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wp 13-- Scugog Citizen -- Tuesday, Way 41993 Video looks at new farming methods Late arrivals found standing room only when just under fifty people squeezed into the staff lounge at Port Perry High School on Thursday, April 22, for a video night which saluted Earth Day '93. The video "Revolution Down on the Farm" was shown and a Beaverton area bio- dynamic farmer and a board member from the Oshawa Downtown"Farmers' Market fielded questions from the audience. "Revolution Down on the Farm" is a'Nature of Things episode in which David Suzuki interviews a number of Saskatchewan farmers who have been turning to organic growing means. The video explains that. the need to return to the farming methods of former days is the result of massive soil erosion caused by the heavy chemical pesticide and fertilizer use of the past forty or fifty years. As well, a substantial number of farmers are being forced off their land due to the crushiffg debt load the expgnsive chemicaldcontribute to. It is estimated that there may be only thirty or forty years of farming left on the Prairies. unless there is a widespread return to the old farming methods- using crop rotation and the planting of legumes to provide nitrogen to the soil naturally. As one farmer interviewed puts it, if we feed the soil properly, it will continue to feed us. If we do not, the land will not be gblé to sustain us. A bio-chgmist interviewed makes the point that pesticides are poisons, not vitamins. He adds that, in spite of all the claims made by the chemical industry, in the past forty years of widespread use, not one single pest has been eliminated. A doctor who has studied 8000 people for phemical sensitivities reports that there are likely over 16 millidn Americans with sensitivities to pesticides and that these can take the form of cancer as well as problems with the.immune system such as asthma, kidney disease, and migraine. Dr. Kevin Dunkevtey & Dr. Lionel McTague WELCOME ... DR. ROBERT BOYKO, ORTHODONTIST PORT PERR INSURANCE ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTED (we collect from insurance companies) 8 PAYMENT PLANS ARRANGED BW SENIOR CITIZENS' 8 EVENING APPOINTMENTS 8 NEW PATIENTS WELCOME Try FREEe INTEREST 'FRE FREE ® Hearing Tests FREE @ Hearing DENTAL OFTICI 985-8459 462 PAXTON ST & q (across from Port Perry = «@ Community Hospital) 14 Day Trials" Ai E® Hearing Aid Payment Plans Providers for-All Insurance Plans ... Not content with the "lip service" they feel is paid to ecological farming by various levels of government, some of the farmers interviewed by Suzuki have been forming their own support groups to spread the word on how to make the switch off chemicals, whether whole hog or bit by bit. Chapters of the, Organic Crop Improvement Association hold "field days" and give demonstrations on how to switch- and also dispense advice about the need to turn off radios with endless ads by the chemical companies, which prey on farmers' insecurities about growing conditions. An added incentive to the need they feel to leave the land in better shape than when they took it over, is the fact that consumers are wiling to pay more for organically-grown crops- 30 per cent more in the case of wheat, 300 per cent more for peas and lentils. Dave Kea, a bio-dynamie dairy farmer from the Beaverton area, wants Jocal farmers to know that it is really not difficult to switch to ecological farming - it merely takes research, determination and a willingness to learn. He believeg farms in this area can be "turned around" in three years. Kea farts 100 acres without using animal manure, and produces milk without feeding his cattle corn. His production costs have dropped, and his wife has been able to leave her off-farm job. Al Vaillancourt, co-chair of the Durham chapter of Canadian Organic Growers and a board member of the Oshawa yDowntown Farmers Market (now heading into its second year of operation), spoke enthusiastically of the many benefits of the growing farmers' market movement. Farmers get a better price for their products when they sell directly to consumers, and consumers get produce which if) considerably fresher than California-grown fruits and vegetables which have spent a week in transit, losing most of > w K DESSERTS - Meals on Wheels ® Transportation ® Foot Care « Y SCUGOG COMMUNITY CARE. Information Scugog General Meeting Latcham Centre, Port Perry o THURSDAY, MAY 13th at 1:00 PM R Everyone is Welcome to Attend. Please RSVP 985-8461 MEETING - ENTERTAINMENT Information & Referral ® Luncheon Date ® Visiting, etc. " d Oz----4-0 -rco> 4 including Veterans and WCB! ** In-store price only. CITY HEARING AID CENTRE .. serving the Hearing Impaired in the Kawarthas for 20 Years! ... and now serving the Scugog Area with our New Port Perry Office! 462 PAXTON STREET, PORT PERRY 985-3166 (opposite Port Perry Community Hospital) REGISTERED, MINISTRY of HEALTH, A.D.P * 14 day inal based on testing and recommendations a! City Hearing Aid Centre only. "their nutrients along the way. In 1988 there were 50 farmers' markets in Ontario, now there are 115. Ontario Farmers' Markets Executive director Bob Chorney will be in Uxbridge on April 29, to help get a new market in Uxbridge underway, and judging by the number of people at the Earth Day event, many area people are interested in buying produce from local farmers. There is also a steadily growing demand for organically- grown fruits and vegetables. Farmers interested in learning more about organic farming are welcome to borrow "Revolution Down on the Farm" fr e library andfer call th Ontario Ministry of and Food office at 986- - representative from Durham's chapter of the Canadian Organic Growers at 985-3529, or Farmers Markets Ontario at 1-800-387- 3276. Given the interest evident at the Earth Day event, a similar one is already being planned for earlyJanuary '94. Scugog's néxt regular Video Night is set for Thursday, May 27, at Port Perry High School. The vidéo to be shown ied Chlorine cm Ozone Destruction. Hafidouts on what can be done about ozone layer depletion will be available. . Police nab two suspects Durham Police have arrested two men in connection with a series of armed robberies in Oshawa and Ajax last month. Facing six charges of robbery and using a firearm are Todd Burton Shaw and David Russell Robirison, both 27, and both of no fixed address. A police spokesman said the arrests were April 27 following an in ion by the formed Robbery Unit. They are charged in connection with two armed robberies April 18 at the Journey's End Motel and Simcoe F' nd in Oshawa; two robberies on April 20 at Shell Circle Gas and the Bank of Montreal in Ajax; one April 19 at the Value Plus Variety and one April 21 at a 7-11 Store in Oshawa. Shaw is also charged with possession of a prohibited firearm, and possession of a stolen Jeep. that RANDY HATHAWAY has moved across the road to our New Car Department. For 21 your New or Used Vehicle Requirements, Call Randy today at : 725-6501