HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-10 Minutes
AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of CLARINGTON MEETING
THURSDAY, April 10 th, 2014
MEMBERS PRESENT: John Cartwright Brenda Metcalf
Don Rickard Ted Watson
Les Caswell Eric Bowman
Mary Ann Found
REGRETS: Tom Barrie, Jenni Knox, Mark Bragg, Councillor Partner
STAFF: Lisa Backus (on behalf of Faye Langmaid)
GUESTS: Regrets Susan Chan, Native Pollinator Program
Ted welcomed all to the meeting, reminded them that Lisa Backus was acting staff liaison in
Adoption of Agenda
014-07
Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by Don Rickard
That the Agenda for April 10, 2014 be adopted as modified by changing the future tour
CARRIED
Approval of Minutes
014-08
Moved by Don Rickard, seconded by Eric Bowman
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March 13, 2014 meeting be approved
CARRIED
Presentation:
Presentation by Susan Chan to be rescheduled.
Business Arising from Minutes
Sustainability/Benchmarks
subcommittee members attended the Sustainability
Committee meeting March 20, 2014. A good discussion was had. Measuring
sustainability in agriculture is difficult, you can measure any number of things, compare
yield between years, number of building permits, land that is put into or taken out of
production, land that it tile drained to increase productivity. Perhaps one of the better
measurables-investments in land and production that are being made
such as Algoma (apples), the Metcalfs (dairy, chicken), the Selbys (cash crops) and
Wilmot Orchards (tender fruit, blueberries and value added).
what was determined as a measurable, if it would truly be a measure of Sustainability,
or a measure of something more quantifiable like land area, dollar value etc.
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Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington April 10, 2014
CBOT Agricultural Summit th
- March 18, 2014. Over 60 people in attendance.
Observations include more than half of the attendees were not farmers, lots of people
commodities.
Correspondence and Council Referrals
- None
One item Ted overlooked, but will submit is regarding
buffers. Buffers need to permanent. Pesticides etc., are so volatile there needs to be
separation not only from residential areas and natural heritage features but may also
need them between agricultural operations. Still time to make comments if anyone is
interested.
Liaison Reports
DAACDiscussed agricultural permits information package. Changes were made
as requested. Most of discussion was regarding Greenbelt review.
DRFA Thanks to all the volunteers for Farm Connections. Mayor Foster, Councillors
Hooper and Novak in attendance. Approx. 1200 people attended the Open House.
to advertise
Durham Farm Connections. All commodities will be displayed as well as the branding
logo and the website; this is made possible through Trillium Funding.
DRFA Next meeting to be held April 14 at the Sunderland Co-op.
A roundtable discussion by several DRFA members, based on questions provided was
videotaped by Metroland Publishing to air at a later date.
Planning for Farm Connections Gala at Royal Ashburn is ongoing.
CBOT-
CBOT considering hosting an open forum to discuss Sustainability in the near
future. CBOT is encouraged to be a sponsor of Farm Connections Gala, multiple
sponsorship levels are available.
Other Business
Mary Ann and Eric are attending the Farm and Food Cares Conference on Sustainable
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Food and Farming April 15, will report back.
Toronto Board of Trade noted that food processing is one of the items politicians should
be talking about. Localized food processing is certainly supported, but we need to be
aware that the larger federal processors (i.e. Pork) are in financial difficulties. Given
that we export more than we consume, this is a concern. Is there a way to attract these
businesses to Clarington?
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Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington April 10, 2014
Future Agendas
Tom to report on agriculture in Turkey
Tour of the EFW (fall).
Tour the Colbourne value-added site once it is completely up and running.
Susan Chan, Native Pollinators to be rescheduled.
John moved to Adjourn
Next Meeting
The May meeting -up
reactor could occur, the tour would begin at 7:00p.m. Ken Hall, Enbridge will be the
speaker has been invited to address the compensation provided to farmers along the
route and the improvements they have made to monitoring, maintenance of the lines,
emergency measures planning.
To get to OPG office take the Courtice exit off the 401 and proceed east along South
Service Road to Osborne Road, go south on Osborne Road to Energy Drive.
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Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington April 10, 2014