, www.oldtymeradio.ca

RETAIL & GIFTS

Homemade toys, small wooden farm equipment for little farmers among the many things at Huron Artisan Market, 63 Albert St., Clinton.

Gluten Free Well Groceries & Homebaking

4164 Line 76 RR #1 Newton, ON N0K 1R0 519-595-8335

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, 519-274-5000. www.croninpouredconcrete.ca

Langside Chainsaw & Small Engine Sales & Service – chainsaws and accessories, string trimmers, power cutters, small engines, v-belts, lawn mower sales and service. Isaac M. Martin, 378 Langside Street, RR 5, Lucknow, ON N0G 2H0.

INCOME TAX FILING FOR CORPORATIONS and late filers –for farms, small business, truckers and individuals. Will make house calls in the North Huron, Perth and surrounding area. Call Shirley in Wingham – cell No. 1-705-434-8187.

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WANTED

28” Metal Robert Bell threshing machine with straw cutter; John Deere International grain binder. Phone evenings 905-983-9331.

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 03-6W

DONALD A ANDREW ACCOUNTING

Accounting & Income Tax Services for FARMS, BUSINESSES & INDIVIDUALS

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Specializing in on Farm Pest Management Serving Southwestern ON, Golden Horseshoe, GTA

Email: info@sgsltd.ca 519-692-4232 www.sgspestmanagement.ca

WANTED

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

Scrap Cars Wanted – 20, 30, 40 yd. scrap metal bins available. We sell quality used auto parts. Wanted to buy – scrap cars, trucks, farm machinery, heavy equipment. Kenilworth Auto Recyclers. 519323-1113. 04-6W

HIGHLAND FENCE & SUPPLY INC.

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

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Heavy gear box, 14 inch auger, 540 PTO

Price $1,450

Crowfoot Packer Wheels, 1 3/4 shaft, 22 inch $40. Bearcat , Turnco Packer Wheels, 2” shaft, 14-15” each $30.

MF 468 Corn Planter, four row, 30 inch, extra plates $1,200.

IH Cultivator, 18 ft., tight shanks, hyd. wings, harrows $3,800.

VIC Stone Fork, 69 inch, no welds, pin hookup $975.

Gravity Box and Wagon, for seed or feed, 225 bushel $1,650.

IH 55 Chisel Plow, tight shanks, 10 shank, new tires $3,800.

IH 56 Corn Planter Plates 24 cell, 12 cell, or for beans each $10.

IH, JD, MF Seed Drills, parts, single, double disc Call

IH 5100 Grass Seed Box, 18 run, stored inside, good shape .........$1,100.

IH 4500 Cultivator, 14 foot, low acres, new wide sweeps $2,700.

IH 10, 510, 16 Run Grass Seed Box, stored inside $675.

Goodyear Bolt On Duals, 18.4 x 34, could be used as tires & rims .........$1,250.

Firestone 18.4 x 30 Duals, good shape, trail snap on. $1,650.

Firestone 18.4 x 34 Trails Snap On Duals, average. pair $1,450

Turnco Gravity Bin, Martin gear, 15 tires, for feed or seed $975.

Antique Case Two Furrow Drag Plow, rope trip, low acres $1,250.

Antique Massey Harris Two Row Corn Binder, good for display $950.

MF 33 Seed Drill, 17 run, double disc, grain only, rope trip lift $1,850.

John Deere 1000 Cultivator, hyd. wings, gauge wheels, needs paint $2,200.

John Deere Four Furrow Drag Plow, 16 inch, hyd. lift, new parts $2,600.

John Deere Three Furrow 3PH Plow, good 12 inch ace bottom, Cat One $975.

Drum Land Roller, 8 ft., steel hitch, 30 inch drums, cast ends $850.

Fertilizer Grain Auger, 12 ft., poly tube, 6 inch hyd. drive $1,250.

IH 56 Corn Planter, good shape, 4 row, extra plates, hyd. lift $2,200.

Scraper Blade, 3PH, 6 ft., swivels, no welds or cracks $475.

45 HP Tractor Universal 500, diesel, cab, 3PH, new pwr. steering pump $6,700.

Tractor Antique WD Allis Chalmers, runs good, good tin, 12 volt $3,700.

Shulter Harrows, 16 ft., 8 ft. sections, for behind seed drill $475.

Pony Harrows, 12 ft., spring tooth, on wheels, adjustable height $1,100.

John Deere 145 Trip Plow, 14 inch, semi mount, four furrow $1,650.

Gehl 880 Haybine, 9 ft., steel rubber rolls, used last season $2,600.

• 3x3 Bales Automatic Acid Applications, Roto Cutter. Individual Bale Wrapping 6' bales Call Fritz: 519-292-0138

John Deere 1209 Haybine, 9 ft., rubber rolls, 540 PTO, swivel hitch $2,800.

Antique Ski Doo, 12/3 snowmobile, single cylinder, stored inside $850.

Ferguson Two Furrow Garden Plow, 12 inch, 3 PH ........................$575. For pictures go to agbuyersguide.farms.com Dan Seifried Equipment

8th Line East, Harriston

Established 1986

519-338-2688

National Farmers Union – Ontario NEWSLETTER

Strong Communities. Sound Policies. Sustainable Farms.

Across the country, changes in bylaws and regulations are resulting in a massive rise in demand for native plants for ecological restoration projects of all sizes and habitats. This is great news! Ecosystems depend on native plants because they evolved in reciprocal relationships with native animals, insects, soil organisms, and water systems local to their region. Removing native plants leads to the collapse of entire ecosystems, and planting natives supports ecosystem health that keep our water clean, keep our CO2 levels down, and keep the birds singing.

However, the demand for native plants is so great that it is actually outpacing supply – by a lot. One reason is that many regeneration projects are highly localized, often needing to source seeds and plants from within a few kilometers of the site. Another reason why the supply chain is slow to respond is that growing native plants still lacks the formalized research that other horticultural and agricultural industries rely on. With many plants taking years until they can be ready to fulfill contracts, knowing realistic timelines on completing projects is critical. Native plants should be transplanted during spring and late fall, though much of the landscaping work happens in summer when supply is low. Seed and other source materials for native plants must be highly localized – something that contradicts our globalized economy. Native plants are also, at times, challenging to propagate, as they were not developed to fit neatly into scheduled plantings like most domesticated species. Finally, hundreds of varieties of native plants require high levels of diversification and knowledge.

Because of the nature of working with native plant communities, Big Business may never find native plants an attractive investment. This creates

an exciting opportunity for small to mid-sized growers to meet this growing demand while contributing to the regeneration of natural habitats across the province. A number of organizations and growers are already responding to the call. Carolinian Canada , for example, aims to plant “Canada’s Biggest Wildlife Garden” through their “In the Zone” project, while the Forest Gene Conservation Association plans to train 15 certified native seed collectors this year.

Regionally, Regenerate Grey Bruce – a new project hosted by The Sustainability Project and financed by the Greenbelt Foundation —is working with NFU Local 344 (Grey) and the Ecological Farmers Association Ontario ( EFAO) to coordinate a pilot program to meet this growing demand. Part of this initiative involves researching and creating a native plant value chain, as well as organizing grower collectives and developing a centralized marketing body. The goal is to build an active network of regional partners to supply native plants and seeds to this growing market.

On April 29, the first workshop of this initiative was hosted at Luna Mia Farm near Desboro, led by Kim Delaney of Hawthorn Organic Seeds. Delaney is an experienced native plant grower and lead author of Environment Canada’s Planting The Seed: A Guide to Establishing Prairie and Meadow Communities in Southern Ontario . Sarah Winterton of Carolinian Canada was also in attendance, sharing work the organization has done into seed strategies and economic assessments in southern Ontario.

Attendees of the workshop were incredibly diverse, from new farmers to experienced market gardeners, ecological restoration and soil food web specialists, and people offering equipment and skills to harvest and clean seed. Delaney’s presentation

Phone: 1-888-832-9638

E-mail: office@nfuontario.ca

Website: www.nfuontario.ca

included education on the three main native plant communities: prairie and meadow communities; wetland communities; and woodland communities. Growers were also sent home with pre-stratified seeds and plants to conduct their own trials. Said native plant nursery operator, Anna King: “ Sometimes, the rate of landscape degradation feels discouraging. It felt good to see so many fellow farmers taking interest in native plants and building a community approach to growing supply!”

As this initiative grows, it hopes to attract all and any partners involved, or wanting to be involved, with the regional mission to restore native plant communities all across Turtle Island. Especially important will be local educators and knowledgekeepers, as well as growers interested in adding even a few native plant crops to their existing operations.

If you or your organization is interested in being involved, email regenerategreybruce@gmail.com and describe your interest, experience, and your aspirations.

Thorsten Arnold is a farmer in Grey County and a member of the Local 344 (Grey) Board.

“Planting the Seed”: Growing Native Plants

Pork Producers NEWSLETTER

* The Rural Voice is provided to Perth County Pork Producers by the PCPPA perthcountyporkproducers@gmail.com

The planet has realigned itself along new lines

When I was in high school, my Grade 13 English teacher complained that all I would write about was pigs. Apparently Mr. Reed had never come across a person who attempted to tie world events to pig farming, and failing that, would employ some sort of pig farming analogy to make sense of things. Perhaps I was a bit onedimensional in those days, but is there a better example than the hog industry to show how, here in Canada, policies clip the feathers of industries ready to go to the next level?

Canada looked poised to explode in growth at the conclusion of the 19th Century; the western provinces were about to be transformed from natural grasslands into a breadbasket of grain production and industry in Ontario and Quebec was growing rapidly as the western world settled new people at a dizzying rate. The promise led Wilfred Laurier to make this bold proclamation in 1904, “Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that all the signs point this way, that the 20th century shall be the century of Canada and Canadian development... For the next 100 years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.” For the first half of the century he wasn’t far off. At the conclusion of WWII, just before the midpoint of the century, Canada had a strong military. The Navy and Air Force had a strength only surpassed by the U.S. and the U.K. in the post-WWII era, leading to a strong voice in mid-century diplomacy. Our population had almost tripled in that time period and across the country massive investments were made in public infrastructure like health care and education.

One hundred years from now there will be history books that do a better job of understanding when the globalized peaceful world (idealized by the folks who knew mass scale conflict from the first half of the 20th century) became a pipe dream. Right now, we can only guess at where we are in the timeline of degraded progress. It is already clear that the global world has fractured and the idea that developing and middle countries are going to just slide along a pretty curve and become westernstyle democracies complete with a middle class living out in suburbia is dead. In little over a year, we have watched as the entire globe realigned itself along new lines, giving everyone a stark reminder that this

world is not united. In fact fractures are growing at an increasing rate. The BRICS countries (Brasil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have created an economic alliance that now stretches across the globe and when they meet for a summit in June 2023 in South Africa they will continue discussions that could see this economic alliance grow. According to the Times of India, a total of 19 countries from every corner of the globe have applied to join an alliance that has already created its own development bank and parallel supports that seek to remove traditional western powers like the U.S.A., the U.K., and the EU from controlling global financial tools. Canada has a unique opportunity to retake the place it once held as an international broker of peace. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was the one who thawed out relationships with Communist China and helped to usher in multiple decades of growing trade. Before becoming PM, Lester Pearson brokered peace for the Suez crisis and laid the framework for modern-day peace-keeping missions. Canada works best when it recognizes its place in the world without tempering our ambition for the future. Our ability to play this role in the future has nothing to do with military strength and everything to do with our abundance of resources.

Now that even Mr. Reed would be wondering where mention of pigs was going to come in, it is time to bring them to the forefront. As Canada looks at this fast-fracturing world, we need to look at what we want to be as a country in the future. Over 50 years of decline and neglect of Canada’s responsibilities out in the world have led us to the current place where we have become an international weakling yet we still have the largest basket of natural resources in the world –with space to grow. We have a changing climate that is going to cause untold suffering in many areas yet here in Canada we have climate-resilient food production and technology development that will allow us to harness a changing climate to grow more food. At a time when most major agricultural producing areas are dealing with significant climate stressors, here in Eastern Canada, our yields are growing and more land is being added into production every year as we push east and north with our fields. Pork will remain a globally demanded commodity and

Canadian pig farmers will continue to produce the cheapest pigs in the world thanks to competitive feed grain markets.

The missing link across all our resource sectors like pork is a domestic unwillingness to do the hard work of transforming from an exporter of raw products into an exporter of value-added goods. Why sell an unprocessed ham at a discount to a Mexican buyer when we have the tools to increase our labour force, debone that ham here in Canada, and sell it as a finished product? The crisis of processing space that is being felt by producers across Eastern Canada right now is an avoidable problem that is being exacerbated by a lack of national ambition. Multiple federal agencies continue to fail at a time when they could be making transformational change. Immigration has the tools to solve labour woes with targeted expediency for resource sectors. Environment could be creating resource clusters around our processing plants as other jurisdictions have done, turning slaughter waste into renewable natural gas to power plant operations. Instead of using wedge politics between English and French Canada, our Prime Minister could be actively involved in finding a Canadian solution to Eastern Canadian processing versus the current situation where each province is seeking solutions internally without recognizing that we would be far more globally competitive if we looked at things through a Canadian lens and not an Ontario versus Quebec versus the Maritimes lens.

Pig farmers here in Perth County cannot change Canada’s lack of global ambition on their own. However, if given the ability, we can be a great contributor to future economic and political stability. We cannot control how foreign countries interact with each other but we could be a source of food resources that offer domestic stability to trading partners regardless of their internal political structure. Canadian farmers have been told time and time again that we will need to feed a world of nine billion people within a couple decades. We are ready to step up and do our part but you can’t send a live pig to Vietnam or Columbia…we need to see the political will to address the weak points in our value chain and right now that means viable Eastern Canadian processing. ◊

– Submitted by Stewart Skinner

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

GCFA (OFA) Membership Appreciation Day

August 20, 2023

GCFA 2023 Events

JUNE 14 - Directors’ Meeting

JULY

8 - Ag Night at the Races

AUGUST 9 - Directors’ Meeting

20 - Member Day - Story Book Park

SEPTEMBER 13 - Directors’ Meeting Gord Bamford Concert Series

OCTOBER 13 - GCFA AGM

NOVEMBER 8 - Directors’ Meeting

Your job is the same every year. You plant the crop in the spring, nurture and care for it during the growing season, and harvest the crop in the fall, turning your grain into money at the earliest opportunity.

You are a Master of Production in your own right. After all, you have been doing this for a number of years – for some, a lifetime. You are known to take the time to research the best hybrids and use the most efficient means of planting and harvesting, all while being good stewards of the land. You always attempt to do your absolute best.

Unfortunately, there are some things that are out of your control. Even after making your best effort, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature more often than not. Will it rain? Will it stop raining? When will the sun shine again? Knowing that you have no power to affect this vital aspect of production can be exhausting.

As cash grain farmers, you will always grow a crop and you will always have a crop to sell. This is known. Sometimes it does not work out as well as you had planned on, but you have always had something to sell at the end of harvest.

After weather, the biggest source of anxiety for many in cash grain farming is deciding when to sell your grain. If the price goes higher after

SMV SIGN

If you require a new SMV sign for your equipment before heading out on the road, contact the BCFA office, there are some available to members.

Opportunity is knocking

you sell, you sold too much. If the price goes lower after you sell, you probably didn’t sell enough.

The past couple of years have proven to all of us that we should expect the unexpected. We have all been selling at historically high values. We are all looking in the rearview mirror and wishing our hindsight had come as foresight the past couple of months or so.

Higher grain prices mean better profitability but also bring more stress and anxiety than low prices. When the market is low, we feel everyone is suffering the same fate. When the market is high, we become more paralysed in making a decision to sell for fear that we won’t nail it at the high. The fear of missing out is real.

Regretting a decision to sell does not mean that it was a bad decision –remember that! You took control of something and made a choice. You did it for good reason. You turned your investment into good money at the earliest opportunity. After all, that is your job.

This is a difficult but profitable environment to make selling

decisions in. Don’t let your emotions prevent you from taking control. It is time to move on and sell more. Don’t allow yourself to become so distracted that you miss participating in the rally for new crop. The train we are all on will run out of track at some time in the future. Don’t be the last one on board when it happens. ◊ Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity to sell, that you end up missing the one right in front of you.

– Submitted by Tammy Young, Director BCFA

BCFA 2023 MEETINGS

• June 26

• August 28

• September 25

• October 27

• November 13

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

Perth County Federation of Agriculture

Julie Danen, President: 519-801-9200

Battery energy storage systems

Recently, Independent Electricity System Operators such as Enbridge have been approaching municipal councils to seek approvals for battery energy storage facilities. These facilities have the support of the provincial government, as they make energy from industrial windfarms and solar panels available when it is needed by consumers, not just when it is produced.

From a regulation standpoint, battery units are no different from transmission lines, but they need municipal approvals. They are an enticing revenue source for municipalities, especially those who already host industrial windmills. Battery facilities are best fitted in rural areas and not cities to be near transmission stations.

The battery units are about the size of a shipping container (Sea Cans), with many battery cells inside. The batteries used in these units run considerably hotter than batteries in your car or cell phone. They require elaborate cooling systems with 24-hour monitoring.

There are many concerns for the agricultural industry that would effectively be hosting battery storage facilities:

1. The risk of fire is significant. Battery farms in California in their short history have had fire incidents several times in the past year. This has resulted in road closures and warnings for humans to remain indoors. The risk of spreading of toxins from battery fires is still not completely known and the effect on neighbouring farms is questionable. Local fire departments would need training and specialized equipment to deal with these events.

2. The continued use of farmland for non-agricultural activities remains a constant issue. We are losing thousands of acres of farmland every year and battery farms which can

cover 10 to 30 acres would only exacerbate this problem.

3. Battery storage units used today, last seven to 10 years. There is currently no recycling program for these batteries and potentially could end up in landfills at the end of life.

The Perth County Federation of Agriculture is currently assessing this recent issue and would like members’

input. Please reach out to us with your thoughts. If you are approached by a company wanting to put a battery facility on your property, be sure to consult with a lawyer for advice and talk with people in your community. Municipal government should also be a resource for information. ◊

– Submitted by Tim

Halliday

Battery storage facility at Geelong, Australia, with a battery storage unit on fire, July 2021.

HURON

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

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

Website: www.hcfa.on.ca

Email: ofahuron@tcc.on.ca

Upcoming Events

June 2-4 - Clinton Spring Fair Visit: clintonspringfair.com

June 16-17 - Dungannon Super Pull will be held at 557 Walter St. Lucknow (Graceland site).

June 18 - Happy Fathers Day!

June 21-22 - Ontario Pork Congress, Stratford. www.porkcongress.on.ca

Huron County Federation of Agriculture BOARD MEETING

Monday, June 26 8:00 p.m.

HCFA Office in Vanastra

Farmer Wellness Initiative 24/7 counseling to farmers and farm family members, free all year round 1.866.267.6255 https://farmerwellnessinitiative.ca/; and frequently asked questions about FWI: https://farmerwellnessinitiative.ca/faq/

SAVE THE DATES!

HURON OFA REGIONAL MEETING

August 30, 2023

(Election of OFA Convention Delegates and OFA Policy Advisory Council Representatives will be held at this meeting)

Watch for more details!

Huron County Federation of Agriculture ANNUAL MEETING

October 27, 2023

Watch for more details!

HCFA OFFICE

The office is open on Mondays and alternate Fridays 9 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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

Hidden Gems of Huron County

See our Spring issue featuring:

Accessible Huron

Hiking Huron

Festivals, Fairs, Things to See and Do

Happy Father’s Day

BACKROADS OF ONTARIO 6TH EDITION

From afternoon outings to weekend excursions, this latest edition features 33 backroad adventures, each illustrated with colour photos and accompanied by a map. $29.95

WATERFALLS OF ONTARIO

Revised and expanded featuring over 125 waterfalls including stunning photographs and detailed descriptions of over 100 falls organized into eight regions. $29.95

Rural Living & Local Authors Specializing in The Rural Reading Room

UNFORGETTABLE CANADA

Explore your country, if only in print with this beautifully illustrated tour to 100 destinations across the country from Signal Hill, Newfoundland to the killer whales off the west coast to the Yukon’s Top of the World highway. $29.95

UNFORGETTABLE ONTARIO This beautifully illustrated guide celebrates 100 of the destinations and events that make Ontario an unforgettable place to travel. $29.95

BACKROADS OF ONTARIO 6TH EDITION

WATERFALLS OF ONTARIO

TOP 170 UNUSUAL THINGS TO SEE IN ONTARIO

TOP 170 UNUSUAL THINGS TO SEE IN ONTARIO

Ron Brown’s new edition reveals even more odd and unusual, rare and offbeat sites - and soundsclose to Ontarian’s very own backyards. $29.95

A PADDLER’S GUIDE TO THE RIVERS OF ONTARIO & QUEBEC

Inside are 20 top river trips through the wilds of Ontario and western Quebec. Includes maps, directions and colour photos. $19.95

BACKROADS OF SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY

This book features the best daylong excursions in the Southern Georgian Bay area. Eleven of the best day trips off the beaten path. This book is full of fascinating historical facts, beautifully drawn maps and so much more. $19.95

TOP 60 CANOE ROUTES OF ONTARIO

This is the essential guide to the best paddling excursions this province has to offer. Every route is complete with maps of access points, portage lengths, important river features and campsites. $29.95

A PADDLER’S GUIDE TO THE RIVERS OF ONT & QB

UNFORGETTABLE CANADA

UNFORGETTABLE ONTARIO

TOP 60 CANOE ROUTES OF ONTARIO

$29.95

BACKROADS OF SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY $19.95

$29.95 $29.95 $29.95 $19.95 $29.95 $29.95

Books: North Huron Publishing P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 or call and pay by credit card 519-523-4311

MAIL BOOKS TO:

Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Code _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Phone:

Prices subject to change with increases in wholesale prices, postage, taxes, etc. Please refer to current issue for correct figures. Incorrect payment will delay delivery.

SATURDAY,

SUPER