Proposed county plan aims to balance needs of the farming community with desire to protect the environment

Posted on Apr 25th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

A proposed natural heritage plan for Grey County appears to have avoided the landowner hostility that greeted a proposal, subsequently withdrawn, for expanded controls in some areas by the provincially-appointed Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC). “We definitely heard comments from farmers and from landowners,” Randy Scherzer, Grey County planning director, said in an interview about the county’s proposed “Green in Grey” plan, which is part of a current Official Plan review. Grey is among many rural municipalities within the Lake Huron and Lake Ontario watersheds to undertake natural heritage planning required by a 2014 provincial directive.... 

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Good-quality used farm equipment continues to bring in solid dollars across Ontario

Posted on Apr 10th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

LINDSAY - Used equipment prices are continuing to soar across Ontario. Auctioneer Ab Carroll hosted a consignment auction in Lindsay on March 25 and prices, in some cases, were double what Carroll expected. He sold a 1987 Deutz-Allis 6265 four-wheel drive tractor with a cabin and a Q740 Quicke loader and 5,700 hours on it for $21,000 to a local farmer. “I would’ve expected between $10,000 and $12,000,” Carroll told Farmers Forum.... 

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WESTERN ONTARIO - Early March cold snap saved maple syrup season

Posted on Mar 27th, 2017 by Jennifer Hannan

LAMBTON SHORES - A warmer-than-normal winter was threatening to produce a poor maple syrup yield this year until a late cold snap revived the flow of sap. Bill Vandenberg, whose son Ryan owns Ryan’s Sweet Maple at Lambton Shores, said the cold weather snap at the end of February and early March got the sap flowing again. On March 7, the farm made just under 400 litres of maple syrup, the second-highest amount ever in a 24-hour period for the farm.... 

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