Sludge Watch ==> Ontario Federation of Agriculture asks farmers to stop spreading sludge

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Owen Sound Sun Times

Ontario, Canada

May 23, 2006 Tuesday
Final Edition


Farmers being asked to stop spreading Toronto biosolids:
OFA making request to make government aware of farm income crisis

Don Crosby, Owen Sound Sun Times

Southgate farmers are being asked to stop spreading Toronto biosolids on 
their fields out of solidarity with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture's 
campaign to raise awareness about the farm income crisis.


Councillors backed away from a recommendation by Coun. Jim Frew to pass a 
bylaw banning the spreading of biosolids on Southgate farm fields. The 
practice is regulated by the Ministry of the Environment. Frew argued that 
municipalities can regulate matters related to health concerns and that the 
pathogens in the biosolids could pose a threat to the groundwater supply. 
The municipality's lawyer will prepare an opinion as to the feasibility of a 
bylaw and what it would cost to defend such a bylaw. While the contractor 
who spreads the material and farmers who agree to have it on their farms 
must have certificates of approval from the MOE, "the citizens of Southgate 
are not happy with that -- they still don't accept it," said Coun. Ralph 
Winslade.

Karl Braeker, a Southgate farmer, noted that biosolids contain chemicals 
found in anti-bacterial soaps and other products that don't break down in 
the sewage treatment process.

"I'm asking council to ask the Ministry of the Environment to suspend the 
application of biosolids until we know what effect this chemical has on the 
soil and food supply," Braeker said.

Deputy-mayor Ken Harrison has never supported the spreading of Toronto 
biosolids on township farms. "Toronto's biosolids are Toronto's problem, not 
ours. We create our own and that's our problem," he said. Winslade explained 
the request by the OFA for farmers to stop accepting biosolids from urban 
centres is similar to action taken by farmers in other parts of the province 
who withheld permission for snowmobilers to use trails that cross their 
farms as a way of raising awareness about Farmers Feed Cities campaign.

"We have to do something to make upper levels of government aware of the 
farm income crisis and one way of doing it to boycott the spreading of 
biosolids," Winslade said.