Elk back in the spotlight at OFA directors meeting

Thursday, August 26, 2010

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture anticipates that the Ministry of Natural Resources will shortly post a draft policy that would allow farmers to harass or kill nuisance elk destroying crops on their farms.

At an OFA directors meeting Aug 25, president Bette Jean Crews says the province has assured her the policy will be posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights website as early as today. “It’s good news for farmers but we don’t know details on how many elk can be removed,” Crews says.

Crews says the federation wanted the comment period on the policy to be shortened to 30 days because the critical harvest period, when marauding elk can do the most damage, is approaching. However, the ministry of natural resources insisted that the comment period must remain at 45 days.

Damage to crops in the Bancroft area has been a long-standing issue. The ministry released breeding animals there in order to establish a herd for hunting. Affected farmers say the animals were never native to the area.

Farmers must report stray voltage: Federation

Gencor wants a third party review process put into place to deal with stray voltage remains an issue on the province’s dairy farms. However, the province’s largest AI cooperative was not able to get the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the province’s largest farm organization, to lead the way.

Ontario already has the strongest regulations in the country to deal with farm stray voltage, says OFA vice-president Don McCabe. He says Ontario Hydro has only received 11 complaints about stray voltage in recent months “and they’ve all been dealt with.”

“Farm stray voltage is a cancer in the livestock industry here in Ontario and needs to be addressed much more aggressively than has occurred to date,” Gencor general manager Brian O’Connor wrote in a letter to the federation.

Farmers are afraid to complain to Hydro One, the largest rural distributor in the province, because their hydro might be turned off, says OFA director Ralph Brodie, Kent County. McCabe says that fear is unrealistic.

“It comes down to a communications exercise,” McCabe says.

“You will have to call your provider whether you like it or not,” director Mark Wales says. “I don’t think creating further bureaucracy . . . . will solve the problem.”

Still more power news

OFA vice president Don McCabe says farmers who were among the 11,000 landowners left in limbo with a micro-FIT application before July 2 must re-submit their applications by Sept. 7. The Ontario Authority needs assurance that individual applicants are still able to proceed.

Federation out sources communications role to London ad agency

Today the Ontario Federation of Agriculture announced it had selected ON Communications as their agency of record to execute their province-wide marketing and communications initiatives.

“ON’s grasp of agriculture is invaluable,” said Neil Currie, general manager of the province’s largest general farm organization. “Their hands-on experience and practical knowledge will be applied to help us meet our organization’s objectives.”

“We’re fortunate to have the opportunity to work with an agricultural leader like the Ontario Federation of Agriculture,” says Rob Boyer, Principal, ON Communication Inc. “We’re excited to be helping the OFA enhance its position as the voice of Ontario’s farmers.”

According to figures provided to directors at this month’s meeting, the federation has 36,019 members as of July 31. That’s down 584, a 0.2 per cent decline since the same time last year. BF