CREEK letter to the Editor of The Picton Gazette - December 14, 2002

Ron Bonnett, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, in his regular guest column, addressed the consultations in the second stage of draft regulations for Ontario's Nutrient Management legislation.

CREEK would like it to be known that we share his concerns in two areas; the environment, and the economics of agriculture in Ontario.

Our concern about the environment is well known. Not as well known, perhaps, is our support for family farmers. We understand that, for many, farming is a subsistence business. The legislation and accompanying regulations as written will impose a severe hardship on these operations.

CREEK stated its position in our first submission to the hearings on the legislation "Factory farming has very little resemblance to traditional farming. ILO's are not farms, they are "industries" or "factories". Not only do applications of the liquid manure from these facilities endanger our environment, many of these large "businesses" control everything from food production for the animals to distribution of the finished "product".

History shows that vertical integration in the poultry industry has eliminated independent markets and farmers, starved local businesses of sales to formerly independent farmers who are now just contract employees, unravelled communities, fouled the environment with animal factory stench and sludge and lowered the quality of consumer products through the exclusive use of mass production facilities. Many areas of the world, including many states in the U.S., have banned Intensive Livestock Operations.

The proposed bill includes traditional farms, which are regulated under the Farming and Food Producers Protection and the Environmental Protection Acts We believe the legislation should follow the lead of the United States of America where the Environmental Protection Agency has announced that large agricultural operations will be required to have permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, as factories already do."

We find it particularly distressing that the small family farm, with fewer resources at its disposal, is expected to become compliant with the regulations in a shorter time frame than the large scale agri-business.

Like the OFA, we are not interested in seeing Ontario farmers end up with legislation and associated regulations that will drive them out of business.

Sincerely

Linda Roberts
Chairperson, CREEK