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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-13 Minutes AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of CLARINGTON MEETING THURSDAY, November 13 th, 2014 MEMBERS PRESENT: John Cartwright Brenda Metcalf Tom Barrie (7:25) Mary Ann Found (7:45) Les Caswell Elgin Greenham Eric Bowman Ted Watson Don Rickard (7:25) Councillor Partner REGRETS: Mark Bragg¸ Jenni Knox STAFF: Faye Langmaid, Mitch Morawetz GUESTS: Susan Chan (Famers at Work), Nancy Rutherford (Durham Region) Ted welcomed all to the meeting. Adoption of Agenda 014-15 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Brenda Metcalf That the Agenda for November 13, 2014 be adopted. th CARRIED Approval of Minutes 014-16 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by John Cartwright, October 9, 2014 meeting be approved th CARRIED Guests: Susan Chan from Farmers at Work Susan provided a presentation on Neonicotinoids and Pollinators (circulated to committee members). Susan has been working on this topic for some time, the major pollinator of many crops is wind but other crops requ was being used was contact pesticides; it meant they had to be sprayed more often. The neonicotinoids are a systemic and on the seed, much more effective. However they are being overused in areas where they are not needed and as a systemic they are being spread throughout the pollination chain. It is not just the farming industry using them but also the landscape industry and especially golf courses. What Susan would really like to see is farmers become more involved in the decision-making process, only using neonic coated seed where it is needed, so that the rural community makes the which are really not aware of all of the issues. The pesticide corporations do not differentiate between neonic coated seed and non-coated seed; there is no price difference; therefore many farmers use them like an insurance policy. Susan presentation is based on research that OMAFRA is doing and farmers need to be -coated seed. Different crops also require examination as the success rate varies. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 9, 2014 Susan discussed how diversification on farms and 4 crop rotation can really reduce the amount of pesticides needed in any farming practice. For agriculture to be sustainable it has to continually evolve its best practices. Too many farmers are currently only looking at bottom-line of soybean/corn yield rather than understanding how their industry could be affected by decisions being forced on them by others. Ted thanked Susan for the presentation as it was very enlightening. Nancy Rutherford -year Ag Strategy Nancy provided an overview of the Strategy. For the next half hour the committee broke into two groups and each group worked on two of the four priorities in the Action Plan. Committee members provided feedback that has been submitted to Nancy for inclusion in her monitoring plan and next steps. Business Arising from Minutes No items. Correspondence and Council Referrals Committee terms have been extended until the new committees are appointed. The Ag committee asked for staggered terms and that has been approved by Council so at the next application date members can apply for 2 or 4 year appointments. Elgin is appointed until 2016 and does not need to apply. The Roundtable on Growing Clarington Together which is an initiative of the Priority Green and the Official Plan Review has asked for an agricultural representative to attend the roundtable discussion. It was suggested that Jennifer Knox and/or Ian Kruis attend because of their knowledge and work on sustainability. Liaison Reports DAAC A presentation about the Rouge Agricultural Reserve and how the long-term leases (35 years) would be addressed, they are looking for a cross-section of commodity groups. Working on a formulae for the leases in relation to the crop produced, to both share in the profits but also guarantee diversity. DRFA Celebrate Agriculture Gala fundraiser was a success. Raised $15,000 to help th promote agriculture. Mark your calendar for next year October 29, 2015. CBOT- CBOT received the Spirit of Agriculture Award at the Gala and they are very pleased to have been selected as the first winners of this Award. Don, Jenni and Faye are working with UOIT on getting the Deans and students interested in doing their Capstone Projects (final year major project) on aspects of agriculture. CBOT will be inviting the Deans to attend a presentation that will outline the opportunities in agriculture, Durham and Clarington. CBOT looking at how to have more memberships from agricultural community and whether a different category of membership would be desirable. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 9, 2014 Other Business Colborne tour They are not complete, happy to have a tour but it is still a construction site and the kitchens are not up and running. CBOT would like to work with Ag Committee to have a tour with Board members and committee members jointly. rd Parade of Lights Permit has been issued. Eric has a copy. Parade is December 3 at 6 p.m. in Enniskillen and 7:30 in Tyrone, route in on municipal website. Future Agendas January: Faye to approach CBOT to see if they would like to attend in January on membership. Discussion on ideas-- CLOCA attend a future meeting, Chris Darling will be taking over from Russ Powell as CAO in the new year. Todd from Dancing Bee Apiary is another potential speaker. Eric Bowman moved to Adjourn Next Meeting, December 11 th, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office - Granville Anderson will be in attendance. Committee members should be prepared to provide him with a brief of what you do in your operation how provincial policies affect your business. How he can assist. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 9, 2014