The Rural Voice - May 2024

Rural Voice May 2024

The

THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE ... $3.50 PM 40037593

SHEPHERD’S SIGHT Barbara McLean chronicles the hope and energy of youth to the rock-hard decisions of advancing age

REALITY TV ON FARM

Remote connection and security cameras allow busy farmers to protect livestock and machinery

CONNECTED BY FARMING Chief says reconciliation is possible through agriculture as Indigenous reclaim farming skills

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2024 Agricultural Fairs August 30-Sept 1

Seaforth

Sept 13-14

Owen Sound

Sept 6-7

Fergus

Sept 13-15

Beaver Valley

Sept. 6-7

Feversham

Sept. 13-15

August 9-11

Chesley

Sept. 6-7

Harriston-Minto

Sept 13-15

Hanover

August 10-11

Arthur

Sept 6-8

Shelburne

Sept 13-15

Dungannon

August 11

Dundalk

Sept 6-8

Embro-Zorra

Sept. 14-15

Bayfield

August 16-18

Kirkton

Sept. 6-8

Teeswater

August 16-18

Mildmay-Carrick

Sept 6-8

Tavistock

Sept 6-8 Sept 6-15

Clinton

May 31-June 2

Listowel

July 18-21

Zurich

July 26-28

Drayton

Mitchell

August 16-Sept 2

Cdn. National Exhibition Woodstock

August 22-25

Western Fair

Markdale

August 23-24

Paisley

Palmerston

August 23-25

Arran-Tara

Sept 10-11

Desboro

August 30-31

Brussels

Sept. 17-18

Kincardine

August 30-31

Cdn. Outdoor Farm Show

Meaford

August 31

Chatsworth Durham

IPM

Oct 1-5

Sydenham

Sept. 19

Stratford

Sept 19-22

Rocklyn

Sept 28

Howick-Turnberry

Sept 27-28

Ripley-Huron

Sept 27-29

Grand Valley

Sept 20-22

Drumbo

Sept 21-22

Sept 10-12

Tiverton

Oct 4-6

Neustadt

Sept 20-21

Erin

Oct. 11-14

Sept 14

Wiarton

Sept. 20-21

Walkerton

Oct. 18-20

August 30-Sept 1

Lucknow

Sept 14-16

Royal Winter Fair

Nov 1-10

Sept 8

Visit www.ontariofairs.com for more information.

This calendar is presented by

~ In support of our community ~ A proud member of

Goderich, Ontario • www.wwmic.com

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Contents

56

18

The

Rural Voice THE MAGAZINE OF AGRICULTURAL LIFE

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

22

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

Columns

Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Keith Roulston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Kate Procter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Jeffrey Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Mabel’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Woodlots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Agrilaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Departments

Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ruralite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Business Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Newsletters

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

MAY 2024 • Cover Photo Barbara McLean of Holstein Photo by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

• Deadlines: June Issue – May 7 July Issue – June 11

18 Shepherd’s Sight

Barbara McLean;s memoir about life at Lambsquarters follows the Shepherd’s Calendar framework

22 Farm Security Screens and cameras makes farming multiple locations safer

26 Reconciliation at Farm Level

True reconciliation with Indigenous people can only happen with economic parity, says Chief

28 Forests are Fair

Forest Health Study reveals some disturbing trends about variety of species and regeneration

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Gary Kenny, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Donna Lacey, Melisa Luymes, Carolyn Crawford, Bonnie Sitter, Jeff Tribe Advertising Sales: Shelley Kroes rvads@northhuron.on.ca Production co-ordinator & Telemarketing: Joan Caldwell PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40037593 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 429, BLYTH ON N0M 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca Subscriptions: $30 (12 issues) $55 (24 issues), includes HST Back copies $3.75 each.

Make cheques payable to: NORTH HURON PUBLISHING CO.

30 Golden Guernseys

Guernseys in demand as private processor markets golden milk

42 Interest Rates Will Shift FCC’s Chief Economist confirms interest rates will decrease but it might take longer than hoped.

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

A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada.

Feedback

Tree Planting & Maintenance Pinecorner Tree Farm Inc. GARDEN CENTRE • Evergreens • Deciduous Trees (potted & wirebasket) • Bare root Trees (spring only) • Fruit trees MAPLE LEAVES FOREVER ~ a program dedicated to restoring the native Canadian Maple ~ a rebate offer is available Rooted 35 years in business!

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Your Source of Trees Year Round Explore this year’s inventory of potted trees and larger trees in wire baskets. Stock will become available in April.

Designing, Planting and Tree Spading Available Tim & Christine Diebel Phone 519-291-4754 Fax 519-291-3968 Email tcdiebel@outbacktreefarm.com 5290 Line 86, R.R. #3 Listowel, ON N4W 3G8 www.outbacktreefarm.com

Grants • Tree Planting • Tree Orders Our staff are here to help you with tree planting and stewardship.

This includes planting plans, site preparation, forest management plans, wildlife habitat improvement, erosion control.

Grants may cover up to 100 per cent of cost of reforestation projects.

Email info@abca.ca or phone:

519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610 2 The Rural Voice

Visit abca.ca

Letters to the Editor: The Rural Voice, P.O. Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 rveditorlisa@ northhuron.on.ca

Gary Kenny went too far in his latest column To the Editor: I’ve written opposing views to Mr Gary Kenny before. His latest column in the April issue doesn’t deserve a written response.

For a guy who purports for human rights he’s effectively calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state in his latest column. It is devoid of any substantive context in any way shape or form and I was disappointed to read it as a column piece in the Rural Voice.

If he’s a regular ignorant reader writing that, fine, but a column deserves much better . ~Rob Nyenhuis, St. Pauls.

Dead stock shouldn’t become food for bald eagles and coyotes All farmers should dispose their dead stock properly for many reasons.

I think the main reason is they may be feeding bald eagles which we like to see but they are also feeding coyotes whose numbers have increased exponentially since dead stock removal services started charging for their services.

Farmers should quit feeding coyotes and let mother nature take care of that and the population should return to a normal level. ~Peter Wiley, Clinton

CROP MANAGEMENT

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TILE DRAINAGE PAYS! Locations ~ Blyth and Walton

Pride and Syngenta Seeds, Crop Protection, Fertilizer, Grain Elevators, Custom Application Contact us at 519-523-9624 • 1-800-663-3653

Let a good drainage system work for you to help improve: • Soil erosion • Aeration • Crop yields • Soil warm up 43479 Blyth Road • Crop rotation • Harvest length (R.R. #1) Walton, ON N0K 1Z0 • Land values • Soil conditions • Fertilizer efficiency E-Mail: kmmfarmdrainage@outlook.com • Plant growth

CALL THE EXPERTS! Business: 519-887-6428 Ron McCallum 519-524-3543

Chad McCallum 519-955-1588

GPS Grade Control & Mapping

GENERAL AIRSPRAY LTD. Aerial Application Services

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT CROP ADVISORY SERVICES NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANNING

PAUL HODGINS Phone: 519-227-4091

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Fungicide, Insecticide, Dry/Liquid Fertilizers and Cover Crop Applications Available

Mervyn Erb CPCC-I, T.Ag, CCA, 4R NMS, Cert. NMPD Brucefield, ON 519-233-7100

Todd Cowan CCA, Ag Bus. Management Westfield, ON 519-615-2517

Mike Hunter Ripley, ON

Kelly Consitt B.Sc. Ag. Bus., 519-955-1652

BRUCEFIELD, ON N0M 1J0 BUS: 519-233-7100 FAX: 519-233-3444 MOBILE: 519-274-2929 EMAIL: erb@cropadvisory.com www.CropAdvisory.com MEMBERS: NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT CROP CONSULTANTS ONTARIO INSTITUTE OF AGROLOGISTS

May 2024 3

D a y Tr i p s & D e s t i n at i o n s Blyth Repository of History ANNUAL BOOK SALE at Trinity Anglican Church 166 Dinsley St. Blyth

May 31 from 4-8 pm June 1 from 9 am-2 pm (Box sale at 2 pm June 1)

Ron & Lori Grant 91064 Belmore Line, RR#1, Wroxeter, ON N0G 2X0 (519) 392-6315 www.pineechocamp.com

events

Book intake of clean, gently used books on May 30 from 8 am - 8 pm For more info call 519-523-4792 www.blythrepositoryofhistory.ca

BIG CHEESE DAYS

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Sunday Concert Series

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EXPERIENCE Huron County’s unique history and rural culture www.HuronCountyMuseum.ca 110 North St., Goderich, ON

4 The Rural Voice

“

Ruralite I have been in forests with no

maple regenerating. Zero is zero. With only

”

ash regenerating, could that mean the end of forests in Huron County?

~ Erin Gouthro, discussing results from the Forest Health Study. See page 28.

Fun With Words

● Did you know that a raven has 17 rigid feathers called pinions while a crow has only 16?

— The difference between a raven and crow is just a matter of a pinion. ● I’m reading a book about anti-gravity — I can’t put it down

•

The Shepherd “It brings everything down to the level of nature where I have calm, beautiful animals which I feed and take care of.

I can do it all from delivering a lamb to knitting a sweater with the wool that lamb will one day produce. To have that connection and skill is a wonderful thing.” ~ Barbara McLean, reflecting on 50 years sheep farming and why she wrote a book about the journey.

See page 18

May

INSPIRATION

“I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animalism and other branches of husbandman’s cares.” ~George Washington

•

Neil’s One-Liners (Wisdom from McGavin Files)

● If it is to be, it is up to me — ten little words that mean a lot

Sharing the Load

Making maple syrup is a family affair at Jeff Tribe’s farm in Oxford County with grandkids pitching in to bring sap to the boiler. More pics and details inside on page 56. ~ Photo by Jeff Tribe

● We have little faith. We are too close to the U.S. border and too far

•

away from God.

May 2024 5

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

Capturing the call of forest birds

A

Broad-winged Hawk made the list of birds my recorder captured in the Stevenson Tract near Brussels during the Forest Bird Monitoring Program I took part in last year.

It was the only Broad-winged Hawk captured among 77 different species of birds that were identified across 37 sites in Huron County. I’m sure every volunteer got a little note from Watershed Monitoring Specialist Matthew Shetler detailing their “best finds” but that was mine and I am super chuffed about it.

He wrote that these hawks breed in large forests and usually nest near openings or bodies of water far from human disturbances. I actually felt this particular forest was noisy with nearby road traffic but perhaps, despite the noise, this particular hawk felt safe and chose it to rear its young.

I received the e-mail in late March detailing all the birds recorded at my site. In total, 59 birds were heard from 21 different species. The top bird was the Red-eyed Vireo and that tracks given that, overall, vireos were the most abundant species. The next most popular bird in the Stevenson Tract were American crows which are considered an urban bird. This study was tracking forest birds, denoted by an F on the chart and amongst the singers of the four mornings I recorded were Eastern Wood Pewees, Pine Warblers, Ovenbirds, Great-Crested Flycatchers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers and Northern Flickers.

I actually saw the Scarlet Tanager which was a thrill.

The Forest Bird Monitoring program is being done as part of the Maitland 6 The Rural Voice

Valley Conservation’s Authority watershed-wide health assessment of aquatic and terrestrial systems. Leading the charge is MVCA’s Watershed Ecologist, Erin Gouthro, who taught us how to use our recording devices and find our forest stations using latitude and longitude. Gouthro is also featured in this issue revealing the results of the Forest Health Study.

It was a fascinating exercise, honestly. The idea was to get to the forest early in the morning, set up the recorder and simply let it do its thing.

We did not have to recognize the bird calls, thank goodness, because I would never recognize a Brown Creeper’s call or most others. However, I was turned onto the Merlin app by a friend. It was developed by the Cornell Lab, and I use its “Sound ID” feature all the time.

Simply turn it on and it shows real-time suggestions for who is singing.

Gouthro cautions that the app can sometimes throw out some random bird names and is not 100 per cent accurate.

However, it is a good way to tune your ear to bird calls you don’t pay attention to.

Being in the forest on a wet spring morning was an opportunity to feed mosquitos, for sure. However, it was also a chance to get quiet, listen and be part of the forest in a meditative, connective way. It felt purposeful to contribute, in a tiny way, to understanding the health of our forests and bird populations.

Shetler noted that the bird community in the Stevenson tract was “fair” which he stated “is somewhat typical for forests in the Maitland Valley.”

That’s sad, really. When you read the results from the Forest Health Study, it makes sense. Most of our forests are also “fair” as they struggle with diversity, canopy heights, an overload of downed woody debris, disease and dominant ash regeneration.

Why would there be good or excellent bird communities when more of our forests are getting torn down for agricultural lands and others are not managed for optimum health? It’s a hard balance – protecting wildlife and forests while also expanding acreage for farmland, which is also honourable and purposeful.

I don’t have a solution, other than to

say watching housing developments eat up farmland with huge homes is hard to witness. As we house Ontarians in bigger and bigger homes, we steal land from both farmers and potential woodlots.

I can’t solve that problem but I can participate in the 2024 version of MVCA’s Forest Bird Monitoring program. They are looking for more volunteers so if you’re keen, contact Emily Shaw, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Assistant at foresthealth@mvca.on.ca if you’d like to take part too.◊

Image of a Broad‐winged hawk from Wikipedia Commons.

Blyth Repository of History ANNUAL BOOK SALE at Trinity Anglican Church 166 Dinsley St. Blyth

May 31 from 4-8 pm June 1 from 9 am-2 pm (Box sale at 2 pm June 1)

Book intake of clean, gently used books on May 30 from 8 am - 8 pm For more info call 519-523-4792 www.blythrepositoryofhistory.ca

Farm Accounting Tax Services Tax Preparation Advisory Services

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Allied Associates LLP www.alliedassociates.ca 1-800-661-1956

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Armstrong’s Home Bakery Made Fresh Daily

• Honey baked bread • Assorted rolls • Assorted baked good trays • Cookies and squares • Soups and sandwiches • Pies • Cakes made-to-order • Gluten-free goods

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Natural Wine Begins in our Regenerative Vineyards

Winery: 1289 Line 3 Rd Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (905)468-9417 reimervineyards@gmail.com May 2024 7

Keith Roulston Ontario’s electricity.

All this comes as Ontario still faces a “small” problem of how to get rid of spent uranium used to produce power we’ve already used.

One possible site for disposing of spent fuel rods is under exploration near Teeswater, but the final debate about whether the community will agree that the site can be used to bury the spent uranium has not been finalized (the facility would sit more than 500 metres below the surface).

Meanwhile, of course, Ontarians have enjoyed the power from the Bruce station for more years than most readers have lived. You need to be as old as me to remember when the first nuclear generating plant was built at Douglas Point, opening in September 26, 1968.

Later, the Bruce station was built, originally by Ontario and then sold to Bruce Power. In that time, the local economy has totally changed. I had relatives who used to work in factories in Kincardine but those lowpaying jobs were wiped out by the much better paycheques at The Bruce. The benefit of those jobs has

Keith is former publisher of The Rural Voice.

He lives near Blyth, ON.

We’ve benefitted.

What about waste?

I see they’re talking about expanding the Bruce Power nuclear station near Tiverton.

In February the federal government announced it will provide $50 million for preliminary work for an expansion of the Bruce Power nuclear plant — Ottawa's first major investment in expanding a large nuclear plant in decades.

All this talk about expansion by federal Natural Resources and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith, comes as the government tries to plan for Canada to have enough energy in the future. Bruce Power, a private owner of the Tiverton station, already produces 30 per cent of

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8 The Rural Voice

spread much farther, as even residents of my own community, nearly an hour’s drive away, got good jobs at The Bruce.

When the original plants aged, a plan was proposed to go through an expensive rejuvenation plan, creating even more jobs, and for several years. Now, if the new expansion takes place, even more money and more jobs will be created.

Nearly all of us have benefitted, even if only because well-paid nuclear experts helped drive up the price of our real estate.

Yes, we’ve all benefitted, but there’s still the problem of the nuclear waste – 3.2 million bundles of used fuel which could fill nine hockey arenas to the height of the boards, according to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.

There’s strong opposition to the possibility of locating the waste near Teeswater (as well as at the other possible site at Ignace, in Northern Ontario). Residents of the Teeswater area, like the rest of us, have benefitted for half a century from the prosperity of The Bruce. Opponents to the plan can also count on opposition of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce.

Later this year people in the affected area will vote on whether or not to accept a potential $26-billion nuclear waste site.

This isn’t the first time there has been an unhappy local population because of opposition to an aspect of the Bruce site. If I recall correctly, the very first issue of The Rural Voice back in 1975 (it was a newspaper, then) carried a photo of the construction of the power corridor carrying the power from The Bruce to the rest of Ontario and a story of the opposition to it.

Later, the provincial Liberal government allowed construction of wind turbines, again to local opposition which led to the election of the Ford government and the end to wind turbine building.

But we citizens still want electricity, more than ever. And so the province is joining with the federal government to study the expansion of The Bruce, and creating even more nuclear waste that we’ll hope somehow will just disappear.◊

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May 2024 9

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

Working

together to end world hunger

A

s you drive around the countryside, you may notice blue and red signs posted in fields. Small and humble, they are easy to miss. But they are an indication of the long-term dedication of many farmers, agriculture supply companies, individual volunteers, and churches to reduce world hunger through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

On our farm, we have been involved with the Belgrave Community Growing Project through a partnership of Knox United Church, Belgrave and Northminster United

Church, Oshawa for 22 consecutive years, thanks to the commitment of my parents, George and Elizabeth Procter. It is something we have done for so long, it almost slips off my radar. Until the thank you notice comes in the mail and I see the actual numbers associated with the project.

Our project relies on the support of local partners who are so willing every year to donate. We are grateful to Adam and Cheryl Garniss, Brett and Laura Fischer, Brussels Agromart, and Midwest Co-op, Belgrave branch. These businesses support the project by generously donating seed, fertilizer, and crop protection products.

Knox United Church, Belgrave, also has members who volunteer to help with the project. Depending on the fall, you could see a couple of different combines, grain wagons, and trucks all working together to bring in the harvest. Plus people administer and keep track of everything behind the scenes.

Our part in the project involves providing 20 acres of land, planting, managing, and harvesting the crop.

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Wallenstein, ON riversideweldingmfg.com 10 The Rural Voice

MADE BY

This year, Knox United was able to forward a cheque for $20,900 to the Canadian Foodgrains Project, which also includes donations of cash from community members toward the project. The total amount the church has donated over the 22 years adds up to $425 000!

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank receives an additional $4.00 from the International Development arm of the Government of Canada for every $1 donated through the local projects.

With this support, the total amount donated over those years is over $2.1 million from the Belgrave Community Growing Project to help alleviate world hunger.

Thinking about this project makes me picture a drop of water, with many drops coming together to form a river, lake, or even an ocean. In our project, we have a number of people who come together to make it happen. Across Ontario, every time I see one of those little blue and red signs, I imagine a similar group of people, quietly going about their business of planting, harvesting, and organizing the project every year.

The contributions of all of those groups join together, representing nearly 30 denominations, and include over 12,000 individual congregations across Canada.

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank works with existing organizations around the world with the goal of ending global hunger. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 783 million people world-wide suffer from food insecurity.

When we think about global hunger, we may picture those images from newscasts of people starving as a result of famine, drought, or wars.

While these conditions obviously exist, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank reports that this “accounts for only about 16 per cent of the total number of people facing hunger in the world.

A more complete definition of hunger includes when people do not have enough food—or enough nutritious food—over a long period of time. This kind of chronic hunger is less visible but has major effects on people’s lives. When the body is not being properly nourished, it compensates by slowing down

physical and mental activities. This affects children’s growth, concentration at school and work, and weakens the immune system, making people more vulnerable to disease.”

From the Canadian Foodgrains Bank website: “Every region we work in has unique challenges that are influenced by local culture, politics and history. Rather than implementing projects directly, we work with organizations who are already present in a country or community, understand the particular challenges communities are facing, and usually have a long-term commitment to the region and community. These partners are responsible for implementing projects on the ground.”

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank, while very active in Canada, is active in other ways as well. It is a one of 12 aid organizations that form the Humanitarian Coalition, a collaboration that works together to respond to international humanitarian disasters. Working together in this way with other organizations helps ensure that more money that is donated goes directly where it is needed most and reduces administration costs.

The organization also advocates for better food distribution policy around the world, in order to improve food security overall. “We are working to ensure that food assistance is provided in ways that strengthen long-term food security and nutritional needs of girls, boys, women and men in crisis-affected countries. At the global level, we work with our coalition partners to monitor the implementation of the Food Assistance Convention and other donor food assistance policies.

We also advocate for greater accountability to communities that receive food assistance, including through better reporting and transparency on food assistance,” There are lots of ways to get involved with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to help reduce world hunger. Working with a local group, donating directly, or volunteering through the national group are just some of the options. ◊

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May 2024 11

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

A garden full of memories

A

ttached to many of our garden plants are memories of people and places.

We will have already been harvesting rhubarb by the time this column is published, which brings to mind former neighbours, Charlie and Mariel. The original root they gave us came from their farm and it is still with us, having been relocated to a shady corner of our garden and, more recently, to a sunnier spot.

Moving the plant is a simple process. Simply divide the root in the fall with a spade and lift up a portion.

Place it in the new location, adding a shovel of compost. Harvest only

sparingly the following spring, if at all, and within a year or two there will be enough for pies, jams, and other culinary delights.

Rhubarb is not a particularly challenging garden crop for home gardeners. Even left to its own devices it will persist for years or even decades. In order to produce the desired large stalks however, it does need a bit of attention, something that I learned when we stopped one day at the little pie shop that was located just west of Mount Elgin in Oxford County.

The proprietors, an elderly Amish Mennonite couple and their daughter, had a patch next to their home to which a prodigious amount of horse manure had been added.

In the absence of horses, I’ve found the compost I make from yard and kitchen waste works quite well.

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Sorrel and chives liven up as the sun warms the earth to add fresh flavour to spring meals.

Another of our perennial crops, this one acquired from a couple who are now living in Blyth in the heart of Huron County, is sorrel. Our seeded type bolts with the heat of the summer but with the wide array of other garden choices at that time that’s not an issue. We harvest the hardy, perennial green early in the season and again in the fall and even in winter, if temperatures remain mild.

It can be either cooked or eaten raw. This year I added a cup to a blend of roasted root vegetables, the heat of the vegetables wilting the leaves to enhance the dish with a lemony flavour.

The same couple gave us a handful of Egyptian walking onions which I dutifully planted and observed.

Within the space of a single season, the patch filled a cylindrical area about the size of a small wash tub.

I harvest the little top onions that form on the stalks throughout the summer. Leave the plant to its own devices, these will eventually flop down to the ground and root themselves; hence the term, walking onion. The underground portion of the plant which is similar to regular green onions can also be harvested over the winter months in mild climates and in the early spring.

Years ago, we purchased five heirloom roses, my favourite being the Stanwell Perpetual, which sadly succumbed to the passage of time.

Just two persist, a red-and-white example and a classic Queen Anne shrub which continues to bloom prodigiously.

They were acquired just outside Chatham along the Thames River where Paul Andre King began growing and marketing heirloom roses after retiring from a lengthy career in the seed corn business.

I approached King a few years later during the height of the neonicotinoid controversy, hoping for an observation on the matter.

Better to smell the roses was the message he offered and upon some consideration, I cannot help but agree.

Two other plants represent a connection to our farming roots. For Marie, it is a gooseberry bush – the North American type by its appearance – which should be ready for a prickly harvest within a few weeks.

For myself, it is the lily-of-thevalley. Before the farm in Oxford County was sold, I moved a clump to the backyard of my parent’s new home in town and later transported a few from there to our home in Dresden, the patch growing in size over the years in a relatively shady section of the yard.

I remember as a child the plant growing along a line of soft maples close to our farmstead in Oxford County, likely having persisted there for decades, a few small plants, highly scented when their springtime blooms appeared.

I remember, as well, a small miracle from that time later in the year. At least it seemed a miracle. A flock of monarch butterflies, not just a handful, not just dozens or scores, but thousands upon thousands, settled upon one of the maples late in the afternoon, turning green to orange.

They remained there a while as the heat of summer persisted, moving from the tree to the adjacent hayfield in the morning in search of nectar, and back again at evening time. Until they departed as they had come.

Unannounced. ◊

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“So what have you guys been up to lately,” asked Molly Whiteside one Monday morning recently as she passed out menus at Mabel’s Grill.

“I watched a hockey game yesterday,” Dave Winston said, “but I fell asleep so don’t ask me who won. Unfortunately they didn’t have any good fights to keep me awake.”

“Huh,” grumbled George Mackenzie, “I wanted to watch that game but my wife insisted we go for a drive. ‘It’s such a beautiful day, who wants to spend it inside,’ she says. “Me, for one!”

“And where did you go for the drive?” Molly wondered.

“Oh, only around some of the roads just outside our normal neighbourhood,” George replied.

“Did you see anything interesting?” Molly wondered.

“Just that some of the cattle are out,” George grumbled.

“Well that I’m happy for!” said Cliff Murray. “Getting my sheep out on pasture was a great load off my mind. Now I just have to clean out the manure from the barn.”

“And did your wife enjoy the drive?” Molly wondered.

“I suppose,” said George. “She kept saying, ‘Oh that’s where so and so used to live but he died and she’s in the old age home’ or ‘That’s a big house that Hank and Mary have, with all their kids grown and gone now.’ I was getting to feeling so old, like maybe I should be selling out and moving into one of those little fourplexes they’re building in town.”

“And are you?” Molly wondered.

“I’d rather go straight into one of those boxes at the funeral home!”

George fired off.

“Hey, don’t hide your feelings.

Tell us what you really think,” Molly chuckled before she gathered up their orders and left them with coffee.

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cheerier path. “Got any plans for the May 24 holiday?”

“I’ll probably spend it in my pig barn, as long as I’ve got the corn planted by then,” grumbled Dave.

“One of the benefits of having sheep,” said Cliff. “Most of the lambing is done in the winter months and by the time they’re out on pasture, things get easier – unless you have dog or wolf problems.”

“When is the holiday this year anyway?” George wondered. “I kind of get mixed up when they move the holiday to a more convenient weekend like they do.”

“Yeah, the 24th is a Friday this year but Friday holidays are difficult so they’re having it on the 20th, the previous Monday,” said Cliff.

“The lake ought to be good and cold for all those cottagers and young people going to resorts like Grand Bend to start the summer holidays,” chuckled Dave, enjoying the idea that people who did get the holiday might have a little pain.

“I get to enjoy the fireworks without leaving home,” smiled George. “They set them off in town but you can easily see them from my place.”

“Sure beats when I was a kid and we could just buy some firecrackers – or maybe splurge on a Roman candle or two,” said Dave.

“Yeah, it’s great to realize some things have improved since we were kids. And now some people have fireworks on July 1 too,” said Cliff.

“And for once we beat the Americans,” said Dave. “Their Memorial Day always comes later in May than Victoria Day. It’s great not to follow them for a change.”

“Yeah, hopefully the CBC and CTV are talking about Canada so much they skip their preaching about Donald Trump for once,” George grumbled. “They can never seem to say one good word about the poor guy.”

“Hey, you know Mabel’s rules about not talking about politics in here,” warned Molly as she brought their breakfasts.

The looks on Cliff’s and Dave’s .faces relaxed when she said this “Well, Mabel is the boss so I guess we can’t talk about Trump,” Dave smiled.◊

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David Boonstoppel Dave Boon‐ stoppel is a farmer and real estate broker in Huron County

The dreaded “Thunderbox”

L

et’s go to Killarney Provincial Park, they said, It will be fun, they said. I tried to imagine camping without my fifth wheel hotel on wheels to sleep in a tent on the ground with no air conditioning. Last time I slept in a tent was 25 years ago on my honeymoon. Back then I was smaller, in better shape, and had other things in my mind than personal comfort.

I agreed to go for my wife, Elly.

She loves hiking, canoeing and nature. She also despises flying but does so often because I love seeing other countries and cultures. I secretly wondered if my overweight, out-of-shape self could do it.

We purchased a used canoe, found some sleeping bags, and replaced our 25-year-old tent for a lighter model.

We packed way too much food and clothing into our backpacks and realized as we drove that all this gear had to be carried and floated to our campsites. Still, we were committed to making it work.

Really, only one item was constantly on my mind. Thing is, I have a mild form of paruresis (fear of public washrooms). For someone who loves to travel, this is no small concern. I’ve been on flights in excess of 17 hours in duration and only out of sheer desperation will I use a public washroom. We often alter travel plans if possible to relieve the anziety that comes from using such facilities. In this case, we were heading out into a large forested area with no washroom facilities, only what’s called a Thunder Box which I’ve heard stories of.

Upon arrival at Killarney, we packed our gear into our canoes and set course for campsite number 1. We crossed George Lake using a map to find our site, as the others in our group looked for a spot to land. I was 16 The Rural Voice

trying to peer into the bush to see if I could see the infamous “thunderbox" that I’ve already built in my mind as an absolute nightmare.

Once we docked on the gentle slope into our site and tied our canoes we began looking for adequate spots for our tents, I adjusted my gaze and there it was, just sitting in the open a small box made from 5/4 deck planks with a hole cut in the top for all the travelers who have ventured to this site to do their business. I wasn’t so far from my car at this point to paddle back and find a clean hotel – this thought did cross my mind – but I’m a big farm boy who has had more manure on his hands than this box could hold so I decided to just avoid it as long as possible. Manure from the barn doesn’t bother me a bit, but human feces is something I can’t tolerate in any way. My lack of experience changing diapers can attest to this.

We set up camp, lit a fire went swimming. We canoed to a swimming hole and everyone was jumping into the cool water, reveling at the privacy and beautiful weather.

Of course I forgot a bathing suit so I had to wear a pair of denim shorts.

When I tried to jump in I slipped, fell on the rocks and rolled into the lake.

Everyone laughed at my usual clumsiness I suddenly felt the urge I dreaded and knew that the disgusting thunderbox was calling my name. In my haste, I swam to my canoe and tried to get in only to flip it over nearly losing it into the lake. With some needed help Elly and I set course back to our site.

We ran the canoe up the bank and I jumped out and sprinted for the dreaded thunderbox. I could already smell it from 20 feet away. I wanted to run, run away but of sheer necessity I sat on the planks and held my breath. My wet jean shorts rolled into a tight rope just past my knees, locking my legs in an unnatural position for such an event.

The box was so high my feet were dangling off the ground, and there I sat naked, like a fat little toddler, out in the open, trying to get this over with. It was good that my feet didn’t touch the ground because the liquid from previous customers was leaking out the front where the planks touch

the earth. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the flies that reside in the box weren’t happy with the new deposit and started flying out the narrow space between my legs. They looked like small bees but were black and gray instead of yellow. I have aptly called them s**t bugs and hope I never see them again.

In my haste to get away from the thunderbox, I hopped my way to the tent to unravel myself from my jean shorts and put on some dry clothes.

If I thought that was all the drama for the day I was sorely mistaken.

I headed out of the camp to gather firewood, happy to be dry with clean sock and shoes on. The terrain became rough as the place was picked clean from previous tenants. I was walking along what I believed was a dry stream bed and stepped in a very soft spot. Worried that my shoes would get wet I jumped away and started walking toward the camp with my armload of firewood.

I noticed my right shoe was damp and brown and thought, “that was a muddy spot”. I reached down with my finger to examine the substance, and brought my finger to my nose to verify it was mud. That’s when I realized I had stepped in human feces. With absolute horror I concluded I had found the previous location of a thunderbox and it was on my precious dry shoes and my index finger.

By this time the others had arrived and were preparing for supper around the fire. I stormed out of the bush with my finger as far from my face as possible, proclaiming loudly that I needed soap! I was ready to go full on ballistic.

Of course everyone thought this was hilarious and the topic consumed much of the trip. I still hear about it when we’re together.

My shoes and my hands were cleaned without incident and day one supper was prepared and eaten. We made it to the top of “the crack” in Killarney and had a really great time.

The others are planning next year’s trip and what I know is that I’ll be packing everything necessary, will brace myself for the next thunderbox and will watch where I walk. But our friends already know I will do something stupid that they will laugh about for years. ◊

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Sheep

Book captures trials and joys of farm life • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

The crises, pleasures and challenges of farming and rural life are captured in a new memoir by Grey County author Barbara McLean’s book, Shepherd’s Sight, takes readers on a journey from January to December on a sheep farm while also facing the reality and grief of knowing aging won’t let her farm forever.

I

t’s not always easy to accept, the aging thing. Barbara McLean is experiencing that as an older shepherd, managing her small flock near Holstein, on a farm that took a lifetime to reclaim, restore and rejuvenate into the pastoral perfection it is today.

The writer, professor, farmer, doctor’s wife and mother has many roles in her life but it’s shepherding that she clings to. Is it stubbornness or determination? Or is it identity, something all farmers can relate to … that connection to land, place and animals that gives a life purpose and passion.

McLean explores all these themes in her new book, Shepherd’s Sight, a 12-chapter reverie following the “shepherd’s calendar”. Each month, she records with a writer’s skill what is required when you manage 18 ewes and a thick-headed ram in a bank barn complete with a greenhouse loft.

“Now that I’m in my seventies, I realize I’ve been catastrophizing for years with each new crisis in the barn, each potential illness in the house,” McLean wrote in the chapter called January. “I fear losing my sense of self if I can no longer shepherd my sheep.” She references a neighbour named Fred, from whom she purchased her first ewes 20 years before, sharing that he had come over for tea to tell her he’d decided to sell his flock. “He was in mid18 The Rural Voice

eighties. A former Mountie, a powerful thinker, and still a big man, he no longer had the stamina required to carry on.

I fear that day.”

That’s the thread running through the book, woven through stories of chores, barn improvements, walks thrilling to the rhythms of native mammals and birds, and connections with neighbours in rural Grey County.

Farming was not the end goal given she grew up in a “bourgeois” home she called “suffocating and claustrophobic” with heavy expectations and a degree in literature. However, she escaped to rural Ireland after a time roving from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and found a cottage to rent where she “craved to settle” and learned to “bake bread, make jam, knit socks and have animals.”

She found her calling; an affinity for sheep and wool, green hills and a cozy home. Things to do. Life to write about. It was her husband, Tom, who brought her to Grey County. He came as a young doctor, becoming the county’s coroner before retiring. Fifty years later, the couple love their farm, called Lambsquarters. They have kept the character of the yellow brick home, added a bright sunroom and are training an adorable black labrador puppy for his future role as a guide dog. I am fed homemade maple cookies and tea in their country kitchen and get a tour of the home, right up to the bedroom with a special

nook where McLean both writes and spins wool from her own sheep.

Shepherd’s Sight, published by ECW Press, isn’t McLean’s first book. She did quite well with her first book, Lambsquarters:Scenes from a Handmade Life which was published by Random House two decades ago. It took 20 years to write another and she’s not sure if there’s another book in her but never say never!

It’s the sheep though, that seem to make McLean’s face light up. You can see it on the cover of this magazine; a joy that radiates.

McLean has 18 sheep now, down from 25, a concession, perhaps, to sore knees and stiff joints. She does chores twice a day and manages the herd. Husband Tom is the “hired hand” and cleans the pens with a loader. When she first started raising sheep, she had Suffolk-Hampshire cross but she wanted a breed with finer wool, and switched to Border Leicesters, a long-wool breed.

Lambsquarters’ wool is now prized among local spinners and after shearing day, when the fleeces have been tossed on a table, skirted, bound and bagged, the wool sells out in 48 hours. The wool from her black sheep is particularly valuable, coveted for the contrasting colour it adds to sweaters and other handmade goods.

It’s all part of the vision Barbara kept from those days in Ireland. “It bring everything down to the level of nature where we have calm, beautiful animals which we feed and take care of. I can do it all from delivering a lamb to spinning the wool it will one day provide. To have that skill is a wonderful thing.”

I think McLean is amazingly spry, credit to daily walks in the morning, done partly to keep in shape but mostly to “see what’s going on.” On the trail that morning she says “the raccoon was out and about, walking slowly. The coyote was also out, walking quickly.”

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time and honoured its history and its personality. The home is filled with antiques, flowers, wood and light.

The windows are wavy, the stairs creak and it’s so cozy you wish they rented it as a Airbnb.

The book, too, is lovely. There are flowery passages: “From snow flurries to sunshine, spring weather rushes in with a flick of a calendar page. The cruelness of April morphs magisterially into the darling buds of May. Even everything changes.”

There is sex! “Louis, though calm, is clearly enjoying his time among the ewes. They vie for his attention, all but batting their eyelashes as they sidle up to his neck. There no serious risk of anthromorphizing when I

witness some of their antics. If an ewe is interested in breeding, she squats down and urinates in front of the ram. Louis finds this attractive; he curls his upper lip, raises his nose, and deeply inhales the offered pheromones. The ewe might coyly move away before squatting again in an ongoing mating dance until she

decides to acquiesce and stand for him. He chuckles and approaches, sideways at first, rubbing necks, lifting a foreleg against her flank…” and on it goes as found in the chapter called December.

There are also deep questions about loving and raising lambs that will go to slaughter. She writes about

Author Barbara McLean takes readers on a journey from early days restoring an old farm to today’s realization her farming days are nearing an end in her book, Shepherd’s Sight. It’s a reality she’s not ready to face as she continues to raise Border Leicester sheep known for their soft wool which she spins, weaves and knits into sweaters like the one she is wearing.

20 The Rural Voice

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shipping day and catching the lambs by hook or crook. “It’s a difficult day, no matter how easily it goes. But it’s gratifying work to produce a good product, to take pride in the work, and to look forward to the cheque later in the week,” she writes.

“After all the years I’ve been doing this, it has not become any better. It fills me with regret, year after year.

And yet, I am an omnivore. I eat meat.”

Poetic, thoughtful and in many ways a guide both for how to care for sheep and how to age gracefully, McLean’s words strike home. I have animals too and McLean’s struggle coming to terms with her age and the realization that one day the sheep will have to go makes me ponder my own situation. I have horses, chickens and 20 years of youth on McLean but how will I process the day when the gate is closed for the last time?

Perhaps I will also mourn and write an ode to a life well-lived. Or hang on, as McLean as doing, for yet another spring, another lambing, another story to tell. ◊ May 2024 21

Security

“Reality TV” on the farm protects animals

Ethan Cornish (right) of Cornish Tech Solutions shows off a camera vital for video security systems like he installed for Oxford County‐based beef producer Jamie Visser (left).

J

amie Visser’s personalized beef-farming “reality TV” has become a valued virtual component of his operation.

Theft at a second, distanced property put security cameras on the Oxford County-based farmer’s radar. But it’s the real-time visual connection to increasingly valuable animals inside his barn which has placed their feed at the top of his watch list.

“Animal welfare and bio-security has for sure now become the main benefit for me.”

Visser runs a 100-member cow-calf herd – “lot of limo cross, some chars” – supplemented by between 250 and 300 stockers combined with a seasonal hay-straw business and excavating operation. Like many agri-business people, he has too much to do, too many places to be and not enough time to cover everything. The home farm is located east of Norwich, a second, housing beef animals, a 45minute drive away.

The addition of renters in the residence on the second property did put a physical presence there, belying some of his security concerns. However, the literal tipping point for his decision to install video cameras came via a 400-pound stocker pushed into a feeder on its back, with predictably unfavourable results.

22 The Rural Voice

“That’s a $2,000 calf … gone.”

No farmer likes to lose any animal for many reasons.

But as Visser points out, today’s beef industry is economically removed from a time dairy farmers would give calves away. “They are getting $1,100-$1,300 for…” a second reminder of the $21,000 cheque he recently wrote to a neighbour for seven stockers.

“If we’d had a camera, we would have saved that calf,”

Being able to watch cows, calves and property while away saves animals’ lives and protects farms from bio-security breaches • By Jeff Tribe •

he said. “One hundred per cent.”

Security is a rising concern in rural life. Fuel tanks, tools inside shops and sheds, highly-valuable machinery and livestock are vulnerable to theft. Farmers may also be concerned about trespass, including from those styling themselves as animal rights activists.

“You don’t know who’s snooping around your farm,” said Visser.

Oxford County mink farmer Jeff Mitchell considered security cameras a virtual necessity.

“It’s an option I pretty much had to do.”

Recently, says Mitchell, 6,000 mink were illegally released from a farm in Ohio, with similar occurrences previously in Canada.

He did not face that issue when actively farming mink, however protesters once assembled along the road allowance in front of his property. Mitchell kept his distance, essentially ignoring their presence, however his cameras provided deterrence against trespass and a record of his non-action.

“It’s a shame you have to do it,” he said, pointing to considerable expense.

Mitchell’s security system alerts him to trespass and records incidents.

One individual was videotaped, ironically while videotaping mink pens.

“I have an 11-minute video,” said Mitchell, who subsequently found a large pair of bolt cutters near a hole in his security fence.

The mink are now gone but security cameras remain. Mitchell has video of one bold fuel thief wearing a balaclava, however feels that a chainsaw, for example, behind a locked door monitored by a camera has a better chance of being where he left it when he needs it.

“If they know the cameras are there, it still is a deterrent.”

There are many levels of video security, beginning with “do-ityourself” options on the Internet, ranging up through companies installing, maintaining and servicing customized systems.

Word of mouth combined with desire to support a young, motivated, local entrepreneur led Visser to Cornish Tech Solutions. The year-old

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and quickly-growing residential and business application security endeavour is owned and operated by Ethan Cornish. An electrical apprentice introduced to camera networking during a co-op work term, he tailors custom systems to individual needs.

When dealing with rural applications, Internet speed and router capacity often have to be upgraded to effectively handle video, says Cornish. Satellite service can be an option for areas without enough speed. Cameras are connected most preferably via cable (limited to 328 feet) to battery-backed-up dual eightterabyte hard drives for redundancy, ideally in a secure location.

Camera resolution and features are a significant differentiator in system cost, $200 at the lower end for example, considerably cheaper than a 4K model with optical zoom’s $700 price tag.

“But you can read a license plate (with the latter),” said Cornish.

Hard drives maintain privacy over cloud storage, account and password-controlled smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer access providing real-time viewing or the ability to quickly search through recorded material.

Many choose basic settings, however programmable options allow for, for example, notifications sent upon every vehicle entering a viewing area, priority on vehicular or human subjects or “time of day” settings, eliminating notifications when residents are home. Doorbell options can be linked to phones, chiming when activated, allowing for remote visuals and verbal or text communication.

“It’s an evolved world,” said Cornish, marveling at technological innovation which does carry a price tag, but provides access unimaginable a decade ago. “There is something for everything anyone wants.”

“Peace of mind” is the primary reason people consider security systems, says Cornish. Cameras will not prevent theft, he cautions, however apart from deterrence potential, they provide material for law enforcement.

“The better the quality the better 24 The Rural Voice

Oxford County‐based beef producer Jamie Visser (above) has found video cameras a vital farming as well as security tool, providing real‐time monitoring from his smartphone. He is able to keep an eye on the cattle at home while he works on a second property via the security system linked to his smartphone.

Visser believes installation of the video security system is part of the evolution of farming.

the chance of a positive outcome.”

Video also provided Visser an appreciated record for an insurance adjuster following an accidental fire in a hay-storage barn.

“The camera told that story.”

However, while security was the initial reason for his investment, he now views it as an added bonus to livestock monitoring.

“We live busy lives, you can’t stand in the barn and watch them all day, and we don’t have $10 labour like we used to when I was a kid.”

The Saturday previous, Visser hauled out of bed at 11:30 p.m. and made the 45-minute drive to assist with a calving that phone connectivity raised concerns about.

“Maybe it would have been okay, or maybe I would have gone down at 8:30 in the morning to find a dead calf or cow or both.”

He also likes to monitor newborns’ drinking patterns, live or by toggling back through recorded video. Animals can be secretive and not drinking is a serious problem, while worrying they aren’t getting enough milk can also lead to unnecessary supplemental bottles.

“Next thing you know you’ve got a calf scouring because you’re overfeeding it.”

Security systems are an expense, says Visser, who believes there is a payback in terms of emergency response, herd health and savings in time and fuel. Instead of having to drive 45 minutes to check his cows, he constantly does so on his phone whether from his pickup or family cottage north of Sudbury.

“I can literally be sitting at the table and watch everything going on at home,” he said, laughing that he

and wife Stephanie’s sons Brady and Owen might get tired of remote reminders to “check a feeder or cow.”

In conclusion, Visser regards remote connection as part of the evolution of farming, be that for busy

full-time operators or those having to work off-farm.

“The biggest thing for me is I just don’t have time,” he concluded.

“This has allowed me to get a handle on an important part of my business again.” ◊

Mink farmer Jeff Mitchell considered video security a necessity on his Oxford County property, both to prevent or record trespassing and also to protect assets. His security system recorded an 11‐minute video of a trespasser recording video of one of his mink pens.

Although his mink are gone, he retains video security on his property.

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Farming

Reconciliation through agriculture • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

“We have inherited this moment” says Cadmus Delorme, who says Indigenous peoples are farmers too and are reclaiming their land and ag heritage Cadmus Delorme, former chief of the Cowessess First Nation says his people are relearning how to farm as they strive for economic parity.

W

hen Cadmus Delorme grew up in Southern Saskatchewan on the Cowessess First Nation reservation, he did not know or believe he was a farmer. Neither did his father or grandfather.

“I remember every spring and fall, a non-Indigenous person would come into the kitchen and leave money on the table for land rent,” remembers Delorme, who would grow up to become Chief of Cowessess First Nation and lead his people to farm. “I asked my dad why we didn’t farm the land and he just said, ‘We aren’t farmers anymore’.”

As a young child, he did not question it. When Delorme got older, and recognized the importance of economics, he did question it. That began a journey into farming which not only expanded his people’s understanding of themselves, but also integrated them into the economics of Canada, a growth Delorme believes is vital to true reconciliation with non-Indigenous Canadians.

“We do not want people to feel sorry for us. We want parity with every other Canadian,” he said. Speaking to farmers at Farm Credit Canada’s Ag Summit held March 13 in London, Delorme recognized that no one there was personally responsible for residential schools and neither did he attend one, though his parents were residential school aware. “We have inherited this moment,” he said.

This moment is about reconciliation and that only truly happens when Indigenous people are fully integrated into the economics of this country, said Delorme. “When that happens, our gross domestic product (GDP) will rise and so 26 The Rural Voice

will the number of jobs.”

For the Cowessess nation, that meant farming the tens of thousands of acres that were being rented to nonIndigenous neighbours to farm. “When I became chief at the age of 34, it took two years to convince us mentally that we are farmers. We started small, farming 500 acres in 2018. Then we farmed 2,000 acres. When I exited as chief, we were farming 8,000 acres of our own land. Now, we have 45,000 acres of grain-ready land. We could become a big economic driver in our area.”

Delorme said his First Nation added cattle, first for food sovereignty and then to farm. “But we did not know the science of farming or the supply chain,” said Delorme. The Cowessess nation hired non-Indigenous people to manage the farm and teach them how to farm.

Delorme said they accepted they needed help from nonIndigenous people but there is a note of sadness and frustration because pre-Canada, Indigenous people were farmers. “They may not have been grain farmers but they had an agriculture system that was used for centuries.”

Delorme said “it takes non-Indigenous farmers to remind us how much talent we have. We do not lack talent; we just lack the resources to get us to talented places.”

Partnerships were key. “We could not have become successful without local partners like FCC, our local cooperative store and companies like Pioneer,” he said.

Delome explained that just getting started was a nightmare because they could not get loans from banks. “There is something called the Indian Act and reservation land is

managed by the Indian Act. The Bank Act of Canada and the Indian Act do not jive,” said Delorme.

Effectively, reserve land is actually crown land from an economics perspective so the band wasn’t able to use their land as credit to get a loan. In 2017, the band started working with FCC and while it took two years, they came up with a plan to receive a loan without using land as part of the equation. It took three years of negotiation with the local Co-operative to receive credit in the spring to buy seed.

Getting into the history of the Cowessess nation, Delorme explained the Cowessess stopped living a nomadic lifestyle in the 1890s. “We agreed to be farmers and it was agreed the Crown would help us become farmers.” By 1920, there was a strong Indigenous presence in agriculture. However, due to a “relationship and mindset”, plans and policies were put in place to remove the Indigenous people from agriculture and by 1950, nonIndigenous farmers were largely farming Indigenous land. By 2010, there were no more Indigenous farmers.

“It was thought that farming failed because the First Nation people lacked either an interest in farming or an appetite for it,” said Delorme.

“That isn't true.” It’s the plans and policies he referenced that led to farming failure. Delorme provided an example by explaining that a pass system was developed to allow Indigenous people to leave the reservation to sell their agricultural products. However, the passes were not given in a timely way, allowing non-Indigenous farmers to sell their products first, creating an opportunity imbalance. Delorme also talked about land surrenders and other ways the government undermined Indigenous farming success. He talked about John A. MacDonald and how his statue is triggering for Indigenous people because McDonald called first nations people savages. It was MacDonald who determined Indian children should be withdrawn from their parent’s influence and put into industrial schools to acquire the mindset and thoughts of white

people.

Delorme also talked about the unmarked graves of residential school children. “These unmarked graves are validation of the pain we feel trying to remain Indigenous in a country that is still a little oppressive of our worldview.”

“I tell you this not for you to feel guilt or shame, but because you were never taught this,” he said.

“We inherited this moment together,” said Delorme. “We are on a journey and it is time to assess your minds because truth comes from the brain and reconciliation comes from the heart.”

Delorme said Indigenous people are also on a journey of reconciliation. Tracing his own lineage, he referenced his greatgrandmother who was born in 1882 and never went to school. She learned via “vertical lineage teaching” which was lost when his aunts attended residential school and were given “horizontal learning”.

Delorme said Indigenous people want their vertical lineage teaching back, to learn from their ancestors in the worldview they believe in.

Education and economics are foundational to get Indigenous people back to that point and that is what Delorme wants non-Indigenous farmers to understand.

Looking to the future of agriculture among the Cowessess

first nation, Delorme said the goal is to start creating their own byproducts. “We also need capacity building and we need some of your talents because we haven't had that for two to three generations,” he said.

Before ending his talk, Delorme urged farmers to consider reading the following books to fully understand the agriculture history, loss and rebirth of farming among the Cowessess and Indigenous people in Canada: – Treaty Promises, Indian Reality: Life on a Reserve by Harold Lerat – Indigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table by Carol Anne Hilton – Lost Harvest by Sarah Carter Delorme finished by speaking about his young daughter who has dreams of being a pilot. “The toughest person to be in this country right now is an Indigenous female.

We are raising a little pilot and we know we have to try twice as hard to get her there but we accept the challenge. She is why reconciliation is so important. If my daughter ever has a daughter, I hope she will not have to try twice as hard to raise her daughter.”

Conversations around reconciliation are “the most uncomfortable conversations we need to have” but “our kids will thank us for having those tough conversations.” ◊

May 2024 27

Forests

Forests: then and now With ash dominating tree regeneration and forest cover declining, results from the Forest Health Project are worrisome • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Before European settlement, Huron County was awash in forest cover (above left) with multitudes of species. Now, forests are fragmented across the county (above, right) with maple being the predominant species reveals results from the Forest Health Project shared by Erin Gouthro, a watershed ecologist, at the April meeting of the Water Protection Steering Committee held in Holmesville. ~Images supplied by Erin Gouthro

T

he number of tree species in Huron County’s forests is “catastrophically low” reveals a condensed report of the Forest Health Project released April 9.

“Most of our trees are upland and downland Maples,” says Erin Gouthro, who has been working in drainage, wetland, aquatic and terrestrial management as a Watershed Ecologist with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority since 2013. “Maple trees have always historically been the dominant tree species in this watershed but a significant drop in other species has left Maples as the only prevalent tree species.”

Gouthro is currently leading a watershed-wide health assessment of the MVCA’s aquatic and terrestrial systems.

Her findings were, in many ways, terrifying with regard to the future of forests in Huron County. She shared them at the April meeting of Huron County’s Water Protection Steering Committee Forest cover in Huron County has decreased from 16.5 per cent in 2000 to 16.09 per cent in 2020, which amounts to 57,679 total hectares of forested land. Between 2015 to 2020, 207 hectares of forested land was lost. North Maitland had the most total forest loss. Land conversion to agriculture was the leading contributor of forest loss.

Back when the country was covered with forests, they would have been multi-structural with different levels in the canopy. There would have been a “super canopy” of trees like tall white pines which would have been so wide, 28 The Rural Voice

you could not wrap your arms around them. Like a shelving unit in a house, all these canopy levels created complexity in the forest, something today’s forests struggle with. “Our canopies are homogenized. We do not see a four-structure canopy. Ours are two-structured.” Gouthro explained that canopy complexity and lack of it is a “broad signal” of forest health that needs to be documented to be used as a baseline for future monitoring of the county forests.

Good news is that the basal size of trees is slightly increased which refers to the diameter of the tree and their footprint over the landscape. Then this good news was dampened with knowledge that the understory is getting slightly worse. “We aren’t really sure why,” admitted Gouthro.

Regeneration is another concern. To analyze regeneration, forest tree scientists drop a one-metre grid and identify all the tiny trees in the grid to get an idea of the future forest. It was discovered that most of these tiny trees are ash, with very few maple trees in many forests.

“I have been in maple forests with no maple regeneration,” said Gouthro. “Zero is zero. With only ash regenerating, could that mean the end of forests in Huron County?” she asked. The problem with regenerating ash is as soon as they get large enough (10 centimetres), ash borers infest the tree and kill it. Overall, ash trees accounted for 45 per cent of all seedlings counted. Red

maple were five per cent, sugar maple 13 per cent and black cherry four per cent.

Downed woody debris (DWD) is another issue. “It blew out the threshold,” said Gouthro. With all the debris, will forests now emit more carbon than capturing it? This debris also forms mats which is ideal for plants like wild raspberries but they further block the ability of new trees to generate amongst the DWD. Looking at other forest health signals, Gouthro noted: ● Spring ephemerals: (wildflowers that appear in early spring then disappear such as Trout lily, Oxalis, Hepatics and Bloodroot) are still on the landscape which is a good signal. However, the invasive Garlic mustard which thrives in disturbed areas destroys spring ephemerals ● Pollinators: There are 13 species of wild bumble bees and Gouthro says some of these native bumble bee species are almost extirpated, but added more bee counts and research is being done this year to collect data Following Gouthro’s talk, the Mayor of Central Huron, Jim Ginn, said in his woodlots, he does see maple, hickory, hackberry and oak regenerating. “To me, woodlots are always changing and a maple stand does not always stay a maple stand.”

Gouthro acknowledged they did see hickory and oak and other trees regenerating but believes there are too few mature stands of these trees to create mass regeneration due to the “cutting pressure” they take. “Most of the woodlots I see just have a flush of ash,” she said.

It’s a signal that really worries her. “How can we get a diversity of regeneration? Can we help it? Do we need to help it? Or is it just part of the cycle?” Gouthro said she sees some forests that are very well-managed where owners replant a variety of species. Her worry is how to educate other landowners so they can be better stewards of their forests because logging the bush and creating an ash thicket to grow is not promising for the future health of forests.

For Gouthro, this was an important point of discussion and generated much discussion as well. Dave Pullen, Huron County’s Forest Conservation Officer, agreed that to add diversity to a forest, there needs to be a good seed source nearby. He has seen forests with large cherry trees create an influx of cherry tree seedlings, for instance.

Pullen said for landowners concerned about the future of forests, the best thing they can do is get “good advice.

Don’t sell to the first logger who comes down your laneway.” The problem is that biological problems in forests are combined with a current economic pressure and that is creating a “perfect storm” as landowners log bushes or destroy them to create more farmland.

Gouthro added that having a good database is critical to the future of forests as well. “We need to take stock of where we are to elucidate trends and problems and give that information to landowners,” she said. “Monitoring and assessment also provide a foundation of information that can be used throughout time to evaluate change across various time intervals — important because forests exist at a scale that spans many human lifetimes. Data in turn becomes a kind of living memory to hand on to future

Watershed Ecologist, Erin Gouthro, has been spearheading the Forest Health Project, which is tracking forest health signals. Her report indicates forest health is fair in many areas but well‐managed forests do exist. generations,” states the actual report.

There was a little bit of friendly tension between Pullen and Gouthro as they debated the best approach to forest management with Gouthro finally saying “foresters need to work with ecologists because we see signals in forests that foresters do not recognize because they are not trained to see it. I love foresters and we need to work together from the ground up to work on the whole system.”

For example, new research about spring ephemerals has revealed that these tiny, disappearing flowers take up nitrogen first thing in the spring and as they die down, they release it back into the soil for budding baby trees. “Spring ephemerals are the nursery plants for young trees,” she said.

There is much more information in the actual report which is well worth reading for every landowner. As part of the conclusion of the Forest Health Study report, it was stated: “If the forests in the Maitland are to have a future, thereby providing their life-giving services to our communities, our perspective must shift. We must stop thinking that whatever influence we have on forests is minor and they’ll simply grow back. The 2021/2022 forest demonstrates the opposite. Under certain disturbance regimes forests don’t grow back, rather, they transform to low-grade invasive plants that halt forest regeneration and destroy habitat for other native forest species.” ◊ May 2024 29

Photos by Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot, Story by Russell Gammon

Guernsey tour highlights calm, golden cows

T

here has been a decided spike in demand for Guernsey milk in Canada, particularly Ontario in the most recent decade.

Three different independent milk processors in West Central Ontario are developing growing markets for Guernsey fluid milk and yogurt or breed-specific cheeses.

This demand for milk has created a demand for live Guernsey cattle. Importations have been made from the United States to bolster breed numbers.

Two Western Ontario herd owners — Kyle and Jolen Horst of Hidden Lane Dairy and Marlin and Shirley Martin of Marley Farms Inc., — have converted their herds to Guernsey cattle from other breeds to attempt to help Jim

and Ruth Eby of Eby Manor Ltd., keep up with increasing demand for Golden Guernsey products. All three farms were on the March 27 tour.

Reasons for this growth in demand have included

Russell Gammon (above) is the Canadian Guernsey Fieldman and helped organize the Golden Guernsey Gathering, a free educational day and farm tour that took participants to three Guernsey farms including Hidden Lane Dairy near Elmira (above, right) operated by Kyle and Jolene Horst and Eby Manor Ltd. near Waterloo (below).

30 The Rural Voice

consumer interest in “A2” milk containing the more easily digestible A2 protein and the taste and flavour of Guernsey milk. For well over a decade virtually all Guernsey breeders have used A2A2 status as a truncation point for sire selection.

These producers have also confirmed A2 status via genomic testing.

Processors are rewarded with a higher cheese yield than they have ordinarily attained due to the higher fat and protein content of Guernsey milk than the industry average.

The whole matter of demand for Guernsey milk harkens back to now long ago days when there was a vibrant market for Golden Guernsey 2% milk.

Once producers dive into experimenting with Guernseys they find that they greatly enjoy the calm and laidback nature of the breed, easy calving, less wear and tear on facilities and higher returns for each litre of milk they ship. ◊

Calves thrive in hutches inside a shed at Eby Manor Ltd., (above) while milk cows rest in their tie‐stalls at Marley Farms Inc., which is run by Marlin (pictured bottom, right) and Shirley Martin. Also on the tour was Bruce and Sherry Telfer (bottom, left) former Guernsey breeders and top showmen!

May 2024 31

Recipes by Carolyn Crawford

Croissants and poke cake for Mother’s Day meals

M

other’s Day has taken on a whole different meaning since my own mother’s passing in September of 2022. I have shared many of my mother’s recipes in this column. She was a wonderful cook and baker.

I have made it my mission to pass her recipes down. My focus for Mother’s Day has shifted to my children and grandchildren to share the recipes I have used and collected.

While my daughter, Heather and her partner, Peter were vacationing recently in Spain and France, (more about that later) I babysat my grandchildren, Quinton and Celina.

For an activity, I wanted to make a simple cake but dress it up a bit. We made a “Poke Cake” which was a great way to keep my grandchildren busy. You could make this many ways and with any cake mix/recipe, more than one jelly powder/pudding or flavourings.

Poke Cake Ingredients: Cake: 1 box or homemade white cake As listed on box: water, vegetable oil, eggs (or I use milk, melted butter, eggs) 2 tsp grated lemon peel 1 cup boiling water 1 small package lime-flavoured gelatin Frosting: 1 envelope whipped topping, or 1 cup whipped cream 1 package instant lemon pudding 1 ½ cups whole milk 1 tub whipped topping, or 2 cups whipped cream Grated lemon and lime peel for garnish Directions: Make white cake as directed on box adding the 2 tsp of lemon peel before pouring into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake and let cool.

When cake has cooled, make gelatin by adding only the boiling water. Stir until thoroughly dissolved.

Poke cake with a fork going half way down all over the cake. (Holes 32 The Rural Voice

● Carolyn’s daughter Heather and her partner Peter (above) start preparations for French croissants, seen finished below, right. ● Poke Cake (right) is a fun dessert to create with grandchildren. ● Hollandaise sauce (below) can “break” or “curl” but there are strategies to save the sauce including adding another egg or whisking a small amount into water to make it smooth.

need not be large.) Spoon gelatin into holes and refrigerate for at least 1 ½ hours.

For frosting, mix whipped topping, lemon pudding and milk with a whisk until it thickens. Add to top of cake. Top with whipped cream and refrigerate an additional hour before serving.

Garnish with grated lemon and lime peel.

Hollandaise Sauce Hollandaise sauce is one thing I have never made. Heather has made it often and follows the directions below on how to fix it if it has “broken” or curdled. When we made this together, it was breaking. She tempered it with 1 tbsp cold water and stopped the curdling process. I love to have Hollandaise on eggs for breakfast (Eggs Benedict) or on asparagus. It is a wonderful addition to drizzle on grilled vegetables, fish, shellfish, or chicken. Heather gave me her recipe a while back saying that she got it from the eggs.ca website.

Ingredients: 3 egg yolks 1 tbsp lemon juice Pinch cayenne pepper or dry mustard Pinch salt ½ cup melted butter Directions: Whisk egg yolks in a glass or stainless-steel bowl until frothy.

Whisk in lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt.

Set bowl over saucepan containing about 1-½ inches (4 cm) simmering water (bottom of bowl should not touch water). Heat, whisking constantly, until egg mixture turns pale yellow, thickens slightly, and increases in volume.

Remove from heat. Slowly whisk in melted butter until the sauce is smooth and thickened.

Serve warm.

Makes approximately ¾ cup (175 mL).

Microwave Method: Whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt in 4-cup (1 L) glass measuring cup until blended. Slowly whisk in melted butter. Microwave on Medium (50% power) until sauce thickens, 45 seconds to 1 minute.

Whisk after 30 seconds and at end of

cooking to produce a smooth sauce.

Blender Method: Process egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt in blender just until smooth.

With blender running, slowly add melted butter, processing until thickened and fluffy.

Curdling may occur due to overbeating or adding butter too quickly.

To rescue a curdled sauce, try one of the following: ● Whisk another egg yolk in a small bowl. Gradually whisk yolk into the curdled hollandaise sauce. ● Place 1 tbsp (15 mL) water in a medium bowl. Whisk a small amount of separated sauce into water until it becomes smooth. Keep adding sauce slowly, while continuing to whisk vigorously. ● Make a Béarnaise Sauce by replacing lemon juice with tarragon vinegar and adding 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh parsley and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried tarragon leaves. ● Hollandaise Sauce may be frozen. To use, thaw in the refrigerator. Warm in a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stirring constantly. If the sauce should separate, use the procedure outlined above.

Real French Croissants from France!

When Heather and Peter visited Paris, France, they went to a baking workshop at the Maison Fleuret where they were shown how to make “real French buttery croissants.” This recipe is harder to explain than it is to make!

Ingredients: 250g flour – they used the “00” flour to mimic European flour 16g fresh yeast 8g honey 15g milk 32g sugar 33g (for kneading) and 150g (for laminating) European (82 per cent) cultured butter 7g salt Directions: Prepare and weigh all the ingredients. Sieve the flour into the bowl of a food mixer then add the sugar, yeast, honey, and salt (making sure that the salt and yeast do not come into contact with each other.)

Add the butter and the milk.

Using the mixer fitted with a dough hook, knead the dough for 5 minutes on speed 1 and then for 10 minutes on speed 2.

Wrap the dough in plastic and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

In the meantime, prepare the butter for laminating. Place the chilled butter in baking paper and roll it out with the rolling pin until it is about 5mm or ¼” thick. To get a perfect square, fold your baking paper over the butter to form a square “envelope.” Batter/roll the butter through the baking paper until it takes up all the space inside. Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out lengthways. It needs to be the same width as the butter and twice as long. Place the butter square in the centre of the dough, and gently peel off the baking paper. Fold the 2 ends of the dough over the top of the butter, making sure the dough covers all of it. Rewrap and put back in the fridge for another 2-3 hours. Roll the dough out in both directions until you obtain a rectangle—not too thin—if the dough is too thin, your croissants will not be nice and puffy. Divide the dough into 2 lengthways. Cut each into equal triangles (size depends on how big you like your croissants).

Cut a small slit on the bottom of the triangle to give more width to your croissants. Roll each croissant: pull the base of the triangle apart a little with your hands (where you cut the slit), fold the base of the dough over slightly then roll the whole triangle tightly up to the tip.

Editor’s Note: Carolyn had more detailed folding instructions of which there was not enough space for. She is willing to share them via e-mail if you want them. ● carolynbcrawf@gmail.com Proof your croissants let them rise for approximately one hour until they double in size and become all puffy.

Remove croissants from proofing area and preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. In the meantime, prepare some egg wash: whisk a whole egg (or just the egg yolk with a bit of milk), then lightly brush it over the croissants. Bake for 15 minutes until golden and crispy! ◊ May 2024 33

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

Birds are a part of native gardening

W

hat an extraordinary month May is. Say what you will about summer and fall, it is the warmth of a new season that gets me excited. All through March and April I wander the garden looking for signs of growth – a wee bud of pulmonaria breaking through the earth or a cluster of leaves cradling brilliant violets. We enjoy the sight of returning songbirds rooting through the wonderful leaves looking for insects to nourish themselves after a long flight home. Last year we noted a Rufus Towhee and this year there are two of them busy working the leaf cover.

We have talked about how each of us can make a difference in the natural world with our choices of plants and how we treat the environment that is under our stewardship. “No Mow May” is on a lot of lips. If there are no blooming plants in your lawn save the anguish with neighbours and cut your grass.

If you have a lawn infiltrated with blooming plants, resist the urge to cut and sit back and enjoy the view of newly emerging insects, bees and some birds enjoying the buffet.

Leaves are always an issue in the Fall and again in the Spring. On the first warm day I saw people out raking feverishly all the leaves that escaped from them last fall.

Whatever bee or butterfly larvae, pupae or adults managed to find winter refuge there were getting literally kicked to the curb.

I look out over part of my garden from my kitchen window and I want to start trimming the tall plants I left for the winter birds but I still see some of them picking away at seed heads and so I resist. It only takes a 38 The Rural Voice

bit of patience, okay a lot of patience, to wait until we have three consecutive nights where the night temperature is above 10 celsius. And then we can tidy up a bit.

I read of a tip where you cut back your stems of tall perennials like obedient plant, phlox or blue vervain to about 12 inches, no shorter.

Usually I nip them back a couple of inches. The thinking behind the taller stems is two-fold. The stems provide habitat for solitary bees to lay their eggs in and the structure helps support the new growth. After a couple of seasons you can do a bit more hard cutting but what a great idea. Sure would save my tall Vervain from flopping around after I tie them up. And yes I do pop in a stake to assist in holding them up.

The second Saturday in May marks World Migratory Bird Day in both Canada and the United States but we see birds starting to come through in April. As more people head out to the nearby wild areas to listen and observe, I cannot help thinking that we need to encourage more birds in our urban settings.

While we are working on improving our pollinator numbers we should also look to insects that provide valuable food for the song birds. The larvae of some insects provide rich protein for baby chickadees and wrens to name a couple. And don’t forget the spiders.

I can hear you muttering “oh no!”.

Spiders are high in protein and fair pickin’ for robins, Eastern phoebes, bluebirds, wrens, sparrows, blackbirds, and even crows. No one likes to walk into a spider web but you can leave a few up here and there out of your traffic area. Even the webs themselves serve a purpose; the wee hummingbirds use cobwebs to line their nests.

To support our young native garden I am looking at a variety of herbs to supplement the pollen and nectar levels in the garden. The lovely blue flowers of the borage were always busy and buzzing last year but the growth along the edge of the garden was a bit too robust for the fellow cutting along there. So it is getting moved to a larger spot in the back of the garden where it can expand a bit more. The parsley and sage were also busy sites and this year I am throwing some Cosmos seeds in the background. When adding a few non-natives that attract pollinators look for heirloom varieties which have more accessible nectar and pollen than hybrids.

A term that has come back into the garden language, or maybe it never left, is drifts. Planting in swaths or drifts in the garden to draw the eye into the garden or along a path. Now we could/should be thinking of planting our native plants in drifts. Not only for colour but

The Rufus towhee has colouring somewhat similar to a Robin but this bird is smaller and has shorter legs. Leaving leaf litter in your gardens and lawns is part of No Mow May which allows insects to thrive to feed songbirds.

making it easier for pollinators to get around. If they have to fly halfway across the yard to the next plant they will be exhausted. It would be like serving a buffet on a football field.

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News

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Changing ecology of the Hullett Marsh

S

Birds are returning earlier, frogs are hibernating later...climate change can be seen on the ground at wildlife area

ightings of black bears have increased but sightings of ruffed grouse are rare say two caretakers of the Hullett Marsh who spoke on the changing ecology of the marsh at a March 28 meeting of Huron County’s Water Protection Steering Committee.

“The spring migration is earlier.

In fact, most of the tundra swans have come and gone,” said Ben Elliott, a Wildlife and GIS Technician with Friends of Hullett which manages the marsh near Blyth and Clinton. Speaking alongside him was Scott Austin, now in his 12th year as the Friends of Hullett manager.

The two shared what they see and experience at the marsh at the ground level, revealing specific changes at the marsh that are reflective of wider climate changes across the province.

The bear sightings are “few and far between” and are probably juvenile males looking for food. There is no indication of resident bears at the marsh.

Neither do Ring-necked pheasants thrive there, despite being introduced. Scott says a few have survived and bred but Ben added that most do not survive because farmraised birds don’t know how to forage over winter. Northern bobwhites are also a rarity. However, many bird species thrive at the marsh and return in spring earlier and earlier.

“We’ve been seeing robins for months already and turkeys are gobbling and breeding earlier than before,” added Ben. The Hullett Marsh contains over 2,100 acres of wetlands and trails for hunters and recreational activities including hiking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and horseback riding. It’s a popular place for photographers, something that has evolved over the years since the 1960s when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry established 40 The Rural Voice

The guys on the ground at the Hullett Marsh see climate change in the animals and plants within the nature reserve. Scott Austin (left) and Ben Elliott shared their findings at Huron County’s Water Protection Steering Committee held in Holmesville in April. the wildlife refuge. Ducks Unlimited helped create 20 kilometres of manmade dykes beside several ponds.

The dykes are used to control water levels.

More ponds were constructed between 1979 and 1983 and now the marsh has seven large wetland cells or pools, along with 10 satellite ponds as well as “numerous habitat types”.

Besides bears and swans, the pair commented on the increase of ravens at the marsh. “Turtles are nesting earlier as well, which means we’ve had to change our mowing protocol.

We don’t want to chop up turtles,” said Ben. The earlier return of waterfowl has them rethinking their water restriction timetable as well.

Currently sitting at a May 15 cut-off date to restrict canoeing, kayaking or boating in the lakes to protect nesting birds, Scott believes that date will need to be pushed up.

Weather changes are affecting dormancy too. “I was walking on December 20 last year and saw a frog hopping. Now, he was not hopping fast but he was definitely not dormant,” Scott said.

In terms of vegetation, they struggle to manage invasive species such as Glossy buckthorn, Autumn olive and phragmites. The ruination of ash trees due to the Emerald ash borer has created stands of dead trees which “are just waiting to fall on somebody,” said Ben. A phragmites protocol is in place which includes controlled herbicide while they “target mow” glossy buckthorn and autumn olive, which also helps create habitat for the pheasants which are annually released in the marsh for hunters. Mowing is a more intentional process now as the mower needs to be cleaned before moving from one field to the next in order to prevent the spread of unwanted seeds.

Winter work has become a challenge as well. With less snow, it’s hard to reach certain areas because the ground is also too mucky for vehicles in winter.

These were the changes Scott and Ben noted, adding that for bird watchers, the marsh is an amazing place to be.

Both love working there with Scott saying over the years he’s had a chance to introduce youth to the marsh and teach ecology, which really impacts some of their lives. He finds that incredibly rewarding.

“Those young kids, they are the future stewards of our land,” he said.

Scott said he also very much enjoys just being able to take care of the habitats within the marsh which fills a need within him to connect to land, soil and ecology.

Ben agreed, adding that he “loves exploring the property” and doing the physical stuff, such as donning a pair of chest waders and checking for beavers and the like. He also uses the time to scout for hunting spots for his weekend hunting forays. ◊

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Advice

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Yes, interest rates will go down this year Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist says interest rate relief is in sight but it may not happen as quickly as we hope

I

nterest rates are the number one topic farmers ask Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist about and yes, they will be going down though not as quickly as some hope.

J.P. Gervais, the vice-president and chief economist for FCC said the fight over inflation isn’t over but predicts borrowing costs have peaked. “Inflation has been trending down but there have been ups and downs. We cannot expect interest rates to drop significantly because we still have to manage inflation.”

Gervais was speaking at FCC’s Farm Ag Summit held in London on March 13.

“The waiting game has started.

March was way too aggressive (in terms of inflation) so we think it will happen in the second part of 2024 as inflation has not been coming down enough,” Gervais said. “The market analysts think the first rate cut will happen in June but we think it will happen in July.”

For the rest of 2024, Gervais predicted there will be two additional rate cuts of 25 basis points. This could bring the Bank of Canada rate from five per cent to 4.25 per cent at the end of 2024. “The one thing that is critical to understand is that interest rate has a big influence on short-term rates, such as your line of credit or loans on a variable rate. As soon as the Bank of Canada rate comes down, you will see those rates come down as well.”

Right now a one-year fixed rate is higher than a five-year rate. If farmers taking out loans can wait a bit more before they lock in a rate, they can likely expect a half percent lower rate by the end of the year.

“The five year rate is a lot higher than it used to be back in 2020 or 2021 but we are not going back to those days unless there is a collapse of the Canadian economy,” said Gervais. “There are three rate cuts possible before the end of the year 42 The Rural Voice

and they are conditional on inflation trending down. If you read that inflation is not trending down, then we might have to wait until 2025 for relief.”

Gervais said the Canadian economy is expected to slow down further in 2024 and grow under its potential. That’s because Canadians are allocating 15.2 per cent of their income towards their mortgage which is a new record. “That ratios will continue to trend up as mortgages come up for renewal in 2024.” With reduced money to spend, there is less consumption and the economy slows down.

Some might wonder if Canada is going to go into a recession as the labour market is also weaker and the unemployment rate is at 6.5 per cent.

However, wages have remained steady or increased which gives consumers more money to spend.

“The wage situation in this environment is fascinating despite the labour market being weaker,” said Gervais.

Also, the economy is growing from population growth.

Looking to the future, Gervais had this advice and opinions to share: ● Volatility: “There is a likelihood that Trump will be re-elected in the United States and if that happens, trade will be a big topic. The American perception is that there are still issues to resolve with dairy so that will create some volatility for us.

Expect the end of 2024 to have a lot of volatility generated if we have a new president in the White House.” ● Corn prices: “We will need a supply shock to see corn prices go up. The most obvious way that could happen is weather so we will need weather issues in some parts of the world to create supply disruptions to lift prices a little bit.” ● Beef: “Is it a good time to retain and expand? I don’t know. But if you have a strategy to expand and cost it

J.P Gervais, Chief Economist for Farm Credit Canada over several years, I think it still makes sense.” ● Hogs: “I keep waiting for U.S. hog numbers to come down and they have not come down. From a profitability standpoint, lower feed prices are helping out for sure.” ● Dairy: “Expect very little upside for milk prices at the farm level.” ● Cash Crops: “Profitability is way lower than in 2021 and 2022 so I like to say do not overestimate the power of finding smaller efficiency gains.

Find a little efficiency in higher yields, a little efficiency in marketing and a little efficiency in costs. They will multiply and have an important impact on profitability.” ● Land Values: “Look at the FCC farmland value report and you’ll see land values increased by 11.5 per cent in 2023. That is slightly less than the 12.8 per cent increase recorded in 2022 but ahead of the 8.3 increase in 2021.” The report highlights all the land value increases by province, and within province if you want more information. ◊

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News

• By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Food sovereignty and energy costs Politicians and farmers meet at the Local Politician Forum to discuss issues, update leaders and make their asks

F

ood sovereignty is on the minds of farmers and politicians as one Huron County Federation of Agriculture member hopes the government will one day spend $50 million to produce food instead of investing in battery storage.

Where the government invests its money is often a hotly-debated issue but some farmers and politicians were calm, if a little miffed, at the idea that the Government of Canada is investing $50 million in a battery storage project (and looking for more sites) while agriculture requires a huge investment in processing facilities to process hogs, beef, chicken and dairy in Ontario.

Currently, tens of thousands of hogs are transported to Quebec and the United States to be processed due to lack of processing facilities in Ontario. For years, beef and hog representatives at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture MP/MPP and Local Politician Forum have asked Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb and Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson for more processing space. Every year, the pair hear the same “asks” and nod their heads in agreement.

They do actually agree and agricultural leaders know this. Every year the pair are thanked for their commitment to agriculture and using their voices to promote and ask for what farmers in Huron and Bruce need.

Repeated requests for more processing space resulted in the 2023 announcement that federal and provincial governments are set to invest more than $13 million to help the meat processing sector in the province to make upgrades that they need. Made through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, the five-year investment by federal, provincial and territorial 44 The Rural Voice

Huron Bruce MP Ben Lobb (left), OFA Director Ethan Wallace (standing) Huron County Federation of Agriculture President Murray Workman (middle) and Huron Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson take a break from listening and commenting on reports from Huron County’s agriculture industry at the annual Local Politician Forum held this year on April 5 at the Clinton Legion. governments is worth $3.5 billion in total.

“Anyone who has travelled down the 401 can be amazed by how many tankers and trucks of are heading east to come back with finished goods in the west,” said Ben Lobb, who along with Thompson, held court at the Clinton Legion on April 5 to listen to agricultural leaders share their successes, impact on the economy and make asks in support of their commodity organizations.

“With aging infrastructure, we have nowhere to ship milk if a large breakdown occurs,” said Lieven Verschaeve, representing Huron County Dairy Producers. “Along with these concerns, Ontario is also short on dairy ingredient processing, which increases the risks of more imports coming into Ontario.”

Verschaeve wants a “large processing plant” to be built in southern or southwest Ontario where

a large percentage of dairy farmers produce milk.

Again, Lobb and Thompson are supportive of the idea and have funds to back their belief. It’s just that farmers can’t discount the need to fund energy as well.

The thing is, said Ben Lobb, that competing interests do need to be understood. “It’s a balance. We do need hydro, nuclear and natural gas…that is reality. If we want to be in the dark and have blackouts in eastern Ontario, then we can put our heads in the sand and feel good about ourselves. But if we want to grow our economy and have young people come here and stay here … then we need energy.”

Agriculture is the key economic driver in Huron and Perth but people need housing, jobs and infrastructure.

How can all these needs be met?

Food sovereignty is also a burgeoning issue since COVID-19

revealed Canada’s fragility in regards to its reliance on exports.

Phil Van Raay, representing pork producers, says hog farmers have lost 54 per cent of their abattoirs since 1999 but if new processing plants could be built or expanded, Ontario “could protect its future if borders closed” due to the ongoing threat of potential border closures to live animal exports if diseases such as African Swine Fever take hold in Ontario. “If that border closes, 50,000 pigs need to find a home and as we know, pigs do not stop growing.”

You can’t eat batteries, one farmer said. Lobb agreed. “We must have leadership and a federal government that listens to our farmers, ranchers and food processors and who sees agriculture for what it has truly proven to be – an integral part of the solution rather than the problem,” stated Lobb in his report. He recognized that farm expenses grew by 21.2 percent in 2022, the largest gain since 1974. Carbon tax is part of that and was a topic addressed repeatedly during the meeting.

Keith Black, representing the Grain Farmers of Ontario, said the carbon tax is going to cost grain farmers billions. “We continue our advocacy for Bill C-234, an act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. It would give farmers relief from carbon pricing on fuels (natural gas or propane) used for onfarm grain drying. With no viable alternative fuels available, the cost to farmers will exceed more than $2.7 billion by 2030.” Bill C-234 is Lobb’s private member’s bill which has received third reading but amendments to it are still under consideration.

“I think it is setting an all-time record for a private member’s bill,” said Lobb. Debate on the bill is ongoing at the time of this article and Lobb admits it's frustrating, especially for farmers and anyone who relied on natural gas. “When seniors look at the gas bill and see the carbon tax is more than the actual gas they use, that is frustrating.”

Rick Kootstra, representing Huron County Egg Farmers, said the carbon tax “tentacles reach out to just about everybody and we are noticing less

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egg consumption, or a change in consumption because people are visiting restaurants less.”

Thompson said she started a letter to support Bill C-234 and was part of a recent rally with “Everyone from agriculture to mushroom growers and other commodity organizations. We will not stop. This ideology is failing all Canadians and is doing nothing but driving up the cost of everything.” She encouraged farmers to explain to other Canadians that farmers are NOT exempt from the carbon tax, except for coloured diesel fuel. “We need to continue to talk at all levels about how the carbon tax is raising the cost of production and as it aggregates through the value chain, it hits the consumer.”

Other issues discussed at the HCFA Local Politician Forum included: Trade Lobb praised Thompson’s “Grow Ontario” strategy for putting a “face to the name” and increasing the credibility of Canadian agriculture.

He also believes Ontario ports and

shipping lines need to be “rock-solid” for Ontario to match agriculture credibility with shipping credibility.

“It is vitally important that we keep our ports going, have labour behind them and properly fund the officials that work there,” said Lobb.

“We need to look at diversity at our ports and what we can ship so we aren’t so reliant on Hamilton, Toronto, Halifax and Montreal. We have officials here from Goderich … who can you partner with for expansion?”

Thompson said Grow Ontario’s strategy is to increase exports eight per cent annually. “From the fall of 2022 to the fall of 2023, we increased our exports by 20 per cent” saying that bodes well for increased consumption of Ontario grown and produced foods. She said Ontario farmers need to get better at marketing, referencing a grocery store in Vietnam that had a photo and story of the Ontario hog farm above the very pork it was selling. “It makes me ask why we aren’t doing that at home?” She also hopes as the

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federal government designated $1 billion to create a national school food program, Ontario food will be used in the program when feasible.

A recent trade mission to Mexico targeted the bakery sector and “man, was it successful” Thompson said.

The mission included farmers, millers, bakers and commodity traders.

Risk Management Program Every year the beef, grain and sheep farmers ask for an increase to the Risk Management Program which supports farmers during lean years. Thompson said the program is working as it should but admits it needs to be “scalable” to match the increase of production in Ontario.

Black said there have been incremental improvements with one being that money in the fund was carried forward instead of taken back by the government. This allowed grain farmers to save a substantial sum which was vital during last year’s poor crop situation. “We need to prorate the program so that it is working the way it should,” said Black.

Kudos Each commodity had a chance to share how many farmers they represent and what they contribute to the economy which indicated the scope and importance of agriculture in Huron County. ● There are over 12,500 beef farmers in Ontario contributing $2.69 billion to the GDP and creating 61,000 jobs. ● Grain farmers in Ontario add $10.4 billion to the GDP and provide more than 90,000 jobs in the province. ● There are 52 egg quota holding farmers in Huron County producing 24 million dozen eggs annually with a farm sales value of more than $56 million. They represent about nine per cent of Ontario’s egg producers which are associated with more than 7,000 jobs in Ontario. ● Huron County hog farmers marketed over 1.25 million hogs last year and are part of a pork sector in Ontario that employs 18,347 fulltime job equivalents while contributing $1.34 billion to the GDP ● Ontario sheep farmers number

about 3,000 and contribute $100 million to the Ontario economy, $207 million to Ontario’s GDP and sustain more than 3,500 jobs. ● There are 191 family-run chicken farms in Huron, producing $165.6 million worth of chicken.

Provincially, chicken farmers support 28,950 jobs and contribute over $5.3 billion to the Ontario economy.

Thompson applauded grain farmers for all the money they put into research, allowing them to increase production of grains and oilseed by 60 per cent since 2019 and for calling a “spade a spade.”

Thompson and Lobb thanked dairy farmers for being generous in donating chocolate milk to fireman’s breakfasts, school events and Christmas parades. Chicken farmers were also appreciated for their donations to the food banks across the country .Egg farmers were praised for “leading by example” in terms of biosecurity in regards to Avian Influenza. “As I watch migratory birds overhead, I say ‘Godspeed’ and ‘get over Huron and Bruce as fast as possible!’” said Thompson.

Leadership Beyond the kudos to farm organizations for leading farmers into change and success, Thompson talked about a new initiative to bring leadership training and capacity building to farm leaders across the province. “We are partnering with agricultural societies across Ontario to bring in training on board governance and capacity building,” she said. Also, investment is being made to help students and secondcareer adults learn about and choose careers in the Ontario agri-food sector.

Inflation The Farm Finance Committee discussed the value of land increasing by ten per cent last year and with income declining the last two years, how hard it is for young farmers to get started. Everything is costing more. “Some farm equipment has climbed 25 to 62 per cent in cost over the last two years,” said HCFA president, Murray Workman. Interest rates passing seven per cent only adds to the concern.

Thompson said quick math shows

that someone who purchases a parcel of land for $1,000,000 and pays 20 per cent down, is still facing a $78,000 interest payment per month.

“That is tough for young people to get their head around, let alone make

in terms of financing,” she said.

Thompson imagines a different approach for young people. Investing in smaller parcels of land, there could be room for more niche-farming opportunities such as wineries. ◊

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

Markets don’t like cattle getting Avian Flu

A

vian Flu has been an ongoing concern in our region for quite some time. Each year during the migratory bird seasons we hear of poultry barns becoming infected with the virus, even here in Ontario.

This unfortunate situation can occur when infected wild birds have transmissible contact with farmed birds or through farm to farm movement of potential carriers.

The effect of Avian Flu within poultry is devastating in many ways.

Because Avian Flu has a high and sudden mortality rate, infected barns have complete losses, especially with control protocols which require complete flocks to be euthanized to contain the spread to farms within close proximity and beyond. Other protocols are then put in place, which includes quarantine zones and the requirement for permits into, out of, within or through a quarantine zone.

The effects are not only severe for the farm owner who faces complete losses and expense, but also for the consumer who purchases poultry products.

It wasn’t long ago, only as far back as 2022-23 that the US had an egg shortage that pushed prices to record high levels, as a result of flock losses due to Avian flu.

Recently there were some reports of some dairy herds in the U.S. with declining milk production in the range of 10 to 20 per cent. About 40 per cent of dairy herds in Texas were reported to have seen effects of lower production due to unknown causes.

The veterinarians in these areas

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48 The Rural Voice

tested for an abundance of possible suspect diseases that could account for the declines in production, and all of the tests for probable cattle diseases came back negative. Shortly thereafter affected cattle in these herds were tested for Avian Flu, testing positive for the disease.

Reports came in that farms in Texas and Kansas were reporting positive tests initially. Shortly thereafter farms in New Mexico, Idaho, Michigan and Ohio also tested positive for the Avian Flu virus.

With this disease being a new infection in cattle, little is known about its potential severity. How did cattle become infected with a disease that they previously were not known to be susceptible of? Would the disease spread to wider regions?

Could the effect on cattle become more severe? Would the disease transfer cow to cow? The question of whether this disease would be transmissible to humans was answered as a dairy worker tested positive for the disease. With a confirmed human case could there be demand reductions for cattle products, if consumers become leery of being exposed to a perceived risk?

There were more uncertainties than knowns.

As we have discussed many times within this column, markets do not like uncertainty. Cattle futures fell under heavy selling as speculators showed concern that consumers may reduce demand for beef products, or potential restrictions on world wide beef trade.

Grain markets also experienced negative price pressure as these headlines demonstrated ambiguity.

Fears were present about whether there would be lower demand for grains and grain byproducts if cattle herds were to be culled or demand for products such as dairy were reduced. Although these concerns were present and added to some negative sentiment, it is important to recognize that there wasn’t any fear that market demand would collapse.

The sentiment was more of watching the matter closely to see if the situation would worsen into something more negative.

It appears the cattle in Texas and

Kansas that became infected with Avian Flu, were exposed to the virus from water sources that were contaminated by waterfowl. As a protective measure producers are encouraged to be vigilant with water sources that have been exposed to migratory birds. The cattle in other states that have also shown infection have been recently shipped to the northern locations, in the normal course of livestock trade. It appears, currently, that cattle-to-cattle transfer has not been occurring, however this transmission should not be ruled out as of yet.

Monitoring the affected herds showed that it is unlikely that affected cattle herds would need to be depopulated as is required with poultry, as cattle are expected to make a full recovery from the virus.

Similarly the human case of an infected worker ended up only having minor symptoms – with the individual only having some discomfort from eye inflammation.

Other health risks to humans through the consumption of beef and dairy appear to be negligible, especially with cooking and milk pasteurization.

Hopefully this situation will go away as quickly as it came. At the current moment, with the first discovery of Avian Flu in cattle being many weeks behind us, it appears that contagion is not occurring, as it has been some time since the last report of infection has been reported. Grain market chatter is no longer talking about the “what if” demand is curtailed by livestock reductions due to the virus. With this (possibly) flash news behind us and planting season upon us, it looks like we will be fixated on the weather once again for market talk and direction. ◊

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

Hawks, vultures and songbirds sing a chorus on birding excursion

T

he crowd at the Grey Bruce Woodlot Conference was asked how many people intended to take part in the outing that was planned for the next day to complement one of the conference topics. Keeping in mind that the outings are usually either late morning or early afternoon on the Sunday following the conference, it wasn’t too surprising that people were reluctant to express interest in

the 8:00 a.m. excursion. But, as the saying goes, the early birder gets to see the bird. Maybe I made that up, but it is totally true; the closer to dawn, the better to catch the song or sight of many birds.

Managing a woodlot for birds was the topic of the excursion. At the conference we learned how different species of birds respond to various harvest types, as well as the forest habitat that is preferred by many species. The speaker was one of the authors of A Land Manager’s Guide to Conserving Habitat for Forest Birds in Southern Ontario which was published in 2011. This amazing publication is full of research results, many of which are in easy-to-read charts, graphs, and pictures for quick reference.

We started our birding in a newlyplanted, somewhat open, forest area that was quite populated with birds.

We then moved to an overgrown hydro corridor that had an abundance of coniferous trees, a few hardwood trees, shrubs and vines. Finally, we ended in a mature hardwood forest.

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Our first observation was a Eastern Meadowlark whose vocalizations could be heard from its position in the pasture field across the road. As I believe most are aware, this bird is now on the list of species at risk in Ontario. The Eastern Meadowlark is listed as threatened, which is just one step below endangered. These birds love grasslands. They nest in the grass, and feed on the insects that thrive in the grasslands. I am pleased to say that I still get to see these pretty birds many days throughout the warm season in my travels through Bruce and Grey Counties.

Shortly after our initial bird identification, many birds started to greet us: red-winged blackbirds, crows, and cowbirds. While most people know the “konk-ker-ree song” of the red-winged blackbird and the “caw” of the crow, many do not recognize the complex song of the brown-headed cowbird. While I despise the cowbird it does have some qualities worth noting. What we hear when the cowbird sings is only a small portion of the sounds that the bird is producing. We hear something that sounds like a couple of droplets dripping followed by a whistle, but when the call has been recorded by ornithologists and slowed down there are an impressive number of unheard sounds.

A BBC documentary was released many years ago which included sound graphs along with a video of a cowbird calling, it was incredible. I hesitate to praise the cowbird because it is a nest parasite. This bird will lay its eggs in other bird’s nests for the other birds to care for and raise as

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50 The Rural Voice

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their own. The most disturbing part of this process is that the cowbird chick will grow faster than the host’s hatchlings and either push the others out of the nest or take most of the food so the others do not survive. As our very knowledgeable guide Erik Van Den Kieboom explained to our group, cowbirds historically travelled with bison herds. As bison herds moved throughout the vast grasslands, the cowbirds could not survive if they stayed on a nest to raise their brood and the herd moved on without them. Placing their eggs in other bird’s nests ensured the survival of the cowbird’s eggs to hatchlings.

Right after the cowbird we got to hear and see some European starlings. Gosh, I do not like these birds but I do enjoy seeing the large flocks completing some really awesome aerial maneuvers, it is pretty neat to watch the entire flock move as one.

We saw pine siskins in the cedar trees, blue jays everywhere, some goldfinches, mourning doves, and a blue bird. It appeared that the blue bird was considering using one of the nesting boxes. While the male stood on top of the nest box in full sunlight showing off his beautiful plumage, for probably a minute, I still failed to get a decent photo.

I have been on many bird watching excursions, but this one had an occurrence that couldn’t have been staged any better. A Cooper’s hawk flew a little ways away from our group, it was carrying a bird that it had captured. We all got to see this action.

When we were almost back to our vehicles, we got to watch a kettle of approximately 10 turkey vultures soaring about in a somewhat spiraling pattern enjoying a pocket of warm air. Our guide Erik then tells us to look above the swirling kettle of vultures to see if any hawks were enjoying the warm air as well, as they are often above the vultures in this scenario. I almost said that the hawks just wanted to ensure that they were above the disgusting vulture droppings, but decided to keep that thought to myself. ◊

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

Farm security regulations take constitutional hit

I

n 2020, Ontario passed the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020 (the “2020 Act”).

While farms already had some special protection under the Trespass to Property Act, namely that entry onto many farm properties is prohibited even without signage, the new legislation created enhanced protection for areas on farms and at animal processing facilities where animals are kept with goals of preventing exposure of animals to disease and stress, protecting the food supply chain, and protecting the safety of farmers and workers. The 2020 Act prohibited entry to “animal protection zones” without prior consent of the owner or occupier of

the farm or animal processing facility, as applicable, and prohibited interference and interaction with a farm animal within an animal protection zone without prior consent.

The consent requirement is strict.

The 2020 Act specifies that prior consent of an owner or occupier of a farm or animal processing facility for entry into an animal protection zone or for interference or interaction with an animal “shall not be inferred” solely because no prohibition has been communicated, no objection made and/or no restrictive signs erected. Further, the 2020 Act invalidates any consent obtained “using duress or under false pretences” and makes obtaining consent in such a way an offence.

The prior consent requirement also extends to interference or interaction with a farm animal being transported by a motor vehicle, prior consent of the driver of the motor vehicle being required in that case.

A number of regulations have been made pursuant to the 2020 Act that expand on the definitions of various terms in the Act. Sections 9 through 12 of the Regulations deal with consent obtained under false pretences. Section 9 provides that consent is considered to have been obtained under false pretences if a false statement is given orally or in

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writing for the purpose of obtaining consent and then consent is given in reliance on the false statement.

Section 10 applies to false statements given about employment qualifications – statements that express or imply “that the person making the statement possesses the qualifications necessary to carry out the employment in a manner that would not cause harm to farm animals, harm with respect to food safety or harm to an individual, when in fact the person does not possess those qualifications”.

In 2021, an animal law organization, a freelance journalist, and a graphic artist and social media content creator applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for declarations that various parts of the 2020 Act and the Regulations are unconstitutional. The Applicants attacked Sections 5(6) and 6(4) of the Act, which provide that consent is invalid and deemed not to have been given if obtained using duress or under false pretences in the circumstances or for the reasons prescribed in the Regulations, as violating the freedom of expression protected by Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Applicants also attacked the Regulations themselves, arguing that the circumstances and reasons listed in the Regulations such as the identification of false statements about employment qualifications unjustifiably restricted free expression.

The Applicants suggested that the 2020 Act and the Regulations would put an end to undercover exposés by animal rights activists who obtain jobs at agricultural premises in order to produce videos showing the (mal-) treatment of animals. They said that questions commonly posed during job interviews include whether a potential employee has a university degree or is affiliated with an animal rights group, and activists must give a false answer to get hired. The Applicants complained that the 2020 Act means that getting the job would put the activist in the position of trespassing and committing an offence with the risk of penalties.

This, the Applicants argued, violates their right to freedom of expression.

The constitutional challenge was heard by Mr. Justice Koehnen in the fall of 2023 and his decision was issued on April 2, 2024. While Justice Koehnen found that the provisions in the 2020 Act that would invalidate consent obtained in the circumstances or for the reasons prescribed by the Regulations did not themselves violate the Applicants’ Charter rights, he did find that Section 9 of the Regulations was overly broad and disproportionate and was an unjustifiable infringement on the freedom of expression. Justice Koehnen determined that it was a purpose and effect of the 2020 Act and the Regulations to infringe on the Applicants’ freedom to expose or even describe conditions in which animals are kept wherever access to the animals’ location was obtained using false pretences. Because Section 9 provides that any false statement (whether in a job interview or otherwise) made in order to obtain consent results in the consent being obtained under false pretences, Justice Koehnen ruled that it goes further than is justified in achieving the goals of the 2020 Act. In contrast, Justice Koehnen found that the Section 10 prohibition on false statements about employment qualifications was a justifiable limit on expression.

At the request of the province, the findings that various regulations (not just Section 9) made under the 2020 Act were unconstitutional have been suspended pending a further hearing.

Time is often given to a government to introduce replacement regulations or legislation. It may also be that Ontario will appeal Justice Koehnen’s decision. ______________________________ John D. Goudy’s law practice includes real property and environmental litigation, expropriation law, energy regulation, and regulatory offences. Agrilaw provides information of interest to the farming community, not legal advice. Readers should consult a legal professional about their particular circumstance.

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People

• By Shawn Loughlin

Bergsma receives Ontario Arbor Award

D

arrell Bergsma from the

Londesborough area is one of two recipients of the 2024 4-H Ontario Arbor Award, which is the provincial organization’s highest honour.

Bergsma was honoured for his many years of service to the Huron 4-H Association at the 4-H Ontario Arbor Awards banquet on March 23.

“Established in 2001 during the International Year of the Volunteer, the 4-H Ontario Arbor Award recognizes a select group of 4-H Ontario volunteers who have served the organization for over 10 years and have positively impacted 4-H and their local community,” reads a press release from 4-H Ontario announcing this year’s winners.

“This is 4-H Ontario’s most prestigious volunteer award.”

He has been with the local association for 23 years, during which time he has served as both the president and the association representative (AR), in addition to serving on the Provincial Board of Directors. The press release also notes Bergsma’s involvement in the club’s annual e-recycling day, while helping with the Huron swine club and volunteering provincially at the Impact Conference, Discovery Days and as a camp facilitator.

“Darrell uses his head when making decisions to improve programming; his heart is full of passion for the program, he is not afraid to get his hands dirty to make progress and the community benefits healthwise from his commitment,” said Huron County 4-H Association President Sarah Shapton.

Bergsma’s work with the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association was also noted in his application, submitted by the Huron County 4-H Association.

“Darrell is a shining example of an ideal community member and volunteer,” said Threshers’ VicePresident Laura McDonald in the press release. “He is committed, hard-working, driven and a devoted volunteer that we are proud to have as part of our organization.”

54 May 2024

In an interview with The Citizen, Bergsma said he was very surprised to hear he had been chosen for this award. Bergsma says that working with the kids, seeing them grow up into adults with the 4-H skills they’ve learned in tow, has been among the most rewarding aspects of his time with 4-H. He’s also made lifelong friendships through the organization, which is something that keeps him coming back year after year.

“To me, 4-H is so much more than just ‘Head, Heart, Hands and Health’ - 4-H is family. 4-H has played a big part in who I am today and has helped me learn that I can lead and facilitate groups well - it has taught me many skills and talents I didn’t know I had,” Bergsma said in the press release.

“4-H has many meanings for different people, but to me, it means a lifetime of memories that I will never forget.” ◊

Darrell Bergsma received the 4‐H Ontario Arbor Award for his decades of service to 4‐H and the positive impact he has made on 4‐H and the local community.

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Groots named Conservationists of the Year

Ausable Bayfield Conservation Chair Marissa Vaughan (right) presents Conservationist of the Year Award to Michael and Lindsay Groot and family, at a Partner Appreciation Evening held on March 21 at the Ironwood Golf Club.

• By Tim Cummings •

M

ichael and Lindsay Groot and family are winners of the Conservationist of the Year Award. Ausable Bayfield Conservation presented the award, to the Crediton-area family, at the Partner Appreciation Evening, on March 21, at Ironwood Golf Club.

Marissa Vaughan is Chair of Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). She praised the Groot family and said “the improvements in our watershed simply could not happen without the dedication of landowners and watershed stewards like Michael and Lindsay Groot and their family.”

Ian Jean, ABCA Forestry and Land Stewardship Specialist, said “Through no-till cropping, cover cropping, and rotational grazing, the Groot family is building soil organic matter, and improving the soil health,” he said.

He also praised the Groot family for sharing information with peers in the industry through tours at the farm and by speaking at workshops. “I’m not sure how they do it all, but I’m sure it’s because of their passion for the environment and their community and I’m so glad we’re able to recognize their efforts,” he said.

In accepting the award, Michael Groot said “it is very humbling to be added to that list of esteemed winners over the past 41 years.” He thanked his family and the organizations that have helped them with their projects.

Michael and Lindsay and family have planted thousands of trees. They have improved the management of runoff and erosion and created habitat for wildlife. They have established about 5.5 kilometres of new windbreaks on three farm properties. They have moved from conventional tillage to no-till.

Through no-till crop management, they help to keep soil undisturbed in order to keep erosion in check and keep soil structure and root systems intact. ◊

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May 2024 55

Photos and Story by Jeff Tribe

Sweet syrup and sweeter times...priceless

D

ad’s maple syrup-making tales of gathering sap with horses and snow-hardened taffy encouraged my own experimental turkey deep fryer boiling experience. Parental and general appreciation for a still-warm draw combined with the maturation of maple trees dad lovingly nurtured encouraged an upgraded if delayed return.

“The grandkids will love it,” I wheedled, angling for the vulnerable chink in upper management’s (my wife’s) tight fiscal armour.

If you Google ‘Ontario maple syrup-making supplies’ and poke around on Facebook Marketplace, you can land somewhere between deep fryer and full arch.

And if you consider it a 20-year investment, the cost of buckets, spiles and covers, a barrel stove upgraded from twin 20-by-12-inch pans to accept a 24-by-33-inch stainless steel option, filter, liners, thermometer, hydrometer and used gathering/storage pails isn’t entirely unreasonable. Just don’t figure in labour, firewood, recycled materials for a rudimentary sugar shack or propane to finish draws off in a controllable manner.

You’ll remember what you’ve forgotten and learn what you never knew. When sap runs, it runs, convenient or not. Dry, quality wood makes a big difference. And grandkids may be more available to sample syrup than gather sap.

There is a cost to putting 25 or 30 litres of homemade product into your freezer. But there are rewards beyond even its indescribable flavour over ice cream, on pancakes or waffles, or the classic “two bites of syrup, one of buttered bread.”

Embedded within that penultimate Canadian experience is pulling kids into the woods instead of pushing them onto electronic devices, honouring and potentially generationally advancing your rural heritage, not to mention sneaky learning around sustainability and selfsufficiency.

Priceless, as credit card advertising likes to suggest? Perhaps not. But for some of us, worth every penny. ◊

Top: Hallie and Nora zone in on a bucket of sap.

Above: Alanna and Shane work together to carry a bucket of sap.

Right: A modified barrel stove maple syrup evaporator, fitted with a 24‐by‐33‐ inch stainless steel pan.The blue tap on the left is an extremely valuable addition allowing transfer of thickened sap for finishing in a more easily controllable environment.

56 The Rural Voice

Alanna lends a helping hand to her young cousin, Charlotte, during the gathering of sap (right) while Shane (below) peers into a pail to check the level of sap.

After much hauling of pails, family chatter, taste‐testing and stoking the fires in the evaporator, the results stand golden and proud in canning jars after the Tribe family maple syrup season.

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? • reducing your hydro bill? ? ? • reducing your fuel bill?

Sun-Mar Composting Toilets

? • building an off grid home? ? ...then you Better talk to us!

• Batteries • AGM • Flooded • Surrete • Solar May 2024 57

Schmidt’s Farm Drainage 1990 Ltd. Harriston

Corey Hoffarth

CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS Concrete Pumping • Circular Tanks • Bunker Silos Crane Rental • Excavation • Float Service • Stone Slinger R.R.#5, Mildmay, Ontario Office (519) 367-2372 Fax (519) 367-2172

Specializing in Farm Drainage, Backhoeing & Excavating, GPS includes: mapping grade control & surveying

Email: gbconoffice@gmail.com www.greybruceconstruction.ca

Where Schmidt’s go, the Water Flows!

GPS Grade Control 519-338-3484 • Cell 519-323-6335 Call us today for all your building and renovating needs.

NORTH HURON CARPENTRY INC.

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Specializing in eavestroughs, windows and doors, exterior residential and utility doors, siding, agricultural storage buildings, and so much more.

(#O 1#O )H<##1O >:(O >'')#:O 7#O13DO A ), ,#O <(73>'(O O # ,#7O1#<F37+ O ), ,#O)1O 3<(O53E"#7N 3 <#"O 1"O ,A 1)M#"O )1):( O 3,37O 5<)31:O A ). ,# O #<O)1O<3> (OE)<(OL3>7O1# 7#:<O 1#O )H<##1O # ,#7O <3O ): >::OD( <O35<)31:O O #::37)#:O 7#O7)'(<O &37OL3> O

We also manufacture custom kitchens, cabinetry, stairs and railings

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No job too big or too small!

38728 Moncrieff Rd., RR #3 Blyth, ON David Werkema Ph.: 519-526-7634 Dave - Mobile - 519-531-0224 Email: dave@northcarpentry.ca Herman - Mobile - 519-525-0232

58 The Rural Voice

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WE WANT YOUR GRAIN!

Download the London Ag App for FREE (Real-time scale tickets, contracts, cash bids and more.)

• AGRICULTURAL • COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL

• Corn • Wheat • Soybeans • Feed Grains • Feed Ingredients • Food Quality Soybeans

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

5" Seamless Steel and Aluminum Eavestrough Rugged steel eavestrough for today’s metal roofing systems.

Siding • Soffit • Fascia • Steel Roofing 411575 Sideroad 41, Mount Forest

519-323-9841

May 2024 59

The

Rural Voice

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

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

Brad Doney Independently Owned & Operated by

B&B Reglazing & Liners Call: (519) 440-3799

Full service to all boats and marine engines

35642 Huron Rd. Goderich, Ontario N7A 3X8

Marine & Small Engines Inc.

brad.doney@bathmaster.com www.bathmaster.com

ARGYLE 33973 Church Camp Rd., Goderich 519-524-5361 Email: argylemarine1960@gmail.com

DL Distributing Dave Mustard 519-794-3334 Authorized Dealer

►Quality bathtub reglazing ►Acrylic bathtub liners ►Custom wall surrounds ►Clawfoot tub restoration ►Free in-home estimates ►Tub cut to shower conversion

Profitable, Actionable, Advice Crop Planning SWAT Maps/VR Scripts Soil Sampling Cropwalker Newsletter

Tough on Winter, Easy on You

Email: dlmustard2@gmail.com 556735 Strathaven Road, Chatsworth, ON

REAL ESTATE

Jonathan Zettler CCA-ON, 4R NMS 519-323-7505 jz@fieldwalker.ca fieldwalker.ca

Non-GMO & Organic Seed sales, seed cleaning, drying & licensed truck scale

• Farm, residential, country, cottages, condominiums.

• Thinking of Buying or Selling? Rightsizing? Relocating?

• Market value analysis on your property.

“Welcome to connect with me anytime.”

A complete line of nutritionally balanced Non-GMO feeds

Gladys Munro Roasted soybean sales and custom roasting

Realtor®

Direct: 519.389.8242 Office: 519.396.3300 gladysmunro21@gmail.com 926 Queen St. Kincardine, ON

60 The Rural Voice

Steven: P/F: 519-363-0152 Jeffery: P: 519-363-5933

701234 Side Road 5 RR #4 Chesley, ON N0G 1L0

PACKERS: WE BUILD

AGRICULTURAL

RESIDENTIAL

RUBBER TIRE PACKER SPECIALISTS

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

NEW CONSTRUCTION RENOVATIONS

519-524-0253

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

QUALITY METAL ROOFING, SIDING & TRIMS

Lucknow Auto Parts Supply

519-363-3757

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

37521 Amberley Rd., Lucknow 519-528-2220

Spike’s Auto Parts

Delivery available in Southwestern Ontario

252 Queen St., Kincardine 519-396-1515 Email: lap@porters.ca

The Better Choice, Plain and Simple

MarCrest Backhoe Septic Installations • Tile Repairs Small Footings • Silo Footings

Maynard Martin 2512 Kressler Road RR 1 St. Clements, ON N0B 2M0

Tel. 519-699-0507

STEFFEN WELL DRILLING 519-531-0355 TEESWATER, ON

mike@steffenwelldrilling.ca

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

TREE TRIMMING & REMOVAL Any Size. Any Place • FULLY INSURED • FREE ESTIMATES • OVER 18 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

5554 Highway 23 Harriston, ON Office: 519-638-0121 Cell: 226-885-0045 FULL SERVICE: Tree Trimming • Tree Removal • Stump Grinding • Brush Chipping •Thorough Cleanup • Fire Wood & Wood Chips Sales Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 6:00 pm Saturdays on request We accept payment by cash, cheque or E-transfer

Organic Growers Wanted Long term production contracts available for HR Winter Wheat, Winter Barley, Winter Spelt and Winter Canola Also available in 2024 : production contracts for Soybeans, Edible Beans, Sunflowers, Peas contact: Wehrmann Grain & Seed Ltd

RR 1 Ripley, Ontario N0G 2R0 Cell: 519.955.0386 • Office: 519.395.3126 • Fax: 519.395.2935

e-mail: ingasven@hurontel.on.ca

www.wehrmanngrainandseed.ca May 2024 61

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

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Leadership in energy and environmental design

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Devon Henry 519-505-2473

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84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels

devonjhenry@hotmail.com

BUSHELL’S AUTO SALES

WINGHAM

TRUCKS

2018 Ford F150 reg. cab, 4x4, 305,000 km ..................$15,500 2018 Ford F150 160,000 km ........................................$16,500 2016 Chev Canyon 160,000 km...................................$16,500 2016 GMC Sienna crew cab, 4x4, 229,000 km ............$19,995 2015 GMC Sienna crew cab, 4x4, 175,000 km ............$19,995 2014 Dodge Ram 210,000 km ......................................$18,995 2014 Dodge Ram 210,000 km ......................................$16,500 2008 Ford F350 268,000 km AS IS .................................$5,995 2006 Ford F250 DRW, 268,000 km..................................$5,995 1999 Dodge Ram reg. cab, 2WD, 372,000 km AS IS .....$1,600

VANS 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan GT 137,000 km . . . . . .SOLD 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan GT 182,000 km . . . . . .SOLD 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan 249,000 km . . . . . . . . .$8,995 2016 Ford Transit 250 306,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . .$11,500

2015 Town & Country 337,000 km AS IS....................$2,995

2012 Dodge Grand Caravan 180,000 km . . . . . . . . .$8,995 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan 160,000 km . . . . . . . . .$7,995 2009 Chev Express 3500 225,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,500

CARS

2019 Nissan Versa SV 112,000 km . . . . . . . . . . .$16,500 2018 Chev Cruze 161,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$12,500

2018 Chev Cruze 202,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$9,995 2010 Toyota Corolla 265,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,995 2008 Hyundai Accent 159,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4,995 2005 Chrysler 300 135,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,995

SUVS

2020 Nissan Rouge FWD, 136,000 km . . . . . . . .$19,995 2021 Hyundai Trend Venu 68,000 km . . . . . . . . .$21,995 2018 Nissan Quashi 122,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$21,995 2017 GMC Terrain 120,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$16,995 2015 Jeep Cherokee 231,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,995 2015 Dodge Journey 134,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13,995 2019 Chev Trax 260,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,995 2014 Nissan Pathfinder S AWD, 129,000 km . .$16,995 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe 136,000 km . . . . . . . . . .$16,500 2013 Ford Escape AWD, 160,000 km . . . . . . . . . . .$14,995 2011 Ford Edge FWD, 210,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . .$11,500 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD, 228,000 km . . . . . .$8,995

Is your car in the Body Shop?

We have rentals available for most major insurance companies.

Give us a call today!

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

Financing and Extended Warranty Available On All Units Plus 13% Tax ~ UCDA - Buy With Confidence 62 The Rural Voice

519-357-6731

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-------------------------------------------COMING EVENTS -------------------------------------------Exeter Saddle Club 2024 - Horse Show Dates: June 2, 23; July 14; August 18; September 1, 15.

September 29 (rain date only).

Behind South Huron Recreation Centre, Exeter. Starting 9:00 a.m.

Gaming first. For more information call 519-393-5051.

-------------------------------------------McQuail's Annual Meeting Place Organic Farm Seedling Sale and Farm Open House. In person May 11 and 12. Horse-drawn wagon rides, self- guided tours. Pre-order seedlings online (or phone/email) or drop in and browse the selection day of. Flower, herb, vegetable and heirloom tomato seedlings, freezer beef and pork, maple syrup, honey, apple butter and lamb skins. Please check the website or social media for details and information.

86016 Creek Line; east of Lucknow.

519-528-2493. www.meetingplaceorganicfarm.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 -------------------------------------------CUSTOM WORK -------------------------------------------Custom stone picking. Let us harvest rocks so you can harvest crops. Serving Grey, Bruce, Dufferin and Wellington counties.

Call Brendan Martin 519-503-1101. brendan.martin870@gmail.com -------------------------------------------DAIRY -------------------------------------------Screened bedding sand, delivered.

Call 519-625-8242 or 519-2741490.

-------------------------------------------FOR SALE -------------------------------------------For prices on forage peas, forage pea mixtures, barley, oats, spring wheat and mixed grain seed.

Contact Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-395-2972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

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

-------------------------------------------FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Alfalfa hay mixtures, pasture mixtures, top dressing for pastures, and a selection of organic grass seeds. All mixed to your personal needs.

Also red clover for plowdown. Available at Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd., 225 Hwy 21, RR 1, Ripley. Phone 519-3952972. Ask for Carmon or Mitch.

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

-------------------------------------------GARDEN SEEDS AND PLANTS -------------------------------------------Nova Raspberry, Heritage Raspberry, Blackberry, Black Currant and Strawberry bare root plants. $2 each.

Quantity discounts available. Call 519-2873013, Glencoe to order.

-------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------Black & Red Simmental Bulls, yearlings & 2 yr. olds for sale by private treaty. Performance, ultrasound and semen tested with BIO$ scores. Reports on Agsights website. Contact Dave Milliner, Dundalk, ON. 519-923-9188 / 519375-0122 or milliner.dg@gmail.com -------------------------------------------SUFFOLK SHEEP - Taking orders now for 2024-born breeding ram lambs and ewe lambs. Several British bloodlines. MV Negative closed flock. Florence Pullen, PO Box 715, Clinton, ON N0M 1L0 519233-7896.

-------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN breeding bulls, quiet, thick, semen tested, guaranteed breeders, delivery included. Posthaven Limousin, John Post, 519-766-7178. www.posthavenlimousin.com -------------------------------------------McKague Charolais bulls, registered, purebred yearlings, polled and semen-tested, good disposition. Open and bred heifers available. Wingham, 519-3573808.

-------------------------------------------Limousin - Bred heifers and cows available for sale. Come pick your new herdsire prospect.

Smart Limousin, Meaford, 519-3727459, smartlimo@bmts.com. www.smartlimousin.com

Soybean seed for sale - Altitude R2, Beliveau R2X, Ramage XF, Savage R2X and Orr R2X Roundup Ready varieties.

Treatments and inoculants available. Call Mitch at Courtney Grain & Seed (2015) Ltd. 519-440-6712 -------------------------------------------Frozen raspberries and blackberries; $6 per pint. Quantity discounts will apply. Call 519-2873013.

-------------------------------------------Maple Syrup sold in 1 Litre glass jars; $15 per Litre or $160 per case of 12. Don Morden, Rothsay. 519638-2525. (W) -------------------------------------------Rebuilt water pumping windmills.

Beatty, Aermotor, etc., parts, repairs and sales. Towers wanted.

519-357-3621 -------------------------------------------Rosco grain bins for sale - 19' and 14' diameter. Parts available. Used grain bins wanted for parts or reuse. Closed Sundays, 519-3383920.

-------------------------------------------Shade trees, Spruce, White Pine, Cedars, windbreaks and privacy hedges, Shrubs, Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Sweet and sour Cherry Trees at (Emanuel E.M. Martin) Martin's Nursery. 42661 Orangehill Rd Wroxeter ON N0G 2X0.

-------------------------------------------• Tree Seedlings • Nursery Stock • Shade Trees • Native Species Order for Spring 2024 Now

905-797-2801

www.hrichardsonfarms.com

May 2024 63

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-------------------------------------------LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------Red Angus/Simmental bulls for sale. Completed test results available by googling Ontario Bull Evaluation, Silver Springs Farms.

Heifers available bred to an easy calving bull for spring 2025 calving.

Contact us at 519-599-6236 to reserve yours. James, Joan and Robert McKinlay -------------------------------------------MARKETS -------------------------------------------Flesherton & District Farmers' Market. A "true farmers' market".

Locally grown, produced, and handmade. 9 am to 1:00 pm.

Saturday's until Thanksgiving. 101 Highland Drive, Flesherton. (Email: market.manager.fdfm@gmail.com) -------------------------------------------RESTORATION -------------------------------------------The Olde Tyme Radio Centre antique radios, clocks, gramophones, telephones; sold/restored. (vintage autoclock radio repairs). Golden Oldies Antiques For Sale. Belgrave 519357-4304, www.oldtymeradio.ca -------------------------------------------SERVICES -------------------------------------------Farm buildings, homes, cottages repaired, remodeled, 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 -------------------------------------------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 -------------------------------------------PAL Class for firearms training.

Ongoing courses available.

Certified instructors. Call Greg 519291-0507

-------------------------------------------SERVICES -------------------------------------------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 surround area.

Call Shirley in Wingham - cell No. 1-705-434-8187.

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

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

64 The Rural Voice

DANNY’S

Custom Painting & Sandblasting

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

Ph. 519-528-3019

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

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

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

519-692-4232 86362 Harper Line RR 1 Lucknow N0G 2H0 (just north of Zion Road)

RESISTS CRACKING & PEELING Water based, solvent free, Liquid Rubber Seal Roof creates an adhered, flexible membrane.

SURFACES • Metal (inc. galvanized & aluminum) • Wood • Concrete • Manure Pits • UV Resistant

www.sgspestmanagement.ca

-------------------------------------------WANTED -------------------------------------------Family is looking to buy a dairy farm in Bruce County. Please send your response to Drawer #5 c/o Rural Voice, PO Box 429, Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 -------------------------------------------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.

-------------------------------------------John Deere or International grain binder. McCormick threshing machine preferably with straw cutter. Call 905-983-9331 -------------------------------------------Farmland - Long or short term.

Cash rent, share crop. Contact Paul at Hill & Hill Farms, 519-233-3218 or 519-525-3137 or email: paul.hill@tcc.on.ca

Spring Has Sprung!

The Rural Reading Room Specializing in Rural Living & Local Authors

FAMOUS NAME TRAINS 101 THINGS FOR KIDS TO DO OUTSIDE This book is ideal for the children who Former CPR archivist David like gaming, TV and movies. Even kids Laurence Jones goes back in time who believe "there's nothing to do to describe what it was like to outside" can learn and be encouraged to travel on some of the CPR's experience the joy of outdoor play. famous "name trains," like the Perfect for rainy days, sunshiny days, Pacific Express, the Imperial Limited, and the Canadian. $24.95 even snowy days. $19.95

THE SEASON FOR STRAWBERRIES Newly established as the parish’s first female pastor, Aleda struggles with feelings of inadequacy and questions the relevance of her ministry as she faces all the characters and challenges, large and small, that define village life. What happens when the strawberry social is threatened, and when a tragedy shakes the village to its core? $20.00

HELD BY THE LAND This book shows how plants can be a great source of healing as well as nourishment, and the practice of growing and harvesting from trees, flowering herbs, and other plants is a powerful way to become more connected to the land. $32.99

2000 STICKERS BUSY FARM Full of engaging activities including puzzles, mazes, connect the dots, matching, hidden objects, spot the difference, decorating pictures, and more! $11.95

MEGA MACHINES Activity Book Get busy with more than 100 fun-filled puzzles and activities, including colouring, drawing, dot-to-dots, mazes, spot the differences, and more! $13.50

HIVE MANAGEMENT: A Seasonal Guide for Beekeepers The importance of bees in pollinating crops has become more recognized in recent years.

Beekeeping can also be a source of additional income. This book can guide your management. $19.95

GROW FOR FLAVOR Home-grown fruits and vegetables have a flavour advantage over store-bought foods that travel long distance. This book offers tips and tricks to supercharge the flavour of everything from apples and grapes to mushrooms. Lots of drawings. $29.95

101 THINGS FOR KIDS TO DO OUTSIDE FAMOUS NAME TRAINS HELD BY THE LAND 2000 STICKERS BUSY FARM THE SEASON FOR STRAWBERRIES GROW FOR FLAVOUR MEGA MACHINES ACTIVITY BOOK HIVE MANAGEMENT

Qty.

$19.95 $24.95 $32.99 $11.95 $20.00 $29.95 $13.50 $19.95

Total

Total for Books Shipping & Handling $9.00 Canada Post Fuel Surcharge $4.00

Subtotal 5% GST on Subtotal

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

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

Order Total

May 2024 65

National Farmers Union – Ontario NEWSLETTER ● Strong Communities ● Sound Policies ● Sustainable Farms

Phone: 1-888-832-9638 E-mail: office@nfuontario.ca Website: www.nfuontario.ca

Growing Concerns:

The pushback against land expropriation in Wilmot

I

n early January, farmers and landowners of 770+ acres of prime agricultural land in Wilmot Township received offers from Vive Development, a U.S.-based consulting company acting on behalf of the Region of Waterloo, to purchase their land for $58,000 an acre – none of them accepted.

In March, the same farmers were offered $35,000 an acre by Canacre, a consulting firm hired by the Region of Waterloo. Now, those landowners face the threat of having their land expropriated, should they refuse to sell.

At the time this article is being written there has yet to be confirmation on what this land, if expropriated, would be used for.

However, there is an underlying understanding that the township hopes to rezone this land for industrial use and embark on a significant development project. The 770 acres of prime farmland between Wilmot Centre, Bleams and Nafziger roads slated for industrial development are currently home to vegetable, grain, and dairy operations, as well as two significant creeks that flow into the Nith river.

Beyond the potential loss of even more of our prime agricultural land, already diminishing at a rate of 319 acres per day, the NFU-O is deeply concerned with the complete lack of public consultation and transparency demonstrated by the municipal decision-makers. The absence of consultation with the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) despite major water supply concerns in particular displays the prioritization of fast-tracking development over the public good.

The forcible acquisition of this land will have profound implications for

Ontario’s food security and for land use planning across the province.

Ontario farmland is globally recognized as some of the best farmland in the world. Only four per cent of Canadian land is suitable to grow crops, and some of the most fertile land is found in Wilmot and neighboring Townships. The protection of these lands for agricultural use is outlined in the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), but if this industrial development in Wilmot Township is given the greenlight, we fear that it will set the wrong precedent and will make it more difficult for other Ontario counties and townships to protect their own agricultural and ecologically-sensitive land. This is further supported by the proposed policy revisions in the Ontario Government’s Bill 162, Get it Done Act (2024) which are designed to make it easier for regional authorities to expropriate farmland and fast-track farmland rezoning and development.

“Just like the recent failed Greenbelt Grab, short-sighted decision-making is taking precedence over sustainable development,” says Max Hansgen, NFU-O President.

“The complete lack of public consultation and transparency in Wilmot Township clearly shows that

land-use decision-making in the province still has not incorporated the lessons from popular opposition to Bill 23 and Bill 97. Ontarians agree that industrial development does not belong on farmland.”

The case in Wilmot Township underscores the urgent need for municipalities to assert more control over their land-use planning efforts.

Since the provincial government has failed to uphold democratic land-use regulatory mechanisms, the responsibility, now more than ever, lies with local decision-makers to engage in transparent, democratic processes that prioritize the long-term interests of their communities.

We call on municipalities to steer the course towards a future where development does not come at the cost of agricultural prosperity and public trust. For the agri-food sector to remain a critical economic driver in the province we must continue to protect farmland alongside sustainable, transparent land-use decision making processes. The constant weakening of environmental, agricultural, and democratic protection for the benefit of fast-tracking development is to the detriment of all Ontarians. Farmers and the public deserve better. ◊

Local News/Events ● On Thursday, May 23 at 5:45pm Local 341 (Oxford, Perth) will host a Community Land Trust (CLT) Information Event and Short Film Screening.

Join us at The Local Community Food Centre (612 Erie St, Stratford, ON) as experts from the cooperative, farming and housing spheres will present and answer questions about how CLTs can address affordability concerns. PLUS! Enjoy two short films that speak to the challenges farmers face securing sustainably affordable land (and housing!) and how community models can help.

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

Perth County Pork Producers NEWSLETTER

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

Don’t take building guidelines for granted

By Larry Skinner ~ Any opinions expressed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of the Perth County Pork Producers’ Association. or many years Ontario’s farmers have benefitted from Acts of Parliament like the Tile Drainage Act, which had its origins ,believe it or not, back in 1835.

Farmers wanting to drain swampy land could plan and build drainage ditches in order to get the water away. Even though there have been many changes to the Act, the basic intentions to make land more productive and distribute the cost of improvements fairly amongst affected landowners remain the same.

Today, however, not all landowners agree that drains are a good thing. On a 100-acre farm next to our property, approximately 25 acres has been reduced from cultivated land to swampy pasture because of water backing up from lower in the watershed. The owner of the downstream land refuses to remove the beaver dams. I guess keeping land productive for agriculture cannot be taken for granted.

For livestock farmers another set of guidelines providing support and protection for some 50 years in Ontario are the guidelines concerning minimum distance separation (MDS).

These are contained in the Ontario Government Publication 853. It became apparent during the 1970s that livestock barns were increasing in size, while, at the same time, more non-farming folks were seeking a place to build amongst rural neighbours.

For many years, we have taken these guidelines for granted. They have assisted in the design and layout of livestock barns, anaerobic digesters as well as in the planning and approval of development applications for houses. The whole

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intent of the MDS document is to prevent land use conflicts and minimize nuisance complaints from odour. Many conflicts in the countryside have been alleviated because dwellings and livestock facilities have been spaced out accordingly. That is not to say there have not been conflicts. I well remember sitting in on a hearing of the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board 20 years ago when a local hog farmer was taken to task by two neighbours for the smell coming from his barns. Ultimately, the board determined that the barns complied with MDS and the case was dismissed.

MDS guidelines are referenced in the Provincial Policy Statement (the province’s authoritative text on land use planning), County Official Plans and the Official Plans of local municipalities. All three levels of government are unanimous in their underscoring the importance of adhering to MDS for any building purpose. It just makes good sense to separate livestock, manure storages and people not farming. Why invite trouble when you don’t have to?

However, things are changing in the countryside. I would not have to convince anyone in the readership of The Rural Voice that the pressure to develop farmland and have more people living in proximity to livestock operations is increasing exponentially in this province. And one of our tools to ensure harmony between farming and non-farming neighbours is being watered down. A 12-house development, dubbed “estate lots”, situated on 25 acres across from our farm property in Bruce County has been approved by both lower-tier governments.

This proposal has a number of things incongruent with local official plans and the Provincial Policy Statement, namely, it is in a nonsettlement area (ie. outside of a town

or village), it is a ridiculously low density development, but the rub for us is related to minimum distance separation. At first, our livestock barns were ignored because they are currently unoccupied, but then, when the planner read the MDS Guidelines and discovered our barns have to be included, the calculated distance of 481 meters was relaxed through a minor variance to 307 meters. That “minor” variance is 56 per cent. That is major. That is like saying I can build my garage half way onto my neighbour’s property and it is okay.

So…why are my wife and I talking about this? Someone might say to us, “You are retired pork producers. You don’t currently have livestock on that site. Just keep quiet!” We talk about it because we love farming. We love agriculture and it’s not just about us. This situation goes far beyond our farm.

We care about the future of young livestock farmers and Ontario agriculture as a whole. We have felt very isolated in this process and we do not want to see the next generation of livestock farmers ignored and hamstrung by provincial and municipal politicians more interested in dollars from development than preserving the opportunity to farm.

We think politicians can protect agricultural land and farms and allow for meaningful development.

However, that will not happen by ignoring or throwing out tried and true planning tools like MDS. As livestock farmers, we cannot take for granted that these tools will be respected.

For Ontario Pork, other livestock associations, and general farm organizations, it is time to wake up, see the train coming down the track and stick up for the people who pay their dues and deserve to have their voice heard. We are fighting but we sorely need your help. ◊ May 2024 67

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

NEWSLETTER

519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 * The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Bruce County by the BCFA

Decisions on farmland and development create decades-long impacts

Some of the Politician meeting attendees: Ben Lobb MP Huron Bruce, Chris Cossitt BCFA President, Alex Ruff MP Grey Bruce Owen Sound, Keith Reid GCFA President, Brian Milne Grey County Warden, Chris Peabody Bruce County Warden, Lisa Thompson MPP Huron Bruce and Provincial Ag Minister and Rick Byers MPP Grey Bruce Owen Sound.

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ecently GCFA and BCFA hosted their 16th Annual Politicians Meeting. Representatives from Federal, Provincial and Municipal levels of government attended from each municipality as well as staff from each county. Commodity groups were also invited to share their concerns and along with featured speakers selected by the federations.

After welcoming all participants and introductions, chair Chris Cossitt shared BCFA activities as well as future plans for the group (our safe roads initiative was featured in last month’s article).

Following Chris, Grey County president Keith Reid gave the update on activities and upcoming events where the organization can be found promoting agriculture.

Commodity groups providing updates in person included Dairy Farmers, Sheep Producers, Beef Farmers, Georgian Bay Fruit Growers, ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services), Grey Sauble Conservation and Dairy Goats.

Providing information for sharing without presentations were Pork producers, Saugeen Conservation and

Chickens Farmers. All representatives formed a community panel for the elected officials to ask questions about current concerns.

Our first keynote was from Sara Epp Assistant Professor Rural Planning and Development at The University of Guelph. She discussed Measuring the Impacts of Developing on Farmland. Sara’s research is related to social and agricultural planning, examining issues related to farmland loss, agricultural viability, land use conflicts and social aspects of rural life.

Sara, with her diverse background in agricultural planning, including measuring farmland loss, exploring the value of Agricultural Advisory Committees and planning for agricultural expansion and local food development shared her expertise via a prerecorded presentation. A thought provoking comment made during discussions regarding rural development was that decisions made today by municipalities will be affecting not only today but also 20 and 30 years from now.

Continued on page 69

Bruce County Plowmen

Looking for Volunteers and to spread the word!

The International Plowing Match and Rural Expo is returning to Bruce County in 2026. It will mark the 50th Anniversary of the first IPM held in Bruce County. It will be held at the same site near Walkerton as the 1976 event!

Let's come together to make this event a success!

If you have any questions please reach out to 519-379-0821 or email: brucecountyipm@gmail.com

2024 Directors Meetings May 27 June 24 August 26 September 23 October 4 - Annual Meeting November 11

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

68 The Rural Voice

519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 Grey County Federation Email: grey@ofa.on.ca Website: greyfederation.ca of Agriculture * The Rural Voice is provided to OFA Members in Grey County by the GCFA

Next generation biofuels could create a clean energy hub in Grey and Bruce

2024 Directors Meetings June 12 August 14 September 11 October 18 - AGM November 13

Commodity group panel includes; Jennifer Stephens Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority, Keith Reid ALUS and Grey Sauble Conservation, Lindsay Dykeman Ontario Dairy Goats, Brian Gilroy Georgian Bay Fruit Growers, Jason Emke Sheep Producers and Todd Holm Dairy Farmers.

Continued from page 68 Ian Nokes from OFA shared information with the group about Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Renewable Generation Capacity Projects. He discussed concerns about decarbonizing Ontario’s electrical systems and affects for local municipalities as related to land use concerns.

Dan Pfeffer, lead for the Clean Energy and Environment team at PAA Advisory discussed carbon markets, energy efficiency and renewable energy production. He gave an overview of “next generation” biofuels like sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel with their implications for

agriculture in Grey and Bruce as a clean energy hub.

Paul Vickers finished off the day by updating everyone about the happenings out of OFA and answered questions on many topics such as land use, energy and costs of community services.

We were pleased to have had such a large crowd in attendance (pre Covid-19 numbers) to learn about the important agricultural issues that are present in our local counties. Addressing the importance of agriculture to our elected officials and media contacts is vital. If you are interested in the content that was shared during this local event, please reach out to our office. ◊

The province of Ontario has posted an up-dated Farm Guide for Farm Equipment on the Road.

Go to https://www.ontario.ca/page/farmequipment-highway for details.

Did you miss the Webinars on Farm Vehicles on the Road, or Easements on Farm Properties? Go to https://ofa.on.ca/resources/ ?xfilter=webinars or to YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ @ontariofarms

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

May 2024 69

Perth County Federation of Agriculture Office: 1-833-229-6834 Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Derek Van De Walle, President

Official plan needs to recognize importance of farmland

By Julie Danen PCFA Past President he County of Perth has released the draft version of their New Official Plan and is currently in the public outreach stage of their timeline. The Perth County Federation of Agriculture (PCFA) has been hard at work advocating for farmers and farmland in our County over the past couple of years to ensure that the New Official Plan works for agriculture. Here is what we have been up to.

In 2021, PCFA had meetings with the planning department regarding updates to the Natural Environment Consultation that would be part of the Official Plan. PCFA was concerned that farmers would have changes as to what was designated Natural Environment on their properties without knowing about it. So we requested that the county notify all landowners that had changes. At our request the County decided to notify all landowners in the County that had a greater than one per cent change in Natural Environment designation.

Perth County mailed out 2721 letters to landowners with changes in October of 2022. Landowners that were concerned were then able to contact the County to get a site visit to verify the mapping. These occurred during the fall of 2022 and throughout 2023. Due to these site visits and comments received during the Natural Environment Consultation the County removed the “meadows and thickets” designation as the majority of these during ground truthing turned out to be pasture fields.

In December of 2023 the draft of the New Official Plan was released and was followed up by four public consultation meetings in February by Perth County, of which PCFA attended to listen to farmers' concerns. After reviewing the plan we

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came up with several initial concerns that we have submitted to the County.

1. The timing for approving the Official Plan feels rushed and is not allowing for adequate consultation.

Also the Provincial Planning Statement has not been approved by the Provincial Government yet and could require changes to the Official Plan.

2. Density targets in settlement areas need to be increased to preserve the disappearing resource of productive farmland. More affordable housing needs to be built and not as many single family homes, which can turn our towns and villages into bedroom communities for Kitchener.

3. Do not create new settlement areas that overlap with Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) on existing agricultural properties. MDS is in place to minimize conflict between agricultural properties and the non-farming population due to Normal Farming Practices.

4. Due to the importance of Municipal Drains to Agriculture they should not be considered part of the Natural Environment System to allow for proper maintenance in accordance with provincial regulations.

5. When new lots are created we requested that as a condition of consent to sever, that the property require a statement on title recognising the Normal Farming Practices that will be taking place around it.

With agriculture being such a large economic driver in the County that contributes $2.7 billion to the Provincial GDP, we asked that stronger wording be put in place recognizing the importance of agricultural land in our community and protecting it from development.

For more detailed information and to follow what PCFA is working on regarding the Official Plan check out our website perthcountyfarmers.ca ◊

Display your Slow moving sign Have a safe spring and planting season

Coffee with a Cop: A Series Since January 2024, officers from the Perth County OPP have been hosting a new series called ‘Coffee With a Cop’, an opportunity to chat with members of the public, answer questions and make connections. They are held the second Thursday of the month.

Upcoming Dates: (locations rotate throughout the county) • May 9: Perth East • June 12: Mitchell, McDonalds • July 11: Listowel, Tim Hortons — Wallace Avenue No. For more details and updates of Perth East locations, follow OPP West Region on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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

70 The Rural Voice

Index

Alice Munro Festival ..................39 Allied Associates ..........................7 Bautec Industries Inc ..................58 Bernie McGlynn Lumber ............51 Bervie Supply Energy ................57 Bester Forest Products................51 Blyth Festival ......................Cover 7 Blyth Repository of History ..........6 Bushells Auto Sales ....................62 Canadian Co-operative Wool ....59 Chalmers Fuels ............................21 Clinton Spring Fair ......................41 Crafter’s Corner ..........................43 Crop Management ........................3 Crop Quest Inc ............................52 Cross County Eavestrough ........59 Daytrips & Destinations ............4, 7 Dundalk Distict Credit Union ......46 Easy Lift Doors Ltd ......................14 Farm To Table ........................15, 17 Feeney Design Build ..........Cover 5 Green Valley Heating Inc ............13 Greenville Liquid Plant Food ......47 Grey-Bruce Construction ..........58 GRK Products ............................48 Hanover Honda..............................8 Hardi ............................................71 Hayden Water Wells....................47 Highland Fuels & Supply ............53 Hill & Hill/Varna Grain ........Cover 2 Huron Motor Products ................45 H-P Public Health ..................41, 71 Home and Garden ..34, 35, 36, 37 JA Porter Holdings Ltd................54 Kenpal Farm Products ................55 Kingwood Bins....................Cover 6 LAC ..............................................59 Lakeside Shelving & Racking ....39 Legge Fitness ..............Back Cover Leon Brubacher ............................9 Lisa Thompson MPP ..................50 Live Landscape ..........................39 Lucknow Music In Fields ....Cover 4 Mapleview Agri Ltd ....................27 Marquardt Farm Drainage Ltd ....49 Martin Farm Wagons ..................23 Matthew Rae MPP ........................7 May Apple Financial ....................19 McLeod Water Wells Ltd ............53 Meeting Place Organic ..............39 Mental Health Awareness ..........13 Morris Sachs Silo Construction ..25 Nature’s Wave ............................49 North Huron Carpentry ..............58 Nuclear Waste Mgt ....................59 Nuhn Forage ................................19 Nu-Matic Systems Inc ................43 Outdoor Recreation ......................9

Oxford Honey ..............................53 Riverside Welding ........................10 RSC Forestry Mulching ..............45 Rural Voice Books ......................65 Saugeen Valley Cons Auth..........51 Schmidt’s Farm Drainage............58 Schweiss Doors............................21 Silver Creek Nursery ..................54 Stoneview Custom Service ........12

Superior Barn Painting ......Cover 6 SWO Diesel Inc ..................Cover 5 Tree Planting & Maintenance..2, 11 Usborne & Hibbert ......................50 WD Hopper & Sons ....................23 Waddell Engineering ....................9 Weber’s Farm Supply ..................50 Webwood Truss ..........................25 West Wawanosh Mutual Inc ..Cover 3

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Mount Forest 888-264-1229 maplelanefarmservice.ca

ROBERT’S FARM EQUIPMENT SALES Walton 519-887-6365 www.robertsfarm.com

HARDI NORTH AMERICA 1500 West 76th Street, Davenport, IA 52806 Phone: (563) 386-1730 · Fax: (563) 386-1280 E-mail: info@hardi-us.com · www.hardi-us.com

STAY CONNECTED FOLLOW US ON #SprayHARDI

May 2024 71

HURON

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

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

Huron County Federation of Agriculture hosts Local Politician Forum

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

Upcoming Events May 12th Happy Mother’s Day May 31st to June 2nd Clinton Spring Fair clintonspringfair.com May 20th Victoria Day

There will be NO HCFA Board of Directors Meeting in May

Congratulations The Huron County Federation of Agriculture hosted the Local Politician Forum in Clinton. In attendance to discuss a variety of issues facing farmers in Huron County were: pictured from left, MP Ben Lobb, MPP Lisa Thompson and HCFA President Murray Workman.

On Friday April 5th the HCFA hosted the annual MP/MPP Local Politician Forum at the Clinton Legion. Local farmers discussed a wide range of issues with Huron Bruce MP Ben Lobb and MPP Lisa Thompson and representatives from our local municipalities. All attendees received detailed briefing packages that were compiled by the HCFA, commodity representatives and our local MP and MPP. If you would like to see a copy of the briefing package, please contact the HCFA office and we can email you a copy.

The forum was a great opportunity for the farm community to share ideas and concerns with each other and with our local politicians so that all our politicians are aware of the needs of our agricultural community.

This year briefs were presented by our MP Ben Lobb, MPP Lisa Thompson and the commodities of Beef, Egg, Dairy, Chicken, Sheep, Grain, Pork The HCFA Farm Finance Committee, Property and Land Use Committee and Public Relations Committee.

Reminder ~ Share The Road The HCFA would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone to take care on area roads. Farm equipment uses roadways to travel between fields and farms and Slow Moving Vehicle Signs indicate that the vehicle can travel at a maximum of 40 km/hr.

Please be attentive and cautious on the road and only pass when safe to do so.

For more information visit www.ontario.ca/page/farm-equipment-highway

to HCFA director Erica Murray.

Erica has been elected as the new President of the Ontario 4‐H Council OPP Non-Emergency Line 1-888-310-1122

Room for Rent

The HCFA has a board room available for rent for $40 including HST. Call the HCFA office at 519-482-9642 ext 2 to book your meetings.

Huron Federation Office Hours Monday 9­12 and 1­4 Alternate Fridays 9­12 and 1­4

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

72 The Rural Voice

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Cell: 519-301-1502

Email: Matt@feeneydesignbuild.com

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Come celebrate with us!

June 12 - September 7 Tickets from $40 (Group and Youth discounts available)

The Farm Show: Then & Now Written by Theatre Passe Muraille with new additions by the Company Directed by Gil Garratt The show that started what is now the Blyth Festival.

In 1972 a group of actors came to Huron County to try to write a play about farming. The seeds they planted are still being harvested.

Artwork by Autumn Ducharme

Saving Graceland Written by Gil Garratt Directed by James MacDonald A (love me) tender tale of the bonds of family. It is 2019 in Clinton, ON, an Elvis impersonator unexpectedly ends up raising his grandchild. A play about the King and kincare.

Artwork by Autumn Ducharme

1.877.862.5984 I blythfestival.com

Why does a fitness store offer Organic Foods and Infrared Greenhouses?

2024 is our 36th Anniversary as a second generation family owned and operated business. However, we’re not just about fitness. We like to help our clients improve the health and wellbeing of their whole body. One big way is with real, good food.

The foods we eat will either contribute to illness or help promote wellness. To help people with healthy nutrition, we are a dealer for Pfenning’s Organic Farms and receive fresh weekly shipments. They are a family business since 1981, with 700 organic acres near New Hamburg, Ontario. To learn more, please go to https://www.leggefitness.com/products/organic-foods.

Our Listowel Store Display The Solexx™ Infrared Greenhouses allow people to extend their growing season, and enjoy their own natural, healthy and local produce. Come in and see the Solexx™ Infrared Greenhouse in our stores!

Why an Infrared Greenhouse? The Reasons are Growing!

• Solexx™ is made in the USA for over 40 years • 10 year warranty and won’t fade or yellow over time • Built with special twin wall panels that hold in the infrared heat • Solexx™ transmits full spectrum light, but blocks UV that harms plant growth • Reflects light to all areas of the greenhouse – no hot spots • Available in different size kits, or panels for your own custom structure • Built to withstand snow, wind, hail and severe weather.

LeggeFitness.com 1-800-695-7338

202 Main St. W., Listowel 105 Queen St W., Fergus

Your Family Fitness, Wellness and Mobility Store Since 1988!