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Agrilink
OFA DEMANDS MINISTER RESTORE ORIGINAL RATE
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
From a ReleaseGUELPH – The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) in a letter to Hon. Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, calls on the province to restore credibility to its Green Energy initiatives by honouring the terms already agreed to for production of solar energy.
Minister Duguid announced July 2, without consultation, that the rate paid for the production of energy from solar installations mounted on the ground would be cut from 80.2 cents per Kilowatt-hour to 58.8 cents. “The economic devastation of the price change will go far beyond the unacceptable loss to farmers,” OFA’s letter states.
“A mid-project price switch means serious financial loss for many farmers....the manufacturers and distributors of solar equipment are already reporting order cancellations, project stoppages and significant financial hardship,” the letter warns Minister Duiguid.
“Minister, the abrupt and unsubstantiated price change is completely contrary to the green energy and green economy intentions of the McGuinty Government,” OFA President Bette Jean Crews states in her letter to the minister.
“It is critical that you honour the original promised price of 80.2 cents for ground-mounted micro-FIT solar projects,” the letter says.
“Any future price changes will need to be developed in consultation with industry experts in a very public way to ensure the price is capable of providing a suitable return on investment while encouraging green energy projects,” President Crews’ letter concludes.
LOSS OF ATRAZINE COULD COST $5 BILLION PER YEAR
07/16/10
From USAgNet
A ban on atrazine would cause a loss of 21,000 to 48,000 jobs in corn production alone based on an economic modeling study by Dr. Don L. Coursey, a Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. Details of the study were released last week at a briefing held at the National Press Club and hosted by Jere White, Chairman of the Triazine Network. The press conference was held to address the unscheduled review of atrazine that the Environmental Protection Agency began in late 2009.
Dr. Coursey's study estimates banning the herbicide would cost corn growers an additional $26-58 per acre per year, and cost the corn industry $2.3 to 5 billion per year. This is a conservative estimate of the total effect of removing atrazine from the market, because it only considers the effects on the corn industry; atrazine is also very important to sugar cane and sorghum production.
The unscheduled EPA review is in response to lawsuits in federal and Illinois state courts, led by activists and lawyers with a history of class action cases, despite the fact that Atrazine was under review for 12 years and analyzed in thousands of studies before re-registration. There is no precedent where EPA has re-evaluated a registered item outside of normal regulatory guidelines, or in response to activism; the implications for other registered products outside of this case are uncertain and concerning to the agriculture industry.
A 50-year veteran of the agriculture market, atrazine is the second most used herbicide in the United States, and with over 6000 documents on record is the most studied herbicide in the world. EPA, the World Health Organization, and the National Cancer Institute have previously conducted safety reviews on atrazine, and EPA's June 2006 re-registration states that the triazine products pose 'no harm that would result to the general U.S. population, infants, children, or other major identifiable subgroups of consumers.'
Additionally, the latest research shows that this class of chemicals continues to meet rigorous environmental standards placed on agricultural chemicals.
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To view these articles online, please visit us on the web at
http://www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink/agrilink..._scoops.cfm
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AgriLink Upcoming Events
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Event - Ontario Weed Tour Date - July 14, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Harrow Research Station Website - http://onvegetables.files.wordpress.com/2010/06...chedule.pdf
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Event - Progressive Agriculture / Chatham-Kent Farm Safety Day Date - July 21, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Contact Name - Kathy Delanghe, Kent Federation of Agriculture,
120 Main St East, Ridgetown ON
519-674-1595
Fax: 519-674-1512
Email - kent@ofa.on.ca
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Event - Ridgetown Vegetable Open House Date - July 22, 2010 Time - 2:00 AM Place - Ridgetown Campus plots off Victoria Road north of Gosnell Line. Look for the signs. Note; evening tours start at 6:30 Contact Name - Janice LeBoeuf at the Ridgetown
OMAFRA office at (519) 674-1699
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Event - THE GREATEST TRACTOR PARADE-FARMERS DRIVING OUT CANCER Date - July 24, 2010 Time - 12:30 PM Place - Dresden Racetrack Contact Name - Janice 519-683-6062
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Event - Explore the Shore Date - July 24,2010 to July 25, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Along the Essex South Shore of Lake Erie Website - http://www.exploretheshore.ca/
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Event - LAMBTON CATTLEMEN’S BBQ Date - August 4, 2010 Time - 5:30 PM Place - Brooke, Alvinston, Inwood Community Centre, Hwy 79 at Alvinston Contact Name - Tammy VanTroost 519-864-4449
Email - tam@ebtech.net
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Event - Environmental Farm Plan Workshop-Middlesex, Day Two-Aug. 13 Date - August 6, 2010 Time - 10:00 AM Place - TBA Contact Name - Margaret May-519-287-5334 Email - middlesex@ontariosoilcrop.org
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Event - Elgin County Plowing Match Date - August 7, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Allen Millman Family Farm, 45399 Sparta Line, Central Elgin Contact Name - 519-773-8531
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Event - Middlesex County Holstein Show Date - August 10, 2010 Time - 7:00 PM Place - Ilderton
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Event - International Goat Symposium Date - August 10,2010 to August 12, 2010 Place - Stratford Contact Name - 519-824-2942 or 866-311-6422 Website - www.goatsymposium.com
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Event - Environmental Farm Plan Workshop-Chatham-Kent, Day Two-Aug. 17 Date - August 10, 2010 Time - 9:30 AM Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Contact Name - Ron Faubert at 519-352-1285 Email - kent@ontariosoilcrop.org
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Event - Lambton SCIA Twilight Tour, Date - August 11, 2010 Time - 4:45 PM Place - John Lammers Farm, 5272 LaSalle Line, Petrolia Contact Name - Bonnie 519-882-3215
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Event - Southern Ontario Draft Horse Basic Workshop Date - August 12,2010 to August 14, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Sparta near St. Thomas at Orchard Hill Farm Contact Name - Ken Laing, 519-775-2670 Email - kmlaing@orchardhillfarm.ca Website - www.orchardhillfarm.ca
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Event - Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario's 4th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Date - August 13, 2010 Time - 12:30 PM Place - Guelph Lakes Golf and Country Club, Guelph Contact Name - 519-780-5326 Email - golf@jfao.on.ca Website - www.jfao.on.ca/golf
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Event - Elgin Cattlemen's Association Annual Barbecue Date - August 18, 2010 Place - Pinafore Park, St. Thomas Contact Name - Amanda Ford at 519-762-3749
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Event - Middlesex Cattlemen’s 53rd Annual Beef Barbecue, Date - August 19, 2010 Time - 5:00 PM Place - Poplar Hill Park Contact Name - Barbara Johnson at 519-660-2945
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Event - Is the Coast Clear? – 6th Annual Conference on Lake Huron coastal environment Date - August 20, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Oakwood Conference Centre, Grand Bend Website - www.lakehuron.ca
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Event - DISTRICT 1 SHEEP MEETING-Farm Tour Date - August 21, 2010 Place - Bill McCutcheon's farm at Grand Valley Contact Name - Bill Duffield, Tel 519-899-2663
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Event - Middlesex and Southwestern Ontario Sheep and Lamb Producers Barbeque Date - August 26, 2010 Place - Poplar Hill Park Contact Name - 519-287- 5637, 519-666-2423 or 519-666-1682
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Event - Southern Ontario Draft Horse Basic Workshop Date - September 9,2010 to September 11, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Sparta near St. Thomas at Orchard Hill Farm Contact Name - Ken Laing, 519-775-2670 Email - kmlaing@orchardhillfarm.ca Website - www.orchardhillfarm.ca
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Event - Essex SCIA Twilight Tour Date - September 11, 2010 Time - 2:00 PM Place - Thibert Farm, 20300 Lakeshore Road 308, Comber Contact Name - Jim Buck 705-696-2567
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Event - Outdoor Farm Show Date - September 14,2010 to September 16, 2010 Time - 1:00 PM Place - Woodstock-Canada's Outdoor Park Website - http://www.outdoorfarmshow.com/
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Event - International Plowing Match & Farm Machinery Show Date - September 21,2010 to September 25, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Elgin – St. Thomas Website - http://www.ipm2010.com/
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Event - WOMEN IN AGRI-BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM Date - October 13, 2010 Time - 8:30 AM Place - Springfield Golf & Country Club 2054 Gordon St. Guelph, ON Contact Name - (519) 821-4655,
Fitzgerald & Co., 39 William Street, Elmira, ON N3B 1P3 or Fax: 519-669-3826
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Event - International Maple Syrup Institute and the North American Maple Syrup Council Annual Meeting, Date - October 20,2010 to October 23, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Arden Park Hotel, Stratford. Website - http://www.northamericanmaple.org/index.php/ann...ual-meeting
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Event - Royal Winter Fair Date - November 5,2010 to November 14, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Exhibition Place, Toronto Website - www.royalfair.org
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Event - Agr. & Rural Energy Expo Date - November 6,2010 to November 7, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - REACH Huron in Clinton Website - www.reachhuron.ca
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Event - Southwest Agricultural Conference Date - January 5,2011 to January 6, 2011 Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Website - www.southwestagconference.ca
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To view these listings online, please visit us on the web at
http://www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink/agrilink..._events.cfm
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John Jordan
Editor, AgriLink and Farm Market News
University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus
Tel. 519-674-1577
Fax. 519-674-1530
E-mail: jjordan@ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca
AgriLink website : www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink
