COBDEN — Tony Straathof is entering his third term as president of the Renfrew County National Farmers Union.
He was acclaimed president during the annual general meeting Friday night in Cobden. There were about 30 people attending the meeting held at the Cobden Civitan Hall.
Marshall Buchanan is vice-president and directors are Tim Tabbert, Lauretta Rice and Patrick Carter, who is also the youth advisor. Directors-at-large are Dave Mackay, Margaret Robertson, Ida Vaillancourt (women’s advisor) and Bob Dobson. Connie Tabbert will remain as secretary/treasurer.
Mr. Straathof said the NFU has rebranded as of this year. The former logo was a green maple leaf with a golden nfu on it. However, that leaf has been updated to look more upbeat with the colours blue, green and yellow, and nfu on it still.
Mr. Straathof noted that 2015 is International Year of the Soil. In keeping with the theme, his niece Angela Straathof, who grew up on a dairy farm near Arnprior, was the guest speaker.
She is a soil quality specialist and is currently a Ph.D candidate at Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands.
Her topic for this evening was manging soil organic matter for production and preservation.
Ms. Straathof said it’s important that there be an increased awareness and understanding of the importance of soil for food security and essential ecosystem functions.
She stressed the importance of organic matter management being an important aspect of the farm’s production strategy.
Production and preservation can be a win-win situation for a farm, she said. Farmers should be open to new management recommendations and they should pay attention to research and discuss what they see in their fields, especially if they are trying new organic matter sources.
She also suggested they watch to see if any interesting patterns develop.
Questions beyond 2015 can be, how can we better process organic matter for field application, Ms. Straathof said.
“Is this best done on-farm or commercially,” she questioned.
Another question to ask is which is better — frequent targeted applications or one application of a catch-all organic matter type.
She also suggested the question, what is the potential for orgnic matter to moderate the effects of climate change. Soil temperature and moisture are moederated by organic matter, but how will this change when decomposition rates, she added.
Following her talk, Mr. Mr. Straathof provided a list of some of the things the Renfrew County NFU has participated in the past year. He noted he was elected to the Ontario executive at the provincial annual general meeting last March. Prior to the provincial election, NFU members met with candidates who were running to represent Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. He also attended the national convention in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with members Connie and Tim Tabbert. Mr. Straathof was invited to sit on the GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) Pesticide Committee for the national organization and the Strategic Planning Committee.
This March, Mr. Straathof, along with Mr. and Mrs. Tabbert, will attend the provincial annual general meeting, which is in Waterloo.
The Renfrew County National Farmers Union meets the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Barr Line Community Centre. Members are encouraged to attend as well as those who are interested in joining the Union or wanting to gather more information about who we are.
You may also inquire through email at [email protected]
