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Home My WebLink About2016-03-10 Minutes Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting th Thursday, March 10, 2016 Members Present: Elgin Greenham Brenda Metcalf Les Caswell Mary Ann Found Tom Barrie Eric Bowman Ted Watson John Cartwright Jenni Knox Henry Zekveld Regrets Councillor Partner Don Rickard Guests: Nancy Rutherford and Stacey Jibb, Durham Planning and Economic Development Staff: Faye Langmaid, Planning Services Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 016-06 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Tom Barrie th “That the Agenda for March 10, 2016 be adopted” Carried Approval of Minutes 016-07 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by Ted Watson th “That the minutes of the February 11, 2016 meeting be approved” Carried Durham Agriculture Strategy Nancy provided an overview of the Strategy and the Actions taken to date (mid-way point of strategy). Nancy provided detail on the accomplishments to date and responded to questions during her presentation. There are some items that the committee raised that could assist farmers and agriculture or ag-related remain more viable in Durham. Suggestions involved better communication between what Economic Development is doing and the Ag Advisory Committee of Clarington; understanding any potential development for the anaerobic digester to be a co-op that could take restaurant compost and flower shop compost (is some of this a potential feedstock for livestock?); excess heat from EFW to greenhouses requires the piping to be in place and should not be on services land but rather agricultural land in close proximity; is there a role for Ag community and Durham Region to play in DLab for value-added products such as cidery; role of Region in combating invasive species as part of the climate change portfolio; support from Region on remnant parcels along 407 remaining in agricultural production ratherthan becoming natural heritage compensation lands; and broad band for rural areas. Committee to be kept updated on the Region's initiatives, and also for Economic Development to include profiles of dairy, egg, crop farms, the commodity groups beyond the Durham Farm Fresh membership as they are a major portion of the economy. Over the next couple of weeks committee members where encouraged to provide feedback directly to Nancy for inclusion in her monitoring plan and next steps. Business Arising from Minutes Submission to EBR posting: Neonicotinoids are a systemic pesticide applied on the seed. However, they are being overused in areas where they are not needed and as a systemic they are being spread throughout the pollination chain. Regulations were put in place in 2015 which affect the crops being planted in 2016; however, some of the recommendations preceded the recommendations from the national PMRA study and now are being viewed as too restrictive and not following decision based science. The committee has provided letters on previous works and resubmitted to this EBR posting. 4-Plan Review – The mapping for soybean and corn yields show the area between Bowmanville and Newcastle as some of the highest in all of Ontario. Brenda sent a letter with the mapping to Council, MPP, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry so that they are aware of the high agricultural value of the land. Two letters of response have been received which Brenda read out to the committee. Staff have submitted comments on the Surplus Farm Dwelling Severance Policies; Durham Region staff is continuing to work on this issue and will report to Planning Committee. Correspondence, etc. Information from the Ontario Fire Marshall about barn fires and disposal of dead stock. Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence, applications are due April 15, 2016 http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/premier_award/ If any Clarington producers are applying the Committee can provide a letter of support. Poundkeeper Applications is open, committee has been asked opinion on the callout rate for the poundkeeper and whether it needs to consider costs for more than one person involvement. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonMarch 10, 2016 016-08 Moved by Tom Barrie, seconded by John Cartwright “That the Municipality evaluate the fee paid to the poundkeeper for any given callout, as it is abnormally low considering that at least two people are required to corral any animals and transport them, in addition, the daily storage fee should be evaluated to reflect the actual cost of housing animals” Carried Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee– Last meeting cancelled due to weather. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture –Farm Connections, April 5, 6,7 at Vipond th Arena, open house for public is April 6 evening. Very successful high school program th will be at J. Clark Richardson in Ajax on March 9, would have like to see more involvement from teachers. Greenbelt Foundation funding for local food literacy has th been received. Celebrate Agriculture Gala is scheduled for October 27 at Royal Ashburn. Clarington Board of Trade - Agriculture Summit is March 22, the speakers have been confirmed, already have 45 attending, space is limited to about 90. CBOT looking at holding a discussion with agricultural community on “something that is missing” that would add value to Clarington for the agricultural community. Today was the CBOT Regional Chair luncheon where the Regional Chair provided his update, he mentioned expansion at Algoma, development of Pickering Airport and Seaton lands. th Annual General Meeting is April 28, Donald’s term as president will be over and Lawson Gay will be next president. New Business “did you know” - 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 Faye will circulate the Agriculture Summit speaker info and also upcoming lecture by Dr. Rene van Acker for Northumberland Learning Connection. UOIT – Agricultural Certificate has 8 participants. The course is very interesting and has provided good networking opportunities. Anticipated that it will expand in future years. Stacey Jibb and Henry Zekveld participated in the course and found it very useful from a leadership perspective, the ties to agriculture could be strengthened. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonMarch 10, 2016 Trees for Rural Roads – Reminder to submit applications by March 31. The application is available on the website at http://www.clarington.net/en/live-here/trees.asp (bottom of the page). 407 Expropriations – for lands that have been expropriated, the tax implications when the remnant parcels are left in the owners hands and are now separate parcels is that the farming rate (20%) does not apply until the use is re-established with MPAC and may require a tax hearing. This is time consuming and also costly for the farmer. It is not something that was known in advance and came as quite a shock on the tax bill. Have others experienced or had this happen? Blue Dot – Faye clarified for the group that the Blue Dot resolution that was circulated in the E-update has been approved by Council but was tailored to Clarington to reflect the priorities of the strategic plan and Official Plan. Future Agendas Blackbird (407 contractor) and MTO have been invited to the May meeting. Erin O’Toole looking to attend a future meeting. John Cartwright will work on inviting a speaker on genetics to either June or July meeting. Faye to request tour of the Police Building and meeting with Police on bio-security, livestock issues, etc. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn Next Meeting, April 14 th, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office th Kim Rudd, new MP (for Ward 4 area of Clarington) is looking to attend April 14. Carolyn Puterbough, OMAFRA and Sheila Hall will attend the April meeting about the Economic Database they have access to. th Agricultural Advisory Committee of ClaringtonMarch 10, 2016