Executive for 2016

President Bryan Barlow 705-457-7556 Vice-President Godfrey Tyler 705-457-2214 Secretary/Treasurer Sheila Robb 705-489-4201 Past President Andrea Coysh 705-286-6753 Directors Jeanne Parcell-Hughes 705-286-1602 Jeff Mainprize 705-286-6458 Casey Cox 705-286-4432 Jim Vidoczy 705-488-1470 Jean Neville 705-286-2345 Chris Coysh 705-286-6753 BFO Rep Bryan Barlow 705-457-7556 BFO Alternate Godfrey Tyler 705-457-2214

Visit us online at www.haliburtoncountyfarmersassociation.com

October 2016

The County Farmer Haliburton County Farmers’ Association

Upcoming HCFA Events (2016-2017) Mark your calendar

Christmas Pot Luck and Auction Saturday, December 17th

This year the executive have decided to ask the members to pro-vide donations for the auction. We would like all items to be AGRICULTURE RELATED. For instance, animal feed, farm tools, items with a farm motif/picture, seeds, eggs, et cetera.

This year the HCFA will be providing roast beef and ribs. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Arrive @ 5:00 pm; eat @ 6:00 pm, auction to follow

HCFA Annual General Meeting Thursday, January 19, 2017, 7:00 p.m. Minden Community Centre

VSC Annual General Meeting Thursday, January 26, 2017, 7:00 p.m. Minden Community Centre

Wasn’t that a Great Pumpkin Contest!

Even though it was a poor year for most of us growing, or trying to grow pumpkins we had a great turn out at Minden Mercantile for our contest. Thank you to Kelly Pearce for hosting and to Sue, Matthew and Erica for their assistance with advertising and display.

The Neville Clan swept the top 3 prizes, Hunter with a 128

Post Office Box Please note – HCFA now has a Postal Box #517.

All mail should be addressed to Haliburton County Farmers Association, P.O. Box 517, Minden, On K0M 2K0.

Continued on page 5

The County Farmer 2

From the BFO Corner Following up from last month’s column talking about fall-ing prices, apparently Canada experienced deflationary food prices for the first time in many years (except for Al-berta). Now the speculation is around how much and for how long. This should not be a surprise as falling food prices have been predicted for months now.

The drop in food prices is not just happening in Canada. The situation just south of us is even more drastic. The U.S. is on track to see the longest stretch of falling food prices in more than 50 years. In some parts of the U.S. beef prices have dropped by more than 40 per cent since last year. The decrease in eggs is down by an average of 40 per cent. Dairy and bakery products have dropped by more than 15 per cent in many regions as well. Coupled with high food inventories is a surprisingly sluggish de-mand from export markets like China. A relatively strong U.S. dollar is discouraging countries from buying over-seas. Europe is also dealing with deflationary headwinds and many countries have seen food prices drop. Unexpect-edly, many believed Brexit in the U.K. would lift food prices higher and make the Pound weaker, but it didn't.

So the prevailing logic seems to be that Canadians should continue to save for some time in the grocery stores, but not with all products. At the meat counter, for example, poultry is at odds with other meat products. Chicken prices increased while beef and pork prices are dropping and that trend may very well continue. With prices regulated at farm gate and high tariffs on imports, the supply managed poultry sector seems able to control and resist the defla-tionary pressures. Poultry will obviously remain a popular source of animal protein for most meat-eating Canadians, but it will be interesting to see if some conversations will occur about the choice in meat products. It reminds me of the observation that I will probably misquote ‘Canadians will eat as much chicken as they can stomach and as much beef as they can afford’!

The bad news, of course, is that while consumer will bene-

Continued on page 6

The County Farmer 3

Wanted: Secretary and Treasurer We are looking for a Secretary/Treasurer as our current one is retiring this year.

This position can be held by two separate people or by one.

Secretary – Attending the Executive meetings held month-ly, with exception of July, August, December & January. Recording the minutes, setting the agenda prior to meet-ings (with input from the president), forwarding minutes to the executive two weeks prior to next meeting, and calling executive couple days prior to meeting as a reminder to attend. Liaising with BFO and submitting funding appli-cations and applicable information to BFO. Working with the Treasurer (if separate position) when submitting Funding applications.

Treasurer – Maintains the books of HCFA by keeping track of funds, paying bills, depositing of monies, submit-ting Financial Report at each executive meeting, reconcil-ing to the bank. Coordinate Sharecost for BFO and assist-ing Secretary (if separate position) in the submission of application for funding.

The current Secretary/Treasurer is willing to assist.

A favourite of mine, and one I wish to share with you

Sheila Robb

Time is.... too slow for those

who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long

for those who grieve, too short for those who

rejoice, but for those who love...Time

is Eternity.

The County Farmer 4

Mark Your Calendar

Fall Festival at Abbey Gardens - Join us on Saturday October 22nd from 12pm-4pm for our annual fall festival! Hop on a tractor-pulled wagon to pick a pumpkin and visit the ponies, paint and take-home a pumpkin, enjoy a harvest-themed storywalk and explore our mini-maze to find the kinder pumpkin patch too! The Food Hub will be open for shopping and we'll have wood-fired pizzas from Into the Blue Bakery, beer from Haliburton Highlands Brewing and fresh-roasted coffee courtesy of County Coffee.

Haliburton Highlands Brewing will also be celebrating the grand opening of their new brewery! Enjoy guid-ed tours of the brewery every hour and sample a selection of craft beer.

What a wonderful community we live in! - In-kind donations make such valuable contributions to our chari-table organization. Over the past few months, several people have donated to us.

Cammy George along with the rest of the staff from the Thrift Warehouse donated a wide selection of kitch-en utensils to our children's programs. Jamie Bacon from Cranberry Cove donated numerous trees and shrubs to help us beautify our property and existing gardens. Dan and Garry Steele donated their time and much of the materials to refurbish an old hay wagon for our festivals, while Akres Precision Auto Glass do-nated their time and materials for the tires. Thank you so much!

Dig in series: Pickles and Pickleball - Pickleball is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis, badmin-ton and table tennis. In this workshop you’ll get your heart rate going with a lively game of Pickleball! After a refreshing break, unwind as you learn to use the odds and ends leftover from your vegetable garden to cre-ate winter salad pickles. This workshop will be held on Saturday October 29th from 10am-1pm at the Lloyd Watson Centre (2249 Loop Rd. Wilberforce). Cost is $15 per person. Register here or contact Cara cara@abbeygardens.ca, 705 754 4769.

News from the community: Wild about Nature

It's that time of the year again to enjoy the Land Trust's annual Wild about Nature Gala being held on Octo-ber 23rd, 2016 at Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre.

The Wild about Nature Gala is the Land Trust's premier fundraising event. The money raised will enable them to meet their continuing obligations to maintain and protect their four properties including 700 acres of trailed forests, wetlands and nature reserves. It will also allow them to continue offering their very popular educational programs such as the Wild about Nature series that runs throughout the year.

Micro Finance for Farm/Food Businesses Peterborough Community Savings is now offering a Micro-Finance Program in conjunction with their partner Alterna Savings. These could open up growth opportunities for your small food or farm business! The program offers loans from $1,000 to $25,000 and can be used for equipment and operating costs (not for purchasing land). You will need an up to date business plan and cash flow projec-tion, as well as other documents to successfully apply.

Farms at Work is partnering with the PCS Micro-Finance Program, working through our new Farm Business Planning Program to prepare you to apply for it--and other financing opportunities as well! For more details on the Community Micro-Finance Program contact Karen Mask 705 748 4481. For more information and to apply for the Farm Business Planning Program, contact Karen Mask at number above.

The County Farmer 5

pounder, Lily came second with 112 lbs., and Lucas and Ty had a 70 lb. pumpkin. We also had some new competitors this year with Jackson and Blake Little assisted by their parents. Kyle Warburton made an ex-cellent first showing with his 54 lb. pumpkin. Aimee Filion submitted our smallest pumpkin at 8 oz. Jeanne Parcell-Hughes and Paul Hilyer provided the ‘ugly’ pumpkins.

Thank you to all our participants and to Sue MacDonald who won the ‘Guess the Weight’. All winners re-ceived a gift card to Kawartha Dairy and everyone went home with a bag of candy.

Contributed by Andrea Past President

Pumpkin Contest: Continued from page 1

RECIPE CORNER

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs 4 cloves of garlic, minced 4 tablespoons of brown sugar Extra virgin olive oil Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Toast garlic in a tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a small saute pan. When garlic is light brown, remove from pan and pour into a small bowl. Mix brown sugar into garlic.

2. Place chicken in a 9 inch round or square baking dish. Sprinkle garlic brown sugar over chicken. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

3. Bake on 450 degrees for 20-30 minutes or till juice run clear.

4. Remove from oven and let rest for several minutes before serving.

6

Classified Ads FOR SALE – Call Perry Morrison 705-754-2464

“WHITE” Tractor, Model 1370, 4x4 with loader. New clutch, ejection pump rebuilt, new front tires – rear tires 50%. Tractor in good condition. $13,000.00 or B/O.

4 Foot Wood Lathe, complete $150.00

TO GIVE AWAY & FOR SALE

Variety of young roosters to give away

Kentucky Red Bourbon turkeys for sale

Contact Jean at 705-286-2345

fit, those of us on the supply side will be hit. The real question is – how hard?

On a completely different note, the province did pass the regulation banning hunting/trapping of the Algonquin Wolf and the Eastern Coyote in three additional districts. The one of concern to us is: The area of Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park, which includes the geographic townships of: Anson, Dalton, Digby, Longford, Lutterworth, Minden, and Ryde. However, farmers and landowners within the designated areas may still “kill, harm, or harass an Algonquin (Eastern) Wolf or coyote in incidents of risks to health and safety, including the protection of domestic and livestock animals,” according to the province.

Submitted by Bryan Barlow, BFO Delegate

From the BFO Corner: Continued from page 2

Ruffling the Feathers

An info meeting is in the planning stages for the spring of 2017 with our feathered friends the focus of the meeting. Chickens, turkeys, ducks, and more. Keep an eye on the newsletter for updates.