Pending amendments to the Ontario Nutrient Management Act have some district farmers concerned they may not be able to keep up without incurring severe financial difficulties.
The original concept of nutrient management, compiled five years ago by the Ontario Farm Coalition, was based on the need to balance on-farm requirements with environmental responsibility.
Then came the Walkerton tragedy.
But the new act—designed and enforced by the province—is unreasonable and unworkable, some farmers say.
“I think they’re going overboard,” said Mark Gerber, a Fort Frances area sheep farmer and former member of the Christian Farmers’ Federation of Ontario.
“I know we have to think of the environment and water, but we’ve got to the point where we worship the tree and forget about the Creator,” he added.
Gerber said he’s concerned farmers will become so mired in the minutiae of the regulations, it will become impossible to understand or comply with them. Furthermore, they will impose on the one thing of which farmers never have enough: time.
Gerber said he has no problem with the objective of the act and its current agenda, which calls for setbacks and buffer zones around waterways as well as minimum distances from wellheads.
It is the way things seem to be moving so fast—without good direction—that worries him.
Larry Lamb, president of the district Soil and Crop Improvement Association, shares Gerbers concerns. In fact, he’s attending a meeting of the provincial associations in Niagara Falls this week, where he plans to bring his concerns and those of other farmers to the attention of Agriculture minister Helen Johns.
Lamb said he doesn’t know yet what the new amendments will entail, but he is sure it will not make life easier for farmers—particularly those in southern Ontario.
“I know right now the impact is going to be greater on southern Ontario farmers,” he remarked. “They have more restrictions, due to smaller plots, closer neighbours, and more stream beds to deal with,” he explained.
A public meeting on draft regulations under the Nutrient Management Act will be held Thursday (Feb. 6) from 9 a.m.-noon at the Legion hall in Rainy River.
Presenters and participants should register their attendance by calling toll-free 1-877-424-1300.
For information on the Nutrient Management Act, visit:
http://www.gov.on.ca/omaf
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
