Ontario vegetable growers want legislative change on water controls

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

A key priority for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association this year is getting waste and rainwater from horticultural farms regulated under the province’s Nutrient Management Act rather than by the Environmental Protection Act, says newly elected chair Ray Duc.

Duc, a Niagara-on-the-Lake grape and tender fruit grower, says some farmers are being told to get environmental compliance approvals issued by the provincial Environment Ministry to handle their waste water and rainwater that runs off their farms. But the approvals have a hefty price tag with some farmers facing costs of $25,000 to get them.

“Some of these are small farms,” he adds.

Duc says even with waste and rainwater being regulated under the Nutrient Management Act, the environment ministry would “still have to police it but we’d be working with OMAFRA (the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs).”

The association started working last year to get waste and rainwater regulated under the Act and “it is moving along,” says Duc, who was elected chair at the association’s annual meeting Jan. 14-16 in Niagara Falls. “I think we just have to give it the push to get it over the edge.”

Duc farms with his son and brother-in-law on their farm. He is past chair of Grape Growers of Ontario and has been involved with other farm organizations, such as Farm & Food Care Ontario and the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Service. He has been an association director for 14 years and takes over as chair from Mac James who stepped down after serving one year in that position.

“I like to be involved and make horticulture a little better in Ontario,” says Duc of his reason for running for chair.

The other 2013 board members are: Brian Gilroy (apples), Norm Charbonneau (small fruit/berries), Jason Verkaik (fresh vegetables – muck), Jason Ryder (asparagus), Fred Meyers (tender fruit), Jan VanderHout (greenhouse vegetables), Don Taylor (greenhouse vegetables), Ken Van Torre (ginseng) and Mary Shabatura (fresh vegetables).

The vice-chair will be elected at the board’s Feb. 7 meeting. Duc says during that meeting they will elect the management committee and the vice-chair is then elected from that committee. BF