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Home My WebLink About2010-01-14 MinutesCLARINGTON AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Barrie Ted Watson Gary Jeffery Eric Bowman Henk Mulders Donald Rickard Mark Bragg Orwin Bandstra Councillor Gord Robinson I-2 REGRETS: Jennifer Knox Mary Ann Found Brenda Metcalf Ross McMaster Marlene Werry-Durham Region STAFF: Faye Langmaid GUEST: Cliff Curtis, Commissioner of Works, Region of Durham Anne Greentree, Deputy Clerk (later in meeting) Adoption of Agenda 10-01 Moved by Don Rickard, seconded by Ted Watson "That the Agenda for January 14, 2010 be adopted" "CARRIED" Approval of Minutes 10-02 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Orwin Bandstra "That the minutes of the November 12, 2009 meeting be approved, as amended." "CARRIED" GUEST: Cliff Curtis, Commissioner of Works, Region of Durham Cliff provided an overview of the tire recycling program that the Region has undertaken and also the Balewrap Program that the Region has had for five years. (Packages for members not in attendance will be distributed with the minutes). Questions/Answer Session: The blue box is different across the Province because the different municipalities have different contracts with recyclers; some Regions or municipalities do not recycle certain products such as clam-shells as they do not have a contract with a recycler that can handle them. Electronics- after April 1, 2010 anything with a cord will be accepted at the transfer stations for recycling. Electric cords are at this point not recyclable. A transfer station in Clarington is part of the agreement between Clarington and the Region with regard to the EFW. It will be a household transfer station and will take 3-4 years to be up and running. The location is undetermined at this point, an MOE license is required and they are very specific about the requirements of the transfer station. The EFW will still be necessary even though Durham has one of the highest recycling rates of all Ontario municipalities. Currently Durham recycles 53% and have an aggressive diversion program to get to 70%. In 2009 Durham sent 115,000 tonnes to landfill in Michigan at the end of 2010 that will shift to New York but the costs will also increase from $90 a tonne to $110. Of the waste that will go into the EFW 20% will come out as ash (char) and 5% fly ash (from the stack) but the volume will have drastically reduced. The ash. is recyclable. in concrete and cement products the fly ash goes to a hazardous waste site. Monitoring will be continuous and to the standards required by the MOE Certificate of Approval, the detailed requirements have not been set as of yet. Some committee members are concerned about the perception of the public, personally not concerned but environmental monitoring would have provided additional scient'rfic data to back up the claims. Half-loads- The roads are not constructed to a standard to be able to take the weight. Issue of funding - If additional funding was provided then the roads could be built to a higher standard (some of them are).. That requires the Province to redistribute how funding is carried out. If farmers are allowed for their products, it means the developers and aggregate industry both of which have much stronger political lobbies will be asking for the same thing. Side-loads- Cliff suggested that a formal request from the AACC to him be made about the permitting issue to allow for side loading on Regional roads especially in harvest season when the fields are wet. Guest- Anne Greentree, Deputy Clerk The opportunity to raise chickens in backyards has been requested by a delegation that came before Council in the late fall. Anne is carrying out research on the issue. Currently in Clarington chickens are only allowed on agricultural properties. If the Municipality considers allowing chickens on non-agricultural properties then conditions have to be set out. The six points made by the delegation on why chickens should. be allowed were reviewed. After some discussion, it was generally agreed that the six points raised are not the issues that will most affect the general public. Rather the AACC Jan 74, ZU7U issues of predation, spread of disease, what will happen to the chickens once they finish laying (after 300 days), the potential smell, neighbourhood nuisance, and the size of the lots would have to be addressed. Anne asked if the committee could formalize its position. 10-03 Moved by Donald Rickard Seconded by Tom Barrie `;4ACC does not support the keeping of livestock on non-agricultural properties" "CARRIED" Number of dogs on a rural or agricultural property -Anne also wanted the committee's opinion on the number of dogs that should be allowed on an agricultural property. In reviewing the Responsible Pet Owners By-law, the issue of how many if any dogs on properties where the owner or tenants did not reside has become an issue. After some discussion the consensus of the committee was that a limit of three mature dogs should be the maximum unless it is part of the husbandry practices of the industry and it should be on the property where the pet owner resides. Examples that were given are the keeping of dogs with livestock to protect them from coyotes (Great Pyrenees with llamas), the keeping of dogs in greenhouses as security (e.g. working dogs), sheep farmers (collies and other herding dogs). BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES /:loads resolution -was endorsed by Council and circulated to other municipalities. Climatic Assessment -deferred to next meeting when Marlene is in attendance. Road Occupancy Permit -Meeting with Leslie Benson and committee members. Permits can be obtained from Engineering Services, farmers can fill out the permit and provide additional sheets of information. Engineering Services is willing to provide a blanket permit for the year with many sites listed. A permit does not allow for a full road closure even for a short period. The permit states that "all guidelines outlined in Ontario Traffic Manual- Book 7- Temporary Conditions for Short Duration Work (under 24 hours) must be followed". The Committee members seem well versed on Book 7, other farmers may not be. Committee members inquired that once a permit is obtained if an on-line submission to submit occupancy could be set up to assist Emergency Services in knowing where/when loading will be occurring. There was also some discussion on how to notify the entire farming community of this -notices at Co-op, Evergreen, etc. Farmer's Parade of Lights- it was raining but had a larger crowd, great attendance. A debriefing meeting with Police and others will be held. Permit for December 2010 will be obtained from Ron Baker within next few months. CORRESPONDENCE Notice from John O'Toole about Agricultural Round Table on Monday, Jan 18 in Blackstock. AACC _ Jan 74, 2010 REPORTS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES DAAC Last meeting was a visit to Algoma, able to see the juicing plant. Very impressive. Eric noted the article attached to the hand out and the funding that Algoma received from the Provincial Government. Durham Federation of Agriculture No report Clarington Board of Trade Donald Rickard informs Board members about the issues important to farmer, challenges of farming near urban areas and where development is happening. Meetings are moving to different businesses to see their operations. OTHER BUSINESS Private Members Bill regarding Corporations- Gary provided information on the submission of a private members bill that would restrict corporations from receiving government grants. There are also limitations in the Pesticides Act regarding corporations that farmers should be concerned about. It appears that there is little understanding that some farms are sole proprietor and many are corporations even if they are small farms. Gary is going to discuss at John O'Toole's roundtable on agricultural issues. This may require a resolution at future meetings. GRCA/CLOCA Stewardship Grants- there may be some issues over parody between the programs, Faye is following up. Livestock (deadstock) and wildlife predation of crops- Compensation for crop predation is becoming a major issue. Faye will inform Ron Allen as he is speaker for next meeting. 2009 Accomplishments -Attached to the handout for tonight, Gary will be appearing at the January 18~' GPA meeting to update Council Donald Rickard was named the "Soybean King", the winner of the Soybean Challenge for Zone 2 of Ontario. A presentation will be made at a televised Council meeting by Council FUTURE AGENDA Feb -Ron Allen from MNR will be here on Wildlife Predation -any specific questions for him? In addition, Patti Barrie, Tom Vendrasco, Jim Coombs and Brian Souch will attend. Future Meeting -Dennis Yellowlees on Greenbelt Council Moved to Adjourn: Eric Bowman Next Meeting: February 11, 2010 7:30 p.m. AACC J81174, lU7U