Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-09 Minutes AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of CLARINGTON MEETING th THURSDAY, July 9, 2015 MEMBERS PRESENT: John Cartwright Brenda Metcalf Les Caswell Jenni Knox Ted Watson Henry Zekveld REGRETS: Tom Barrie, Elgin Greenham, Mary Ann Found, Eric Bowman, Don Rickard, Councillor Partner GUESTS: Dawnett Allen, Chris Brown MTO Paul Ruttan, Melvin Ramcharitar, Dave Keys Blackbird Infrastructure Consortium STAFF: Faye Langmaid, Ron Albright Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 015-16 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by John Cartwright That the Agenda for July 9 th, 2015 be adopted CARRIED Approval of Minutes 015-17 Moved by Ted Watson, seconded by Henry Zekveld June 11, 2015 meeting be approved th CARRIED Presentation/Discussion: Paul Ruttan introduced the Blackbird team, the Infrastructure group are responsible for design and maintenance of the highway and the Construction group are constructors, the client is Infrastructure Ontario (with MTO). This Project will cost approximately $1.2 billion, which will include design, construction and Operations, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Highway 407 and Highway 418 for 30 years after Phase 2A of the Project is open to traffic. This project is proceeding and Highway 418 will be owned by the Government of Ontario. Early this week Blackbird held Public Information Centres at Solina (50 attending) and Rickard (15 attending). Their website was recently launched and is http://www.407eastphase2.ca/. You can subscribe for specific traffic and road closure alerts and other topics. Blackbird has taken over all the Phase 2 land required for construction. MTO has retained parcels that are outside of the construction zone. MTO staff will provide a map th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington July 9, 2015 to Clarington of who is responsible for which parcels. For the most part the Ministry owned lands have been farmed through Permission To Use Agreements with the agricultural community. Schedule: By late 2017, Highway 407 from Harmony Road to Taunton Road/Highway 418 will be open to traffic (Phase 2A). By late 2019, Highway 407 and Highway 418 will be open to traffic (Phase 2B). Farm agreements will go to the end of September this year for Phase 2A and Highway 418 area and the end of December this year for Phase 2 B (Highway 407 from Hwy 418 over to 35/115). Soil moving will begin this fall, there are some 8 million cubic meters of fill to move, attempting to balance the cut and fill. 75 structures to construct. Issues for farming community will be the way in which areas that were previously farmed will continue to be maintained, concern for areas that will be left fallow, also spread of weeds and invasive species. North/south roads; a number will be permanently closed, others will have disruptions to service during construction. The constructors will have to be cognizant of the season and the need for farmers to travel north/south not just during planting and harvesting seasons but in many cases it is on a daily basis. Farms are spread out and most cash crop farmers rent lands that are not directly adjacent to their existing operations. Some farmers also provide custom services to others for spraying, hay forage and combining. Communication will be key, there is a communications committee that will be charged with getting the message out. Also subscribing to the website will assist. Suggested that information be provided to the agricultural community newsletters such as Soil and Crop. Faye had a call from a local farmer with regard to Blackleg (see attachment 1) as a concern. Currently there is little threat of it as there have been no cases for a number of years; however with the disturbance of soil it could be a problem and in particular for organically certified farmers. There are vaccinations available however it is unclear what the affect would be on an organic certification. On properties where houses and barns have been demolished the wells that are in relation to these buildings are also to have been decommissioned. Business Arising from Minutes Trans Canada Pipeline the timing of construction has now been pushed out to 2018; however there is some surveying and archeological work happening in advance. Correspondence, etc. AACC letter has been submitted to Clarington on Official Plan Review, circulated to members by e-mail. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington July 9, 2015 Request from UOIT for Capstone Projects for Business and IT applications due by th August 14. Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee Nothing to report. Reminder about Farm th Tour on Sept 18. th Durham Region Federation of Agriculture Celebrate Agriculture is October 29, call for nominations has been issued and it is hoped there will be a number of applications submitted, categories are Farm Family, Leadership Award for individual aged 19-35, Spirit of Agriculture Award to an organization or company, nominations are due th September 15. If a letter of support is required from committee please let Brenda th know. September 26 is the date for the High School Program from Farm Connections, th school this year is in Ajax, it is the 6 year of the program and provides students with an understanding of the relationship farming has to all aspects of their lives and that it is a career option. Clarington Board of Trade The Board was pleased to see agriculture included in the economic policies of the Official Plan and has supported the policies that relate to this initiative. Other Business Grain Growers of Ontario are taking the provincial government to court over the regulations that have been introduced for Neonicotinoid Pesticides. The article in Ontario Farmer (Attachment 2) provides an overview of the issues. There was discussion on whether Ontario Soil and Crop Association should be added to the agenda as a addressed in the terms of reference it was determined that it would continue to be Future Agendas Faye has contacted SPCA and Sara Munoz is willing to attend a future meeting. Faye has made contact with OMAFRA about finding a hop grower and having a presentation. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn th Next Meeting, August 20, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office Sheila Hall, Laura Wood, CBOT and Basia Radomski, Communications on how the Municipality and CBOT promote agriculture. Resources the Committee could contribute to (e.g. background briefing notes) that could advance this communications effort. Attachment 1 th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington July 9, 2015 Blackleg is a highly fatal disease of young cattle caused by the spore forming, rod shaped, gas producing bacteria Clostridium chauvoei. The spores of the organism can live in the soil for many years. The bacteria enters the calf by ingestion and then gains entrance to the body through small punctures in the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. Cattle that are on a high plane of nutrition, rapidly gaining weight and between 6 months and 2 years of age are most susceptible to the disease. The disease is not transmitted directly from sick animals to healthy animals by mere contact. The first sign observed is usually lameness, loss of appetite, rapid breathing and the animal is usually depressed and has a high fever. Characteristic swellings develop in the hip, shoulder, chest, back, neck or elsewhere. First the swelling is small, hot and painful. As the disease progresses, the swelling enlarges and becomes spongy and gaseous. If you press the swelling, gas can be felt under the skin. The animal usually dies in 12 to 48 hours. In most cases the animal is found dead without being previously observed sick. The speed with which blackleg kills usually makes individual treatment useless. Blackleg is almost entirely preventable by vaccination. The most commonly used clostridial vaccination in cattle is the 7-way type which protects against Clostridium chauveoi (blackleg), Clostridium septicum and Clostridium sordelli (malignant edema), Clostridium novyi (black disease), and three types of Clostridium perfringens (enterotoxemia). Source: http://cattletoday.info/blackleg.htm th Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington July 9, 2015 Attachment 2