Grey County Committee Meeting Transcript — June 18, 2026

00:00:32 Speaker 01: Okay. Declaration of conflict of interest.

00:00:38 Speaker 01: Is it anything like that here?

00:00:43 Speaker 01: Hearing none. We'll carry on. Delegations.

00:00:50 Speaker 01: There is none. And on items

00:00:56 Speaker 01: for discussion, but maybe I. But

00:00:58 Speaker 01: maybe I—I should just—I'd like to

00:01:00 Speaker 01: go out the screen or just

00:01:03 Speaker 01: jump in and introduce yourselves. I'm

00:01:08 Speaker 01: Simon DeBoury, your chair. So, who

00:01:10 Speaker 01: is ever bold enough? Next, go

00:01:13 Speaker 01: at Ryan Millen, County, County. Thank

00:01:18 Speaker 01: you. And who's next? Shirley Kevany,

00:01:23 Speaker 01: Deputy Mayor Miford, and Councillor Gray

00:01:26 Speaker 01: County. Thank you. And who's next?

00:01:30 Speaker 01: Paul McQueen, mayor of Gray Highlands,

00:01:33 Speaker 01: county councillor. Welcome again, Paul. And

00:01:41 Speaker 02: who's next? I can go. Andrea

00:01:43 Speaker 02: Matrasovs, mayor of the town of

00:01:44 Speaker 02: Blue Mountains, but I am here

00:01:45 Speaker 02: as the warden of Gray County.

00:01:49 Speaker 03: Thank you. So next, Brenda Shreed,

00:01:52 Speaker 03: NFU Gray County, also a sheep

00:02:00 Speaker 03: farmer. Who is brave enough to

00:02:01 Speaker 03: do that? Be next, Carrie Davenport.

00:02:06 Speaker 03: I'm from Gray County and have

00:02:08 Speaker 03: an agricultural business here. Scott Mackie,

00:02:14 Speaker 03: Gray County Councillor, Mayor of the

00:02:16 Speaker 03: Township of Chasworth. Thank you. I'm

00:02:22 Speaker 03: Emily McHeg. Peg, I am here

00:02:24 Speaker 03: on behalf of Gray Agricultural Services.

00:02:31 Speaker 03: Morning, Emily. And who is next?

00:02:37 Speaker 03: Hey, Simon. I'm Blair Freeman, dairy

00:02:40 Speaker 03: farmer and cash crop producer in

00:02:44 Speaker 03: Chatsworth Township. Thank you. And I

00:02:47 Speaker 03: heard somebody else trying to come

00:02:50 Speaker 03: in. Gaylord Dell, apple grower. Applegrace,

00:02:56 Speaker 04: thank you, Neil. And anybody else,

00:03:00 Speaker 04: go ahead. Are you talking? I

00:03:01 Speaker 04: don't know whether staff are introducing

00:03:02 Speaker 04: themselves, but I'll take a crack

00:03:04 Speaker 04: at that one. I'm Neil Lobbly.

00:03:06 Speaker 04: I'm the deputy CAO for Gray

00:03:08 Speaker 04: County. Randy Scherzer, the CAO, is

00:03:10 Speaker 04: unable to attend this morning and

00:03:11 Speaker 04: asked me to attend in his

00:03:15 Speaker 04: place. Thank you. How are we

00:03:19 Speaker 05: getting along? Couple more. Good morning.

00:03:22 Speaker 05: I'm. I will let the phone

00:03:26 Speaker 05: number proceed, ending in zero seven.

00:03:30 Speaker 05: I'm Chris Stroup. I'm a livestock

00:03:33 Speaker 05: producer from Gray Highlands. Thank you.

00:03:37 Speaker 05: Is is there anybody else? If

00:03:43 Speaker 05: not, we'll go back to the

00:03:45 Speaker 05: agenda. Thank you very kindly for.

00:03:54 Speaker 05: Okay. So next on the agenda,

00:03:56 Speaker 05: I see experimental acres programme update.

00:04:00 Speaker 05: Is that correct, Deboer? That is

00:04:06 Speaker 05: correct, Chair Deboer. You, the presenter,

00:04:10 Speaker 05: go ahead and. Thank you, Chair

00:04:12 Speaker 06: Deboer. My name is Linda Scott

00:04:14 Speaker 06: Swanson, and I'm the Gray County

00:04:16 Speaker 06: Climate Change Initiative's manager. So I'm

00:04:18 Speaker 06: going to briefly. introduce Emily from

00:04:21 Speaker 06: Graye Services to really talk about

00:04:23 Speaker 06: the great year we're having so

00:04:25 Speaker 06: far in 2026. But I just

00:04:26 Speaker 06: wanted to take a moment to

00:04:28 Speaker 06: say that the Experimental Acres programme

00:04:30 Speaker 06: is really one of the shining

00:04:33 Speaker 06: stars of Graye County's going green

00:04:35 Speaker 06: in Graye efforts. It was recently

00:04:38 Speaker 06: recognized just yesterday by the Bruce

00:04:41 Speaker 06: Gray Community Foundation in their Vital

00:04:43 Speaker 06: Signs report as an example of

00:04:45 Speaker 06: a kind of multi-solving project that.

00:04:48 Speaker 06: Solving project that's helping the environment

00:04:52 Speaker 06: and helping our local economies, and

00:04:54 Speaker 06: also making an impact on climate

00:04:55 Speaker 06: change. We do know from our

00:04:57 Speaker 06: Going Green and Gray programme that

00:04:59 Speaker 06: the agricultural sector is one of

00:05:02 Speaker 06: our greatest opportunities, and particularly in

00:05:06 Speaker 06: Gray County, we are leaders in

00:05:09 Speaker 06: sustainable agriculture. And that I think

00:05:10 Speaker 06: sometimes there's a perception that when

00:05:12 Speaker 06: you have, especially climate folks talking

00:05:15 Speaker 06: about sustainable agriculture, we're thinking. you

00:05:19 Speaker 06: know, small market gardens, growing artisanal

00:05:20 Speaker 06: organic vegetables, and I think what

00:05:22 Speaker 06: we see from the diversity of

00:05:25 Speaker 06: projects in the Experimental Acres

00:05:28 Speaker 06: programme is that really sustainable agriculture

00:05:30 Speaker 06: encompasses all scales of agriculture and

00:05:32 Speaker 06: all different types of agriculture. We

00:05:34 Speaker 06: have a good breadth this year.

00:05:35 Speaker 06: So Emily is going to talk

00:05:36 Speaker 06: to you a little bit about

00:05:38 Speaker 06: the process so far and our

00:05:41 Speaker 06: recruitment and the successful projects and

00:05:42 Speaker 06: the the kickoff that's already happened.

00:05:44 Speaker 06: So thank you. as always to

00:05:45 Speaker 06: our our Gray Egg partners for

00:05:48 Speaker 06: really doing the the the heavy

00:05:50 Speaker 06: heavy lifting on this project and

00:05:51 Speaker 06: I'll I'll hand it over to

00:05:56 Speaker 06: Emily to tell you more. Thanks,

00:05:58 Speaker 07: Linda. Yeah, so I am very

00:06:00 Speaker 07: fortunate to be able to coordinate

00:06:02 Speaker 07: the Experimental Acres programme for Gray

00:06:05 Speaker 07: County as part of Gray Egg

00:06:07 Speaker 07: Services. Really happy to be doing

00:06:09 Speaker 07: that again this year. We are

00:06:14 Speaker 07: excited to have seven projects approved

00:06:14 Speaker 07: for the. Proof for the 2026

00:06:17 Speaker 07: programme, and a couple of them

00:06:19 Speaker 07: will have monitoring continue into 2027,

00:06:20 Speaker 07: and one even into 2028 with

00:06:22 Speaker 07: soil testing, just so that we

00:06:24 Speaker 07: can have a little bit more

00:06:26 Speaker 07: continuancy and and see more of

00:06:30 Speaker 07: the impact that the projects have

00:06:33 Speaker 07: actually on the farm. We had

00:06:36 Speaker 07: 20 applications that were received in

00:06:38 Speaker 07: February. They were reviewed by a

00:06:39 Speaker 07: committee through a blind review process

00:06:43 Speaker 07: in early March, and then we

00:06:46 Speaker 07: were able to. go forward with

00:06:49 Speaker 07: communicating with the successful applicants and

00:06:51 Speaker 07: getting the programme started. We have

00:06:52 Speaker 07: so far been able to launch

00:06:53 Speaker 07: a little bit of our monitoring

00:06:58 Speaker 07: for the summer, starting out with

00:06:59 Speaker 07: some soil testing, and seeing some

00:07:01 Speaker 07: of these projects get off the

00:07:05 Speaker 07: ground. And as we go forward,

00:07:06 Speaker 07: more will be put into practice.

00:07:09 Speaker 07: So we have one producer who

00:07:13 Speaker 07: is looking at using brassicas to

00:07:15 Speaker 07: minimize. tillage while he's reseeding pasture

00:07:18 Speaker 07: in the coming fall. We have

00:07:20 Speaker 07: two producers who are looking at

00:07:22 Speaker 07: putting in cover crops after a

00:07:25 Speaker 07: cash crop this summer. So one

00:07:26 Speaker 07: after short season soybeans and one

00:07:29 Speaker 07: after wheat. And then they're going

00:07:31 Speaker 07: to look at rotationally grazing beef

00:07:34 Speaker 07: cattle on those fields and the

00:07:36 Speaker 07: impact that they can have on

00:07:39 Speaker 07: the field and their enterprise by

00:07:42 Speaker 07: doing that. we have a producer

00:07:44 Speaker 07: who is looking at Jerusalem artichoke

00:07:48 Speaker 07: establishment in a market garden setting,

00:07:52 Speaker 07: and he's got multiple replicates of

00:07:54 Speaker 07: the artichokes between typical full tillage,

00:07:57 Speaker 07: no-till with a couple of different

00:07:59 Speaker 07: types of mulches, and then one

00:08:00 Speaker 07: that has a ground cover put

00:08:02 Speaker 07: down and one that is just

00:08:03 Speaker 07: planted directly into a field and

00:08:04 Speaker 07: left, and going to see how

00:08:07 Speaker 07: what kind of establishment he can

00:08:10 Speaker 07: get from those. We have another

00:08:13 Speaker 07: producer who is making an investment

00:08:17 Speaker 07: in Gallagher e collars for virtual

00:08:19 Speaker 07: fencing for rotational grazing on about

00:08:22 Speaker 07: 70 acres of pasture. That'll be

00:08:24 Speaker 07: quite exciting to see. We have

00:08:27 Speaker 07: a returning producer from last year

00:08:29 Speaker 07: who is experimenting with three different

00:08:31 Speaker 07: fields on his farm, looking at

00:08:33 Speaker 07: putting in annual forages for extending

00:08:36 Speaker 07: his grazing season for cattle, and

00:08:37 Speaker 07: he's. working with seeding those a

00:08:39 Speaker 07: little bit outside of their usual

00:08:40 Speaker 07: time and seeing what kind of

00:08:42 Speaker 07: success that he has doing that.

00:08:46 Speaker 07: And then he's also experimenting with

00:08:47 Speaker 07: no-till seeding annual forages into an

00:08:51 Speaker 07: established pasture that's a bit run

00:08:53 Speaker 07: out and what kind of successful

00:08:55 Speaker 07: establishment he could get from that.

00:08:59 Speaker 07: And then our final producer is

00:09:01 Speaker 07: a returning participant as well, and

00:09:06 Speaker 07: she's looking at establishing a perennial

00:09:10 Speaker 07: shrub garden on her flower production

00:09:12 Speaker 07: farm, and what kind of production

00:09:13 Speaker 07: she can viably get from that,

00:09:15 Speaker 07: and what kind of soil health

00:09:17 Speaker 07: benefits come out of that versus

00:09:19 Speaker 07: the annual crops that she usually

00:09:21 Speaker 07: grows. So, like Linda said, a

00:09:26 Speaker 07: really good variety in terms of

00:09:27 Speaker 07: farm size and commodity background, I

00:09:30 Speaker 07: guess you could say. And we're

00:09:31 Speaker 07: pretty excited to continue through the

00:09:33 Speaker 07: summer with monitoring. and see what

00:09:34 Speaker 07: the outcomes are by the end

00:09:36 Speaker 07: of the year, and then track

00:09:39 Speaker 07: a few of these projects into

00:09:42 Speaker 07: the next two years as well.

00:09:46 Speaker 01: Thank you. Thank you, Emily. And

00:09:46 Speaker 01: just done quite a bit of

00:09:50 Speaker 01: work again on this on these

00:09:56 Speaker 01: worthwhile projects. Are there any questions

00:10:02 Speaker 01: to Emily? Don't be shy. So,

00:10:03 Speaker 01: if nobody has any questions, you

00:10:07 Speaker 01: don't get off easy, Emily. So,

00:10:10 Speaker 01: so there will be a tour

00:10:12 Speaker 01: again this year, like we did

00:10:14 Speaker 01: last year. Yeah. So, in September,

00:10:16 Speaker 01: we do hope to have a

00:10:18 Speaker 07: tour for the participants to see

00:10:21 Speaker 07: a few of each other's projects,

00:10:24 Speaker 07: and create an opportunity for networking

00:10:26 Speaker 07: between them, idea sharing. There's always

00:10:28 Speaker 07: a little bit of overlap in

00:10:30 Speaker 07: several. of the projects, and it's

00:10:31 Speaker 07: a great way for us to

00:10:34 Speaker 07: learn from each other and carry

00:10:35 Speaker 07: those ideas on. And then we

00:10:37 Speaker 07: also usually do a wrap-up event

00:10:41 Speaker 07: for the participants in November, and

00:10:43 Speaker 07: we work with the Dufferin County

00:10:45 Speaker 07: and Wellington County programmemes on that

00:10:48 Speaker 07: as well. And again, the goal

00:10:51 Speaker 07: is to allow participants to have

00:10:54 Speaker 07: a good networking opportunity and learn

00:10:57 Speaker 07: more from each other. Well, thank

00:10:59 Speaker 01: you. Just Oh, thank you. Just

00:11:00 Speaker 01: to don't put any undue pressure

00:11:02 Speaker 01: on it, but I think Terra

00:11:06 Speaker 01: fair is the fourteenth and the

00:11:08 Speaker 01: fifteenth. So keep that in mind.

00:11:11 Speaker 01: Paul McQueen, you go right there,

00:11:12 Speaker 08: Paul. Yeah. So I'm just trying

00:11:14 Speaker 08: to open up the attachment. Would

00:11:16 Speaker 08: it be possible to get like

00:11:18 Speaker 08: just a summary of all those

00:11:19 Speaker 08: projects that are that are happening,

00:11:20 Speaker 08: or maybe that's on the attachment?

00:11:21 Speaker 07: Is it? I just open it.

00:11:24 Speaker 07: Just trying to get it open

00:11:25 Speaker 07: here now. Yep. There should be

00:11:27 Speaker 07: a summary of each project. included

00:11:29 Speaker 07: on there with their goals and

00:11:32 Speaker 07: the monitoring actions. No, that's great

00:11:35 Speaker 08: because I think as as representatives

00:11:36 Speaker 08: of this agriculture advisory, you know,

00:11:38 Speaker 08: periodic we were asked or questioned

00:11:40 Speaker 08: about what it's all about. So

00:11:41 Speaker 08: if we're able to sort of

00:11:42 Speaker 08: share that, and I know that

00:11:43 Speaker 08: was sort of a bit of

00:11:44 Speaker 08: a thing last year as well.

00:11:45 Speaker 08: So thank you for that. I

00:11:48 Speaker 08: see it now, and I think

00:11:50 Speaker 08: it's fantastic that we're doing this

00:11:52 Speaker 08: in Gray County because it it

00:11:54 Speaker 08: can stretch the growing season or

00:11:56 Speaker 08: try to get more. out of

00:11:59 Speaker 08: our land, especially with the high

00:12:01 Speaker 08: cost of of land per acre.

00:12:03 Speaker 08: It's it's a great to you

00:12:10 Speaker 08: know see these these projects maybe

00:12:11 Speaker 08: come to a larger larger more

00:12:12 Speaker 08: of a it expands out to

00:12:13 Speaker 08: more farmers doing it. I guess

00:12:17 Speaker 08: that's maybe what I'm saying. So

00:12:20 Speaker 08: again, thank you for that. Yeah,

00:12:23 Speaker 09: definitely. Thank you for the question,

00:12:27 Speaker 09: Paul. And Blair Freeman is next.

00:12:28 Speaker 09: Go ahead. Brenner. Thanks, Simon. Emily,

00:12:31 Speaker 09: just curious if you have any

00:12:32 Speaker 09: kind of a display or something

00:12:34 Speaker 09: that would be portable that could

00:12:37 Speaker 09: be offered up to a bunch

00:12:40 Speaker 09: of the different local fair boards

00:12:43 Speaker 09: for their fairs this late summer

00:12:46 Speaker 09: fall. We could definitely put that

00:12:50 Speaker 09: together. We have a banner for

00:12:51 Speaker 09: Experimental Acres for the programme and

00:12:53 Speaker 09: postcards with a little. Cards with

00:12:57 Speaker 09: a little bit of information and

00:12:58 Speaker 09: a link to our websites, and

00:13:00 Speaker 09: we could definitely put a summary

00:13:02 Speaker 09: together. I'm thinking some kind of

00:13:04 Speaker 07: a board with a picture for

00:13:06 Speaker 07: a number of different projects with

00:13:08 Speaker 07: a brief description or something like

00:13:12 Speaker 07: that that you'd use as a

00:13:14 Speaker 07: display. Yeah, I would love to

00:13:16 Speaker 07: put something together. If maybe if

00:13:17 Speaker 07: any fair boards are interested in

00:13:21 Speaker 07: receiving that, they could reach out

00:13:23 Speaker 07: to Gray Eggs Services, and we

00:13:28 Speaker 10: could definitely get some. Definitely get

00:13:30 Speaker 10: something sent over. Would be great

00:13:32 Speaker 10: to share the news. Yeah, Shirley.

00:13:35 Speaker 10: Ah, thank you very much, Chair

00:13:37 Speaker 10: Simon. I just wanted to share,

00:13:40 Speaker 10: um, in relation to last year's

00:13:44 Speaker 10: experimental acres in Meaford, we had

00:13:47 Speaker 10: Dr. Christina Allen, who very sadly

00:13:49 Speaker 10: passed away, but she was working

00:13:50 Speaker 10: on an apple guild that would

00:13:53 Speaker 10: be more disease resistant, and her

00:13:54 Speaker 10: husband. is carrying on that programme.

00:13:57 Speaker 10: So I thought it would be

00:14:00 Speaker 10: valuable for the committee to know

00:14:02 Speaker 10: that her husband is continuing that.

00:14:03 Speaker 10: And the crop that they harvested

00:14:05 Speaker 10: this past fall, he felt was

00:14:06 Speaker 10: five times greater than it might

00:14:12 Speaker 01: have been without the work that

00:14:17 Speaker 01: they had done through experimental acres.

00:14:18 Speaker 01: So I just wanted to share

00:14:19 Speaker 01: that story. Thank you. Any more

00:14:22 Speaker 01: questions or comments? Well, thank you,

00:14:25 Speaker 01: Emily, for your input, and thank

00:14:28 Speaker 01: you for all the questions. And

00:14:32 Speaker 01: then we'll go to the next

00:14:36 Speaker 11: point on the agenda, and that

00:14:38 Speaker 11: is about the Beaver and Coyote

00:14:40 Speaker 11: Bylaw. And I see Scott's name

00:14:42 Speaker 11: on there, so take it away,

00:14:43 Speaker 11: Scott. Thank you, Mister Chair, and

00:14:45 Speaker 11: good morning to to all the

00:14:46 Speaker 11: members of the Agricultural Advisory Committee.

00:14:48 Speaker 11: So this is just a bit

00:14:50 Speaker 11: of an update, too. on a

00:14:53 Speaker 11: project that we've chatted a few

00:14:54 Speaker 11: times with the committee about. You'll

00:14:57 Speaker 11: you'll recall that the county was

00:14:59 Speaker 11: instructed to review our beaver and

00:15:02 Speaker 11: coyote, our nuisance beaver and coyote

00:15:03 Speaker 11: bylaws. There was some public meetings

00:15:04 Speaker 11: held last year. Greg Cultural Services

00:15:05 Speaker 11: was nice enough to to lend

00:15:07 Speaker 11: us their board room and help

00:15:09 Speaker 11: get word out there. So we

00:15:11 Speaker 11: had sort of a drop in

00:15:13 Speaker 11: open house at the Greg Services

00:15:15 Speaker 11: offices, and then we also had

00:15:17 Speaker 11: a formal public meeting at the

00:15:20 Speaker 11: County Council Chambers in. in Owen

00:15:23 Speaker 11: Sound that people could could attend

00:15:25 Speaker 11: in person or or or tune

00:15:26 Speaker 11: in virtually. There's been some follow

00:15:29 Speaker 11: up reports to to this committee

00:15:31 Speaker 11: on on that subject, including sort

00:15:32 Speaker 11: of a summary of of the

00:15:34 Speaker 11: feedback that we heard from from

00:15:36 Speaker 11: different folks on this topic. Staff

00:15:39 Speaker 11: did take a staff report to

00:15:41 Speaker 11: committee the whole on June 11th

00:15:43 Speaker 11: with respect to the Beaver and

00:15:45 Speaker 11: Coyote bylaw. The the report itself

00:15:47 Speaker 11: did provide a staff recommendation and

00:15:49 Speaker 11: a number of options for Council's

00:15:51 Speaker 11: consent. Options for council's consideration. It

00:15:52 Speaker 11: was a good discussion at council.

00:15:54 Speaker 11: There was lots of different perspectives

00:15:56 Speaker 11: raised. In the end, council directed

00:15:57 Speaker 11: staff to proceed with updating both

00:16:00 Speaker 11: the bylaws. So we have the

00:16:04 Speaker 11: one bylaw for the beavers and

00:16:06 Speaker 11: and the other bylaw for the

00:16:08 Speaker 11: coyotes. As part of the direction

00:16:10 Speaker 11: that was provided to staff, council

00:16:11 Speaker 11: determined that it was appropriate to

00:16:14 Speaker 11: to increase the the amounts paid

00:16:16 Speaker 11: to be commiserate with the with

00:16:18 Speaker 11: the Bruce County rates in that

00:16:19 Speaker 11: regard. I think in in speaking

00:16:21 Speaker 11: with council, and we know that

00:16:22 Speaker 11: we're so closely tied to to

00:16:24 Speaker 11: Bruce County, and that some folks

00:16:26 Speaker 11: own farms on on both sides

00:16:27 Speaker 11: of the fence, so to speak.

00:16:29 Speaker 11: And and there's a lot of

00:16:31 Speaker 11: similarities between the two counties. So

00:16:32 Speaker 11: there was some thought that that

00:16:35 Speaker 11: if we've already got a similar

00:16:38 Speaker 11: programme in Bruce, why not make

00:16:39 Speaker 11: the payments the same, and and

00:16:41 Speaker 11: that way people are treated equally,

00:16:42 Speaker 11: depending on which side of the

00:16:45 Speaker 11: county county line you live on.

00:16:47 Speaker 11: There, so council or staff have

00:16:49 Speaker 11: received council's direction. We're going to

00:16:52 Speaker 11: work in. behind the scenes now

00:16:55 Speaker 11: to provide actual drafts of the

00:16:56 Speaker 11: bylaw. We'll work closely with our

00:17:00 Speaker 11: legal services staff, and then those

00:17:03 Speaker 11: bylaws will come back before County

00:17:06 Speaker 11: Council, hopefully later this year, for

00:17:08 Speaker 11: for their their passing. In that

00:17:10 Speaker 11: regard, what's in the staff report

00:17:11 Speaker 11: is the hope would be that

00:17:13 Speaker 11: that the bylaws get get approved

00:17:16 Speaker 11: and implemented with an effective date

00:17:17 Speaker 11: January first, twenty twenty seven. Obviously,

00:17:21 Speaker 11: things can also can always change.

00:17:22 Speaker 11: but we'll we'll endeavor to keep

00:17:25 Speaker 11: this group up to date with

00:17:26 Speaker 11: respect to any changes. And then

00:17:29 Speaker 11: once the bylaws are passed, we'll

00:17:30 Speaker 11: look to get word out to

00:17:33 Speaker 11: to both the farm community, but

00:17:35 Speaker 11: also the the the hunters and

00:17:38 Speaker 11: trappers that were so keenly plugged

00:17:39 Speaker 11: into this project to let them

00:17:41 Speaker 11: know about the changes. Because even

00:17:43 Speaker 11: aside from from the fees, there

00:17:47 Speaker 11: are some changes to to how

00:17:48 Speaker 11: folks would would submit their claims,

00:17:50 Speaker 11: and we're also updating our forms

00:17:51 Speaker 11: in that regard. So there'll be

00:17:53 Speaker 11: further further education to come on

00:17:55 Speaker 11: that. The one other discussion that

00:17:57 Speaker 11: happened at county council's part of

00:17:58 Speaker 11: that that discussion was with respect

00:17:59 Speaker 11: to education. And Sarah Johnson had

00:18:01 Speaker 11: done a report on this, and

00:18:02 Speaker 11: and there was the thought that

00:18:04 Speaker 11: you know regardless of which way

00:18:06 Speaker 11: the county goes with these bylaws,

00:18:08 Speaker 11: there's there's probably a need for

00:18:10 Speaker 11: further education all the way around.

00:18:11 Speaker 11: And and what we've talked about

00:18:15 Speaker 11: I think before with this group

00:18:19 Speaker 11: is that you know in some

00:18:20 Speaker 11: cases there might be a need

00:18:23 Speaker 11: for for further education about the.

00:18:25 Speaker 11: sort of realities of modern farming

00:18:27 Speaker 11: and what you all do with

00:18:29 Speaker 11: respect to your farm practices in

00:18:30 Speaker 11: that regard, and maybe also providing

00:18:31 Speaker 11: some education on options for for

00:18:33 Speaker 11: non lethal methods of of animal

00:18:37 Speaker 11: control. And so, if I think

00:18:39 Speaker 11: about you know the county's own

00:18:42 Speaker 11: infrastructure, we've had to trap beavers

00:18:43 Speaker 11: in the past based on on

00:18:45 Speaker 11: blocked culverts. So maybe there's an

00:18:46 Speaker 11: opportunity to look further at things

00:18:48 Speaker 11: like beaver baffles to try to

00:18:52 Speaker 11: avoid the need for that trapping.

00:18:54 Speaker 11: If we think about about farm

00:18:55 Speaker 11: practices and more so on the

00:18:57 Speaker 11: coyote side, we've heard lots about

00:18:59 Speaker 11: guardian animals. We've also heard about

00:19:01 Speaker 11: fencing and other options in that

00:19:02 Speaker 11: regard. So, so we think that

00:19:04 Speaker 11: you know there's a full suite

00:19:05 Speaker 11: of options available to to farmers

00:19:08 Speaker 11: and landowners and municipalities in this

00:19:11 Speaker 11: regard. And so, part of the

00:19:12 Speaker 11: the county's role going forward might

00:19:14 Speaker 11: be working with groups like the

00:19:16 Speaker 11: different farm commodity groups and and

00:19:18 Speaker 11: Greg Services and others. to kind

00:19:19 Speaker 11: of try to put some of

00:19:21 Speaker 11: that education out there, so so

00:19:22 Speaker 11: people are aware of their options

00:19:24 Speaker 11: and and can can proceed accordingly.

00:19:26 Speaker 11: Certainly not looking to to make

00:19:28 Speaker 11: a ton of extra work here.

00:19:29 Speaker 11: So we'd be certainly looking if

00:19:30 Speaker 11: anyone has any suggestions on on

00:19:34 Speaker 11: educational programmemes that are already out

00:19:36 Speaker 11: there. You know, maybe the beef

00:19:38 Speaker 11: farmers or someone else already have

00:19:45 Speaker 11: a a really great fact sheet

00:19:48 Speaker 11: that we could we could just

00:19:49 Speaker 01: kind of promote in that regard.

00:19:53 Speaker 01: So with that, I'll turn it

00:19:54 Speaker 01: back to you, Mr. Chair. But

00:19:56 Speaker 01: certainly happy to take any questions

00:19:58 Speaker 01: if there. are any about these

00:20:00 Speaker 01: these bylaws. Thank you, Scott, for

00:20:03 Speaker 01: that presentation, and we'll entertain some

00:20:07 Speaker 01: questions, if there are, or I

00:20:09 Speaker 01: hope there are. So, hearing none

00:20:12 Speaker 01: at this time, Scott. I thank

00:20:14 Speaker 08: you for all your good work,

00:20:16 Speaker 08: and yeah, that I'm sure we

00:20:17 Speaker 08: can bring this to a good

00:20:22 Speaker 08: end somehow or other. And the

00:20:27 Speaker 08: more we read into. Be read

00:20:31 Speaker 08: into this and study this, the

00:20:32 Speaker 08: better that will be for everybody.

00:20:34 Speaker 08: You go right ahead, Paul. So

00:20:36 Speaker 08: during the discussion, and there was

00:20:37 Speaker 08: some correspondence sent from the Grey

00:20:39 Speaker 08: County bee farmers, along with the

00:20:41 Speaker 08: bee farmers of Ontario. And one

00:20:44 Speaker 08: of the one of the points

00:20:46 Speaker 08: that was raised that last year,

00:20:54 Speaker 08: twenty twenty four twenty twenty five

00:20:59 Speaker 01: year, the highest predation. claims for

00:21:02 Speaker 01: livestock was in Grey County. I

00:21:03 Speaker 01: think it was something like 114

00:21:06 Speaker 01: or 116. I don't have it

00:21:09 Speaker 01: in front of me. Claims, and

00:21:11 Speaker 11: it was the highest in the

00:21:12 Speaker 11: province of Ontario. So there is

00:21:14 Speaker 11: a reflection on what's happening as

00:21:15 Speaker 11: far as coyote kills as well.

00:21:18 Speaker 11: So, and that was shared from

00:21:20 Speaker 11: the beef farmers of Ontario. Any

00:21:25 Speaker 11: more on this? topic or subject?

00:21:26 Speaker 11: We'll depart from this and go

00:21:28 Speaker 11: on to the next one. And

00:21:31 Speaker 11: if memory serves me correct, you're

00:21:35 Speaker 11: on again, Scott. You go right

00:21:36 Speaker 11: ahead. Yeah, thank you, Mister Chair.

00:21:37 Speaker 11: And I apologize; I didn't prepare

00:21:39 Speaker 11: a formal presentation. But if I

00:21:41 Speaker 11: could, I might just try to

00:21:43 Speaker 11: share a visual here, just to

00:21:46 Speaker 11: to give the committee something to

00:21:48 Speaker 11: look at. Through you, Mr. Chair,

00:21:51 Speaker 11: can you just confirm that you

00:21:54 Speaker 11: can see that that concept plan

00:21:55 Speaker 11: that's up on the screen? I'm

00:21:57 Speaker 11: fine. I'm fine here. Okay, great.

00:22:00 Speaker 11: So yeah, thank you, thank you

00:22:01 Speaker 11: for giving me the opportunity to

00:22:03 Speaker 11: provide an update to the Agricultural

00:22:05 Speaker 11: Advisory Committee on this. What you're

00:22:07 Speaker 11: seeing on the screen is

00:22:10 Speaker 11: a site concept plan for what's

00:22:14 Speaker 11: known as as the RALD's, and

00:22:17 Speaker 11: RALD stands for excuse me, the

00:22:20 Speaker 11: Regional Agricultural Learning and Demonstration. Cultural

00:22:22 Speaker 11: learning and demonstration site, and and

00:22:25 Speaker 11: so this is a project that's

00:22:29 Speaker 11: been ongoing for for a number

00:22:30 Speaker 11: of years now. County staff, and

00:22:32 Speaker 11: when I say county staff, I

00:22:34 Speaker 11: mean folks like planners, but also

00:22:37 Speaker 11: Jill and her wonderful team at

00:22:38 Speaker 11: Gray Roots have been working closely

00:22:40 Speaker 11: with the Chatsworth and Owensend Agricultural

00:22:41 Speaker 11: Societies to look at a a

00:22:42 Speaker 11: site for for future agricultural education

00:22:45 Speaker 11: and and also fall fair locations

00:22:48 Speaker 11: for for the the egg societies

00:22:49 Speaker 11: and. Or the the egg societies

00:22:51 Speaker 11: in that regard, and so the

00:22:53 Speaker 11: site in question was was generally

00:22:55 Speaker 11: generously donated by a local landowner,

00:22:58 Speaker 11: and and this is sort of

00:23:00 Speaker 11: directly to the west of the

00:23:02 Speaker 11: current Gray Roots Museum and Archives

00:23:04 Speaker 11: and the Morston Harrison Heritage Village,

00:23:05 Speaker 11: and so what you're seeing on

00:23:08 Speaker 11: the screen there in terms of

00:23:10 Speaker 11: the air photo, just sort of

00:23:13 Speaker 11: on the on the right hand

00:23:16 Speaker 11: side of the screen, is the

00:23:19 Speaker 11: the sort of western edge of

00:23:21 Speaker 11: the the Morston Harrison Heritage Village,

00:23:23 Speaker 11: and and for those that have

00:23:27 Speaker 11: had the the benefit of visiting

00:23:29 Speaker 11: the village, the just in in

00:23:32 Speaker 11: sort of the top corner here

00:23:34 Speaker 11: is is the existing barn, and

00:23:35 Speaker 11: and just over onto the neighbouring

00:23:38 Speaker 11: property is where we get into

00:23:40 Speaker 11: sort of the future fall fair

00:23:43 Speaker 11: site as well as some of

00:23:45 Speaker 11: the other year-round activities that that

00:23:46 Speaker 11: might be occurring on this site,

00:23:49 Speaker 11: and and this is also where

00:23:50 Speaker 11: excuse me the current greenhouse and

00:23:52 Speaker 11: sugar shack are, which is a

00:23:54 Speaker 11: partnership between. Gray County and Gray

00:23:56 Speaker 11: Roots, as well as the Bluewater

00:23:57 Speaker 11: District School Board, and and this

00:23:59 Speaker 11: in in conjunction with with the

00:24:02 Speaker 11: Gray Roots property is the site

00:24:06 Speaker 11: of of the the high skills

00:24:07 Speaker 11: major and agriculture programme. So this

00:24:09 Speaker 11: is the programme that used to

00:24:13 Speaker 11: be out of Chesley and has

00:24:15 Speaker 11: has since been able to move

00:24:17 Speaker 11: over here, which gives high school

00:24:20 Speaker 11: students you know on the ground

00:24:23 Speaker 11: learning about agriculture in that regard.

00:24:24 Speaker 11: So so. that's just fantastic, and

00:24:27 Speaker 11: so the hope would be that

00:24:30 Speaker 11: that this can continue on between

00:24:31 Speaker 11: what we're calling the Raulds property

00:24:33 Speaker 11: and and the Gray Roots property,

00:24:35 Speaker 11: and you'll see other linkages between

00:24:37 Speaker 11: the two, such that we can

00:24:39 Speaker 11: make use of of shared parking

00:24:42 Speaker 11: and other facilities. Simply put, the

00:24:44 Speaker 11: the Raulds facility, in order to

00:24:45 Speaker 11: permit a use like this, it

00:24:48 Speaker 11: has required an amendment to the

00:24:51 Speaker 11: Niagara Escarpment Plan. That amendment application

00:24:52 Speaker 11: was submitted by the county. on

00:24:56 Speaker 11: behalf of the two agricultural societies

00:24:59 Speaker 11: in February of two thousand four,

00:25:02 Speaker 11: two thousand twenty-four. Sorry, an initial

00:25:03 Speaker 11: staff report went to the commission

00:25:04 Speaker 11: in February of two thousand twenty-five,

00:25:08 Speaker 11: and the file was circulated to

00:25:12 Speaker 11: to agencies and the public in

00:25:14 Speaker 11: in July of twenty twenty-five. So

00:25:16 Speaker 11: the the NEC has been working

00:25:19 Speaker 11: hard to collect comments and input

00:25:20 Speaker 11: on that. They've just recently

00:25:24 Speaker 11: staff from the NEC has

00:25:26 Speaker 11: just recently given us an update

00:25:29 Speaker 11: to suggest that there. To suggest

00:25:30 Speaker 11: that they're they're hoping that this

00:25:32 Speaker 11: matter will go back before their

00:25:34 Speaker 11: public input advisory committee in June

00:25:36 Speaker 11: of 2026, with the hope that

00:25:38 Speaker 11: we have a final staff recommendation

00:25:40 Speaker 11: before the commission in in August

00:25:43 Speaker 11: of of of 2026. Those dates

00:25:44 Speaker 11: are still subject to change, but

00:25:46 Speaker 11: it's our hope that that we'll

00:25:49 Speaker 11: see a decision on this from

00:25:51 Speaker 11: the commission here, hopefully hopefully later

00:25:52 Speaker 11: this year. Should the commission grant

00:25:54 Speaker 11: the applications? or the applications, or

00:25:55 Speaker 11: then the the egg societies can

00:25:57 Speaker 11: get to work on on sort

00:25:59 Speaker 11: of planning the rest of the

00:26:01 Speaker 11: site and looking at things like

00:26:03 Speaker 11: completing archaeological assessment and ultimately submitting

00:26:04 Speaker 11: development permit applications to start to

00:26:07 Speaker 11: look at implementing some of what

00:26:09 Speaker 11: you see here, including the buildings

00:26:11 Speaker 11: that would serve not only the

00:26:12 Speaker 11: fall fair but also be used

00:26:15 Speaker 11: for other purposes year round. and

00:26:19 Speaker 11: And the committee's probably aware there's

00:26:22 Speaker 11: lots of wonderful sort of agricultural

00:26:24 Speaker 11: events year round. Some of which

00:26:26 Speaker 11: might be looking for a home.

00:26:29 Speaker 11: For many years, we've had the

00:26:32 Speaker 11: Sydneyum Fall Fair, which is run

00:26:33 Speaker 11: by the former Sydneyum School and

00:26:35 Speaker 11: now the East Ridge School in

00:26:37 Speaker 11: that regard. And and for a

00:26:38 Speaker 11: while, that was held at Gray

00:26:40 Speaker 11: Roots. But then, when when the

00:26:42 Speaker 11: schools were amalgamated, it it got

00:26:43 Speaker 11: too big for Gray Roots. The

00:26:45 Speaker 11: hope is things like that, or

00:26:46 Speaker 11: things like the Grown and Gray

00:26:48 Speaker 11: programme, or other agricultural events through

00:26:50 Speaker 11: the year, could. could make use

00:26:51 Speaker 11: of the site and and activate

00:26:53 Speaker 11: these lands, and that we could

00:26:55 Speaker 11: also look at joint programmeming between

00:26:56 Speaker 11: Gray Roots and this regional agricultural

00:26:59 Speaker 11: learning and demonstration site, with an

00:27:02 Speaker 11: eye towards informing Gray County residents

00:27:04 Speaker 11: and tourists about sort of modern

00:27:06 Speaker 01: farm practices, but also in accordance

00:27:09 Speaker 01: with Gray Roots' mandate to show

00:27:11 Speaker 01: them a little about a little

00:27:16 Speaker 01: bit about the county's agricultural history

00:27:18 Speaker 01: as well. So what I've just

00:27:21 Speaker 01: shared is. is a bit of

00:27:23 Speaker 01: a mouthful. It's more or less

00:27:25 Speaker 01: an update to the committee, but

00:27:29 Speaker 01: certainly happy to take any questions,

00:27:32 Speaker 08: especially for those newer members of

00:27:34 Speaker 08: the committee that might not have

00:27:36 Speaker 08: been living and breathing some of

00:27:38 Speaker 08: these discussions for, you know, I'm

00:27:41 Speaker 08: embarrassed to say, but the last

00:27:46 Speaker 08: ten plus years. So certainly turn

00:27:47 Speaker 08: it back over to the chair,

00:27:49 Speaker 08: and happy to to take any

00:27:53 Speaker 08: questions if there are any. Well,

00:27:55 Speaker 08: thank you, Scott, and it is

00:27:56 Speaker 08: certainly I'm delighted to see that

00:27:58 Speaker 08: this end of this project is.

00:28:00 Speaker 08: Part of this project is still

00:28:02 Speaker 08: in progress. I hope to see

00:28:05 Speaker 08: the completion of it at some

00:28:07 Speaker 08: point. Are there any questions? Blair

00:28:09 Speaker 08: Freeman was first, Paul McQueen second.

00:28:11 Speaker 08: So you go right ahead, Blair.

00:28:13 Speaker 08: Not a question, Scott. But just

00:28:14 Speaker 08: thank you for navigating all the

00:28:17 Speaker 08: NEC hoops in this process. And

00:28:20 Speaker 08: thank you for that comment, Paul.

00:28:22 Speaker 08: Yeah, and and just echo that

00:28:26 Speaker 08: and and. Just to echo that,

00:28:27 Speaker 08: and thanks, Scott, for bringing this

00:28:28 Speaker 08: forward. I know when I sat

00:28:30 Speaker 08: on the Niagara Government Commission in

00:28:31 Speaker 08: 2015, they had a committee meeting,

00:28:34 Speaker 08: or I forget what you call

00:28:37 Speaker 08: it now, but at the Gray

00:28:40 Speaker 08: Roots back in 2015, where members

00:28:42 Speaker 08: who had the vision spoke in

00:28:43 Speaker 08: front of the commission, and at

00:28:45 Speaker 08: that time, the commission was sort

00:28:47 Speaker 08: of supportive of that. But it's

00:28:49 Speaker 08: it's interesting how it takes so

00:28:50 Speaker 08: much time. and I know it's

00:28:52 Speaker 08: thanks to the county of Gray

00:28:55 Speaker 08: of taking the lead on this

00:28:56 Speaker 08: because that has certainly pushed it

00:28:58 Speaker 08: to where the level it is

00:29:00 Speaker 08: today. So just just a big

00:29:02 Speaker 08: shout out to all those involved

00:29:04 Speaker 08: and to to make this a

00:29:06 Speaker 08: final a final success because it

00:29:08 Speaker 08: will be a great spot to

00:29:10 Speaker 08: to host those fairs and other

00:29:13 Speaker 08: events and educational events, and it

00:29:18 Speaker 08: really I think it really ties

00:29:22 Speaker 08: in well with Gray Roots, and

00:29:24 Speaker 08: I think it just works hand

00:29:27 Speaker 01: in hand to not only for

00:29:28 Speaker 01: a space for agricultural activities is

00:29:32 Speaker 01: being planned, but also the exposure

00:29:36 Speaker 01: of gray roots from those that

00:29:39 Speaker 01: do attend and see, you know,

00:29:46 Speaker 01: the Morrison Village, and it just,

00:29:47 Speaker 01: it just, it just going to

00:29:50 Speaker 01: continue the the build on the

00:29:53 Speaker 01: real gem that Gray County has

00:29:56 Speaker 01: with gray roots and and the

00:29:58 Speaker 01: community that that it serves, and

00:30:00 Speaker 01: and all those visitors that you

00:30:03 Speaker 01: know come to our area just

00:30:06 Speaker 01: to see what agriculture. is all

00:30:09 Speaker 01: about and and all that stuff,

00:30:11 Speaker 01: so it's just kudos to all

00:30:12 Speaker 01: involved, and it's a great story,

00:30:14 Speaker 01: and certainly look forward to the

00:30:16 Speaker 01: ribbon cutting when that does does

00:30:18 Speaker 01: happen for sure, like we all

00:30:21 Speaker 01: do. Thank you, Paul. Any more

00:30:22 Speaker 12: questions on this subject? Hearing none

00:30:24 Speaker 12: or seeing none. Thank you very

00:30:26 Speaker 12: kindly, Scott, for your input, and

00:30:28 Speaker 12: we'll go on to the next

00:30:29 Speaker 12: point on. the agenda, which is

00:30:31 Speaker 12: the international ploughing match planning. The

00:30:33 Speaker 12: presenter will go right ahead and

00:30:36 Speaker 12: make the presentation. Just through your

00:30:38 Speaker 12: chair, I do apologize. I don't

00:30:39 Speaker 12: have a presentation prepared, but we

00:30:41 Speaker 12: have been working closely with Grey

00:30:43 Speaker 12: Egg Services to have a joint

00:30:47 Speaker 12: booth or booth put into. the

00:30:49 Speaker 12: international plowing match, which will invite

00:30:50 Speaker 12: our our member municipalities and the

00:30:53 Speaker 12: local commodity groups to be present

00:30:59 Speaker 12: at the plowing match in September.

00:31:02 Speaker 01: So I will be working with

00:31:05 Speaker 01: Emily to just put that call

00:31:07 Speaker 01: out and do a sign up

00:31:08 Speaker 01: list, and we will have a

00:31:11 Speaker 01: number of tickets per day. I'm

00:31:12 Speaker 01: actually just finalizing all the paperwork

00:31:16 Speaker 01: here. So it lasts for five

00:31:19 Speaker 01: days, and we have a daily

00:31:21 Speaker 01: admission of ten passes per. booth,

00:31:26 Speaker 01: so that would be twenty that

00:31:27 Speaker 01: we would be able to get,

00:31:29 Speaker 01: and that would just be a

00:31:31 Speaker 01: element of being able to have

00:31:32 Speaker 01: people be part of the at

00:31:33 Speaker 01: the booth to speak about Gray

00:31:36 Speaker 01: County agriculture in the area. We

00:31:37 Speaker 01: are in the rural living section,

00:31:38 Speaker 01: so that includes community services, and

00:31:39 Speaker 01: we're in the tent area indoors.

00:31:42 Speaker 01: So just watch for those emails

00:31:48 Speaker 07: that will be circulating for a

00:31:51 Speaker 07: sign up, and we will coordinate

00:31:55 Speaker 07: that with Gray Ag Services. With

00:31:56 Speaker 07: Greyeg Services. Sorry, it's been so

00:31:59 Speaker 07: long to find the right button.

00:32:02 Speaker 07: Thank you very much for your

00:32:03 Speaker 07: presentation, and I'm certainly looking forward

00:32:05 Speaker 07: to the International Plowing Mats. I

00:32:08 Speaker 07: know that number of the organisations

00:32:10 Speaker 07: I'm involved with, we will be

00:32:12 Speaker 07: there. So, and always one thing

00:32:14 Speaker 07: on my mind is the weather

00:32:15 Speaker 07: that we cannot. Not influence or

00:32:17 Speaker 07: anything. Yes, we will be. It

00:32:21 Speaker 07: will be an indoor boot, so

00:32:22 Speaker 07: that is a good thing if

00:32:29 Speaker 07: the weather. So we will be

00:32:31 Speaker 07: able to stay dry and out

00:32:34 Speaker 07: of the wind. And Emily, I'm

00:32:38 Speaker 07: not too sure if you would

00:32:46 Speaker 07: like to add anything just about

00:32:48 Speaker 07: the coordination and some of the

00:32:49 Speaker 07: input that you've had through the

00:32:52 Speaker 08: Georgia May stewardship that kind of

00:32:53 Speaker 08: catapulted this. Yeah. So our Georgian

00:32:54 Speaker 08: farm stewardship. Collabourative was interested in

00:32:57 Speaker 08: maybe making use of some of

00:32:58 Speaker 08: this booth space provided by Gray

00:32:59 Speaker 08: County, and I think the more

00:33:01 Speaker 08: agricultural organisations that we can pull

00:33:03 Speaker 08: in and give the opportunity to

00:33:05 Speaker 08: be at the plowing plowing match

00:33:08 Speaker 08: and sharing information about their commodity

00:33:09 Speaker 08: group or the work they're doing,

00:33:11 Speaker 08: the better. So, if anybody knows

00:33:13 Speaker 08: of a group that would like

00:33:16 Speaker 08: to take part, please reach out.

00:33:17 Speaker 08: Love to hear from you and.

00:33:18 Speaker 08: definitely, the more the merrier. We

00:33:20 Speaker 08: have to spread the the task

00:33:22 Speaker 08: of of manning that booth space

00:33:24 Speaker 08: the better as well. So thank

00:33:26 Speaker 08: you. Well, thank you very much,

00:33:28 Speaker 08: Emily and Paul McQueen. You go

00:33:30 Speaker 08: right ahead. You are on mute,

00:33:34 Speaker 08: Paul. Sorry to interrupt your. spiel,

00:33:36 Speaker 08: but there you go. Yep, no,

00:33:38 Speaker 08: okay. Sorry to be put my

00:33:39 Speaker 08: hand up all all the time,

00:33:42 Speaker 08: but I just want to say

00:33:45 Speaker 08: that this is similar to the

00:33:47 Speaker 08: plowing match that was held in

00:33:48 Speaker 08: Mefford. I think it was around

00:33:50 Speaker 08: 2004, and there was a booth

00:33:54 Speaker 08: provided to the municipalities and all

00:33:57 Speaker 08: the commodity groups. And I know

00:34:01 Speaker 08: that from Grayhounds' perspective, we're looking

00:34:04 Speaker 01: to put a booth. And also,

00:34:08 Speaker 01: I had a meeting last week

00:34:11 Speaker 01: with Gray County Federation of A,

00:34:15 Speaker 01: looking to have a farm safety.

00:34:18 Speaker 01: Gray County Farm Safety meeting coming

00:34:24 Speaker 01: up, we'll hear a little shortly,

00:34:26 Speaker 01: and maybe working together with the

00:34:28 Speaker 01: FPA and Farm Safety to try

00:34:32 Speaker 01: to work together. I know the

00:34:34 Speaker 01: big part is manning a booth,

00:34:36 Speaker 01: having people available for that five

00:34:39 Speaker 01: days, and you know sometimes working

00:34:42 Speaker 01: is, but other others that sometimes

00:34:44 Speaker 01: that makes makes it successful and

00:34:46 Speaker 13: and that type of thing

00:34:50 Speaker 13: because to commit for five days

00:34:52 Speaker 13: straight that's that's a big commitment,

00:34:53 Speaker 13: especially if it's prime prime. Time,

00:34:56 Speaker 13: prime farming time as well, right?

00:34:59 Speaker 13: So all that stuff. But I

00:35:03 Speaker 13: would encourage those that can get

00:35:06 Speaker 13: involved to to definitely get involved.

00:35:08 Speaker 13: Thank you. Thank you, Paul. Any

00:35:11 Speaker 13: more questions on the plowing match?

00:35:14 Speaker 13: If not, we'll go on. There's

00:35:15 Speaker 13: no no hands. Thank you. Sorry.

00:35:17 Speaker 13: Next point on the agenda. I

00:35:20 Speaker 13: just read that wild weather and

00:35:23 Speaker 13: climate action. Exhibit at Grey Roots

00:35:27 Speaker 13: Jill Patterson I do believe if

00:35:30 Speaker 13: I pronounce is right. Hello hello,

00:35:34 Speaker 13: I just want a second here.

00:35:36 Speaker 13: Nice to meet everybody. Thank you,

00:35:38 Speaker 13: Chair. So Grey Roots is hosting

00:35:41 Speaker 13: Wild Weather, which is a

00:35:44 Speaker 13: hands-on travelling exhibit developed and produced

00:35:48 Speaker 13: by Science North in Sudbury, Canada,

00:35:49 Speaker 13: in partnership with Ontario Science. Centre,

00:35:51 Speaker 13: the focus is to help visitors

00:35:53 Speaker 13: understand extreme weather and climate change

00:35:57 Speaker 13: through interactive, accessible science. It's designed

00:36:01 Speaker 13: for families, students, and the general

00:36:04 Speaker 13: public with a strong educational value,

00:36:07 Speaker 13: and it highlights forecasting science

00:36:10 Speaker 13: and technology and supports preparedness and

00:36:13 Speaker 13: public safety. Also, as a supplementary

00:36:17 Speaker 13: exhibit, Grayroot staff worked with the

00:36:20 Speaker 13: Georgian Bluffs Climate Action Team to

00:36:23 Speaker 13: develop an exhibit. called "Local Stories:

00:36:24 Speaker 13: Changing Weather," which adds a Gray

00:36:27 Speaker 13: County lens to the Wild Weather

00:36:31 Speaker 13: exhibit and features local stories and

00:36:33 Speaker 13: photos and observations with an emphasis

00:36:35 Speaker 13: on community resilience, adaptation, and practical

00:36:37 Speaker 13: responses. There's a lot of agriculture-relevant

00:36:38 Speaker 13: content in the exhibit. It really

00:36:40 Speaker 13: puts a strong focus on the

00:36:42 Speaker 13: local farming realities that all of

00:36:44 Speaker 13: you are dealing with, like wetter.

00:36:46 Speaker 13: springs, shorter planting windows, rapid shift

00:36:50 Speaker 14: in summer conditions, increasing temperature extremes.

00:36:53 Speaker 14: There's a great quote in the

00:36:55 Speaker 14: exhibit that says, "To adapt to

00:36:57 Speaker 14: changing weather patterns, we must be

00:36:59 Speaker 14: mentally ready for anything," which I

00:37:03 Speaker 14: think is probably ringing true for

00:37:06 Speaker 14: many of you. So, the exhibit

00:37:09 Speaker 14: reinforces that climate impacts are already

00:37:10 Speaker 14: being experienced locally and. demonstrates the

00:37:13 Speaker 14: practical farmer-led adaptation strategies that are

00:37:15 Speaker 14: already underway. It sort of the

00:37:18 Speaker 14: key messages are that solutions exist

00:37:21 Speaker 14: and local action is already underway.

00:37:23 Speaker 14: So I hope all of you

00:37:26 Speaker 14: can come out and check out

00:37:28 Speaker 14: Wild Weather and and local sorry

00:37:29 Speaker 14: local stories changing weather. And I

00:37:32 Speaker 14: just wanted to add to connect

00:37:33 Speaker 14: to Kalina's presentation. I'm pretty sure.

00:37:35 Speaker 14: Kolina's presentation. I'm pretty sure local

00:37:37 Speaker 14: stories changing weather is travelling in

00:37:39 Speaker 03: September to the plowing match. So

00:37:41 Speaker 03: international plowing match. So, I think

00:37:44 Speaker 03: that'll be another opportunity for people

00:37:46 Speaker 03: to see it. And happy to

00:37:47 Speaker 03: answer any questions. And thank you,

00:37:48 Speaker 03: Jill, for this presentation. And I

00:37:49 Speaker 03: can honestly say that we, this

00:37:50 Speaker 03: is my wife and I, I

00:37:51 Speaker 03: mean, we're at the opening there.

00:37:53 Speaker 03: Oh, great! And it's been certainly

00:37:55 Speaker 03: certainly good to see all. this.

00:37:56 Speaker 03: I have to clue you in.

00:37:57 Speaker 03: One of the reasons I was

00:38:00 Speaker 13: there was because I some of

00:38:02 Speaker 13: my weather records were used are

00:38:05 Speaker 13: are used at that exhibition there.

00:38:08 Speaker 13: So that certainly, and I thought

00:38:11 Speaker 13: it was quite something. But then

00:38:13 Speaker 13: I saw one weather record there

00:38:16 Speaker 13: from 1910. Oh my god! And

00:38:21 Speaker 13: I thought, whoa, this fella was

00:38:25 Speaker 13: way ahead of his time. Anyhow,

00:38:27 Speaker 13: thank you again and. Brenda has

00:38:31 Speaker 13: her hands up there, so you

00:38:34 Speaker 13: go right ahead, Brenda. I actually

00:38:39 Speaker 14: just wanted to ask Jill, what

00:38:45 Speaker 14: was the response like from Gray

00:38:47 Speaker 14: and Bruce or Bruce to, to

00:38:48 Speaker 14: the callout from the Georgian Bluffs

00:38:50 Speaker 14: Climate Group? Because I know the

00:38:52 Speaker 14: email went around to all of

00:38:54 Speaker 14: our groups and we sent it

00:38:57 Speaker 14: on, so I'm just I'm just

00:39:00 Speaker 14: curious to see if there was

00:39:01 Speaker 14: a good response or not. Yeah,

00:39:04 Speaker 14: I mean, I'm assuming there was

00:39:07 Speaker 14: a good response because there it's

00:39:11 Speaker 14: like a it's a jam packed

00:39:13 Speaker 14: exhibit. It has a lot of

00:39:15 Speaker 14: stories. I think there's something like.

00:39:18 Speaker 14: twenty to twenty-five panels, and it

00:39:21 Speaker 14: really runs the gamut across the

00:39:22 Speaker 14: community. So there are are a

00:39:26 Speaker 14: lot of farmer-focused exhibit pieces, but

00:39:35 Speaker 14: there's also like small businesses, a

00:39:40 Speaker 14: family, just like family adaptations. There's

00:39:45 Speaker 14: one about a maple syrup, a

00:39:47 Speaker 14: sugar bush. So I think there's

00:39:48 Speaker 14: a real broad spectrum of really

00:39:50 Speaker 14: practical. solutions and creative adaptations. So

00:39:53 Speaker 05: I think it's it's had a

00:39:55 Speaker 05: great response. Are there any more

00:39:57 Speaker 05: questions for Jill? So just put

00:39:58 Speaker 05: in a plug. If if there's

00:40:01 Speaker 05: a rainy day and you honestly

00:40:04 Speaker 05: don't have anything else to do,

00:40:14 Speaker 08: take time and drive to Great

00:40:15 Speaker 08: Roots and see this whole thing.

00:40:16 Speaker 08: It certainly was very enlightening for

00:40:18 Speaker 08: us to be there. and just

00:40:19 Speaker 08: on all the billboards I saw

00:40:20 Speaker 08: there, Oceir had their board there

00:40:21 Speaker 08: and telling people how much second

00:40:24 Speaker 08: harvest food and keep that out

00:40:27 Speaker 08: of the landfill. A lot of

00:40:31 Speaker 08: good stuff that we maybe don't

00:40:32 Speaker 08: think of, but is there. So

00:40:35 Speaker 08: thank you very kindly and for

00:40:36 Speaker 08: all your work and your presentation.

00:40:39 Speaker 08: We'll go on to the next

00:40:41 Speaker 08: point. of the agenda: roundtable discussion.

00:40:44 Speaker 08: So I'll turn it over to

00:40:46 Speaker 08: Rayburn, and she can take it.

00:40:47 Speaker 08: Thank you, Chair. I will just

00:40:50 Speaker 08: note that this item on the

00:40:51 Speaker 08: agenda is for the committee to

00:40:53 Speaker 08: discuss any sector trends and challenges

00:40:53 Speaker 08: that they wish to note. So.

00:40:56 Speaker 08: you're more than welcome to open

00:40:58 Speaker 08: the floor to the committee for

00:40:59 Speaker 08: discussion. So as Labourin said, the

00:41:01 Speaker 08: floor is open. So don't be

00:41:04 Speaker 08: shyed. All you go right at,

00:41:05 Speaker 08: and you are still there. We

00:41:06 Speaker 08: go. Okay. So so there is

00:41:08 Speaker 08: something that just came out last

00:41:10 Speaker 08: week for the sort of bit

00:41:12 Speaker 08: of a concern maybe for the

00:41:14 Speaker 08: beef industry, and it's quite a

00:41:17 Speaker 08: bit south. Is that screw one?

00:41:19 Speaker 08: Is that screwworm that was identified

00:41:21 Speaker 08: in Texas? And I know there's

00:41:23 Speaker 08: quarantines, and and and I think

00:41:25 Speaker 08: it was talked at the politician

00:41:27 Speaker 08: meeting in March that Great County

00:41:30 Speaker 08: Federation puts on in Elmwood that

00:41:31 Speaker 08: they were looking at the border

00:41:32 Speaker 08: from Mexico to opening that up.

00:41:35 Speaker 08: Obviously, that isn't probably going to

00:41:38 Speaker 08: happen, but it is a sort

00:41:41 Speaker 08: of a a scary thing because

00:41:42 Speaker 08: I understand that the fly, it's

00:41:44 Speaker 08: a type of like a fly

00:41:45 Speaker 14: or something, I don't know. I

00:41:48 Speaker 14: just read a little bit about

00:41:50 Speaker 14: it, but it it lays its

00:41:53 Speaker 14: eggs on the animals, but then

00:41:55 Speaker 14: they they hatch and they chew

00:41:58 Speaker 14: the flesh of the animals. So

00:42:00 Speaker 14: it sounds pretty something we do

00:42:04 Speaker 14: not want to see. And I

00:42:05 Speaker 14: think because we are in a

00:42:09 Speaker 14: normal more of a normal northern

00:42:11 Speaker 14: climate, it's not quite as you

00:42:14 Speaker 14: know. I don't think it's something

00:42:16 Speaker 14: that we will experience here, but

00:42:20 Speaker 14: it certainly has you know aspects

00:42:24 Speaker 14: of the industry itself, and it

00:42:29 Speaker 14: just you just. you just you

00:42:31 Speaker 14: know just in the farming business

00:42:34 Speaker 14: you just don't get a break

00:42:36 Speaker 14: sometimes and you know is industry

00:42:40 Speaker 14: industry itself and it just things

00:42:42 Speaker 14: come from all sides. But anyway,

00:42:43 Speaker 14: that I would say that would

00:42:45 Speaker 14: be something that is happening out

00:42:48 Speaker 14: there for sure. Well, thank you,

00:42:50 Speaker 14: Paul. And I can I I

00:42:53 Speaker 14: have been following this for a

00:42:55 Speaker 14: little bit already because this has

00:42:57 Speaker 14: been going on or on the

00:42:58 Speaker 14: burner for at least a year.

00:43:00 Speaker 08: I know we are pretty far

00:43:03 Speaker 08: north, but pests and diseases—they seem

00:43:06 Speaker 08: to have a way of adapting

00:43:11 Speaker 08: to other climates if need to.

00:43:12 Speaker 08: So I don't think we're totally

00:43:15 Speaker 08: immune to this threat. So that

00:43:16 Speaker 08: is certainly one thing that we

00:43:17 Speaker 08: can—we maybe we probably should pay

00:43:19 Speaker 08: some attention to. And diseases in

00:43:23 Speaker 08: general, there's there's a fair bit

00:43:26 Speaker 08: of cattle that comes from the

00:43:28 Speaker 08: U.S. into Canada for. for finishing

00:43:29 Speaker 08: or sometimes for breeding purposes. This

00:43:30 Speaker 08: this this insect is not doesn't

00:43:31 Speaker 08: just target cattle. Like from what

00:43:33 Speaker 08: I understand, it's also found in

00:43:33 Speaker 08: pets in in domestic pets. So

00:43:35 Speaker 08: it is more of a concern

00:43:37 Speaker 08: than we maybe realize. There's also

00:43:40 Speaker 08: that certain was it called the

00:43:43 Speaker 08: Texas tick or something that's also

00:43:44 Speaker 08: more not maybe with animals but

00:43:45 Speaker 08: maybe. more with pets and dogs

00:43:46 Speaker 08: and animals that way too. It's

00:43:49 Speaker 08: if they ingest it, it can

00:43:52 Speaker 14: be fatal as well. And there's

00:43:57 Speaker 14: also something that was held. Maybe

00:44:00 Speaker 14: Brian might have a bit more,

00:44:03 Speaker 14: but there was something held at

00:44:05 Speaker 14: the oh, about a month ago,

00:44:08 Speaker 14: with regards to packaged meat coming

00:44:15 Speaker 14: into Canada. I know the there

00:44:17 Speaker 14: was something held at the Pallister

00:44:19 Speaker 08: farm there. I think maybe. a

00:44:22 Speaker 08: month ago, and I don't know

00:44:24 Speaker 08: if anybody else has any more

00:44:27 Speaker 08: information about that. But it's it's

00:44:29 Speaker 08: dealing with certain countries selling beef

00:44:30 Speaker 08: to to Canada, but maybe aren't

00:44:33 Speaker 08: under the same strict rules as

00:44:34 Speaker 08: we have here with regards to

00:44:36 Speaker 08: tracing and all that kind of

00:44:38 Speaker 08: stuff. So I don't know if

00:44:42 Speaker 08: anybody was able to able to

00:44:43 Speaker 08: share that a little bit more.

00:44:44 Speaker 08: I didn't know a lot about

00:44:47 Speaker 08: it. I just saw some stuff

00:44:49 Speaker 08: on Facebook and some conversations about

00:44:51 Speaker 08: that. But again, it's it's it's

00:44:53 Speaker 08: it's also another sector thing. that

00:44:56 Speaker 08: could be affecting us as well.

00:44:57 Speaker 08: So, I don't think anybody else

00:44:59 Speaker 08: has any more information about that.

00:45:03 Speaker 08: Is there anybody that has any

00:45:05 Speaker 08: more information about this? Like importing

00:45:07 Speaker 08: imported food is certainly a concern,

00:45:08 Speaker 08: and CFIA, of course, is the

00:45:11 Speaker 08: agency that is kind of the

00:45:13 Speaker 08: door for imports or or guards

00:45:14 Speaker 08: the door for imports. Nothing is

00:45:16 Speaker 08: foolproof. Processing is still lacking in

00:45:18 Speaker 08: in Ontario as far as that

00:45:19 Speaker 08: goes. So there, and there will

00:45:22 Speaker 08: always be trade. This with more.

00:45:24 Speaker 08: This is more around the packaged

00:45:26 Speaker 08: food coming into Canada, where they

00:45:28 Speaker 08: may not have that traceability part

00:45:30 Speaker 08: that we have here. That if

00:45:32 Speaker 08: there is certain issues, that's it's

00:45:34 Speaker 08: tracked back, where it just shows

00:45:36 Speaker 08: up as packaged meat. And I

00:45:38 Speaker 08: it was. I think Alex Ralfar

00:45:40 Speaker 08: MP or MP was. Our MP

00:45:41 Speaker 08: was was there and others, so

00:45:42 Speaker 08: maybe it's just something we just

00:45:44 Speaker 08: keep an eye open. But again,

00:45:45 Speaker 08: it's something that I guess from

00:45:46 Speaker 08: a consumer part, and I think

00:45:47 Speaker 08: it was also from the you

00:45:48 Speaker 14: know the beef industry and maybe

00:45:54 Speaker 14: other industries as well with regards

00:45:58 Speaker 14: to sheep. Maybe I don't know,

00:45:59 Speaker 14: but the whole part is is

00:46:02 Speaker 14: we it's out of Mad Cow

00:46:04 Speaker 14: in two thousand and three. You

00:46:05 Speaker 14: know, all these strict regulations were

00:46:07 Speaker 14: put in place for the. We're

00:46:09 Speaker 14: putting in place for the safety

00:46:14 Speaker 14: of our food, and and it

00:46:18 Speaker 14: is a cost also with regards

00:46:23 Speaker 14: to the traceability and all that

00:46:25 Speaker 14: for for farmers and and all

00:46:28 Speaker 05: the way through. And you know,

00:46:29 Speaker 05: you're not allowed to move an

00:46:30 Speaker 05: animal animal from one farm unless

00:46:32 Speaker 05: you have that traceability that's attached

00:46:39 Speaker 05: to the ear. But but I

00:46:42 Speaker 05: think this was more about the

00:46:44 Speaker 05: packaged food showing up on our

00:46:46 Speaker 05: doorstep, not knowing the background of

00:46:50 Speaker 05: that, and and also putting that

00:46:51 Speaker 05: into our Canadian market, which could

00:46:52 Speaker 09: have an effect on the. producers

00:46:54 Speaker 09: here as well. So, anyway, that

00:46:58 Speaker 09: that's about all I know about

00:47:01 Speaker 09: it at this point. There's a

00:47:04 Speaker 09: there's an acronym for it. I

00:47:08 Speaker 09: don't know if Emily has heard

00:47:11 Speaker 09: about it or not, and she's

00:47:12 Speaker 09: still here or not. I don't

00:47:16 Speaker 09: know, but there is an acronym

00:47:17 Speaker 09: for it. But anyway, Susan Susan

00:47:20 Speaker 09: Fitzgerald and her group. She's based

00:47:22 Speaker 09: in Aurora. I was on her

00:47:24 Speaker 09: committee there for a little while,

00:47:25 Speaker 09: and she is. She could clue

00:47:28 Speaker 09: us in on a lot of

00:47:30 Speaker 09: that type of stuff. so maybe

00:47:33 Speaker 09: that is a name to to

00:47:35 Speaker 09: bear in mind. Thank you, and

00:47:38 Speaker 09: I'll turn it back to Rayburn

00:47:42 Speaker 09: there. Thank you, Chair DeBoer. This

00:47:44 Speaker 09: is the last item on the

00:47:48 Speaker 09: agenda. I will note. I'm not

00:47:50 Speaker 14: sure if we want to pull

00:47:53 Speaker 14: a put a call out to

00:47:57 Speaker 14: confirm if there's any other discussion

00:47:59 Speaker 14: for sector trends and challenges at

00:48:03 Speaker 14: this time. I will there. There

00:48:04 Speaker 14: we go. I was a little.

00:48:07 Speaker 14: Oh, somebody's got to say something,

00:48:08 Speaker 14: Simon. You're right. So this is

00:48:10 Speaker 14: not. I'm not sure how to

00:48:13 Speaker 14: how to phrase this. So I

00:48:15 Speaker 14: have a friend who told me

00:48:17 Speaker 14: a story, and it's it's from

00:48:19 Speaker 14: another municipality about a fire department

00:48:21 Speaker 14: that showed up to deal with.

00:48:22 Speaker 14: a hay fire, so hay combustion,

00:48:24 Speaker 14: and the rural fire department that

00:48:26 Speaker 14: came didn't know what they were

00:48:28 Speaker 14: doing and actually made the problem

00:48:29 Speaker 14: worse. And I I know a

00:48:32 Speaker 14: lot of our fire department members

00:48:35 Speaker 14: in this in this area, and

00:48:39 Speaker 14: they're all great. So I have

00:48:41 Speaker 14: the utmost respect for them. But

00:48:44 Speaker 14: I just wondered if there's maybe

00:48:47 Speaker 04: an opportunity for this group to

00:48:49 Speaker 04: engage with some of the fire

00:48:51 Speaker 04: groups, I know they tend to

00:48:53 Speaker 04: operate a little bit in silos

00:48:55 Speaker 04: at times, and just maybe ask

00:48:56 Speaker 04: if there's any way we can

00:48:59 Speaker 04: help or if there's anything they

00:49:00 Speaker 04: need. Well, thank you for that

00:49:02 Speaker 04: input, and it is certainly that

00:49:04 Speaker 04: is not really a pie in

00:49:06 Speaker 04: the sky scenario that you put

00:49:07 Speaker 04: up there. is very real, and

00:49:08 Speaker 04: nobody seems to have been able

00:49:10 Speaker 04: to come up with with an

00:49:12 Speaker 04: answer as far as I can,

00:49:15 Speaker 04: as far as for what I

00:49:22 Speaker 04: know. Of course, there is, and

00:49:23 Speaker 04: maybe just just to bear in

00:49:28 Speaker 04: mind, there is basically three different

00:49:30 Speaker 04: types of silos. Like you got

00:49:33 Speaker 04: your slab silos, or this case

00:49:34 Speaker 04: was, you got your poured cement

00:49:36 Speaker 08: silo and your steel silos, and

00:49:39 Speaker 08: they probably all have to be

00:49:42 Speaker 08: handled a little different. But I

00:49:46 Speaker 08: think the lack of knowledge of

00:49:49 Speaker 08: putting out the fire was certainly

00:49:52 Speaker 08: was certainly a problem. So thank

00:49:55 Speaker 08: you very kindly for bringing that

00:49:56 Speaker 08: up, Blair. Niall, there you got

00:49:58 Speaker 08: your hand up there. Go right

00:50:00 Speaker 08: ahead. Yeah, yes, through you, Chair

00:50:03 Speaker 08: Chair De Boer, to to counter

00:50:05 Speaker 08: Board Member Freeman's comment just there.

00:50:08 Speaker 08: Quite happy to take that back

00:50:09 Speaker 08: to the area CAOs in Grey

00:50:10 Speaker 08: County. Each one has their own

00:50:13 Speaker 08: fire departments, as you know. and

00:50:16 Speaker 08: just just remind them, you know,

00:50:19 Speaker 08: to have a conversation with their

00:50:21 Speaker 08: chiefs to make sure that fire

00:50:23 Speaker 08: departments are accessed in training and

00:50:24 Speaker 08: support materials to make sure that

00:50:27 Speaker 08: when they show up for fires

00:50:30 Speaker 08: such as that, they they're fully

00:50:33 Speaker 08: equipped and ready to go. So

00:50:34 Speaker 08: we can certainly share that back

00:50:36 Speaker 08: with the CAs. Thank you. Back

00:50:38 Speaker 08: to your neighbour. Sorry, Chair De

00:50:39 Speaker 08: Boer, I do see Member McQueen.

00:50:42 Speaker 08: Member McQueen's hand up. Okay. So

00:50:45 Speaker 08: yeah, Paul. Just no problem. Just

00:50:48 Speaker 08: in relationship with fire departments, I

00:50:49 Speaker 08: know a little bit with Great

00:50:51 Speaker 08: County Farm Safety and just farm

00:50:55 Speaker 08: safety groups across Ontario. As an

00:50:57 Speaker 08: example of working with local fire

00:50:59 Speaker 08: departments, it's grain, grainery. You know,

00:51:01 Speaker 08: rescuing people from graineries. Some of

00:51:03 Speaker 08: them. It's unbelievable how if somebody's

00:51:05 Speaker 08: in a grainery situation. Is in

00:51:07 Speaker 08: a greenery situation where to get

00:51:08 Speaker 08: them out is is challenging, and

00:51:11 Speaker 08: and some of the fire departments

00:51:12 Speaker 08: across Ontario have devel devices that

00:51:16 Speaker 08: devices that are are help or

00:51:18 Speaker 08: designed to sort of slide in

00:51:19 Speaker 08: beside the particular person and and

00:51:22 Speaker 08: get them out. Because if they

00:51:24 Speaker 08: just got their arm out and

00:51:25 Speaker 08: you hook onto them, you'll it's

00:51:26 Speaker 08: it's unbelievable how that commodity of

00:51:27 Speaker 08: green or whatever it is holds

00:51:28 Speaker 08: that body in. So that is

00:51:30 Speaker 08: one example, and I think you

00:51:33 Speaker 08: know. just just I think it's

00:51:35 Speaker 08: a really good part about the

00:51:37 Speaker 08: interaction, and and maybe maybe at

00:51:39 Speaker 08: our next, if this with the

00:51:42 Speaker 08: FPCO was saying is maybe there

00:51:44 Speaker 08: would be an opportunity at our

00:51:46 Speaker 08: next meeting to have somebody from

00:51:47 Speaker 08: Gray County or a couple people

00:51:48 Speaker 08: from the Gray County fire departments

00:51:50 Speaker 08: talk about the agricultural side

00:51:53 Speaker 08: and and and what they experience

00:51:54 Speaker 08: and and and and what could

00:51:57 Speaker 08: be improved or or or you

00:51:59 Speaker 08: know it's it's always a two

00:52:03 Speaker 14: way. It's always a two-way street

00:52:07 Speaker 14: as far as communication is really

00:52:08 Speaker 14: important, and probably because we're predominantly

00:52:12 Speaker 14: in Gray County, more rural, our

00:52:13 Speaker 14: fire departments probably have a better

00:52:16 Speaker 14: a better understanding of of that.

00:52:18 Speaker 14: Maybe where there's maybe not the

00:52:21 Speaker 14: same other other counties or that,

00:52:23 Speaker 14: but I think it's a really

00:52:25 Speaker 14: good topic that I think it's

00:52:26 Speaker 14: important to have that that dialogueue

00:52:30 Speaker 14: because if you're you know possibly

00:52:33 Speaker 14: a volunteer fire fire person, get

00:52:34 Speaker 14: my correct way I say it.

00:52:37 Speaker 14: I guess I don't make We

00:52:38 Speaker 14: say it. I guess I don't

00:52:39 Speaker 14: make home firemen anymore. Fire people

00:52:42 Speaker 14: that you know they they have

00:52:45 Speaker 14: the training, and you know we

00:52:47 Speaker 14: do know that a lot of

00:52:50 Speaker 14: our fire departments. You know every

00:52:53 Speaker 05: week they're are training and stuff

00:52:56 Speaker 05: like that. But are they are

00:52:58 Speaker 05: they connected to the cultural side?

00:53:01 Speaker 05: Because unfortunately, I I spoke to

00:53:03 Speaker 05: a lady just this past week,

00:53:05 Speaker 05: who name is Dorothy Hill, and

00:53:09 Speaker 05: in two thousand and two, her

00:53:11 Speaker 05: her son was killed in a