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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-12 Minutes AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of CLARINGTON MEETING THURSDAY, November 12 th, 2015 MEMBERS PRESENT: Elgin Greenham (8:20) Brenda Metcalf Les Caswell Councillor Partner Don Rickard Henry Zekveld Tom Barrie Eric Bowman Ted Watson John Cartwright REGRETS: Mary Ann Found, Jenni Knox GUESTS: Evan Elford, New Crop Specialist, OMAFRA and Marg Zwart, Orono Times STAFF: Faye Langmaid Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 015-23 Moved by Tom Barrie, seconded by Don Rickard That the Agenda for November 12, 2015 be adopted th CARRIED Approval of Minutes 015-24 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Ted Watson minutes of the October 8, 2015 meeting be approved th CARRIED Presentation/Discussion: Evan Elford provided a presentation on Hops. The information presented can be found on the OMAFRA website at https://onspecialtycrops.wordpress.com/?s=hops Evan recommended that the group visit http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/CropOp/en/spec_veg/index.html. It outlines a number of the other specialty crops that Evan and others at OMAFRA are working on, there is a series of questions you can work through on the website to determine what crops meet the criteria you are looking at and might wish to specialize in. Business Arising from Minutes st Tour of Colborne processing facility Laura has arranging a tour date, for December 1 leaving the Clarington Tourism Office on Liberty Street at 9:15. Please let Laura know if you are planning on attending. Parade of Lights Permits have been received. Eric is looking for more floats, nd December 2 starting in Enniskillen just after 5:30 then onto Haydon and Tyrone. Correspondence, etc. a) Council has asked the Committee to review the definition of agri-tourism. Faye distributed the previous discussion and questions the committee has provided to assist in helping to define agri-tourism. A subcommittee of John Cartwright, Les Caswell, Jennifer Knox and Brenda Metcalf was struck to meet with staff to review definition and report back to committee for January. b) The Agriculture Certificate Program by the Management Development Centre at the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology will begin in January. Please let everyone know about the opportunity to take this course. c) Letter from Oswin and Deborah Mathias regarding their application for an agri- tourism rezoning was read out. The committee appreciated the information. The Committee is not dealing with the specifics of the application rather the larger definition of agri-tourism as outline in above. d) Invasive Species Information, Faye forwarded information recently received and reminded the committee that the January meeting presentation and discussion will be on invasive species. e) Durham College, Fall Research Showcase is on Monday, November 23 12:15 to 2:45, RSVP. Faye will forward the details to all. f) -Food were presented for Northumberland County. However, one of the producers that received an award has moved from in addition to the chocolates and salted caramel receive an award. Councillor Partner will ensure they are recognized at Council. g) Agroclimate Impact Report is asking for weather and climate reports. Tom Barrie will send request onto Ontario Soil and Crop Association. Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory CommitteePresentation was on fill operations and the issues surrounding them. There was not a quorum so remainder of meeting did not proceed. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonNovember 12, 2015 th Durham Region Federation of Agriculture Celebrate Agriculture was October 29, Dan Needles was the speaker, 230 tickets sold and there was a waiting list. Over $9,000 made in the auction. Planning for 2016 is proceeding. Farm Connections is proceeding for elementary schools in the April, the high school program has been rescheduled to March. Clarington Board of Trade The Board is working with Municipality, Oshawa and Whitby and other partners on a joint effort to get GO Transit (the train) to downtown Oshawa and Bowmanville. It was suggested that a resolution from the committee would be appropriate. Faye, Don and Curry Clifford will work on a proposed resolution for a future meeting. CBOT is also reviewing their 5 year agreement with Municipality on Economic Development, looking for renewal of the contract. CBOT will be coming back to the committee with the benefits of membership for Agriculture members. Other Business Codes of Practice Les provided an article on the update and revisions that are occurring to the Poultry Code of Practice. Each commodity group has a code of practice. Most involve a third party audit of your procedures and practices for on farm humane treatment of animals. To obtain an Environment Farm Plan you have to submit the policies and procedures for your commodity group. The committee members believe that the commodity organizations themselves are the best to speak on behalf of the industry and did not wish to comment on the Poultry Code of Practice. - at each meeting that committee members will select an item to circulate to their colleagues (agriculture community contacts) to help spread the word. For this meeting it will be about the crop specialty tool that Evan demonstrated. Future Agendas Suggestions for future meetings are Kim Rudd, new MP (for Ward 4 area of Clarington), and Lizzie Clarke from the Greenbelt Foundation. Eric Bowman moved to Adjourn Next Meeting, December 10th, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office Sara Munoz of SPCA is willing to attend the December meeting. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonNovember 12, 2015