The Rural Voice - September, 2020 - Free Sample

September 2020

Rural Voice

The

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Contents The

27

18

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 Publisher: Deb Sholdice

37 Columns Lisa B. Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Keith Roulston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Kate Procter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Jeffrey Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Mabel’s Grill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Gardening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Woodlots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Agrilaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Departments

Editor: Lisa B. Pot rveditorlisa@northhuron.on.ca

SEPTEMBER 2020 • Cover Photo Julie & Ethan Higginson. Photo

by RSL Photos, Rachel St. Louis

• Deadlines: Oct. Issue

– Sept. 15

Nov.Issue – Oct. 13

18 Daily Harrassment The abuse livestock truckers receive is beyond what most people would consider acceptable

23 Resiliency in Beef Farming Lack of processers prohibits growth for on-farm beef sales

27 All Sorts Farm Finds its Focus COVID-19 and consumer demands pushed sheep farmers to focus on gelato and yogurt

Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ruralite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 News & Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Business Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . .71

30 Making Lavender Essential

Newsletters

34 Drawing on History

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

Rural Voice

Bees, benches and rows of lavender making Essentially Lavender a day-trip experience

Contributing writers: Keith Roulston, Kate Procter, Jeffrey Carter, Rhea Hamilton Seeger, Arnold Mathers, Donna Lacey, Melisa Luymes, Anne Mann, Nancy Fisher, Dorothy Henderson, Bonnie Sitter, Gary Kenny, Jeff Tribe, Amanda Brodhagen, Bob Reid and Geoff Dale Mailed by: McLaren Press Graphics Bracebridge, ON Sales representative: Shelley Kroes rvads@northhuron.on.ca Production co-ordinator & Telemarketing: Joan Caldwell Advertising & editorial production: Dianne Josling PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40037593 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO CIRCULATION DEPT. PO BOX 429 BLYTH ON N0M 1H0 email: info@northhuron.on.ca Subscriptions: $20 (12 issues) $35 (24 issues), includes HST Back copies $2.75 each,U.S. rates, $65.00

Artist Ken Thornburn captures history with his pencils

37 Lots of honey, a few stings Huron Honey harvests its first batch of honey

All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial content may be reproduced only by permission of the publisher.

The Rural Voice makes every effort to see that advertising copy is correct. However, should an error occur, please notify The Rural Voice office within 30 days of invoicing in order to obtain a billing adjustment.

NH

ORTH URON

PUBLISHING COMPANY INC.

A division of North Huron Publishing Company Inc.

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

Let farm tax ratio issue rest The Editor, It is tragic to see the Huron County Federation of Agriculture (HCFA) still flailing away at the farm property tax ratio issue.

HCFA’s problems stem from its inability to admit the undeniable truth that we farmers aren’t innocent victims of the property tax implications resulting from higher farmland values, we’re the guilty parties who drove up the price of farmland in the first place. We caused the problem and therefore it’s our responsibility to shoulder the burden we placed on ourselves rather than

play the victim and concoct misleading arguments to try to foist our responsibilities off onto others.

In addition, the HCFA proposal to reduce the property tax ratio to where it was before farmland prices started to soar would serve only to penalize homeowners (our customers) and businesses (our suppliers) for having adhered to the sort of sound financial principles we farmers quite willingly threw out the window when we went on our land-buying, spending spree.

HCFA compounded its problems with its detour into what is or is not a subsidy, making a petulant swipe at Huron County that served only to reveal HCFA’s poor grasp of basic economic principles which dictate that a subsidy is any legislated entitlement whether received in cash or in the form of an avoided cost benefit.

Therefore, our 25 per cent tax rate on farmland very much is an avoided cost-benefit subsidy, a subsidy that is not shared by, for example, extractive industries. So, yes, because of the legislated, avoided cost property tax benefit we receive, Huron County was entirely correct to point out that

owners of Huron County farmland are being subsidized by non-farm property owners.

Even though I am a proud PastPresident of HCFA, I am appalled that HCFA’s poor understanding of basic economic principles led it to needlessly squander oodles of political capital by falsely accusing Huron County of making misleading statements and am also appalled to see HCFA continue to tie itself in knots over a problem HCFA refuses to admit we farmers caused in the first place. ◊ – Stephen Thompson, Clinton

Racism is a white problem The Editor, It was with some trepidation I started reading the piece titled “Wrestling with #blacklivesmatter” as is often the case with movements such as these, they aren’t spoken of too favourably in rural settings. But I couldn’t have been more wrong here.

Mel Luymes did a great job pointing out how racism is a WHITE problem and that we need to listen and support the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) in our communities (near and far). My only critique is that the end of the article was cut off.

On June 2 I shut our farm’s social media down and only “shared” posts

by Black people working in agriculture for the entire week and not only myself, but many others learned a lot about the struggles (and successes) of black farmers both currently and historically. I challenge all of your readers to seek those stories out, listen and learn. BIPOC have been growing our food for generations and generations, it’s time we give them the recognition they deserve. ◊ – Josh Suppan President of NFU Local 316 Editor’s Note: I apologize for the cutoff of the one, last, important word.

Here is the final paragraph in entirety from Mel’s excellent column: I bet it was deeply uncomfortable. But talking about it was the first step.◊

2 The Rural Voice

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“

Ruralite The driver was just doing his job

to help feed people around the world, delivering pigs to slaughter. He shouldn’t be

”

•

Negotiation

held responsible for activists unlawfully

“Instead of winning or losing,

swarming his truck.

or taking and getting, we talk

~Tyler Jutzi of Brussels Transport on the charges laid against one of his drivers after an incident involving the death of an animal rights activist at Sofina Foods in Burlington~

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}

SEPTEMBER INSPIRATION The farmer has patience and trusts the process. He just has the faith and deep understanding that through his daily efforts, the harvest will come. And then one day, almost out of nowhere, it does. ~ Robin Sharma

about goals. Your goals and the other person’s goals.” ~ Professional negotiator Anna De Paoli on wise methods of negotiation, while speaking at a Women in Ag Summit presented by Farm Credit Canada

Well Stated • Dust: Mud with the juice squeezed out.

• Mosquito: An insect that makes you like flies better.

• Chickens: The only animals you eat before it’s born and after it is dead.

•

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

• All of us could take a

Reader Photo: By Sally Souch

On Friday, July 10 Sally and her husband were out for a drive on Moncrieff Road when, at the corner of Martin Line, they saw this shelf cloud. Sally is a nature-lover and always has a camera with her so she captured the ominous cloud hovering over a pig farm. “It was intense and still and very eerie,” she reports.

lesson from the weather.

It pays no attention to criticism.

•

September 2020 5

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

Transformation

Unashamedly munching away on tomatoes meant to feed a family are tomatoe hornworms (right and below))  leaving skeletal plants and damaged fruit. The monarch caterpillar (bottom) does the same but on butterfly weeds grown especially for it.

The two monarch caterpillars we brought indoors hung in a J shape before bursting into a lovely green chrysalis with gold accents.

Prior to this event, the caterpillars were in a jar, munching milkweed leaves, dropping astonishingly large poops (called frass) on the paper towel in the jar. Not your typical table centrepiece, to be sure.

These poops, however, are nothing compared to the offerings the tomato hornworm leaves behind – they are literally fertilizing the garden. So why am I leaving them to denude the plant, chew through the ripening tomatoes and tick their displeasure whenever I get to close?

Well, someone told me that tomato

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Lisa B. Pot hornworms turn into hummingbird moths which are beautiful flyers resembling hummingbirds. Further research revealed that while the hummingbird moth is a sphinx moth and hornworms do turn into largegrey sphinx moths, they don’t turn into hummingbird moths. Clear as mud?

So now I have a disgusting tomato plant in my garden filled with frass with half-eaten tomatoes.

I can laugh at this. But it gave me pause to consider how I judge insects as either valuable or a pest. This year I planted some 20 butterfly milkweeds (Asclepias tuberosa) as I try to create a monarch waystation on my property. When several fat, striped Monarch cats (Danaus plexippus) munched the plants to bare stalks, I was thrilled!

So why am I squishing hornworms but not chubby plexippusses? Certainly monarch cats aren’t as disgustingly gross as the hornworms. Neither do I eat butterfly milkweed as I do the tomatoes I grew for my family. There’s obviously a food value here. Still, we humans are an arbitrary lot when it comes to nature, aren’t we? If you’re pretty you can live but if you’re ugly, you must die. If you eat weeds, you’re okay but if you eat my tomatoes, you must die. Only one or two of you?

Live! However, if you arrive in hordes (like the spring’s gypsy moth invasion) you must die.

Growing up, I was taught humans are the pinnacle of the food chain.

Our task is to be stewards of the earth, taking care of the plants and animals for our service. I still believe that and I’m pro-farmer all the way. I just find as I get older that being a “steward” needs redefining. Instead of the food chain resembling a pyramid as I was taught in school, I suspect it’s more interconnected, like a revolving and evolving circle.

I suspect human aging is not so different than a caterpillar’s metamorphosis: we are born and survive; we take and thrive; we pause and reflect; then cocoon and emerge lighter and (hopefully) wiser. It’s super cool, this transformation process, isn’t it? ◊

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Keith Roulston Keith is former publisher of The Rural Voice.

He lives near Blyth, ON.

A healthy world needs healthy soil As I read the farm papers that land regularly in our mail box, it strikes me that the biggest change I see in farming these days from when I started covering farm news is knowledge of, and care for, the soil.

I grew up in the beginnings of the chemical revolution in farming: fertilizers to make crops grow faster, pesticides to reduce competition from weeds and insects. Even when I began covering meetings in the 1970s, there was little talk about soil during crop seminars I attended. It was all about chemistry and new seed technology.

I remember what an eye-opener it was, about 30 years ago, when I

attended a meeting of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario at the old Grey Township Central School in Ethel, (now North Woods Elementary) and heard a soil scientist from McGill University, I believe, say something like the weight of all the bacteria, funguses and soil animals and insects below the earth’s surface was far greater than the life above the soil. (I couldn’t find the exact comparison in a Google search).

Somewhere along the way, mainstream farmers began to edge closer to organic farmers in their understanding that healthy soils are essential for healthy crops. First, those leading-edge farmers who liked to experiment, began to notice that there were more earthworms in the undisturbed soil of fencerows than in the cultivated portions of fields. Then they began to experiment with planting equipment, often making their own modifications back then, to allow them to disturb the soil less.

The emphasis of university research changed along the way, too, with more emphasis being given to soil science and the importance of

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Mainstream farmers began to learn from organic farmers about practices like cover crops to keep the soil covered after crops like wheat or soybeans are harvested. Speaking at the Summit of Canadian Soil Health last fall, Mario Tenuta, University of Manitoba soil scientist said: “Flying over southern Ontario in the fall it’s amazing how much cover is on the land, compared to what you see on the Prairies.”

Researchers and leading farmers also recognized that plant diversity on top of the soil added to the diversity and health below the soil’s surface. They’re experimenting with different crop rotations and multivariety cover crops.

Ironically, none of this is new.

Over 200 years ago, Thomas Jefferson, a farmer and conservationist as well as U.S. founding father and President, used vetch, turnips, peas, and clover as cover crops and in rotation on his Virginia plantation to build soil that he knew was being depleted with his tobacco cash crop.

And some of the good things we used to do on the mixed farms of my childhood are sorely missed in building healthy soils. Farmers in those days before cash cropping, had a crop rotation that included hay fields and pasture (and cover crops when wheat, oats and barley fields were under-seeded with clovers).

Tenuta worries if more consumers refuse to eat beef and dairy products there will be less land used for forage and more for annual crops.

That’s the irony in the debate about saving the climate by eating less meat because cattle are supposed to be so bad for the environment, between their expelling methane and their use of the earth’s resources. One of the solutions to reducing CO2 in the air is to store it in healthy soil, but to have healthy soil, pasture and hay fields are important.

The farm papers I read show that farmers and soil scientists have come a long way in re-evaluating the importance of soil health. Now we just need environmental scientists and consumers to learn the same lessons.◊

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

The Procter Rockets riding to raise funds for childhood cancer Terry Fox has been a hero for most of my life. He started his Marathon of Hope in April 1980. I remember seeing him on the news and watching as attention grew to him and what he was. I never got to see him in person, and that way of raising money was a foreign concept to us. I was lucky that I didn’t have the experience to really understand what he was doing and why.

Terry Fox ran 5,373 km in 143 days on a specially designed prosthetic leg that he used to replace his own that was taken by cancer. Of course, having Terry Fox as a hero is not very unusual. You’d be hard pressed to find a Canadian who doesn’t list Terry Fox as a hero. He is the youngest person to be made Companion of the Order of Canada, he was awarded the 1980 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year, and has been named a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada. He has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the annual Terry Fox Run held across the country has raised more than $800 million for cancer research.

Terry continues to inspire people around the world – including other athletes who have started their own fundraising activities for worthwhile causes. Will Dwyer, a World War II Veteran has been having an annual walk for the Terry Fox Foundation for over 39 years and last year hit his goal of raising $1 million.

I started participating in fundraising events in 2002 by running a marathon for the Children’s Hospital 10 The Rural Voice

much, only 9 km every day. He also in the London Health Sciences Centre. I like the running part a lot pointed out that he had just hit the more than the asking for money part, 6,000 km mark on his bike that he but was amazed by the generosity of got two and a half years ago. My Dad people. Since then, I usually do at was equally active on his stationary least one event every year, and bike. I quickly did the math on that especially enjoy participating in the local Terry Fox Run. It is a social event – part celebration of survivors and part memorial. It is always inspiring to see the teams of family and friends who come out faithfully year after year.

More information about runs and donating can be found at the Terry Fox Foundation website at https://terry fox.org/.

This year many charity events have The Procter Rockets took to their bikes to raise been cancelled or money for the Children’s Hospital in the London changed and things we Health Sciences Centre. Kate, her dad George and normally do in the sister Jennifer (above) have set a goal of cycling summer are just not an 1,200 kilometres along with other team members. option. One night I was noodling around on the internet and realized that I better up my game and stumbled across the Great Cycle or I’d be left in their dust!

Challenge. I read into it a little bit We are now almost to the halfway and discovered that the fundraiser mark of our August challenge as I started in 2016, has raised over write this. I am amazed to report that $12,412,026 in support of research to our team, with more members – develop treatments and find a cure Arnie Spivey, Anne Procter, and for childhood cancer. I loved the Sick Helen Otterman – has just hit $5,530 Kids Foundation vision – “a world in donations and we’ve cycled almost without cancer where all kids are half of our 1,200 kilometre team living life, not fighting for it.” goal. https://great cyclechallenge.ca/ My Dad, Jennifer, and I have been On further investigation, I able to explore and enjoy some of the discovered that the riding could most beautiful parts of Ontario on happen throughout the month of various rail trails that are perfect for August and could happen anywhere. people of all abilities. We are lucky I signed up and told my sister, to have a supportive pit crew: my Jennifer Cooper, about it. Twentymom, Elizabeth Procter, who drives four hours later, Jennifer and my the vehicle and meets us at the other Dad, George Procter, were both on end of our ride. We’ve had lots of board and we formed a team – The picnics looking at the water and meet Procter Rockets. I set a personal goal others who are cycling in the same of cycling 150 km, wondering if I Challenge. It is inspiring to be part of could fit that in – it sounded like a something bigger than us and to get lot. out into our beautiful natural areas.

My uncle Charlie, who is 96, And for the more competitive members of our family – watching regularly rides a stationary bike. We the kilometers add up for other team asked him if he’d be interested in members also provides some joining our team and he told us he inspiration! ◊ would, but that he didn’t ride very

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September 2020 11

Jeff Carter me to continue. their observation point on the back I tell her of the cemetery crew, porch and I stepped back myself, back in the days when the Town of calculating the direction that chain Dresden was exactly that and not part might possibly fly. of Chatham-Kent. They came to our Afterwards, I asked the fellows if backyard with the offer they’d like a case of of a mix of subsoil, top beer as recompense. soil and faded plastic “They wouldn’t flowers. take beer, Pinkie, but We wanted a garden one fellow suggested rather than a pool. The a case of regular “When someone offers you circular hole left after Coke. I remember his something, take it and say thanks. the pool’s removal, a grin still when I That’s what my father told me, foot or so in depth, dropped it off a Pinkie.” needed filling. couple days later.”

“Did he offer advice often?”

The old truck was August has arrived “Hardly ever. I think with this successfully backed with an edge of particular example, one of only a through a narrow side coolness after July’s handful I can recall, his idea was to yard and then further heat, and with two provide a bit of balance to my yet, its rear duals inches of rain, as “Leave them for the birds mother’s attitude. Mom looked for dropping into the hole. well, the plants have hidden meaning, when any gift came Not a problem for the and the bees.” responded in kind. her way.” intrepid crew.

“So many shades “There’s merit in that point of The tractor and backhoe used for of green, and it’s alive with insects,” view too, I think,” Pinkie offers, as excavations was brought into play, Pinkie observes. we make our way to the edge the backed through the side yard as well, “See those green plants with the garden. and attached to the truck with a long, little yellow flowers. They look like “True, but the fear of subterfuge, heavy chain. As the tension weeds, but they’re not.” limits possibility, like this garden, for increased, I suggested my wife and “Tomatillos?” instance. our two young children retire from “That’s right Pinkie. They sow Her raised eyebrow, tells themselves, I pull a few but leave the rest. Same with the cilantro and dill, the sunflowers, and one year we had a prodigious yield of unplanned butternut squash.”

“What do you do with the sunflowers?”

“Leave them for the bees and the birds. When so much is freely offered, seems only fair. Besides, the birds eat bugs and I suppose their droppings provide benefit as well.”

“So even that pigweed has a family neighbours wisdom intuition dreams place?”

“Yes, Pinkie, a place in my compost bin. Feel free to add it and, Contact: as you do, enjoy the therapeutic Larry Batte Jordan Bowles benefits.”

MNP Clinton office MNP Stratford office “Like exercise,” Pinkie says, T: 519.606.8550 T: 519.272.0000 bending to remove the plant, “and the sweet smell of living earth. I feel profoundly connected, too, and it has nothing to do with my cell phone.”

A breeze springs up at that movement. Pinkie observes its unseen hand for a moment and says, “Just think, your garden may never have had its start without the offer of free fill.”

“And you wouldn’t be here either, I think.” ◊ Jeff is a freelance journalist based in Dresden, Ontario.

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“So I went to the lumber yard the other day to get some pressuretreated wood to fix the broken board in the deck that my wife’s been complaining about, and they told me it would be a week before they can get me any,” said Cliff Murray. “It’s fine by me, ’cause I can tell her I tried, but now I have a week to think of something more pressing so I can say I don’t have time.”

“What’s the big demand for lumber?” Dave Winston wondered.

“Apparently so many people have time on their hands that they’re taking on do-it-yourself projects at home,” said Cliff.

“Good grief, this pandemic business is having the strangest effects,” said George Mackenzie.

“Tell me about it!” said Molly Whiteside as she delivered their

coffee and George’s breakfast to the table in Mabel’s parking lot. “My brother’s wife in Toronto is working from home and she wanted something to keep her kids busy so she rented these baby ducks from this farm near Peterborough. She paid $165 for three. She is not a waitress, obviously.”

“She rented them for $165?” asked Dave, incredulously. “I mean she could have bought them for what – $10 or $15 at most?”

“Yes, well they did have a nice little package with feed and shavings and all,” Molly explained.

“I suppose it’s cheaper than a babysitter,” said Cliff.

“The problem is, she found out that when she gives them back they might end up as roast duck and her kids had a fit,” Molly said. “Now she’s trying to find some animal shelter that takes ducks.”

“I gotta hand it to these guys,” said George, shaking his head. “They might have the only farm in Ontario that makes a decent profit this year.”

“I wonder if it would work with pigs?” wondered Dave. “I mean for $165, I could let them keep them for

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three or four months – as long as they provided the feed.”

“Pigs aren’t as cute as ducklings,” said Molly.

“They are when they’re babies,” Dave replied. “After a few months I gotta admit they lose their cuteness.”

“My lambs would pass the cuteness test,” Cliff said, “but I’m not sure I’d be happy if they wanted to take them to an animal shelter instead of giving them back.”

“Well I’m not even going to think about trying to rent out a calf,” said George. “But it does give me an idea.

The other night I was watching this old Billy Crystal movie where he and a few of his city buddies paid money to a rancher to take part in a cattle drive? You think we could charge people to work around the farm?”

“You planning on driving your cattle to the packing plant, George?”

Dave laughed.

“If I do it will be in a cattle truck,” George replied.

“It would be interesting to see what those animal rights protesters would do if they found themselves in the way of a hundred charging steers, though, wouldn’t it,” Dave said with a glint in his eye.

“Seems to me we’re in the same fix as the cuteness deficit with our livestock,” Cliff said. “There just aren’t many jobs on the farm city folks would be interesting in doing.”

“Maybe driving a combine,” said Dave, “but I’m not sure if I found somebody who’d pay me to castrate pigs that he’s the sort of guy I want on the farm.”

“How about you, Molly? Do you think anyone would pay Mabel to be a waitress?” asked George.

“Oh sure, there’s a line-up of people wanting to be on their feet all day, taking orders and delivering plates and getting reamed out if Mabel puts the price of her hamburgers up a nickel because the price of beef went up a dime,” she said glaring at George.

“Hey, don’t blame me. I sure didn’t get that dime,” said George.

“Ha! Bet the person who complained about the price of hamburgers is the sort of person who rents ducklings,” said Dave.

“Nah, it was my mother,” shrugged Molly.◊

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

Revitalizing Cuban farming and an old Belarus tractor I never dreamed that during a vacation in Cuba my wife, Deborah, would be smitten with a run-down Soviet Union-era tractor in need of repair, and become its champion.

The dilapidated old Belarus mtz 50 wasn’t much to look at. “Seen better days” – that kind of thing. But then, Deborah could say the same about me.

And did. I guess I should have greeted her initial expression of interest in the Belarus with more enthusiasm.

Deborah encountered the sadlooking Belarus in early February during a week-long, pre-COVID-19lockdown visit we made to the Caribbean country. We designed the trip primarily to be a cultural and educational experience. Cuban farming was something we especially wanted to learn more about.

Thanks to a former colleague of mine, a visit to El Retiro farm (The Retreat, in English) near the city of Cardenas was arranged. That’s where

Deborah encountered the ailing, idle Belarus, to which I’ll return.

El Retiro is a 32-hectare, nationally-recognized organic farm.

It’s stewarded by Cuba’s Christian Center for Research and Development (CCRD), an outreach organization committed to principles of social justice. The farm grows a diversity of fruits and vegetables and distributes them, whole and processed, to local citizens who are food insecure. Think of a “meals on wheels” program, Cuban style.

Our hosts, Ivette and Luis, accompanied us on a tour of the farm’s food processing facilities, crop fields, orchards, a piggery, and vegetable gardens. Hundreds of metres of raised beds grew cabbages, beans, corn, tomatoes and more. Luis explained how integrating agroecological principles and organic methods had enabled El Retiro’s farmers to grow robust, nutrientdense produce.

El Retiro and Cuba’s other organic farms grew out of a transformative moment in Cuba’s history. Cuban agriculture had relied heavily on Soviet imports – tractors like El Retiro’s Belarus, farm implements, fuel, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, all that ended. Cuba lost its main agricultural supply chain. It also lost its preferential market – sugar cane was Cuba’s predominant crop and most had been exported to the Soviet bloc. Coupled with the ravages of a continuing trade embargo imposed after the revolution by the United States (U.S.), the Cuban economy tanked.

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Cuba’s agricultural sector was devastated. As Luis explained, without fuel and spare parts, tractors and harvesters sat idle. Crops were wasted and hundreds of thousands of farm animals reportedly died from the loss of imported feed. Because so much farmland was dedicated to sugar cane, most food for domestic consumption had been imported from the Soviet Union.

Widespread food insecurity followed. Ivette and Luis told us of people fainting in the streets from hunger, rationed food for children, and a diet of sugar water for adults.

The average Cuban lost more than 12 pounds during this time, Ivette said.

The Cuban government dubbed the time “the special period” – a euphemism for a time of trauma for many.

With many large governmentowned farms failing, President Fidel Castro’s government set about devising new ways to feed its people.

It made environmental sustainability and food security primary policy objectives, and introduced the Programme for Local Agrarian Innovation (PLAL).

Large state-owned farms were broken up into smaller workermanaged cooperatives. Farm titles were issued to some 250,000 farmers, covering nearly two million hectares. They’re not ownership titles – 79 per cent of Cuba’s land is stateowned – but they give the holder the right to till the land in perpetuity.

Castro then instructed farmers to innovate and grow food sustainably, without the aid of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

And so Cuba’s food-focussed organic farming movement was born.

British political economist George Lambie called the shift “the largest conversion from conventional agriculture to [organic farming] the world has ever known.”

Farmers responded to Castro’s challenge. Oxen replaced idle tractors. Large-scale composting initiatives provided needed fertilizer.

And agroecological principles and organic growing methods were put into practice.

Vegetables are the mainstay of

Viewpoint Cuba’s organics at present. Land that once produced only sugar now grows a diversity of rotated crops including corn, beans, cassava and cereals for local markets and consumption.

Today more than 250 farm cooperatives comprising some 50,000 farmers across Cuba are enrolled in PLAL. Each cooperative can include anywhere from half a dozen to hundreds of small family farms.

By the end of the 1990s, Cuba had made a dramatic shift toward the sustainable organic practices Castro had called for. Today, more than 20 percent of Cuba’s domestic agricultural production is organic, up from zero some 15 years ago.

“Over the past 15 years, Cuba has developed into an eco-socialist nation by becoming the world’s leader in organic agriculture,” said independent journalist, Garry Leech.

Cuba still struggles to feed itself.

Many farms remain conventional, accessing inputs where they can. But local organic farms have emerged as one way that Cuba could achieve independent food security.

Should the U.S. ever lift its punishing trade embargo on Cuba, it’s possible that industrial farming may return in force and supplant some of the focus on organics.

Farmers like those at El Retiro hope not. They view local organicallygrown food as a vital part of the solution to Cuba’s chronic food shortages.

Some farmers even say it’s the future of Cuba’s socialist revolution.

Back to the Belarus mtz 50.

Deborah asked Luis how much repairs would cost. “About US $800,” he said. That’s a significant amount of money in Cuban terms.

Deborah said that, back in Canada, she would try to raise at least some of the funds.

A retired United Church minister, Deborah has ties to several rural congregations. Within two weeks she had raised more than twice the amount needed for repairs to the Belarus.

Well done, Deborah. Or, as they say in Spanish, buen trabajo! ◊

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Trucking

Would you drive a livestock truck?

• By Shawn Loughlin and Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot •

Livestock industry rallies around truck driver charged after death of a protestor while transport companies believe this is a precedentsetting case Finding drivers was already difficult for livestock trucking companies such as Brussels Transport. What will happen now?

T

iming is everything and in the case of the animal rights activist’s fatality in Burlington and subsequent death threats towards the driver, one piece of legislation might have protected everyone.

No more proof is needed for the necessity of Bill 156 to protect farmers, processors and livestock drivers from trespass, harassment and abuse than the incident which took place on June 19 in Burlington when a Brussels Transport truck struck and killed 65-year-old animal rights advocate Regan Russell. Russell was a member of the Toronto Pig Save group, which had been protesting in front of Sofina Foods in Burlington.

The accident happened a day after Bill 156 – Ontario’s Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act was given royal assent.

On July 20, Halton Regional Police charged the driver (whose name has not been released) with careless driving causing death. The charge could result in a fine of between $2,000 and $50,000 and up to two years in jail. However, in a press release, the Halton Regional Police service said “there were no grounds to indicate that this was an intentional act, or that a criminal offence has been committed.”

Since then, the incident has become an international event with dramatic twists and turns. A bounty letter looking for details of the driver was published in the Ontario Farmer, creating a massive upswing in support for 18 The Rural Voice

the driver, who is facing a legal battle since being charged.

A GoFund Me page to support the driver is growing steadily with the amount currently at $105,000 at the time this article was written in August.

The support has been financially and mentally supportive for the driver who, like all livestock drivers, routinely faces harassment and verbal abuse from animal rights activists who routinely call the drivers “murderers and killers”.

Reading the hate online via Facebook pages of Toronto Pig Save and New Wave Activism (two groups that protest at Sofina) is chilling. Comments include threats of burning Brussels Transport to the ground and vigilante justice while calling the driver vicious names. Another group, the Animal Liberation Front, focuses more on property destruction and animal liberation.

“It’s fair to say that many of these drivers experience a level of harassment that most of us would find unacceptable in a workplace. Their trucks are their workplace,” says Stacey Ash, Manager of Communications and Consumer Marketing for Ontario Pork, which represents the 1,200 pork farmers in the province who rely on livestock truckers to transport their animals. “What the drivers experience is not what anyone would consider normal and acceptable behaviour. It’s not just people shouting things at them. It’s doors being pulled open, objects thrown at their trucks and threats made to them and

their families online.”

As the case moves forward, it could mean major changes for the livestock industry as businesses like Brussels Transport already have a difficult time finding good, licensed drivers.

“Good quality AZ and DZ drivers are in very high demand, not just for livestock but for any type of trucking,” explains Susan Fitzgerald, executive director of the Ontario Livestock Transporters’ Alliance, a group that she says represents 80 per cent of commercial hog transportation in the province.

“Drivers have an option as to where they can work and it has been challenging to find drivers.” yler Jutzi, co-owner and vicepresident of Brussels Transport says he really thinks this could be a precedent-setting case when it comes to livestock transportation and animal rights protests. While Jutzi says protestors need to have the right to voice their opinions in a peaceful manner, livestock drivers who are lawfully doing their jobs need to be protected and allowed to do their work. If the charges stick and result in a hefty fine or jail time, it will be a major blow to the industry and could result in people steering clear of it for fear of what legal trouble they may endure as a result, Jutzi said.

“The whole industry should be taking this very seriously,” Jutzi said.

“If the charges stick, how many drivers will just pick up and go drive something else?”

Everyone is watching the case unfold and those on both sides of the debate are dissatisfied with the charges that were laid against the livestock driver. Jutzi says the charges are unjustified as the driver was simply doing his job, deserving to do so without having his truck blocked and accosted by protestors.

“This charge is not acceptable to the driver, other drivers in the industry or the agricultural community as a whole,” Jutzi wrote on his GoFundMe page. “The driver was just doing his job to help feed people around the world, delivering pigs to slaughter. He shouldn’t be held responsible for activists unlawfully swarming his truck.

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spots of heavy equipment. Activists that verbally harass drivers in the workplace. Activists that give unknown liquids to the pigs. All of these activities are carried on while Halton Police watch and fail to act.”

Animal rights activists, however, feel the charges are far too lenient and have since staged protests in numerous cities across the country urging the Halton Police to file criminal charges against the driver.

On July 17, the Toronto Pig Save group held a “Justice for Regan” rally in Toronto, marching from Front Street to Queen’s Park.

Russell’s family has called for a provincial inquest into her death, saying not only would it provide the whole story of what happened to Russell that day, but it would also help keep activists safe at future protests.

From Jutzi’s perspective, this incident, which he says is very unfortunate, is the culmination of a tumultuous coexistence between the livestock transportation drivers and animal activists that has been alive and well at that Burlington location since he began working for his family’s company nearly 10 years ago.

There had always been animal rights protestors on the site, he said, but they had been confined to areas where they couldn’t interfere with the trucks on the road. However, in recent years, they’ve moved into a more visible area of the site and will rush out in front of a truck, holding it up for between two and five minutes, according to Jutzi. During that time, they will reach into the truck to pet the pigs, give them fluid from bottles, likely water, though he can’t confirm it, and berate the truck drivers.

Jutzi says he has personally been accosted by protestors at the site, being called a murderer and being compared to Adolf Hitler simply for transporting animals to a processing plant, which his family’s company has been doing lawfully for decades.

The pushback against the company, especially online, has been intense, Jutzi said, and it has taken its toll on the driver in question as well as other employees.

Animal rights activists have been 20 The Rural Voice

The vitriol and hate being directed towards livestock drivers is shocking to read on animal rights activist pages but an outpouring of support on a GoFundMe page started by Tyler Jutzi of Brussels Transport to help his driver pay for legal bills is helping the driver cope financially and emotionally during this overwhelming situation.

discrediting the company online, he said, posting pictures of current employees and their families online where they are subject to threats. In addition, there have been some physical breaches of privacy. Jutzi says there have been videos posted online of people standing outside of the Brussels Transport site and some people have even made their way onto the private property to photograph the licence plates on personal vehicles of drivers.

It has been intimidating, Jutzi said, especially with his parents still living in a house on the business’s property. Activists, Jutzi said, have been actively working to uncover the identity of the driver and find out where he lives, which has taken a great toll on the driver and his family.

Jutzi says he has been overwhelmed by the support the driver and Brussels Transport have received online. While the money has been nice and will go a long way to mounting a suitable legal defence for the driver, for Jutzi it’s about the support from not just the local community, but from the livestock transportation community as a whole.

That community has been staging its own protest in terms of asking Halton Regional Police to keep protestors on the sidewalks for everyone’s safety.

“Individual truck drivers have no control over the actions of protestors,” explains Fitzgerald.

“They will swarm the truck and trailer in groups from five to 50. It’s not safe for them. It’s not safe for the drivers. It’s not safe for the animals.”

Especially in summer when it’s hot and humid. When protestors stop trucks from entering the processing plant, the pigs get hot and stressed.

All the noise and action excites the pigs, which start moving around, which increases the heat in the truck.

“It becomes an animal welfare concern as well,” adds Fitzgerald. ood safety is also an issue.

When Ernie Hardeman, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs introduced the legislation last year, he said: “Interfering with the operations of farms, food processing businesses, and livestock transporters not only puts the health and safety of our agrifood workers and farm animals at risk, but also jeopardizes our food safety.”

The Ontario Livestock Transporter’s Alliance maintains that these protests create an unsafe situation. “We have been discussing this situation with Sofina, Ontario Pork and Halton Police for over four years,” says Fitzgerald.

The Alliance is now putting their hope in Bill 156 to discourage protestors and activate Halton Police to charge protestors who disrupt the trucks and harass the drivers.

“A lot of that act deals with trespass on farms and facilities but

F

the important piece for livestock truckers is in Section 6,” says Fitzgerald. Section 6 prohibits persons from interfering with a motor vehicle that is transporting farm animals and from interfering or interacting with the farm animals in the motor vehicle without the prior consent of the driver of the motor vehicle. While the act has received royal assent, enabling regulations for the act still have to be written and it will be months before it comes into effect.

In the meantime, Ontario Pork, in support of its partners, has been asking for firsthand accounts from truck drivers to get an accurate representation out there. They will use their social media account to share their stories.

“Part of what we do is to make sure voices are heard and stories reach the public,” says Ash. More of the Brussels Transport driver’s story can be found on the GoFundMe page online at https://ca.gofundme.com/f/help-thebrussels-transport-driver. ◊

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Beef

Customer highs/processing lows

The COVID-19 pandemic has opened up marketing opportunities for beef farmers such as Julie and Ethan Higginson of Meaford who raise Angus-Simmental-cross cattle but at the same time, finding a place to process the cattle has become a real issue.

Beef farmers have eager customers but with butchers booked, processing cattle

S

ince the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for locally-produced meat has grown significantly. However farmers raising the meat, especially those in the beef sector, have faced their own set of challenges trying to get their beef processed. Even prior to the pandemic, beef processing capacity in Eastern Canada, especially in Ontario and Quebec, was and still is experiencing a backlog.

To make matters worse, the already fragile food supply chain took another hit with outbreaks in packing plants.

The need for workers to maintain social distancing has made it hard for many farmers to get their beef processed, especially for custom-cut-and-wrap orders from the farm gate to the consumer. Locally within our readership, as reported in last month’s The Rural Voice – the fire and subsequent closing of Green’s Meat Market in Wingham left many beef farmers in Huron County and area without a place to get their beef processed.

Despite these processing challenges, Grey County beef farmers like Julie and Ethan Higginson in Meaford, are showing resiliency during these uncertain times. The young farm couple own and operate a 65-cow herd of Angus and Simmental-cross cattle and farm around 500 acres of rented land that includes pasture, hay and soybeans and say that they’ve experienced an increased demand for their beef since the pandemic started.

for meat is a pressing issue • By Amanda Brodhagen • “We had a goal for how many animals we wanted to butcher for 2020 and we have already reached it,” said Julie Higginson. “One of the challenges we have been experiencing is our butcher is all booked up for the year.”

The Higginson family is thankful they already had animals booked for each month of the year prior to the pandemic, but with a year like this one, they wish they could process more cattle.

Beef Farmers of Ontario, along with other non-supply managed commodity groups have been lobbying both the federal and provincial governments to come up with an aid package to help farmers survive the volatility and losses that they’ve been experiencing due by COVID-19. The Ontario Government announced recently that they’re topping up the additional $50 million to the province’s voluntary risk management program (RMP), sooner than expected, originally set for the 2021 RMP year for a total commitment of $150 million per year. While this September 2020 23

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investment, which was one of Premier Doug Ford’s election promises, is welcomed by the sector, beef farmers say that more needs to be done to address some of the bigger issues like processing capacity challenges that the industry has been dealing with for the last couple of years, but up until now that has fallen on deaf ears of government.

“We believe if the government put more focus on supporting small and large abattoirs that could increase kill capacity, that the industry would be in a better position to meet the demand for local meat,” said Higginson. When there’s a variety of both small and large processers, the meat industry is more robust and able to withstand the challenges like with what COVID-19 has created.

This is only the Higginson’s second summer selling freezer beef and navigating the marketing in a good year is hard enough let alone during a wild-card year that we’ve been experiencing. Each year, the Higginsons keep back as many calves as they think they can market.

When their calves reach 800 lbs., they finish them on a corn-based diet until they reach about 1300+ lbs.

For their marketing program they sell individual cuts, beef boxes and bulk orders including, quarters and sides of beef. “We have noticed a lot more bulk orders than usual during this pandemic,” said Higginson. “We also supply beef to local storefronts as well as ground beef and stewing beef for businesses offering pre-made meals.”

Storefronts include, Goldsmith’s Orchard Market, Grandma Lambe’s, Giffen’s Country Market, Ravenna Country Market, The Farmer’s Pantry, and Tesoro Mercato. The Higginsons also supply Northern Pet Nutrition Treat & Food Co. liver for their dehydrated dog treats.

“The presentation of our product is important to us and we are very pleased with what our butcher does,” explained Higginson. Their breeding program consists of Angus for their marbling characteristics and Simmental cattle for bigger-framed animals.

Since COVID-19, the Higginsons have made the decision to stop all farm pickups and have switched to

Many farmers are creating online shops, including Julie and Ethan Higginson of Meaford who are finding it a more efficient way to manage beef orders.

However, finding customers is not the problem right now. There is a bottleneck in the industry due to the lack of community abbatoirs, an issue that has frustrated the beef industry for years and was further exacerbated by the loss of Green’s Meat Market in Wingham last month.

no-contact deliveries. “We trust people to e-transfer us post-delivery and we have had no issues,” said Higginson.

The farm couple has also been working diligently towards building their online beef shop on their website as a more efficient way to manage beef orders.

“As of right now, roughly half or more of our beef supply is sold through local storefronts. Many people also message us on social media or email to make a private order,” said Higginson.

Their customer base is comprised of mostly from Meaford and surrounding communities. “Our local customer group has definitely grown during COVID-19 with people recognizing the importance of supporting local as well as people wanting to stock up to make less trips to the stores and the fear of little supply at grocery stores,” said Higginson.

The pandemic has helped this couple starting out in the beef industry grow their freezer beef

business and they’re hopeful that they can retain as many customers as possible once the pandemic is over.

Higginson’s advice for young people starting out in the beef business: “Don’t be afraid to take reasonable risks. There is nothing wrong with failure. If you haven’t experienced it, you’re not pushing yourself to your full potential.”

Passionate about seeing other young producers succeed, the Higginsons, along with some of their farming friends, have started a young producers’ group, organizing farm tours as a way to connect with people their age and share ideas.

“The most encouraging thing about being a young producer is the support of the beef farming community. It’s heartwarming to witness the effort other people make to share their knowledge and experiences in this industry,” said Higginson.

You can follow the Higginson’s farm adventures on Instagram and Facebook at @higginsonfarms. ◊ September 2020 25

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26 The Rural Voice

Sheep

A twisty journey leads to sweet reward • By Lisa B. Pot •

When demand for online farm products exploded during COVID-19, All Sorts Acres found their focus Jennifer Osborn and Tim Fisher with their farm mascot, Neville, a bottle-fed sheep who enjoys his humans. The couple run All Sorts Acres Farm near Ayton, a sprawling 50 acres with pasture for the sheep they milk to create creamy gelato ice cream. It’s this ice cream along with sheep milk. kefir and yogurt that became popular with Torontonians during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A

ll Sorts Acres Farm near Ayton really had “all sorts” of animals and ideas from its owners, Jennifer Osborn and Tim Fisher.

Surprisingly, it was the COVID-19 pandemic that provided the impetus for the life and business partners to become a profitable micro-dairy raising milking sheep to create sheep milk gelato, kefir and yogurt.

During the height of the pandemic, when cities and businesses were shut down, a Toronto magazine ran a story about farms producing homegrown products that were offered online. All Sorts Acres was one of the featured farms.

“The next day, Jennifer’s phone started buzzing and we had $1,000 in online sales in one day,” remembers Tim. He still feels disbelief how COVID-19 brought focus to a farm that was raising sheep for meat, for fibre and for milk.

They enjoyed all three but which one would ultimately become the most profitable? Indeed, the journey to

establish a farm in the first place hasn’t been nearly as smooth as the creamy sheep-milk gelato they create in their on-farm commercial kitchen.

Jennifer, who studied fine arts, illustration and web design, always wanted to be a farmer. Tim is a mechanical designer working in research and development for an electronics company in Toronto. While Jennifer is the animal lover, they share a combined passion for whole animal farming along with all the ecological buzzwords: sustainability, regenerative agriculture, permaculture, organic and biodynamic.

With these ideals, they rented a farm near Guelph and started building up a sheep herd after being gifted a couple of Shetland sheep, a small wool-producing breed. They believe each species on the farm – from the chickens, to ducks, to sheep – must perform more than one function.

Initially, that involved using the sheep as lawn mowers, an enterprise that was all work and little profit. The idea of September 2020 27

milking sheep came to Jennifer and Tim after visiting Best Baa Dairy near Fergus.

“That really intrigued me,” remembers Jennifer.

“What had been kind of a hobby was turning into a lot of work and at some point, we knew it had to become a profitable business with a business plan.”

In 2014, their rental agreement on the Guelph farm expired and the couple needed to find a home for themselves and their 50 sheep. It was time to get serious and create a business plan, buy a farm and make some money

with value-added products.

So they did. With support from family and grant money, they bought a 50-acre existing sheep dairy near Ayton and began crossbreeding for increased milk production while replacing some of the Shetlands with East Friesians, a breed of dairy sheep. Currently milking 16 sheep, they are selling off the Shetlands but will keep some because Jennifer likes to create fibre art and textiles with the wool.

“We will never be just one thing,” says Jennifer. They like to raise animals balanced in their traits,believing it provides the farm with animals that are healthier, hardier and more suited to the climate and their management system, which itself is a reflection of the seasonal characteristics of the permaculture Sheep milk is naturally hom0genized so it can movement. be frozen directly after being milked from the The sheep are sheep, allowing Jennifer to make ice cream in largely grass-fed and her commercial kitchen as the market given as little grain as demands it. Chocolate All Sorts Acres Farm possible. Jennifer gelato is a consumer favourite, says Jennifer. milks them in spring and summer, allowing them to dry off for the winter months in preparation for lambing. With fewer chores in the barn, winter is when she uses the bulk of the frozen milk to create sheep dairy products in the inspected and certified commercial kitchen located in a separate room in their house. Sheep milk is naturally homogenized so it is common practice for sheep dairies to freeze the milk for later use. The winter is also a time when Jennifer can clean and create with the wool from the remaining Shetland sheep.

Part of the philosophy at All Sorts Acres Farms is that as the farm “inhales” all the richness of air, sunshine, soil and water, it naturally wants to “exhale” food products in a natural, balanced, flowing system.

Until the coronavirus pandemic hit, Jennifer and Tim sold their products at farmers’ markets. When the markets shut down, there was some worry about having any sales, much less growing sales. They had a fledgling online store but it wasn’t their primary method of sales.

Then came the article, the calls, the sales and the first task was to revamp their online store. Then make 28 The Rural Voice

more products. Then buy in sheep milk to meet product demand when their own small herd couldn’t keep up. They bought more East Friesian sheep. Growth was immediate and almost overwhelming. It helped that Tim’s work offers flexible hours and is situated in Toronto. He could deliver products once a week, drawing on past experience working as a cab driver, to wind his way around the city. A nominal delivery fee was charged and just like that, their business adapted and grew.

As they look to the future, Jennifer hopes to increase the herd size to 30 or 40 dairy ewes, which is about what their 50-acre farm can handle. Tim admits they are nervous about expanding right now in case COVID-19 makes a resurgence in Ontario and Toronto goes into another lockdown. “We are trying to be nimble, like when we made the pivot from a farmers’ market model to an online model.”

It takes a lot of energy and the lawns and buildings are a little unkempt. It’s clear there is some catching up to do but Jennifer freely admits that for her, it’s all about the animals. She doesn’t enjoy gardening. The sheep get fed first, then the people.

“Animal welfare is the priority. If I could have afforded to run an animal sanctuary, I would have.”

She loves the farm too, saying “there is variety but still an overarching rhythm.”

Tim agrees. “I am quite happy to be the farm wife,” he jokes. “I make the dinner and wait for Jennifer to come in from the barn.”

As we walk around the farm, looking at the poultry, livestock dogs, and meet Neville, the bottle-fed “farm mascot”, Tim talks about his passion for permaculture (they both have Permaculture Design Certificates) composting and regenerative design.

He points out the chickens sheltered under tent buildings in the pasture.

They will clear a section of grass but their droppings allow the grass to return twice as lush. Rotational grazing improves the soil and yield while the roving ducks control insects and provide eggs.

The farm has now found its

profitable focus but will always be a place of organized chaos as the pair foster a healthy, thriving ecosystem producing food from the soil, raising animals, growing plants and lastly, supporting themselves, the stewards of the land. ◊

Jennifer Osborn and Tim Fisher of All Sorts Acres Farms (above) have tried various ways to make money with sheep, chickens and ducks but have found that making sheep milk gelato and kefir is the profitcentre of their farm, with online orders exploding during COVID-19 and keeping a hectic pace.

September 2020 29

Niche Farming

Non-retirement retirement project By • Hetty Stuart •

Lavender is easy to grow but creating a lavender farm takes planning and lots of hard work There is many a sweet spot to sit and smell the air when you visit Bill and Cathy Kirk at Essentially Lavender Farm near Teeswater. Lavender has many uses beyond its aesthetic appeal including balms, sprays, salts and oils.

T

he invitation from Essentially Lavender Farm was irresistible: “We invite you to come and visit our farm where you can rest, relax and rejuvenate – while surrounded by lavender and nature.” Located between Teeswater and Formosa, this grassroots lavender farm is owned by Bill and Cathy Kirk.

The beautiful hobby farm offers much for the imagination in the rolling hills and pastures, with a meandering river and ponds. From the hill top, the land sloping downwards is layered in colourful rows of blues and white. The intoxicating scent exudes an atmosphere of calm and peace, a place buzzing with insects and birds.

A closer look at the thick stripes of various hues of blue shows a wave of the wand-like flowers with their silvery green leaves. The colours blend artistically from the soft white of Elegance White, to the pale pink of Melissa, to the vibrant purple of the Super Blue lavender.

“With our kids grown,” said Cathy, “we were looking for a new challenge and a change in lifestyle. While we bought the farm eight years ago, we’ve only been growing lavender for three years. This farm is our non-retirement retirement project,” she laughed. It has turned out to be an ambitious full-time, year-round job for both of them.

Bill added: “We are a couple who have both visions and nightmares, and we love every minute of it.” Cathy’s background as a Landscape Architect works hand in hand with Bill’s former contracting experience. “Cathy comes 30 The Rural Voice

up with the designs, and I install them,” said Bill proudly.

The carefully-groomed premises show exactly the love and care in every detail.

The Lavender Boutique on the farm is a small artisan studio that sells unique hand-made lavender-inspired products as well as provides education on the subject of lavender. Because lavender is such a versatile flower, with such voluptuous colour, there are many avenues to showcase its incredible beauty – through ceramics, painting, photography, the art of distillation, culinary arts, aromatherapy, flower arranging, resin coasters, and more.

There is even a W.H.O. hand sanitizer that meets the standards necessary for today’s consumers.

All their varieties of lavender plants on the farm are also for sale at this store. It is important when starting your own lavender garden to purchase plants that are specifically meant for your climate and soil. “There are many different cultivars for three different harvests,” explained Cathy.

“The early ones begin in late June – they are harvested before the flowers have opened. They are dried, de-budded, and used in soaps and bath salts. The second harvest comes immediately afterwards, and is used for bouquets. The third one is used for distillation and oil production. Each variety of lavender has a different fragrance.”

Lavender plants are the perfect addition to the lazy gardener’s yard. “They are hardy, non-invasive, droughttolerant perennials, and the deer and rabbits just walk on

by,� noted Bill. “They like a sunny, well-drained site – even gravelly soil will do. They do not like to be wet, and will grow in alkaline soil. And, they are winter-hardy.� What is there not to love about this simple, lowmaintenance plant?

Lavender flowers not only add gentle colour and aroma to the landscape, they also provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Bill proudly showed us his new addition of two healthy bee hives on the hilltop, just steps away from the flowers. From these hives, the farm obtains home-grown honey as well as beeswax, used in the creation of many of their products.

Bill has many more dreams dancing in his mind, ducks and alpacas are only a couple of the ideas that keep his eyes twinkling.

Perhaps the best part of a lavender garden is that once lavender is planted, the fragrance can be enjoyed, as well as its flavour long after summer is gone. “We offer a selection of natural, small-batch lavender-based skin care and home care products, all produced and processed on our farm,� stated Cathy with obvious pride. “The skin conditioning properties of lavender and its pleasant aroma make it a natural ingredient for use in bodycare products such as lotions, creams and soaps�.

With its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic qualities it is perfect for use in many balms and yoga and sport sprays. Since lavender is a natural relaxant it is used as a sleep aid and in bath salts and oils to promote a relaxing and restorative bath. “However,� said Cathy, “if you are looking to use the lavender as buds for sachets, or pillows, then harvest the lavender buds before they flower.� Timing is key for harvesting the buds: the flower spikes should be cut in the morning, after the dew has dried. Gather them into small bunches, secure with elastic bands, and hang upside down in a dark, dry room. When thoroughly dry, rub the stems to remove flowers. Store in an airtight jar to use in bathwater, or to tie into a pretty hanky for a sachet for a linen cupboard or drawer to deter moths.

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“Lavender can be used in beverages such as lemonade, teas, wines and hot chocolate.” said Cathy.

“It is also used in many baked goods such as cookies, cakes, muffins and scones. Lavender acts as a flavour enhancer in many meat, poultry and fish dishes and can be used in salad dressings, vinegars and jams.”

Another common use for lavender is in aromatherapy. The fragrance from the oils of lavender may lower the heart rate and blood pressure, creating a relaxed state, promoting calmness and wellness, and reducing stress, anxiety and insomnia. There are great benefits to sleeping soundly on a lavender night.

Cathy nodded to the corner of the boutique shop where a copper distiller stood. “We purchased this traditional steam distillation unit from Portugal. It is designed for herbs, not spirits. We distill the plants to make essential oils, and floral waters.” Demonstrations will be available during distillation season as part of a guided tour.

Aromatherapists use lavender to treat headaches and nervousness and restlessness. The lavender oil is massaged into the skin, functioning as a calming agent. Lavender oils also have positive results in helping with eczema, acne, sunburns, and diaper rash.

Some of the products that are made and sold at Essentially Lavender are lotion, soap, sachets, bath salts, salves, deoderant, essential oil, sport spray, linen spray, neck rolls and of course lavender plants!

Tours and visitors are welcome to experience the farm. Children are invited and encouraged to solve the labyrinth, watch the honey bees and bumble bees, and enjoy their picnics on the relaxed seating areas. The owners have tastefully planned for the enjoyment of young and old alike to stop and smell the flowers.

Their farm is located at 1379 Concession 10, Formosa. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Bill and Cathy also have developed a strong on-line store where all their products are available. Their website for further information is www.essentially lavender.ca ◊

Bill Kirk (above and left) has a small apiary to take advantage of the abundant nectar supplied by the lavender at Essentially Lavender Farm while Cathy Kirk (above), a landscape architect, creates the design of the gardens on the farm and manages the boutique store on the property.

September 2020 33

Culture

Don’t erase history from the present Ken Thornburn uses pencil and paper to remember and respect rural life in Bruce and Grey Counties • By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot

Having made a living from his art for over 40 years, Ken Thornburn (right) now feels the influence of his historyteacher-father to use his gift of drawing to preserve images and moments of time gone by. Bruce and Grey County farms and homes, such as the Gerolamy house (above) provide plenty of inspiration.

L

Ten months after Frankie and Robert Misner bought the Gerolamy House in Tara for its history and gardens, Robert died.

The couple had done a lot of research on their historical house, noted for its former owners, the Gerolamy family.

W.A. Gerolamy invented and patented a perforated zinc sieve process for his father’s fanning mill, leading the mill to become one of the best in the county. He later owned and operated a foundry and expanded the operation to manufacture more than 50 farm implements.

The Misners loved the history of the Gerolamy home and one of the projects they had talked about was hanging a rendering of the house on the wall. Sadly, Robert died before that goal was realized. In honour of his memory, Frankie felt strongly that pursuing this project was something she needed to do.

“It was a strange time to go through this at the beginning of COVID-19 so you have to find ways to honour the person and try to bring some sense of comfort for yourself and to the people who were close to him,” explains Frankie.

So she asked local artist, Ken Thornburn of Northern Flyers Design on Yonge Street in Tara, to draw the house.

“Ken was amazing in the sense that he adds these personal touches,” says Frankie. “It’s a lovely rendering of the house and if you look at the drawing, you can see three

34 The Rural Voice

birds in the sky representing my husband, myself and our son.” Also, there are two other people in the drawing. You cannot see their features but they are also representative of Frankie’s family.

“Ken took the time to talk to me and added those special touches that are part of the story of this house. That was significant. That is the difference between graphics and graphic artists,” says Frankie.

The drawing is now hanging in the house and Frankie is very pleased with how it looks commemorating her husband and the house.

Being hired for the job was a joy for Ken who, between documenting the history of Grey and Bruce via his drawings, and organizing a show at the Minto Art Gallery in Harriston for the month of September, has been keeping busy during the pandemic.

Recording history, as through the Gerolamy house painting, gives him immense satisfaction. Fortunately he has been able to make a living from his art for decades since starting his career out of Sheridan College in

the film industry.

“Well, first I worked as an animation technician at the Ontario College of Art,” remembers Thornburn. “But I got tired of people telling me that ‘those that can do, do and those that can’t, teach’.”

Growing up with a dad who loved history, Thornburn thinks his dad’s interests rubbed off on him more than he knew.

Now 69 years old, Thornburn says the history of Grey and Bruce really captures his interest. “I don’t think we do enough to keep it alive as much as we could.” Nostalgia has hit hard. He wouldn’t have a computer if he didn’t need it for business.

He feels almost driven to capture the images to preserve the past. “We used to be able to walk a mile and not see anyone. I think we had better times. I almost don’t know how to explain it except to say that I need to preserve it.” He feels the disparity between older and newer generations by what they do and what they know.

Youth don’t appreciate the same things as he does and he wonders if they are missing out on the days of running down the tracks, or fishing beside the river, or cutting the floor in dance halls.

“Kids nowadays, what do they know of steam engines? They don’t know what these things were like,” muses Thornburn. “Like when we used to pick stones in the field behind the house and the thoughts we had when we saw all those stones in the field.”

So he draws. Thornburn captures old bridges, trains, restored as well as crumbling farm houses and barns. He has worked on commission for Bruce Power and the International Plowing Match committee, as well as private commissions on rural homes, such as the Gerolamy house to discuss what the customers want to capture.

Photos are taken and some liberties as well, such as getting a “tighter fit” of the buildings to get them all in one scene. “We can add people or take them out to personalize the drawing to exactly what you want.”

He also just finished a portrait of Frankie’s husband. He is sitting in a canoe, with Chantry Island in the background, his face looking to the side as if he is conversation with

whomever is in the canoe with him. and white,” he says.

Robert was known for his love of Currently, he is drawing a black canoeing up the peninsula. “I try to and white of an old railroad bridge in add as much personal touches as I Erinville, quite near Tara. Drawing it can,” says Thornburn. is to remember, to capture and to All Thornburn’s work is done in afford respect to the buildings and coloured pencils and soft chalk structures of old. pastels.

“I just feel it is kind of my duty,” “I wanted to be different,” concludes Thornburn. “My dad was a remembers Thornburn, when he history teacher and I’m an artist and I chose his medium. “Everyone wants guess, we just want to keep the past to paint with oils, acrylics and alive.” ◊ watercolours. Plus, I felt more comfortable with a pencil rather than a brush.”

Thornburn isn’t afraid to go big.

“I’m a detail freak so I start large.

Then I can photocopy it to size with a big industrial colour copier I have here,” he says. He frames his works as well.

The Gerolamy piece ended up being a 16 by 20 inch frame with an 11 by 16 illustration.

Drawings run in the range of $700 to $750 depending on the framing.

When he has time to draw for himself, he’s compelled to capture black and Pencils are the medium of choice for artist Ken white rural winter Thornburn who captures the memories and scenes. “There is an architecture of yesteryear in his work at his downtown elegance to black Tara studio.

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Beekeeping

Honey, toothpaste and sticky fingers Despite the stings, it was an exciting night for Huron Honey, as they harvested their first batch of honey from the seven hives they’ve been caring for and learning from since spring

Huron Honey members: (left to right) Kristin Smith, Emma Brace, Emma Lidkea, Lexi Merner, Sheridan Van Altena, Lindsay Stoecker and Sophia Ridder stand with frames full of honey (far left) and emptied of honey (middle) on extraction night August 11.

Kristen Smith and Emma Brace (above) stand by the extractor as honey pours out. Before that happened, the girls cut off the wax caps on the honeycomb frames (photo to right) along with Emma Lidkea (far left) and Huron Honey leader, Angela Smith (far right). This is the first batch of honey the group has extracted from their seven hives and the group plans to market Huron Honey products as their next venture.

September 2020 37

• By Lisa B. Pot •

I

t was an exciting night for members of the Huron Honey club on August 10 as group members extracted their first batch of honey from the seven healthy hives established on Jim Ginn’s farm outside of Clinton.

The brainchild of Angela Smith, Central Huron’s Community Improvement Coordinator, the club has become a successful venture for the students who joined to learn about beekeeping.

“Before I started I knew nothing about bees,” says Sheridan Van Altena.

“I figured the hives would do their thing and we would get the honey. But it’s been so much more, with hive checks and expanding the hives.”

The hives arrived from Hive ‘N Hoe in Kincardine in the spring and were set up on the Ginn farm, chosen for its accessibility. Ginn also has a prairie meadow of native species rich in nectar for the bees to harvest.

Originally, the plan was for Smith to establish the club with a professional apiarist to come and teach the students how to raise bees. Then COVID-19 hit and suddenly Smith and the kids were learning as they went.

“We watched a lot of videos from the University of Guelph’s bee program and we have learned together,” says Smith.

For instance, discovering that honey flavour depends on the pollen the bees collect was something Van Altena found fascinating.

Lindsay Stoecker belongs to the U of G’s Apiculture Club and has been able to share her experience with the group.

During extraction night she helped lead the charge on the sticky honey frames, teaching how to slice off the wax caps before inserting the frames into the manual extractor for a good two-minute spin on each side to release the honey.

Later, four members of the group Emma Lidkea (top) lifts the cover off a Huron Honey beehive to allow Kristen Smith and Emma Brace (middle) to insert empty frames back to the hives after the honey extraction.

The bees were bearding (below) and weren’t as calm as usual so two girls got stung. The girls decided to replace the rest of the frames the next day when sunny skies would keep the bees busy and less protective.

38 The Rural Voice

brought the emptied honey frames to the hives. It was dusk and the bees were bearding (clustering) outside the boxes. The girls suited up and managed to get some frames back into the honey supers but the bees were not pleased at being bothered.

One girl got stung and soon the bees were circling and bumping, with another girl receiving multiple stings.

It was a painful situation the group took in stride. Toothpaste was applied to the burning bites and the task of returning the remainder of the frames was left for the next day, when sunny skies meant the bees would be out foraging and less likely to focus on protecting the hives.

It’s all part of the process for the group. Smith says they’ve learned to distinguish queens from worker and drone bees and have even requeened a hive.

One of the members, Neil Haas, has his own beehives and has been happy to share his experience with the group as well. He cut a section of wood out of a hive and replaced it with plexiglass so club members so could see the internal workings of the hive.

Every member brings a different skill and interest. One member has taken on the marketing via social media. Another has designed labels for future Huron Honey products.

Emma Lidkea is approaching beekeeping from a cooking perspective. “At culinary school, honey is used as an ingredient but in this club, I am learning just what all goes into what I  used to see as just an ingredient,� says Lidkea.

She’s also keen on the community engagement aspect of the club and its position in the artisanal bracket.

Personally, she’s developed a healthy respect for the bees. “The first day out, I was so nervous. Definitely intimidated. But once you get up close and personal with the bees, you realize they are quite calm and it is just such a neat experience.�

The bees are excellent producers as evidenced by the heavy frames, laden with honey. While scraping the frames and spinning the extractor, the high school, college and university students were planning how to jar

and sell the honey, make candles and tube lip balm. It was cool to witness the collective energy and creativity buzzing through the group.

That energy and commitment is exactly what Smith was hoping for.

Her job is to engage youth in the community to promote youth retention in Central Huron. “If students are engaged in their community before they leave for post-secondary school, then retention is higher,� says Smith. “This

beekeeping club ticked all the boxes.�

As the club progresses, there are hopes that if any of the members want to establish their own beehives, Central Huron might be able to supply a beehive and bee suit for the potential entrepreneurs.

Until that happens, the members still have a lot more honey to extract.

Then bottle. Then sell. The learning will continue as they manage the beehives into fall and winter. â—Š

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Arnold Mathers

Unexpected avian visitors to the backyard add excitement for birdwatchers and the regulars predict the seasons, such as (left to right) crows, robins and hummingbirds. ~Photos sourced online

Sharing seasons with our feathered friends

By Arnold Mathers

W

e bought another bird house this spring. That is not so unusual except that this particular bird house is a sixroom apartment. After carefully choosing the right size and color we had to make a trip to a Mennonite farm to buy a cedar post to mount it.

Then, I had to dig the hole and get the post really solid before lifting the house on top and getting it well braced. Job done. We only needed to sit back and wait for the residents to move in. Six months later, we have a beautiful bird house but still no residents. However, we have many other birdhouses that are homes to wrens and swallows.

We do not always get what we expect. Our blue bird boxes are homes for the swallow families that swoop around me when I am cutting the grass and stirring up the insects for them along the roadsides. They are such graceful fliers and such good bug catchers that I am happy to provide the accommodations for them. They sit on the telephone wires and wait for me to come along to serve their next meal.

40 The Rural Voice

When I was growing up on a farm we had mud swallow nests in the stables. They were elaborately built nests that hung from the sleepers or beams. The adult swallows would swoop in and out, especially in the evening. I suspect they were feeding their babies in the nest. They became very agitated and spoke quite harshly to anyone who came too near them.

The barn was also home to a variety of pigeons. We kept corn cobs on the barn floor during the winter. These were put though the hammer mill to make chop for the cattle and the pigeons shared in the feast and then left us for greener pastures during the summer. I suppose that pigeon meat might be a delicacy, especially corn-fed pigeons, but we coexisted with them. When all the old barns disappear, where will the pigeons live? There are certainly none left around our farm.

One bird that seems to weather the test of time is the crow. They are the harbinger of spring. The first call of the crow lets us know that it is time to polish up the garden tools. Crows are quite unique in that they can live a bachelor’s life or they can be very social. They harass other birds and

raid nests. No wonder they are called a “murder” of crows and not a flock or some other peaceful name. My Dad liked almost all birds except crows. One year he had just finished hand planting a field of about 10 acres of corn. A hand planter requires many miles of walking and then step seeding every foot. When you figure it out that is equal to 10 miles every acre or a total walk of 100 miles. Just when Dad finished the planting, a murder of crows descended on the field and began to harvest the seeds before they even sprouted. Dad was not a hunter but had inherited an old shotgun and some shells when he bought the farm. This was the time to take action. Dad loaded the old shotgun and fired a blast at the crows. I’m not sure if he actually hit any but he was knocked backward by the blast and suffered a sore shoulder for several days. He never fired the gun again.

Most of the birdhouses around our farmhouse are homes for a community of wrens. They are quite interesting to watch as they chatter back and forth to each other and bob their tails in the air. When we sit outside on the deck to have our

T

pushed out of the nest and hopped around the yard awaiting mother robin to give them flying lessons. It was not long before they were all gone. Is it one of those chicks that will come back next spring or will the mother return and let the young adults find their own nest? I wonder if the mother robin knows each of her children, they all look the same to me. I wonder if the robin parents round up the children and take them to Florida as a family? Ornithologists should try to answer these questions.

Robins spend a lot of time deworming our lawn and it is interesting to watch the early morning tug-of-war pitting robin against worm. For creatures with no feet, those worms do an amazing job of clinging to their spot. But, in the end, “the early bird gets the worm”.

It is very fortunate that the 1962 prediction of The Silent Spring by Rachel Carson did not come true. At that time, more than 50 years ago, the robin population was in a severe downward spiral.

We do not seem to have any cardinals around our farm in spite of having thousands of spruce and pine trees. However, for the last few years we have a pair of cardinals living in the tall spruce trees just outside our bedroom window in town. They begin calling and whistling at the break of dawn and continue until the whole neighborhood is up and going.

It seems to be their job to waken the world. They are more reliable than a rooster who only seems to be bragging about his nightly conquest.

The cardinals have a variety of calls and whistles and they move from tree to tree and call back and forth to each other.

How boring our life would be without all of our feathered friends.

We are always on the look-out for other birds that we enjoy but see less frequently. The hawks soar gracefully on the wind currents over our bean field, watching for mice or other small prey. Occasionally, we see the flock of wild turkeys that seem to live less than a mile away from our farm. The first week of October, the gobbler brought his harem up the lane, past the house and on into the field of trees. He is one brazen fellow showing up that close to Thanksgiving. One of the turkeys flew up into a tree and acted as a lookout for the flock. Pretty clever.

We are visited by hummingbirds that are just dropping by to check out our flowers. A few times this summer, a hummingbird hovered outside the patio door and peeked inside. Perhaps he was just saying thanks for the nectar. And, on a clear cool evening, when the moon is about half, we are lucky enough to hear the hoot of an owl warning the mice that he will be doing some after dark hunting. ◊

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coffee they put on a show for us peeping out of the birdhouse and then hopping around in the trees. I think that they especially enjoy the large spruce trees beside our shed. One can almost imagine that they are playing a game of hide and seek. They chirp loudly as if challenging us to find them.

I have built many bird houses out of scrap wood and used bits and pieces of junk to decorate them, an old licence plate makes a great roof, with a little modification an old teapot can become a wren house, and a 16-ounce bean can with a wooden sun-face front makes an unusual house to hang from a lower limb of a tree.

Some birds, like Newfoundlanders, are attracted to brightly painted houses and other birds are attracted to unpainted buildings like the old houses on the prairies. We have been able to attract a few families to join us on the front porch by attaching their houses to the veranda posts. In the spring, they are pretty timid but as June turns into July (just two letters different) they become bolder and go in and out as we sit quietly and watch them. When we have guests sitting with us the birds suddenly turn shy so we assume that they recognize us as friends. he robins provide us with more all-around watching time than most other feathered friends.

They return year after year to the same nesting area, or is it really the offspring that return? One family claimed the space on top of our side patio light as their building lot. They built one nest on top of another and now the third layer. The mother sits in a nearby tree and scolds us every time we open the door or venture close to her territory. This year, while she was away on a foraging break, we were able to get a picture of her four blue eggs. She would silently sit on the eggs as we walked around the yard perhaps thinking that she is invisible.

A few days later, she was busy bringing worms back to the nest to feed the four hungry necks that stuck up from the nest. Maybe the father was helping or maybe he was out looking for a new mate. One by one the chicks fell or jumped or were

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September 2020 41

Recipes by Nancy Fisher

Zucchini for days, weeks, months

T

he bounty of a summer garden is a wonderful thing. Except for the zucchini.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to grow it, and I love to eat it, but I live with the false hope that I will be able to keep ahead of it.

Zucchini season is when you may notice friends avoiding you, especially if you are hauling around a large tote bag bulging with the green monsters. Or, if you are not a gardener, you may find a surprise on your doorstep and a neighbour sneaking away. They are a very satisfying thing to grow, it is just the rapid frenzy of growth all at once that can be a bit overwhelming.

If you do have too much, I would recommend grating a bunch either on a box grater or in a food processor and freezing in 2 cup batches. I squeeze out as much “juice” as I can before freezing, just with my hands, no need to get fussy about that. I seal in vac-pac bags, but it can be put into almost any freezer safe container.

Two cups is a generous amount for the muffin recipe I will share below.

But is also a perfect amount to just pop into soup, chili, or pasta sauce even while still frozen. Makes it easy to add another serving of vegetables that no one will notice is there!

As always when freezing, remember to label and date it, mystery packets in the bottom of the freezer just get thrown out eventually.

If you have zucchini that are on the small to normal size (cucumber size) or slightly bigger, a great way to use them is to stuff with all sorts of things! Smaller zucchini are available most of the year in the supermarket as well. Green or yellow are pretty much interchangeable.

Zucchini are very versatile because they have a very mild flavour, so whatever you add to them can really be the star of the show.

They can be a side dish or, with the addition of meat, as a main course.

You can bake in the oven or wrap in foil and pop on the BBQ. I will write about the ones I have pictured here,

42 The Rural Voice

Turn zucchini from a burden into a treat by making (clockwise) stuffed zucchini, pumpkin spice pear zucchini muffins or a zucchini frittata.

but the combinations of flavour are only limited by your imagination, and what you have in the fridge!

Stuffed Zucchini You need two or three small zucchinis or one medium-sized zucchini split lengthwise and some of the centre scooped out. Save some of this to chop up for the filling, discarding seeds.

1 sweet pepper seeded and

chopped fine ½ red onion chopped fine 1 cup chopped mushrooms ½ cup chopped tomato 1 clove garlic chopped 1 teaspoon Italian spice blend. – or use fresh herbs or any spices that you like. Adjust amount to taste.

About 1 ½ - 2 cups cooked rice.

Or any cooked grain. You could also use a packet of pre-cooked rice or

Recipes grains, a great time saver.

About 1 cup grated cheese – I used mozzarella Salt and pepper Olive oil Directions After slicing the zucchini in half and scooping out some of the middle, I placed it in a casserole and sprinkled it with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, covered it with foil and baked at 350 degrees for 5 - 8 minutes. This just softens and starts to cook the zucchini. Zucchini cook quickly because they are soft and full of water. After this remove from oven and set aside while you make the filling.

Coat a skillet with about one tablespoon of olive oil and toss in all the vegetables including some of the zucchini center. Cook until soft and most of the liquid has evaporated, adding your seasonings as it cooks.

Add the cooked rice or grains and toss with the vegetables. Taste to adjust seasoning.

How much of this you need will depend on the size of the zucchini, but if you have any that just won’t fit in the zucchini shell, bake it alongside in a smaller oven-safe bowl. When the vegetables are softened and the rice mixed in, take off the heat and prepare to stuff.

Carefully spoon the filling into the partially cooked zucchini and mound up in the centre. Top with grated cheese and place back in the oven for another 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

If cooking on the BBQ you can skip the prebaking and wrap the stuffed zucchini in tin foil (I might use a double layer) and cook on the top rack for about 20 minutes. The steam inside the foil should cook everything through.

This is a very basic stuffing, but you can go wild with other flavours.

If you choose to add meat, make sure it is thoroughly cooked prior to stuffing, or use leftovers! don’t know if we are fair to zucchini always relegating it to a supporting role of nice-but-noflavour, because it definitely adds something to the dishes it is in. A frittata is one of those deceivingly simple variations of an omelette that

I

changes it from a breakfast food to a worthy dinner. For those who avoid gluten it is a great substitute for a quiche. I will fully admit this one was not photogenic, but it was delicious. Quick and easy, this frittata makes a full meal with a salad, or a piece of cold meat, and is again open to endless variations.

Great for summer.

Zucchini Frittata 2 cups grated zucchini squeezed dry ½ cup chopped pepper (a nice variation is to use jarred roasted red pepper, chopped) 1 cup chopped mushroom 2 tablespoons chopped herbs – chives, parsley, thyme, etc…

1/2 teaspoon onion powder - I find this gives the flavour without the sharpness of onion Salt and pepper to taste ½ cup grated parmesan 6 eggs Olive oil and butter Leftover cooked potato is very traditional in a frittata, however I did not have any at the time. I would add them next time to make it more substantial. I would make sure to season the potatoes well as I sautéed them.

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 °F Combine about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the same of butter in an oven-safe skillet and melt. Add the vegetables and sauté until most of the moisture has gone but making sure the vegetables don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add another tablespoon of butter if they are not loose.

In a bowl beat the eggs and season with the salt, pepper, and onion powder. Mix in the parmesan cheese and herbs.

Turn the skillet to a low heat and pour the egg mixture in, tipping the pan to spread evenly. Cook gently without disturbing for about five minutes until it is almost set. Add another sprinkle of cheese and place in the hot oven to bake through.

Approximately five minutes. If you like, switch to broil for the last minute of cooking to brown the top.

Remove from the oven and let sit for a couple of minutes to rest. Slice

and serve. A great way to serve is with some dressed mixed greens right on top. fter a very warm summer, I am looking forward to cooler autumn weather, and I admit to dreaming about those warm, spicy flavours we associate with that time of year. A great use for the grated, frozen zucchini I mentioned earlier is a pear and zucchini muffin. This one has pumpkin pie spice that warms it up to give you all the fall vibes; a moist delicious treat any time of the year. Just for a change I made these in my mini loaf pan. This can easily be regular muffins or a loaf. Just bake longer for the loaf, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. These are my current favourite muffin … but this is subject to change.

Pumpkin Spice Pear Zucchini Muffins 2 cups chopped pears (peel if you want, but not required) 1 – 2 cups shredded zucchini (I know I said freeze in two-cup portions, you can use just one cup, but I think a little more is okay here as it makes them extra moist) 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 1 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vanilla 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cups chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) Directions: Heat oven to 350 °F. In one bowl combine both flours, spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl mix the pears, zucchini, both sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla. Beat to combine, add in dry ingredients and stir until just moist.

Spoon into lined muffin cups. It will make almost 24 smaller muffins or a couple of 8 X 4-inch loaves. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Bake loaves about 50 – 60 minutes. ◊

A

September 2020 43

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

What to take?

What to split?

What to leave?

Years and years ago I had a friend who was moving from a home in Hensall to a larger property closer to London. We were in the Master Gardener program and Liz was an intense gardener. Some of the most extraordinary plants were nestled into her yard. She knew the Latin names and everything seemed to grow bigger and better for her.

So her moving was a pretty big affair and her greatest concern was making sure she could take all her plants with her. She was moving mid-summer and begged, borrowed and connived for an assortment of pots. But that was not going to work for everything. Since her new yard would not be really ready until the following spring she was getting anxious about how to keep her plants healthy until she could get them into the ground. The solution came from friends. Two came forward and offered her space in their gardens for plants that would not do well spending part of their growing season and then wintering over in pots. It was a labour of love. Everything was carefully moved and conditions checked. Was there going to be enough sunlight, were we using mulch and watering schedules were set up. The following spring Liz’s garden was ready and she arrived with pots and boxes to take home her garden.

The reason Liz’s move is on my mind is that we, too, will be moving this fall and while I am excited about the house we are going into, I am sad about leaving my garden. We have a large shade-loving garden here with very few sunny spots for the likes of day lilies and monarda, but in the 44 The Rural Voice

new space this lighting is reversed; it has great swaths of bright open space with shady areas along the outside edges of the yard.

So what is the etiquette surrounding the moving of plants from one’s old property to their new one? If you plan on moving plants you should have that as part of the sale contract. Plants that form part of the landscaping and create an impact on the property are not considered movable. You could get away with dividing perennials as long as you leave the original plant where it belongs. But trying to move and divide plants may not be the best move. Sometimes there is only time for one job to be done, move your house contents OR your garden but not both.

It is all about timing. We will have talks about plants moving but as I move around my garden I see electric blue perennial plumbago tumbling over the wall and covering the walkway. So rather than cut it out of the way, I will pop some into a pot. The garden looks tidier and no one will miss that wee clump.

Planning a move means preparing how to transfer a garden. Most plants will stay or cuttings will be taken of them, such as the hydrangea cutting started at right. Below, a struggling Japanese maple in a pot will also be part of the move since it needs essential care to survive.

There is also what I call the nursery plants. Like the cuttings of the cemetery hydrangea I wrote to you about. Of the seven cuttings only one took and is healthy and sending up new leaves. It even set a flower head. I took a photo of the bud before I nipped it off to direct its energies to establishing strong roots.

There is a very small Japanese maple tucked into the back of the border. It should be well over three feet by now but after two successive seasons of being nipped off by rabbits and assorted rodents it is barely 10 inches. No one really sees it unless they ask about the bottomless gallon pot sitting in the back. This spring it set out three lonely wee leaves near the base of the stem (calling it a trunk would seem comical) and something ate that too.

So the black pot was slipped over it and I watched it struggle to send out another leaf and then another. It now has 10 healthy leaves. Hard to know if the next gardener will have the same patience with this little guy so I am setting out a big pot to take him with me.

Gardening The same is true of my climbing scented white rose, Herkules. I am not sure if it was a hard winter that made a lot of my plants look inviting to the creatures or if it was simply a matter of yummy options. But this rose had six-foot-long canes and I was excited to see how it would perform this summer. Imagine my dismay when I saw all the canes eaten all the way around and below the snow line. So I cut it all back to live wood and what looked like buds hoping for a surge of new growth.

After a few weeks I took a peek and saw only one wee leaf as the rest looked like they had been nipped off.

A bit of “repellant” or “scoot” around the area to deter furry creatures, and once I saw a leaf set up again, I gave the plant a good feeding. You can only offer fertilizer when you see active growth. Seems to be catching up although I rather doubt I will see blooms. It is in a spot that has become progressively shady over the years and I know this affects the blooming pattern. There is a lot going on in this area of the garden so

the rose is coming to town with us.

Yes there will be a note about a few plants I want to take but I am looking at taking parts of plants and leaving the parent, or taking plants that are tucked in the back and not really part of the landscape.

It is going to be a busy fall and I will have a whole new list of gardening joys and sorrows to share with you.

One final note. I received a call one morning from a loyal reader who I ended up visiting that day. We were looking for gypsy caterpillars and pupa. We did not find any but did have a lovely chat about so many fruits and vegetables in her garden.

I am still going to wrap burlap around the base of my trees but I am holding off until early spring. I am offering to come back to our farm to do this. Another friend found a solution called Garden Protection with the active ingredient permethrin and it is worth looking into. Check with your local garden centre. It may offer some hope in the battle against gypsy moths. ◊

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Rural Living

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46 The Rural Voice

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Precision Dairy

The data in your dairy

• By Linaya Pot •

Technology and data are moving dairy farmers towards precision dairy management of their herds

R

esearch from the University of Guelph shows how technology and data can be used to advance dairy management practices, and how we can use these advancements to support a movement towards precision dairy management.

Technology is changing rapidly – and although the dairy industry might not be an industrial hotspot for technological advancements, it is moving forward at its own pace. The adoption of new technology on farms is becoming more and more common, with many farmers implementing new products like robotic systems, automatic feed pushers and body condition cameras.

Armed with information generated by these systems, producers are moving towards management practices that favour precision dairy farming. As technology-adoption rates are increasing, and with the development of new and innovative systems, many people have begun to wonder what the dairy industry will look like in a few years’ time.

“I think what I am really interested in,” queries Aidan Connolly to attendees of the 2020 American Dairy Science Association’s (ADSA) Annual Meeting, “is how COVID-19 will impact and influence the interest in adopting new technology in the dairy industry?”

Ironically, the format in which he he asks the crowd partially answers his own question. This year’s ADSA conference had been hosted virtually online. Due to COVID-19, the inperson conference which was slated to be held in West Palm Beach, Florida, had been cancelled. Instead, the scheduled presenters were asked to pre-record their presentations. The new, online program consisted of more than 800 pre-recorded abstract presentations including 14 live roundtable discussions, and three

late-night live informal chat sessions.

Connolly is no newbie to the idea of new technology in dairy. He is the CEO of Cainthus, which develops computer vision and artificial intelligence for dairy farms.

Connolly was part of one of several live roundtable discussions that happened each afternoon of the four-

day virtual conference. The topic of this roundtable was “Precision Agriculture in the Dairy Industry”, where Connolly and several other dairy-tech experts discussed what the future of the dairy industry might look like.

It felt weird to be sitting behind a computer and scrolling through the

Dairy producers have a lot of data available at their fingertips say experts from the University of Guelph. More data is staying on-farm with less flowing into public evaluation systems. The challenge for dairy farmers and the industry as a whole will be adjusting to this shift towards accessing, standardizing and utilizing data from these robotic systems.

September 2020 47

Precision Dairy list of virtual attendees to find familiar names, instead of scanning the room for familiar faces. What did remain the same were the innovative discussions and thought-provoking ideas that are always present at global conferences like this.

“What happens if the nutritionist can’t regularly visit on-farm anymore? If vets can’t do on-farm calls? If a new sales rep can’t go from farm to farm to build and develop new contacts?” Connolly questions.

He thinks COVID will help drive precision ag forward by pushing the implementation of new technology that will help us overcome the roadblocks that COVID-19 has put in place.

“Increasingly I think we will be using technology to manage things remotely in a way we never have before. There are the obvious ones like cameras, robots and feeding technology,” he lists. But he also wanted to focus on implementing new technology that is less commonly seen on commercial

farms. “Things like 3-D printers – so if I don’t want to be shipping parts and having delivery services coming onto my property – these printers would instead allow me to print the parts I need to fix my own devices.”

Dr. Trevor DeVries, a dairy professor at the University of Guelph, whose research often focuses on the implications that on-farm technology has on both cows and producers, agrees that we are likely to see more adoption of technology in the future. “We already are seeing a lot of adoption in the last five to 10 years,” he says. DeVries estimates about 15 per cent of farms in Ontario use robotic milkers.

Coronavirus aside, Dr. DeVries thinks that the main driver for the implementation of new technology will be the desire for lifestyle changes. “When we look at the reasons for adoption, first and foremost, it’s all about lifestyle,” he says. “It’s about making more time available for producers and allowing them more flexibility in their lifestyles. Of course, technology is

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also implemented to increase production, improve welfare, and all those things, but those come secondary to the desire for a lifestyle change.”

David Jones, a producer-turnedrobotic sales specialist for DeLaval, also agreed with DeVries’ theory that a decreased workload is the main reason for technological adoption.

“From a producer’s perspective, sensor technology is great and the information we get back is incredible, but what we are really focusing on is a workload reduction – so what we look for in technology is something that allows us to do more with less” said Jones. He cautions that sometimes the addition of new technology could be more harmful than beneficial, since it creates yet another system that a producer must learn, maintain and pay attention to.

“I don’t want sensors that add more work to my workday and more data I have to dig through,” he said.

Dr. Victor Cabrera, a dairy professor from University of Wisconsin-Madison, had a different perspective on data to discuss with the roundtable. “Data will become a commodity – a very important value commodity” he predicted. However, to properly use the data, systems and programs needs to be linked together.

“Dairy farms are inundated by data from multiple different streams – from the sensors, from the milk parlor, from genetics, and so forth – and there is a lot of value missing from not connecting all this data together,” he says.

Outside of the roundtable, it was easy to see how the interest in using new technology and data sources influenced many of the research projects presented at the conference.

For example, Ivan Campos, a PhD student from the University of Guelph, presented his research which involved using public weather station data to investigate effects of heat stress on milk production on Ontario dairies.

Data was in no short supply for his study – he used a total of 2.1 million test-day records from 167,620 Ontario cows, as well as temperature and humidity data from nearby weather stations. He

Precision Dairy identified two THI (temperature humidity index) thresholds that affected milk yields: firstly, a THI threshold between 64 and 72 that causes a slow decline in milk yields, and a second, critical THI threshold of 79, that if exceeded causes a sharp decline in milk yields. This expected reduction in milk yields after a THI of 79 was estimated to be about â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 0.40 kg/d. Since Ontario summers have an average THI of 69, it is important to be aware of these thresholds when it comes to proactively managing milk production and heat stress within a herd.

Data like the weather may be easy to quantify and measure, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the only data we should be looking at. Since precision ag focuses on individual animals, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also important to study data that differentiates cows from one another â&#x20AC;&#x201C; such as personality data. This data could help identify which animals are more adaptable to new technologies, such as automatic milking systems (AMS). This is what Anna Schwanke looked at for her Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s project.

First, she assessed the behaviors of Holstein cows after they were exposed to a novel space, human and object. She then used these behaviors to identify five different personality traits in the cattle, and then looked at how these traits impacted how the cows interacted with the AMS. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despite there being a lot of knowledge on how to apply precision feeding practices to meet the nutritional requirements of dairy cattle, there is still a lot that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know regarding how personalities of individual cows affects their behavioral requirements,â&#x20AC;? said Anna Schwanke when explaining the motivation behind her study. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to know how these behavioral requirements of cows can be managed to ensure their nutritional requirements are being met.â&#x20AC;?

For example, cows that were identified as having a behavioural characteristic of being fearful of humans had greater meal sizes and needed more AMS fetches, which led to lesser concentrate intake at the AMS and lower milk yield. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Because of behavioral factors

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like this, some cows may require more motivation than others to voluntarily visit the AMS,” said Schwanke, “So there is a potential to optimize AMS technology by designing precision feeding strategies to meet both the individual behavioral and physiological requirements of the cows.”

Although robot milking is one of the more popular dairy technologies, there are other tools that are becoming more common on dairy farms, such as activity monitors.

However, research still needs to be done to ensure the data generated by these sensors is being properly utilized.

“The use of precision technology such as activity monitors to detect estrus is increasing in the industry, so it would be useful to know how the health disorders impact the activity of cows” says of Tony Bruinjé of the research he is completing for his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Guelph.

He found that cows with health disorders had a reduced probability of estrus detection in a breeding system that utilizes activity monitors.

He identified three health risk factors in dairy cattle and found that activity monitors only detected estrus in 56 per cent of cows with these risk factors, as opposed to 72 per cent in cows without.

“Such findings can be useful at identifying cows that are less likely to be detected at estrus, so we can refine reproductive management in herds that use activity monitors in their breeding systems,” Bruinjé said.

Steven Larmer, the senior manager of the Genomics Program at Semex, commented during his ADSA presentation that while technology like activity sensors provides us with more data, it is also changing how we share data.

“Producers now have a lot of data available at their finger-tips, while previously they had to rely on public recording centres for data and benchmarking,” he says. He believes that because of this, we will see more data staying on-farm and less data flowing into public evaluation systems. “The future will need to adapt to this growing reality,

Precision Dairy including a shift towards accessing, standardizing and utilizing data from these robotic systems.”

This will be an especially important challenge for the future, as both Larmer and Dr. Devries believe that adoption rates in Ontario are only beginning to climb. DeVries

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“Obviously the price of implementing new tech on farms is one of the biggest roadblocks for adoption. But as we see adoption rates go up, hopefully we will also see a movement on the pricing side to make some of these technologies more affordable.” He thinks the implementation of technology and data into our systems will really help dairy producers start to manage cows individually.

“Cows aren’t all the same, yet we tend to manage them all as a herd. So we have such great opportunities with automation to manage cows more individually – allowing us to not only meet their nutritional requirements, but also their behavioral needs as well.” ◊

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Advice • By Lisa B. Pot •

Negotiation requires a carrot, a stick and a hammer Courage, practise and use of enticement and enforcement are all methods to get you what you want says professional negotiator at Women in Ag Summit

Negotation is just like a sport, said professional negotiator, Anna De Paoli (right). In order to get better, you have to practice the game.

T

here are three tools every negotiator should have in their repertoire to be successful – a carrot, a stick and a hammer.

“I have a carrot because you can’t forget that even if you are going for the win, everyone wants to leave feeling like they got a deal,” said Anna De Paoli, speaking to farm women at the Women in Ag Summit hosted by Farm Credit Canada in Kitchener back on March 10.

“My stick isn’t to hit anyone. It’s used for leverage,” she said before addressing the third tool, a hammer.

“Sometimes you have to be tough, draw your line in the sand and walk away. As you become a more efficient negotiator, you learn where that line is.”

With these three tools, a willingness to practise and prepare plus courage to ask for the things you want, women can become successful negotiators believes De Paoli.

Herself a professional negotiator,

52 The Rural Voice

De Paoli is the president of De Paoli and Associates Inc., a consulting firm based in Calgary, Alberta which helps rural and agricultural business owners build successful companies.

She said the problem is nobody looks forward to negotiation and consequently, try to avoid it all costs.

Sometimes women think of negotiation as winning or losing but that’s the wrong narrative, suggested De Paoli. “Instead of winning or losing, or taking and getting, we talk about goals. Your goals and the other person’s goals.”

When goals become the narrative, then it becomes about playing the long game.

In order to play the long game successfully, there are five key tactics to use, suggested De Paoli.

1) Practise: De Paoli said she did not grow up in Canada so she did not learn to skate. When her young son had goals to play hockey and wanted his mom to teach him to skate, De

Paoli took lessons and also discovered that as she was reaching down to pick up little ones that fell, her skating was getting even better.

“That taught me that when you practise doing even very small things, you can become proficient,” she said. “Negotiation is just like a sport – to get better, you have to practice the game.”

2. Asking for Things: When it comes to negotiation skills, there is virtually no difference between men and women. Except that men initiate negotiation behaviour more frequently, said De Paoli. “You should always try. You should always ask,” she advised.

When asking, it’s wise to recognize that the story we write in our head is not even close to the real story. Negotiation involves asking a LOT of questions. Average negotiators ask questions 10 per cent of the time while good ones ask questions 20 per cent of the time.

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Questions help reveal goals and can often speed up a process. De Paoli said when she was negotiating a better insurance rate, she asked the adjuster if the change was something he could approve today. “There is nothing more frustrating than thinking you have an agreement and learning they have to get approval from five more people.” The best part is that questions can be prepared beforehand. Which leads to ....

3. Preparation: De Paoli remembers a time when a large team of producers had driven six hours for a negotiation meeting. During the meeting, she quickly realized they weren’t aligned in their thinking.

“They had spent six hours in a car together but had only talked about farm and the kids,” said De Paoli.

“Being prepared is huge. Even if you took 10 minutes and jotted down goals and thoughts on the back of an envelope your outcome would be better.”

Preparation involves setting a target, defining what you are negotiating, understanding the process, and focusing on what is important to you.

“I always write my target down.

When you write it down, it helps keep you honest,” she said.

4. Aim High: “Aim higher than you think is possible. You will be surprised how often you will be successful and this can be life changing,” said De Paoli.

5. Remember Relationships: Negotiations can turn adversarial but without maintaining a relationship, negotiators are rarely successful. ◊

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

Derecho hurricane destroys millions of acres of crops During the night of August 10 parts of the U.S. Midwest were hit by a severe storm that caused wide spread and extreme damage to many things in the storm’s path. This large powerful storm knocked out power to over one million homes in Iowa and Illinois alone, as the winds that came through blew over trees and toppled power lines along the storm front. In Iowa winds were recorded as gusting up to 112 miles per hour. This storm that occurred is classified as a Derecho “deh-REYcho”.

A Derecho is basically an in-land hurricane which is a long-lived, widespread and straight-line storm with high winds that come at tornado force. For a storm to be classified as

such, it must have winds that travel at least 58 miles per hour producing a swath of damage that is at least 240 miles long. The name Derecho is rooted in the Spanish word for straight, which characterizes the behaviour of these powerful storms.

These storms are formed as wet humid air from a thunderstorm meets dry air in the atmosphere.

As the wet air meets the dry air the water evaporates and cools, changing the density of the air mass.

This cooled air rapidly becomes dense and quickly falls toward the ground creating strong winds in a single direction. This downburst of air gains speed and size as its movement and force draws in more dry air as the downburst continues. It is reported that these storms are common in the U.S. Midwest but are still reasonably rare, with typically one per year occurring.

The damage of this storm was severe to agricultural land and facilities in its path. The day after the storm the Iowa State Secretary of Agriculture stated that tens of millions of bushels of commercial grain storage and millions of bushels of on-farm storage were impacted and damaged or faced destruction by the storm. It was also predicted that around 10 million acres of crop land were potentially impacted as well.

Some of these 10 million acres will

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still make a crop, however it is very uncertain how much will be harvested and salvageable. In an attempt to quantify crop losses, analysts have estimated that between 100 to 500 million bushels (2.5 -12.7 million metric tonnes) could have been destroyed. To put this in perspective in a local context, the entire Ontario crop assuming trend line yields and typical acreage is in the range of about 346 million bushels.

The U.S. can afford to lose some corn production this year. Crop ratings through August have been spectacularly good. Into early August the U.S. crop was rated nine per cent better than the 10-year average. Such high ratings indicate an extremely high-yielding crop potential. The average guess for U.S. corn yield is about 180.5 bushels per acre, up two bushels per acre from the July estimate. If this yield is realized the U.S. ending stocks would be the highest since 1987/88. Fortunately exports have been good and China is on a buying spree.

Chinese corn prices are the highest they have been in years and importers are aggressive buyers of U.S. product. Some expect China to buy up to 15 million tons of U.S. corn, as they attempt to meet their commitment for U.S. purchases under the Phase 1 agreement. There continues to be a high level of political uncertainty overhanging the market however, with political jangling going back and forth between the powers that be.

The large speculative funds have a big short position in the corn pit.

While their position is substantial it is not record short. With this being the case it is difficult to envision prices pushing significantly lower, and if more surprises hit the market we could see the funds buy back these positions causing a market bounce.

The soybean crop expectation is even better than that of corn.

Weather has been ideal recently for soybean development through August, and the bean crop is made in August. Yield expectations are huge and from this thoughts are that the U.S. ending stocks could swell to extreme levels. Fortunately Chinese

Markets demand for soys is also large. China imported just over 10 million tonnes in July alone and in the year to date about 55 million tonnes of soy, 18 per cent more than last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purchases.

Ontario wheat harvest has been wrapped up and overall the crop seems to have been about an average yielding crop generally. As far as quality goes, for the most part the crop is milling quality, with high falling numbers and good protein and test weights. Ontario wheat has been exporting to Latin America and Mexico through harvest, as well as to the U.S. at a pretty good clip.

Wheat prices have faded through harvest and have been pushing substantially lower into mid-August, compared to the prices that were available in the spring. The main reason for the price decline has come from production news out of Russia, where yield estimates grew as harvest began. Russia continues to dominate the export front, selling wheat cheaper than any other region of the world. â&#x2014;&#x160;

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

Mechanical tree harvestors save lives It isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that long ago that the only tools working in a forest were hand tools and horses. As equipment evolved this changed to huge and heavy chainsaws and tractors.

Moving forward we had chainsaws with anti-vibration and skidders.

Now, we have mechanized harvesters, grapple skidders, and forwarders.

As our society has changed its view on physical labour, the importance of human health and safety has evolved. This evolution has been necessary to maintain a sizeable workforce in recent decades.

Many of us have felt the loss of a family member, friend, or member of the community as a result of a logging accident. I strongly believe that we all strive to ensure that no one else is lost, but forest work can be dangerous. Mechanized harvesting allows the operator to be safe in a cab that is designed for forest work, which limits the risk to that crew member. In most cases there is still one crew member on the ground doing some limbing on trees that have been dropped by the harvester.

It can be quite disconcerting to see a really large piece of equipment lined up to enter your forest. Seeing a horse hitched up does not stir up the same fears. However, both of those harvest methods often have a similar type of mechanical equipment for forwarding the logs to the landing.

I have always said that a good operator of any forestry equipment can do a great job, and I have seen this in all methods of harvesting from horse logging, tractor skidding, ATV 56 The Rural Voice

skidding, mechanical harvesting, and yes, even truck skidding. I have also seen really bad work done by each these types of operators. A poor worker blames their tools. Often the difference between a job well done and disappointment comes down to two things; good planning, and an operator that cares about the forest.

When considering the changes in harvesting methods and their effects on the forest it is important to remember that one of the biggest keys to success in maintaining a healthy forest with little damage to residual stems is a well-planned trail system. Most of our forests have had a harvest of some type between settlement and present day. During these harvests, the person extracting the logs would have created some type of trail. Often the scars of these early harvest trails were the basis of the trails that exist today.

Unfortunately, as methods of harvesting have changed, some of these trails are no longer the best haul route.

Looking back through my time in the forest, I have watched our winter freeze up and snow pack roads switch from awesome to impossible.

Areas that were once accessible in the winter during heavy snow and freezing temperatures now never

freeze for more than a couple of days here and there throughout the season.

Add heavier equipment to this lack of frozen surfaces and we have the potential for significant damage to our forests for many generations.

Again, planning is important. If the trail traverses through areas that are too wet, where can it be rerouted to or how can we mitigate the problem? In forests where the trails are still just rough dirt paths, or virtually nonexistent, there is an opportunity for rerouting trails to be stronger and more accessible. Other forests that have had their trails leveled, culverts installed, and fill brought in are much tougher to move as so much has already been invested. At some point in the discussion about trails and wet areas I must mention that when considering options to alleviate problems please remember that a permit from your local Conservation Authority may be necessary.

When looking at trails there is an exhausting list of items that should be considered and often one very important factor gets forgotten â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the corners or junctions. When walking a trail or riding through a forest it is super simple to turn onto a new trail.

When dragging a log, turning is not so simple. Logs are often over 30 feet

Mechanical tree harvestors can leave residual damage as they track through the bush but having a good operator reduces damage and more importantly, the machines make logging safer for tree-cutting crews.

Woodlots long and do not bend. If the angle of the junction is too tight, the log is forced to rub against anything in this path to make the turn. These rubs can destroy the residual forest along a trail. Most logging trails have some trees with lower trunk damage along their edges.

Many people see this and question why those damaged trees were not removed as a part of the harvest operation. If the damage isn’t too severe those trees are retained to act as bumper trees for future harvests.

These bumper trees stand tall protecting the trees nearby, often through multiple harvests. If the trail angles were not properly planned at the start of harvesting and trails are now well-developed, bumper trees will continue to be a necessity.

The change from manual felling to mechanized harvesting has some really great advantages with a skilled operator. When a feller drops a tree with a chainsaw, they carefully plan the direction in which it will fall to limit the amount of damage to the residual trees both crowns and trunks. When a mechanized harvester cuts a tree, it has the ability to pick up the tree, keep it upright, and move the tree to an area where it can be laid down with the least amount of damage possible to the residual forest. In both situations skilled conscientious fellers can leave a stand with minimal damage to the residual forest.

Where machines do fall short in regards to harvesting is in the necessity for it to drive through trees.

In a stand thick with regeneration, damage levels can be high through the harvest area. I say drive to most trees as there is the ability to reach out to neighbouring trees and remove them while swiveling on the spot.

Forest managers need to plan for this when selecting trees for removal and planning haul routes if there is the opportunity for mechanical harvesting.

Having lost a friend to a logging accident, I welcome any change that makes forest work safer for all. We need to be able to plan for these changes, work with skilled and conscientious operators, and strive to never lose another life. ◊

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

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

Fencing in what you say about others If you haven’t got something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all. Children are taught this. Sometimes adults need to be reminded of this.

In a recent ruling involving, of all things, a fence dispute, the Ontario Superior Court demonstrated that making unkind and untrue statements about others online can be costly. At the end of it all, the Court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff $50,000 in general damages for defamation, $10,000 in aggravated damages, and $10,000 in punitive damages, with a

further costs award likely to come.

This was on top of $18,000 in costs already awarded against the defendant in an earlier stage of the proceeding.

It all started with a puppy. Three years ago, the plaintiff bought a house in town, and soon after installed a gate between her neighbour’s house and her own (perpendicular to the sides of the houses) to prevent her puppy from escaping the backyard. The neighbour objected to the gate because it encroached on her property – a survey obtained by the plaintiff confirmed that one of the gate’s posts was on the neighbour’s property. So the plaintiff removed the gate and installed a wooden fence within her own property along the property boundary between the houses (parallel with the sides of the houses). The boundary line was located eight inches from the side of the neighbour’s house.

The neighbour objected to the fence: it was too high, it was too close to her house, and it obstructed the view from some windows in the house. The neighbour complained to municipal officials that the fence was illegal. By-law inspectors visited the properties and determined that the

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58 The Rural Voice

fence’s posts did exceed the permitted height. The plaintiff reduced the height of the posts. Following this change, the municipality did not require the plaintiff to remove the fence. This is when the trouble started.

The neighbour went to the press about the fence dispute. She criticized the plaintiff and the fence on social media, including on Facebook. And the neighbour also engaged an outside party, the defendant, to assist her in the dispute. The defendant was a blogger and a self-styled “municipal activist”. He came to the properties and took photos of the fence and then started down the path of saying unkind and untrue things about the plaintiff that ended with the $70,000 judgment against him.

The defendant posted an online petition against the plaintiff, signed by at least 300 people. He posted a letter on his blog. He sent an email to the Municipality. He made YouTube videos about the plaintiff. The defendant claimed the plaintiff’s fence was built on the boundary line between the plaintiff’s property and her neighbour’s property. He claimed that the value of the neighbour’s property had been eliminated by the fence. He alleged that the fence was illegal and suggested that the plaintiff must know someone powerful because the Municipality was allowing the fence to remain. In online posts, the defendant claimed that the plaintiff has been “proven to have lied since day one” and called her a “spiteful woman”. In correspondence to the plaintiff’s lawyer, the defendant called the plaintiff a liar and a “bit of a nut case”.

A couple of months into the defendant’s public campaign, the plaintiff sent a notice to the defendant and to her neighbour under the Libel and Slander Act demanding that the statements about her posted on the internet be removed within 30 days.

The neighbour removed her posts about the plaintiff from Facebook.

The defendant did the opposite; he continued to post statements about the plaintiff. Eventually, the plaintiff commenced an action in defamation against her neighbour and the defendant. A statement is defamatory when it “would tend to lower the plaintiff’s reputation in the eyes of a reasonable person”, and can be

Agrilaw actionable when it is communicated (or “published”) to at least one person other than the plaintiff.

The Court found that the statements made by the defendant did defame the plaintiff: “the cumulative and relentless barrage of communications and statements about [the plaintiff’s] honesty and integrity would no doubt affect her reputation.”

And the Court rejected the defendant’s argument that the statements were true, which is a defence to an action for defamation.

Just after the plaintiff had sent her Libel and Slander Act notice, her neighbour had commenced an action against the plaintiff in the Small Claims Court seeking damages on the basis that the fence trespassed on the defendant’s property. The Small Claims Court dismissed the action, finding that the fence was lawful, was located on the plaintiff’s property, did not cause a nuisance, and did not cause any loss in value to the neighbour’s property. Given these factual findings, the defendant could not have shown that his statements, based on the alleged illegality of the fence, were true.

Emotions can run high in contentious legal disputes, including those between neighbours. It is important to understand that what you say and do in a dispute, straight from the beginning, is likely to come to the attention of the judge if the matter goes to court. In the defendant’s case, he continued to publish defamatory statements about the plaintiff even after she commenced her lawsuit against him, and even after the Small Claims Court had ruled that the plaintiff’s fence was lawful. It remains to be seen what will happen with the plaintiff’s defamation action against her neighbour. Needless to say, the neighbour’s online posts about the plaintiff and the neighbour’s choice to involve the defendant helped turn a simple boundary dispute into a tangled web of litigation. ◊ _____________________________ John D. Goudy’s law practice includes real property and environmental litigation, expropriation law, energy regulation, and regulatory offences.

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

Armstrong’s Home Bakery Made Fresh Daily • Honey baked bread • Assorted rolls • Seasonal fresh fruit tarts • Cookies and squares • Soups and sandwiches • Pies • Cakes made-to-order • Gluten-free goods

Lucknow

Bulk Food Store • Baking supplies • Gluten-free products • Candy • Popcorn • Scooped ice cream Take home or eat here in our dining area

519-528-2211

Where friendships begin

MAIN ST. EXETER 1-800-265-3476

Follow us on

519-235-0363

FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1965

Ask us about OFA member benefits!

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VIEW OUR ENTIRE INVENTORY ONLINE AT: WWW.HMPEXETER.COM September 2020 59

FALL SAVINGS ƒ SAVE $30 3

MS 170 GAS CHAIN SAW

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30.1 CC • 1.3 KW • 3.9 KG/8.6 LB ①

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359 5 95

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31.8 CC • 1.5 KW • 4.2 KG/9.3 LB ①

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MS 250 GAS CHAIN SAW

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449 4 95

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45.4 CC • 2.3 KW • 4.6 KG/10.1 LB ①

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NEW

MS 250 C-BE GAS CHAIN SAW

MSRP with 16" bar

45.4 CC • 2.3 KW • 4.9 KG/10.8 LB ①

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RECEIVE A

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with the purchase of any eligible STIHL Chain Saw. ② • Woodsman® Carrying Case • OILOMATIC® Chain • STIHL Hat Dealers may sell for less. Pricing on all chain saws, power tools and accessories will remain in effect until December 4, 2020.

Illustrations and descriptions are as accurate as known at the time of publication and are sub bjject to changee without notice.

STIHL Limited is not responsible for a printing error, the local STIHL Dealer has the final authority to set product pricing.

Pricing valid at participating dealers only. ① Weight with powerhead only. ② Don’t miss your chance to get the Wood-Pro™ Kit. Simply purchase any one of the following chain saws between now and December 4, 2020 and you will receive a STIHL Wood-Pro™ Kit FREE. This kit includes: a Woodsman® Carrying Case, STIHL hat and a replacement loop of OILOMA AT TIC® chain – an $85 value! Hat may not be exactly as shown. Offer valid until December 4, 2020, while supplies last. Eligible Models: MS 170, MS 171, MS 180 C-BE, MS 181 C-BE, MS 194 C-E, MS 211, MS 250, MS 250 C-BE, MS 251, MS 251 C-BE, MS 261 C-M, MS 271, MS 291 C-BE, MS 362 C-M and MS 391.

WWW W..STIHL.CA

STIHLCANADA

FORMOSA

BLUEVALE

Schmidt’s Power Equipment

Lloyd Kuntz Sales & Service

519-357-3877 schmidtspower@gmail.com

519-367-2913 lloydkuntz@wightman.ca

MITCHELL

NEUSTADT

Wighty’s Repairs Inc.

The Windmill Sales & Service

Highway 8 West

www.wightyrepairs.com 519-348-0404

519-799-5342 rafilsinger@wightman.ca

DUNDALK

CHESLEY /HANOVER

LUCKNOW/MT. FOREST Robert’s Farm Equipment

Highland Supply

Bruce Service Sales /APC

1634 Cty. Rd. 86/435 Sligo Rd. W. 519-529-7995/519-323-2755

519-923-2240 / 1-800-265-9154 www.highlandsupply.ca

390 1st Ave. S. / 450 10th St.

519-363-3811 / 519-364-6345

GODERICH

MILVERTON

Argyle Marine & Small Engines Inc.

Albrecht’s Chain Saw Service

3 kms. N. on Hwy. 21

R.R. 1, Milverton (Line #67 Lane 4158) 519-595-2579

519-524-5361

60 The Rural Voice

SEAFORTH

Delta Power Equipment 42787 Hydro Line Rd. 519-527-0120 www.deltapower.ca

The

Rural Voice

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

Leadership in energy and environmental design

Devon Henry 84772 McDonald Line • Box 616 • Brussels

devonjhenry@hotmail.com 519-505-2473

CLUSTER FLIES? WE CAN HELP!

Full service to all boats and marine engines

ARGYLE Marine & Small Engines Inc.

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

B U Brough & Whicher Limited S • Engineered Roof Trusses • “I” Joint Floor Systems I White Cedar Decking, Posts & V-Match WIARTON, ONTARIO N www.broughandwhicher Tel: 519-534-0340 or 877-866-3434 Fax 519-534-4637 E Email: sales@broughandwhicher.com S S Member of the O.W.T.F.A.

TF: 1-877-509-2847 Ph: 519-799-5000 Web: ruralroutespestcontrol.com info@ruralroutespestcontrol.com

C E N T R E

Agricultural Residential Commercial • Unmarked Vehicles • Fully Insured • MOE Licensed Technicians

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

Newton, Ont. 519-595-4545

Serving the area since 1999

Broker WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. LIMITED

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

LT 12 SOUTH KINLOSS AVENUE $699,900 MLS# 30796605

Currently a licensed gravel pit but also a great recreational farm with hiking trails, small stream flowing thru the 40 plus acres of mixed bush, potential building location for your dream home, currently 15 acres of hay ground but could be approximately 50 acres if the top soil was placed back on the gravel pit section, fronts on a paved road, close to Lake Huron, central to Kincardine and Wingham, short drive to Bruce Nuclear.

September 2020 61

• Bulk Bags • Tote Bags • Super Sacks

STEFFEN WELL DRILLING 519-531-0355 TEESWATER, ON

mike@steffenwelldrilling.ca

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

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

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

Thinking of selling? I am local, knowledgeable and your call will be confidential.

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

ROBERT HULLEY Sales Representative

www.beloretrailers.ca

(Cell) 519-440-8602 roberthulley@royallepage.ca Helping you is what we do.™ 1 Albert St., Clinton, ON N0M 1L0 www.rlpheartland.ca

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

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

220 Industrial Park Dr., Brussels N0G 1H0

Fax: 595-4903

Fax: 887-8764

519-595-2343

519-887-8763

Toll Free at 1-888-RING-KCL

PACKERS: WE BUILD RUBBER TIRE PACKER SPECIALISTS

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

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

Wa n t e d to buy

O L D BA R N S FOR SALVAGE CALL STEVE

519-523-4523

Galvanized Roofing For Sale

MANUFACTURING STEEL ROOFING SIDING & TRIMS

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

519-363-3757

2051 Bruce Rd. 19, R.R. 1 Chesley, ON N0G 1L0 RR #2, Arthur, Ont. (519) 848-2799

62 The Rural Voice

Also Supplying Other Building Accessories

Maitland Welding & Machining

Est. 1991

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

63 North St. Wingham

Plastic Tile Installed, GPS Surveying, Excavator, Backhoe, Dozer Work, Weeping Beds Installed

Ph.:519-357-2727

FAMILY BUSINESS SINCE 1949

Fax: 519-357-4769

Mark Cook Main 519-393-5656 Cell 519-276-7402 4283 Line 42, Sebringville, ON N0K 1X0

www.maitlandwelding.com rstute@maitlandwelding.com

AGRICULTURAL

RESIDENTIAL

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

Tel. 519-529-7212 Snowblowers, Quick-attach Buckets, Sweepers, Woodsplitters, Crimper Rollers, Land Rollers, Stone Windrowers, etc.

NEW CONSTRUCTION RENOVATIONS

519-524-0253

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

The deadline for the October issue of The Rural Voice is September 15

$4,195,000

$670,000

$375,000

$459,000

Holland Centre 35 acres bush, custom log home, detached garage

Inverhuron 20 acres bush, vacant land

Manitoulin Island 174 acres all workable in two fields

D

SOL

Allenford 550 acres, 420 acres workable with solid farmhouse

Steacy Den Haan, Broker, Royal LePage RCR Realty steacydenhaan@royallepage.ca • 226-668-3242 September 2020 63

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

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

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

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

FARM EQUIPMENT -------------------------------------------------CASE IH 5140, 7,000 hours, excellent condition. Brussels, 519531-0294.

-------------------------------------------------Three flat racks, 16 feet long with back ladder and good running gear, $650 each or best offer. Brussels, 519-531-0294.

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

Blue Water Angus Sale October 17, 2020 Viewing 9:00 am Sale Time 1:00 pm Cargill Auction Barn - Cargill, ON If you wish to consignee contact Sale Manager Mike Early 519-661-8713

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

-------------------------------------------------CONSTRUCTION -------------------------------------------------WE POUR: liquid manure tanks, bunker silos, foundations and pads.

All are 100% engineered. Serving Ontario since 1968. De Jong & Sons Ltd. 519-348-0523.

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

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

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

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

-------------------------------------------------FARM EQUIPMENT -------------------------------------------------EZTRAIL 500 bu, 14" hyd. drive corner auger, no undercarriage, good condition, $4,500 o.b.o. 519-5310294.

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64 The Rural Voice

CLASSIFIED FENCING -------------------------------------------------FENCIN’ AROUND Installation, Post Pounding and Fencing Supplies. h_laxton@hotmail.com 519-441-2191.

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

HIGHLAND FENCE & SUPPLY INC. Joseph Kirwin

519-475-4868 • 1-800-923-4488 601 Con. 6, Chesley, ON

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

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

From Lucknow 519-529-3653.

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

New online store and home delivery; localline.ca/hillsview-farms -------------------------------------------------Arranhill Garlic Farm, Table Garlic, Scapes and Shallots plus Garlic Seed for fall planting. 110-12 Conc. East, Allenford. 519-270-0022. Email: acowan@gbtel.ca -------------------------------------------------FARM SERVICES --------------------------------------------------

EGGER FARMS CUSTOM BALING

• 3x3 Bales Automatic Acid Applications, Roto Cutter.

Individual Bale Wrapping 6' bales

Call Fritz: 519-292-0138 Advertising in The Rural Voice – A Wise Choice!

Call Today! 519-523-4311

info@highlandfence.ca • www.highlandfence.ca 804075 Rd. 80, Embro, ON N0J 1J0

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

-------------------------------------------------Bodywood • Slabwood Quantity Discounts Serving

519-441-2085 Southwestern Ontario for over 10 years!

519-656-2057 ------------------------------------------------FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Martin’s Nursery & Bee Supplies Etc. Large selection of flowering trees, shade trees, fruit trees and hydrangeas and other shrubs. We have the plants you need to make a living “privacy hedge” or snow fence or windbreaks. Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, White Spruce, Pine and Cedars. Also… a Complete line of Bee Supplies for the commercial or hobby beekeepers. Order your (Nuc) Bees for spring 2021. We stock all wooden-ware (bee-hives) foundation, assembled and unassembled frames, smokers, suits, jackets, gloves, mite treatments and some extracting equipment. Honey containers, jars, pails, custom built wooden-ware.

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

-------------------------------------------------Sea Buckthorn trees for sale.

Email: anastasiasparling@gmail.com --------------------------------------------------

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

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

Closed Sundays, 519-338-3920.

-------------------------------------------------Real Industries cattle chute with palpitation cage and new Arrowquip head restraint. Excellent condition, $2,800. Phone 519-357-2509.

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

Discount Steel Great for barn posts, stabling or other build-your-own projects

Custom Welding & Machine Shop Custom Stabling Mfg. Open Tues. & Thurs. ~ other days by chance John A.M. Martin 1467 Grey Ox Ave., Lucknow

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

S & C Clark TRANSPORT INC. PART-TIME MECHANIC FULL/PART-TIME AZ DRIVERS Owner & Operators

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE -------------------------------------------------Red Angus, Simmental Heifers bred to a Red Angus bull. Silver Springs Farms. James and Joan McKinlay 519-599-6236. jmckinlay@bmts.com -------------------------------------------------Hypharm Genetics rabbits breeding stock now available in Ontario. Order your PS19 does and PS40 bucks. CuniON@tcc.on.ca -------------------------------------------------LIMOUSIN – quality fall born young breeding bulls for sale. Delivery included. Posthaven Limousin, John Post 519-766-7178. www.posthavenlimousin.com -------------------------------------------------Limousin bulls, open and bred females available. Smart Limousin, Meaford 519-372-7459. smartlimo@ bmts.com www.smartlimousin.com -------------------------------------------------Bull calves, mature bulls, polled or homozygous. Easy calving, milk genetics plus performance. An advantage to any fullblood or crossbreeding program. Kern Simmentals breeding since 1970.

Maximum gains with minimum maintenance, 519-369-4076.

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

-------------------------------------------------PETS -------------------------------------------------Herdwick Border Collies – Registered border collie puppies for sale, working bloodlines. Call 519441-0512.

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

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

SERVICES -------------------------------------------------Firearms and hunting training.

PAL & HUNTER ED. Ongoing courses available.

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

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

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

Call 519-859-0097 or 519-871-0300 townsleypainting@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------Barnhem Farm Services. Solid manure spreading; variable rate precision application (optional).

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

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

Heights of 8'-14' (1-pour). All jobs engineer specifications/inspections guaranteed. Best firm quote in Ontario. Mark Cronin, 519-348-9062.

Cell 519-274-5000. www.cronin pouredconcrete.ca -------------------------------------------------TRINAL CUSTOM FARMING – If you are looking for someone to do your disc-bining, big square baling or forage harvesting please call Ken Horst, cell: 519-292-1393 or Kervin 519-357-5557, RR 2, Teeswater.

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

Ph. 519-528-3019

September 2020 65

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

CLASSIFIED

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

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

WANTED -------------------------------------------------Round bales of horse or cattle quality hay picked up. Call Riley Gorman 519-321-1012.

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

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

Cash rent, share crop. Contact Paul at Hill & Hill Farms, 519-2333218 or 519-525-3137 or email: paul.hillhill@tcc.on.ca -------------------------------------------------Scrap Cars Wanted – 20, 30, 40 yd. scrap metal bins available. We sell quality used auto parts. Wanted to buy – scrap cars, trucks, farm machinery, heavy equipment.

Kenilworth Auto Recyclers. 519-3231113.

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

Registered Acupuncturist Blyth, Goderich & Seaforth areas

Neuromuscular pain, Weight loss, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD.

519-891-3178 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 www.sgspestmanagement.ca

SEAMLESS EAVESTROUGHING

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

London 519-268-8500 -------------------------------------------------STANDING TIMBER -------------------------------------------------STANDING TIMBER - hardwood and softwoods. Quality workmanship guaranteed. B. Kropf Forestry Service Ltd., Bruce Kropf, RR 1, Shakespeare, ON, N0B 2P0. 519-748-7422.

-------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS -------------------------------------------------FACTS is Back!

Offering macrame, rug hooking, sewing and dye classes in Blyth this fall. Go to www.factsblyth for more info!

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

Need a good book?

We have lots.

Check out our great WHAT LIQUID RUBBER SEALANT DOES

selection of books from

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

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

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

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

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

519.859.0097 519.871.0300 townsleybarnpainting.com

66 The Rural Voice

the Rural Reading Room

Lisa Thompson MPP Huron-Bruce

CONSTITUENCY OFFICES Blyth Office:

Kincardine Office:

408 Queen Street, PO Box 426 Blyth, ON N0M 1H0 Phone: 519-523-4251 Toll Free: 1-800-668-9320

807 Queen Street, Unit 3 Kincardine, ON N2Z 2Y2 Phone: 519-396-3007 Toll Free: 1-866-396-3007

Website: www.lisathompsonmpp.ca Email: lisa.thompsonco@pc.ola.org

Huron-Bruce Matters

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

Help find land for Good Fortune Farmstead Angel and Raph are experienced urban growers looking for a piece of land to call – and make – their own.

They seek to purchase two to 10 acres of rural Ontario land, suitable for a small organic farm and a modest home, within a one-to-two hour drive East or West of Toronto, or up to one hour North. Their dream is “Good Fortune Farmstead”: a biointensive, diverse micro-farm that focuses on plant-based agriculture; and somewhere they can put down roots.

In January, Angel and Raph participated in one of the NFU-O’s Land-linking and Farmland Conservation workshops (nfuontario.ca/new/land-workshops/) connecting land-seekers with established and retiring farmers. Now the NFU-O wants to help them find a match.

Originally from Montreal, the pair moved to Toronto in 2010 and were refreshed by the diversity and plenty of the city. Though the downtown landscape limits their access to green space, Angel and Raph have developed into proficient small-space gardeners and are inspired by the organizations that reimagine the city as a place where things grow.

Toronto is central to their vision for Good Fortune Farmstead because they intend to feed the community they’ve found there that has nurtured and supported their dream since its inception.

The plans for Good Fortune Farmstead have been germinating for over five years. Angel was “bitten by the farm bug” in 2014 when she first became immersed in urban agriculture through her work with FoodShare and the Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto. Angel is an Organic Master Gardener, a composting phenom, an advocate and an educator, who currently runs an eco-landscaping social enterprise that

Angel and Raph are hopeful land seekers planning to start “Good Fortune Farmstead”.

hires and trains people facing barriers to employment. She comes from growers on both sides of the family and is drawn to farming, in part, because a life spent growing and feeding people is a life her grandmother would understand.

Raph, having spent time volunteering on organic farms and with community gardens in the city, secretly dreamed of a farming life.

Their shared vision of stewardship is setting the stage so that the sun, rain, and soil biology can do the real work of transforming seeds into delicious fruits and vegetables. Raph also brings an interest in the (often simple) tools and organizational methods that can make human-scale farming efficient and productive.

Purchasing a piece of land, or leasing-to-own, is important to Angel and Raph because their vision of stewardship is long-term and requires the security of having the legal deed to the land they grow on. As a Black/mixed race grower, Angel also believes that it’s important for more

Black, Indigenous and other people of colour to be landowners to reflect the population of Ontario, and of the country as a whole.

As we find ourselves at the intersection of a global climate crisis, a worldwide conversation around the legacy of racial injustice, and a pandemic that has exposed the vulnerabilities of our food system, Angel and Raph have been acknowledging and appreciating their own “good fortune”: their friends and family, their good health, and each other. To the future farmers, “good fortune” is both a well wish for the current moment and an acknowledgement of the things they have to be grateful for. They see this idea of gratitude as critical to grounding their farm and to motivate the hard, but meaningful, work they know that farm life will demand.

To contact Angel and Raph, send an email to goodfortunefarmstead@gmail.com or follow them on Instagram: @good_fortune_farmstead.

A subscription to The Rural Voice is one of the benefits of being an NFU-O member September 2020 67

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

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

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

Virtual Democracy 2020 Editorial articles submitted and published on this page are the views of the author(s) and are not meant to represent the position of the Grey County of Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

As harvest continues we also begin to anticipate the work that comes with year’s end. Preparing for the end of one season and the start of the new brings an opportunity to plan and think about what we might do differently. It’s been a challenging year for farmers and while we don’t expect to have much influence over variables like weather, input costs or the commodity markets, when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic we are all doing our best to affect a good outcome.

The Grey County Federation of Agriculture has continued to conduct its business on behalf of members, employing the technology which allows for effective, virtual meetings.

It takes a little bit of work to get used to this new way of keeping in touch.

We do look forward to getting together just as soon as possible, but we’ve adapted and made the best of it.

This year, we will have our 2020 year-end membership meetings using this new technology so that any

member with access to a computer can join. Participation will include questions as well as voting.

Members will soon be seeing announcements that include meeting dates and some guidance on how to join the meetings. We will be announcing the agenda and special guest speaker(s) soon, so please stay tuned.

We have had a very strong roster of board members this year. I hope that many (ideally all) will let their name stand for re-election. On behalf of the board I’d like to encourage any OFA Grey County member to consider letting their name stand for election. The role is not onerous and one can have a material impact on the farming sector in Grey County.

As the outgoing president, I’d like to acknowledge and thank the directors for their work and commitment providing guidance on a myriad topics these past couple of years. Thanks to Dianne Booker, Keith Reid, Allan Hughes, Kevin Raszmann, Michael Ryan, Paul Wettlaufer, Paul McQueen, Bill Herron as well as Jackie Pennings

who, besides her role as Director also runs the administration for our organization. Thanks also to Christine Robinson who sits on our Board as a delegate from Grey County Council; Joanne Hughes who works with us in her role as the Member Service Representative with OFA and Paul Vickers, our OFA Zone 2 director.

On behalf of all farmers in Grey County, the aforementioned have each provided strong, wise voices and guidance on important agriculture topics and their commitment is deserving of our thanks.

Representation of the farm sector’s interests is so important in these times of an expanding non-farm footprint. More and more of our communities are being guided by those who have little experience or connection to the nuances of living in rural Ontario and running a farm business. The Board of Directors at Grey County Federation of Agriculture will continue to ensure that your voice is heard. ◊ – Submitted by Hugh Simpson President Grey County Federation of Agriculture

We’re connecting virtually for this year’s OFA Regional Meeting Due to the COVID­19 pandemic, OFA is conducting this year’s regional meeting in a virtual format.

The virtual meeting will be hosted on October 14 at 7:00 p.m

Grey County Federation of Agriculture

OFA regional meetings offer the opportunity to support your local agricultural community.

2020 MEETINGS

Transitioning to a virtual format ensures we protect the health and safety of our staff, directors and members.

September 10 – Directors’ Meeting October 14 - GCFA AGM November 12 – Directors’ Meeting November - OFA Convention/OYFF December - Christmas Social DUE TO COVID-19 GCFA Board Meetings have become

The event includes elections for delegates and alternates to OFA’s annual General Meeting and Policy Advisory Council (PAC) members. These positions will be representing Grey County at OFA’s annual meeting on November 23, 2020. These opportunities allow members to bring concerns and suggestions to provincial OFA leadership.

The deadline for a member to submit their intention to run for one of these three positions is October 7 or seven days prior to the meeting date.

The deadline to register for this year’s OFA Regional meeting is October 12.

Please contact your local Member Service Representative Joanne Hughes at joanne.hughes@ofa.on.ca or 226­230­2359 to register and for more information.

conference/video call format. Please contact the office if you are interested in taking part.

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

68 The Rural Voice

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

446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551 * The Rural Voice is provided to OFA

Members in Bruce County by the BCFA NEWSLETTER Emergency Planning guide an evolving resource for pork farms

Any opinion expressed is that of individual County Directors or Representatives and may not necessarily reflect the views of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture or Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

In 2015, Ontario Pork launched its On-Farm Emergency Planning Guide, designed to help producers be better prepared for unforeseen events.

At the time, the focus was on a variety of potential on-farm crises, including fires, entrapment, spills, gas leaks, transport emergencies and storms.

A lot can change in five years. In 2019 and 2020, Ontario Pork’s Program Advisory committee, comprised of producers, board members and staff, began a review of the guide to ensure it reflected current realities.

The group identified three areas of concern that had emerged or increased since 2015. Those included foreign animal disease (such as African Swine Fever) on-farm protests or undercover activity by animal rights extremists, and mental health.

Beginning in June 2020, following extensive industry consultation and feedback, three new chapters were shared with producers. Updated copies of the full binder were also made available to producers.

The foreign animal disease chapter Bruce County Federation of Agriculture

2020 MEETINGS September 28 – Directors’ Meeting October 28 - BCFA AGM November 9 – Directors’ Meeting

DUE TO COVID-19 BCFA Board Meetings have become conference/video call format.

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

is designed to be applicable in multiple situations, from an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, to the appearance of African Swine Fever in North America. The chapter helps farmers plan for identification and reporting of disease, business continuity, euthanasia protocols and policies and disposal considerations.

The activism and protests chapter offers guidelines and templates to reduce the risk of activists entering farm properties illegally or under false pretenses, property security guidelines, and recommended response in the event of a protest or incursion. It incorporates hiring best practices, and recommendations for engaging with staff, emergency response, media and others.

The mental health chapter is not meant to replace professional help but provides some straight-forward information on self-care and selfassessment, as well as steps to take to support others who may be struggling. Most importantly, it includes an updated list of mental health resources in Ontario.

So far, the response from Ontario Pork members has been strong, with many requests for new chapters and updated binders. A survey to assess

the value of the tool is planned for the fall.

The guide is designed to be a hands-on resource for high-stress situations. Farmers are encouraged to keep a copy near each barn’s exit door and in their main office.

The guide includes risk checklists, contact records, mapping tools, regulatory guidelines, and biosecurity templates, available in either a brightred binder or on a USB key.

Completing the guide is a shared responsibility, with Ontario Pork staff support available to help each farm customize the supplied templates to their operation.

The original project and the 2020 update were funded in part through Growing Forward 2 (GF2), a federalprovincial-territorial initiative, delivered in Ontario through the Agriculture Adaptation Council.

A total of 500 copies were printed in 2015, with most of those distributed to farms within the first year. The guide was met with a positive response by both farmers and the agriculture industry, as a proactive and practical way to support farm safety.

For more information, contact communications@ontariopork.on.ca◊ – Stacey Ash, Ontario Pork

We’re connecting virtually for this year’s OFA Regional Meeting Due to the COVID­19 pandemic, OFA is conducting this year’s regional meeting in a virtual format.

The virtual meeting will be hosted on October 28 at 7:00 p.m OFA regional meetings offer the opportunity to support your local agricultural community.

Transistioning to a virtual format ensures we protect the health and safety of our staff, directors and members.

The event includes elections for delegates and alternates to OFA’s annual General Meeting and Policy Advisory Council (PAC) members. These positions will be representing Bruce County at OFA’s annual meeting on November 23, 2020. These opportunities allow members to bring concerns and suggestions to provincial OFA leadership.

The deadline for a member to submit their intention to run for one of these three positions is October 21 or seven days prior to the meeting date. The deadline to register for this year’s OFA Regional meeting is October 26.

Please contact your local Member Service Representative Joanne Hughes at joanne.hughes@ofa.on.ca or 226­230­2359 to register and for more information.

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

September 2020 69

Perth County Federation of Agriculture Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Sue Shafer, Office Administrator 1-833-229-6834 Tim Halliday, President: 519-292-9533

2020 – A year for Change 2020 has been the year of change: a polar vortex, dry spring, COVID19, more stress than usual, increased mental health issues, decreased market access, cancelled contracts, CUSMA, and the loss of a local abattoir. These are many of the challenges we as farmers have had to face this year. Now also add trucking issues, animal activism and protests.

It can make you wonder why anyone would want to farm.

As we know, it is the love of farming that keeps everyone going.

With all these things happening, this is a time for growth – a time to use things made or grown and processed or manufactured in Ontario. The opportunities are here. With the support of government this can happen. We need our growing, processing, packaging and manufacturing done here right in Ontario. Please contact your MP, MPP, local municipal and county councils to get the support needed to push this forward. Investment in these areas will keep us farming and keep people employed.

Have you ever considered sitting on the Perth County Federation of Agriculture’s Board of Directors?

The Perth Federation will be electing or re-electing four board members this year. The board consists of 12 board members, with four of them forming the executive. Each person serves a three-year term. We attend approximately eight board of directors meetings each year as well as the Annual General meeting and OFA regional meeting. There are also opportunities to sit on sub-

committees such as the Special Events Committee that organizes our Annual Harvest Gala and the Government Relations Committee that works with our area’s MP and MPP. If you are interested or just have questions, please feel free to contact any board or executive member, Sue, our new office administrator or Margaret, our member services representative. You can use the various forms of technology that we have been using to reach out to our membership: phone call, text, email, Facebook, Twitter or through our website.

Remember all associations need board members – it is an opportunity to do your part and to have input, promote the organization and Perth County Agriculture, assist with lobbying, or even just share your thoughts through interactive conversations with others. We can all learn from those conversations.

Currently, because of COVID-19 we have been doing our meetings via Telus Business Connect, a video and web conferencing service that allows us to meet virtually from the Perth County Federation of Agriculture

DIRECTORS’ MEETING Thursday, September 17 8:00 p.m.

Currently all PCFA Board meetings are being held in video call format.

Please call Sue at 1-833-229-6834 if you wish to participate

safety of our own homes. We look forward to hearing from you.

Do you need money for school?

Are you in your second, third, or fourth year of post-secondary school?

Is your home address in Perth County? Do you plan to use your education to help the agricultural community? This is your opportunity to go to our website to fill in, download or email your application.

We offer two $1,000 scholarships.

They are due by September 30. Late entries will not be accepted to be fair to those who follow deadlines.

Again, if you have questions please reach out to us. We want to give out these scholarships. ◊ – Joanne Innes, PCFA Board Member

Contact Us Executive Members: Tim Halliday..........................519-292-9533 Sara Wood ..........................519-272-5525 Darryl Terpstra ....................519-291-7586 Julie Danen ..........................519-801-9200 Office Administrator: Sue Shafer ........................1-833-229-6834 OFA Member Service Rep: Margaret Vincent ....1-800-511-1135 ext. 1 Website: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca Email: perthcountyfedofag@gmail.com @PerthCountyFedofAg @PerthCountyAg

PCFA Continuing Education Scholarship

Harvest Gala

For students entering second, third or fourth-year post-secondary education in agriculture or a related field, whose home address is in Perth County and who can show a connection to an OFA member. *********************

Saturday, November 21

For individuals, couples, families, businesses or organizations showing outstanding contributions to agriculture and the community in Perth County.

More details coming soon...

For more info call 1-833-229-6834 or visit: www.perthcountyfarmers.ca

Perth County Federation of Agriculture

‘from home’

PCFA Agricultural Recognition Award

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

70 The Rural Voice

Index A.G. Hayter Contracting ................21 Argyle Marine & Small Engines ....61 Armstrong’s Home Bakery ............59 Artisanal Chicken Program ............24 Bag Supplies Canada Ltd ..............62 Bayfield Recreational Sales ..........32 BBQ Promotion ..............................31 BDO ..............................................26 Belore Trailers ..............................62 Ben Kuepfer Concrete ....................7 Bernie McGlynn/SB Flooring ........57 Bester Wood Products ..................57 Bill Walker MPP ............................24 Bio-Ag ............................................59 Blue Water Angus Sale..................64 Bluewater Pipe Inc ..........................7 Brough & Whicher..........................61 Buddsteel Architectural Products ....2 Bushell’s Auto Sales ............Cover 5 Canadian Co-op Wool Growers ....36 Chalmers Fuels..............................26 Cliff’s Plumbing & Heating ............36 Clinton Sporting Goods..................57 Cross Country Eavestrough ..........32 DJ Henry Homes & Renovations ..61 Easy Lift Doors ..............................14 Egger Farms ..................................64 Fall Harvest Promotion ....................3 free-light ........................................53 Gerber’s Workwear ........................61 Gerrit’s Ag Service ........................49 Greenville Liquid Plant Food..........50 Grey-Bruce Construction ..............16 GRK Products ................................50 Grober Nutrition ....................Cover 4 Hanover Honda..............................53 Hardi ..............................................51 Harold Jones Enterprises ..............62 Highland Painting ..........................55 Hill & Hill Farms....Inside Front Cover Hunter Steel ..........................Cover 7 Huron Hauling & Excavating ..........71 Huron Motor Products....................59 Huron Perth Public Health ........13,15 JA Porter Holdings Ltd ..................36 Kenpal Farm Products Inc ............39

KMM Farm Drainage ....................26 Kraemer Concrete Ltd ..................62 Kuepfer Farm Drainage ................61 Lakeside Shelving & Racking ........13 Layton Steve ..................................62 Lisa Thompson MPP ....................66 Live Landscape..............................45 Maitland Welding & Machining ......63 Mapleview Agri ..............................46 Mark Cook Farm Drainage ............63 Marquardt Farm Drainage ............15 Martin Farm Wagons ....................49 Marvin L Smith ..............................57 Mathers Arnold ..............................35 McIntee Realtor - Steve Nixon ......61 Mike Boven Carpentry ..................63 MNP LLP ......................................12 Morris Sachs Silo Construction......24 Nature’s Wave Inc ........................28 North Huron Carpentry ..................36 Nuclear Waste Management ........24 Nuhn Forage ..................................17 Nutrient Management ....................19 Ontario Mutual Insurance ..............22 On-Track Door Systems........Cover 3 Preserve & Store ............................4 Raynbow Signs ..............................63 Ridgeway Metals ..........................62 Royal Le Page - Robert Hulley ......62 Royal Le Page - Steacy DenHaan ..63

Rural Living ....................................45 Rural Routes Pest Control ............61 Rural Voice Books ................Cover 6 Rural Voice Subs ..................Cover 7 Sauble Beach Motorsports ..32,48,58 Saugeen Shores Town of ..............55 Schmidt’s Farm Drainage ..............32 Schweiss Doors ............................13 Sew & Save Centre ........................8 Sharp’s Creek Forge......................26 Signature Crane ............................17 Smyth Welding ..............................63 Somerville Seedlings ....................57 Steffen Well Drilling ......................62 Stihl ................................................60 Stratford Agri Analysis ..................21 SWO Diesel ..........................Cover 4 Sylvar Technologies Inc ................13 The Brew Shop ..............................13 The Crushing Aghent ......................6 Townsley Barn Painting ................66 Tree Planting & Maintenance ....9,11 Triple P Consulting ........................51 Trouw Nutrition ................Back Cover Truckers Toy ..................................54 Usborne & Hibbert ........................14 Waddell Engineering......................55 WD Hopper & Sons Ltd ................41 Williams Drainage ..........................51 Working Iron ..................................53

Site Grading

Clearing Land

Excavation

Laser grader for flat floors and slopes

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

Foundations, driveways, floors etc.

Deadline for the October issue of The Rural Voice is September 15

Laverne Brubacher 519 292 0078 laverne@huronexcavating.ca

45961 Salem Road Clifford ON N0G 1M0 September 2020 71

HURON

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

Feeding your Future

Upcoming Events

County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER

The Feeding Your Future initiative is proud to officially launch its new website – feedingyourfuture.ca. Feeding Your Future aims to connect agri-food employers to current job seekers, to help fill the labour shortage within Ontario agriculture, now and into the future. To keep Ontario’s food supply chain strong, employers along the agri-food value chain need support to recruit and train workers for indemand jobs across the sector.

Through a job matching concierge service, free virtual career fairs, a webinar series and specialized training opportunities, this project is rapidly developing a support system for employers, while creating new job prospects for Ontarians.

Visit feedingyourfuture.ca to learn more about upcoming events, register for free virtual career fairs and stay up-to-date on new agri-training courses coming soon.

Also information is available on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @feedyourfuture.

This project was funded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a

five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Information on Feedingyour future.ca provided on the ofa.on.ca website.◊

Farm Safety Today is a great day to have conversations with your family and friends about farm safety.

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is a great resource to start everyone thinking and talking about farm safety.

In partnership with BASF, CASA created a ‘For Kids’ resource page on its website casa-acsa.ca, featuring tools like a farm safety contract for parents and kids, a toolbox talk, links on building safe play areas and downloadable activity and colouring pages.

The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) is making available, free of charge, three online courses until September 30, 2020. Courses can be found on their website.

• CASA Tractor & Farm Machinery • Seasonal Agricultural Workers Health and Safety Orientation • Dairy Worker Safety Orientation Series

Save the dates!

The Huron County Federation of Agriculture Annual Meeting will be Friday, October 23, 2020 This year the meeting will be held virtually.

Please contact the office if you are interested in joining this meeting.

This is our opportunity to discuss resolutions coming from Huron County to the OFA Convention. Resolutions that are time-sensitive can be submitted sooner.

We will also have our elections held at this meeting. ********** The OFA Regional Meeting will be held virtually on September 2 at 8:00 p.m. This meeting will include updates on current OFA issues and ongoing efforts, in addition to elections for OFA Policy Advisory Council members, Delegates and Alternates to the 2020 Ontario Federation of Agriculture Convention (November 23).

To be eligible to run for positions and vote at the meeting you will need to be a member of the OFA. The deadline for a member to submit their intention to run for one of these three positions is Wednesday, August 26, 2020.

Please contact our MSR Margaret Vincent to register no later than Monday, August 31, and to receive the meeting details.

Margaret’s contact information is Margaret.vincent@ofa.on.ca or 519-482-9642 extension 1.

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

September 15-18 – Outdoor Farm Show is going digital.

Visit: outdoorfarmshow.com for details.

Huron County Federation of Agriculture

BOARD MEETING September 28 at 8:00 p.m.

Due to COVID-19 the board meeting will be a video/ conference call format.

Please contact the office if you are interested in joining the meeting

Send in your nomination The Huron County Federation of Agriculture is collecting nominations for the yearly Huron County Agriculture Award for 2020. The award winner will be announced at the HCFA Annual Meeting.

Please include in the nomination: The name, address and phone number of the nominee as well as a description explaining your nomination of this person’s (or persons’) contribution to agriculture.

Nominations can be emailed to ofahuron@tcc.on.ca or they can be mailed to the HCFA Office.

Deadline is September 21, 2020.

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

Please be assured that we are still available to address your concerns by telephone: 519-482-9642 or email: ofahuron@tcc.on.ca Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/huronfedofag and Facebook at Huron County Federation of Agriculture

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

72 The Rural Voice

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2017 GMC Sierra reg. cab, 2 WD, 178,000 km . . . . . .

CARS 2017 Chev Malibu LT 106,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14,995

2016 Dodge Grand Caravan 139,000 km............$14,995 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan 111,000 km............$11,700 2010 Toyota Sienna 310,000 km ................................$4,995

SUVS 2018 Ford Ecosport 54,000 km................................$18,995 2015 Ford Edge Titanium AWD, 70,000 km .......$25,900 2016 Chev Trax 18,000 km.........................................$14,400 2013 Ford Edge AWD, 175,000 km ...........................$15,500 2014 Ford Edge AWD, 140,000 km ...........................$12,900 2009 Dodge Journey AWD, 167,000 km ...................$5,795 2013 Ford Escape AWD, 125,000 km......................$12,995 2013 Chev Trax 86,000 km.........................................$10,995 2011 Ford Edge AWD, 140,000 km...............................$12,900 2011 Honda CRV AWD, 116,000 km ........................$12,995 2011 Honda CRV EX-L AWD, 75,000 km ..................$14,995

Is your car in the Body Shop?

2017 Ford Focus 17,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$13,995 2013 Mazda 3 52,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,995 2013 Chev Cruise 124,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,995 2011 Chev Impala 232,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,495

We have rentals available for most major insurance companies.

Give us a call today!

2010 Hyundai Accent 102,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,995 2010 Chev Malibu 156,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4,995 2007 Chev Malibu 160,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,495 2005 Toyota Corolla 194,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,995 2007 Toyota Yaris 135,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$4,200

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

1974 Fiat Convertible 118,000 km . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,995

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

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The Rural Reading Room Specializing in Rural Living & Local Authors

BEYOND REACH Set in Perth County and in the Muskokas, this novel follows three generations of women who struggle to connect with each other. It explores chronic depression and how it affects not only the one who suffers from it but the whole family.

Local author Sandi Plewis highlights the need for women to find their voices and claim their own power and takes readers on a journey of self-discovery and hope. $25.00 (10% of sales will be donated to Huron Hospice).

SCARECROWS Whether for practical purposes or for decoration, this book gives plenty of ideas on how to make a scarecrow, and how to be creative in giving it charm and personality.

More than 100 large pages, colourfully illustrated. $25.95

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PIES 200 recipes for sweet and savory pies, fillings, toppings, glazes and sauces as well as crisps, crumbles and cobblers.

Pies both for desserts and main courses including tourtiere, beef, chicken and fish pies and quiche. $27.95

WHEN I’M GONE: Practical notes for those you leave behind All too often family members die without leaving important banking information, PIN numbers, location of keys, phone numbers, addresses, etc.

This provides a practical fill-in book and resource. $19.95

CORN 140 recipes for cooking with corn from roasted to creamed to cooking with cornmeal: everything from corn breads and cookies to popcorn to tacos and burritos. $20.95

THE COMPLETE ROOT CELLAR BOOK There’s no better or more natural way to store food than in a root cellar. This book gives plans and instructions for how to build a root cellar and tips on the selection and storage of foods, even tips on controlling pests. $27.95

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

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

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$25.00 $27.95 $20.95 $27.95 $25.95 $19.95 $29.95 $29.95 Total for Books Shipping & Handling $9.00 Add 5% GST on subtotal Order Total

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.

Introduce a friend to your favourite magazine

Rural Voice August 2020

The

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

GENETIC DIVERSITY

Anniversary Special for NEW subscribers

Hawthorne Organic Farm Seeds focuses on growing resilient plants that taste and look great

$15 for 1 year

ENRICHED LIFE New enrichment cages are roomier and allow hens to express natural behaviours

Please make cheque payable to North Huron Publishing Inc. or call with credit card

CLIMATE CARES Add caring for the climate to the list of chores as farmers grow crops and raise animals

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519-523-4311

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Ripley

Elora

519-395-5955 855-895-5955

Yantzi Feed & Seed

Mitchell

Tavistock

519-348-8752 800-669-3502

519-655-2033

Alisa Craig 519-232-4449

519-846-5354 800-265-5354 The Hitching Post (2019) Ltd. St. Marys 519-284-2360