Close To One Hundred People Attended This Weekend's Huron County Federation Of Agriculture Annual Meeting At The Clinton Legion

by Bob Montgomery

The upper floor of the Clinton Legion was filled Friday night for the Huron County Federation of Agriculture's annual meeting.

Neil and Joan Vincent received the HCFA Outstanding Contribution to Agricultural Annual Award.

The Guest Speaker was Sara Epp, Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph in the Rural Planning and Development Program. She says she believes a stable land base is the biggest challenge facing farmers right now. If they don't have the land, we don't have the farmers, they don't have the industry. She adds, a very close second is making sure the support services are in place for the sector so it can be successful if they do have the land. These support services can include things like access to veterinary care, the processing facilities that are available for farmers to process their food, how they can support local food purchasing in the bigger, broader sector. Epp says one example closer to home is the number of long term care homes that are now buying local food and finding there's no change in cost when they do that. So she believes both are critical, the land base, but also making sure they have the support for the industry.

Epp says the growing is one piece, but there are all kinds of economic spin-offs that come from agriculture, and processing is huge. The more we support local processors the more processors will support local farmers and they both win. Epp says one problem for consumers is they don't know who the processors are or where they're located, so potential consumers like long term homes, hospitals and schools aren't in a position to identify local processors. But Epps says that is changing, and the consumers they've worked with had success in finding local processors. In one case, twenty percent of the food going to a long term care home that they worked with is now either grown or processed in Ontario. Epp says she is encouraged that that number is growing.

Epp also says because of the amount of media attention recently on planning and on agriculture the general public now has a much better idea or knowledge of agriculture and planning and land use than they did three years ago, and that knowledge is very helpful in keeping a spot light on agricultural.

Neil and Joan Vincent - Recipients of HCFA Outstanding Contribution to Agricultural Annual Award.

Sara Epp - Assistant Professor at the University of Guelph, Rural Planning and Development Program.