Burning questions. The Mike Harris government may have cleared the way for municipalities to look at burning, or incinerating, garbage, but farmers still have reservations. Stopping short of giving its full blessing to incineration, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture opted to refer a Simcoe Federation of Agriculture motion to its environment committee. "We would not only get an incinerator, but also a landfill to dispose of ash," OFA director Robert Johnston told the January board meeting in Toronto. "There is still landfill when you incinerate," said Johnston, of the Lambton federation, whose anti-incineration policy is "at loggerheads with OFA". An incinerator also needs a large engine, and "lots of garbage", he added: "They've got lots of garbage in Michigan to bring over."

Stand on GUARD. After deferring the decision at the November convention, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has parted with $25,000, making it a founding member of GUARD, Guelph University Alumni Research and Development. The private technology and management company was started recently to help get Canadian agricultural innovations into the commercial marketplace. After some debate, OFA directors took the plunge at their mid-January board meeting in Toronto. OFA was the last in a group of 25 corporate investors to sign on at $25,000 each. Others include Elanco Provel, Bon-Ee-Best, Ontario Corn Producers, Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred and the Great Canadian Bean Company. GUARD's target is $10 million, including $1.5 million from founding investors, $3 million in alumni support, and the balance in financing from four major chartered banks.

Easy as ABC. Farm Practices Protection Board, Farm Products Marketing Commission, Farm Implements Board - whether or not they rule in favour of the farmer, they and other agricultural agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs) are all there because farmers lobbied for certain legislation. In many cases, it's farmers themselves who sit on the boards; in others, it's impartial mediators. Whether it's a tractor that doesn't run, or a quota ruling a farmer doesn't like, the 22 farm-related ABCs in Ontario are all part of the business of doing agriculture - for now. As part of his government cost cutting, Premier Mike Harris is looking at trimming $200 million from ABCs over the next two fiscal years. A committee has been set up to review ABCs, with London South MPP Bob Wood as the chairman. "Job One is to get rid of the agencies, boards and commissions that we no longer need," says Wood.

Profits up. Cargill Ltd. has reported a 57 per cent increase in earnings for the first half of fiscal 1995-96 (June-May). For the six-month period ending Nov. 30, 1995, the company reported a net profit of US$506 million. The grain and oilseed conglomerate reported profits of $671 million for all of 1994-95. Cargill vice president Robert Lumpkins said first-half profits were exceptional, but expected second-half profits to fall to traditional levels.

More animal rights. Changes to bylaws of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, commonly referred to as the Ontario Humane Society, could legitimize extreme groups, the Toronto Sun reports. The new bylaws allow extreme groups such as the Animal Alliance of Canada and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to become associate members of the humane society. This allows extremist groups to nominate inspectors, who under the Ontario Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, have the right to enter property, seize animals and charge owners. Groups like PETA believe that animals should not be exploited for human gain, used for food, or used for any other product such as fur or leather. Critics of the new bylaws fear that these groups will gain credibility, access to wider fund raising activities, and may radically change the society's agenda.

Asian markets. A number of Canadian agriculture and food companies were able to cash in on Prime Minister Chretien's Team Canada trade tour to Asia. The deal that got the most attention was a five-year letter of understanding that will see the Canadian Wheat Board supply Indofood of Jakarta, Indonesia, a major food processor, with one to 1.5 million tonnes of wheat annually. The deal could be worth up to $2.25 billion. The province of New Brunswick signed a memorandum of understanding to supply the Pakistan ministry of food, agriculture and livestock with dairy cattle, semen, technology, equipment and training over 10 years to help that country expand its dairy and meat sectors. While no price tag was placed on the deal, 4,500 head of dairy cattle are to be shipped from Canada in the first year. The project will be managed by the New Brunswick Agriculture Department and All Star Genetics Ltd. of Fredericton. Richberry Farms Ltd. of Richmond, B.C. signed a memorandum of understanding with Parjan Bros. of Delhi to manufacture, produce and sell agro-based products in India. The partners will begin by trading agri-food products and then establish agriculture and food processing operations which could be worth $18 million. Several Canadian food companies signed agreements to establish operations in southeast Asia. Other agri-food businesses on the trip were Agriteam Canada Consulting Ltd. of Calgary, Cargill Ltd., Cuddy International Corp., an Ontario-based poultry company, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Sunora Foods of Calgary and Weston Foods of Toronto. - AB

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Zoo to-do. Baboon watchers at the Metro Toronto Zoo are getting some wrong impressions about agriculture, and the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture wants to do something about it.
Bruce shepherd Peter Canning says many signs on animal exhibits are "very negative against farming....Zoological people blame farmers for all the problems of wildlife."
The solution? Start telling zoogoers the real story, and maybe even incorporate live farm animal exhibits. While Canning insists there's more to the idea than putting hogs beside the hippos, directors at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture directors meeting in Toronto last month were wary of the idea.

Norfolk director Paul Ryder said he didn't want to leave a "warm, fuzzy" image of farm animals: "We have to train these people that they are not just fuzzy. These cute little squealers make pork chops. We must make sure we're not raising a bunch of little vegetarians."
But Grenville director Peter Connell had the final word: the next step would be to have farmers on display, as an endangered species, he said.

Crop insurance, rural health care, pesticides - the perennial farm issues are all there in proposed resolutions from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting March 3-5 in Ottawa.
Resolution Number 1 is a bit unusual, though it will only get cheers from any farmer who has been out with the plow or planter: "Removing seagulls from the protected species list." During breaks at dairy industry meetings, delegates often head for the lobby where they'll find a tasty yoghurt or some other dairy snack, compliments of processors.
But when those lip-smacking Haagan Daz ice creams are the prize, you have to get there early.
In Halifax last month, when Dairy Farmers of Canada delegates headed for the freezer hoping to fuel up on the dreamy ice cream bars, the snack seekers were surprised to find the freezer cleaned out.
An investigation revealed that people gathered at a neighbouring annual meeting and trade show at the hotel were responsible for the caper - the Nova Scotia Road Builders Association annual meeting.
After a fresh supply of the Haagan Daz arrived, the hotel promptly posted employees to guard the ice cream bounty. To prevent the road builders from bulldozing through the new supply, dairy farmers had to show their identification badges to claim their treats.