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Avia Eek
  • Female
  • Holland Marsh, Ontario
  • Canada
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"Marsh Madness"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/marsh This is a really, really good article about the Holland Marsh exports.

Started Oct. 10, 2009

Wet Weather in Holland Marsh
4 Replies

Well, usually I am a very up-beat, optimistic person. Today, not so much! This year has been really challenging. Worrying about white rot in the wet onion fields, sclerotinia in the carrots, Onion ha…

Started this discussion. Last reply by Avia Eek Oct. 10, 2009.

Holland Marsh Freshness
5 Replies

We're very excited here in the Holland Marsh. There is a new television show, Fresh Life, airing on SUN TV, and they are featuring the Holland Marsh in several episodes. The film crew has been in the…

Started this discussion. Last reply by Roadrunner Sep. 20, 2009.

Low crop prices in the Fall
4 Replies

Onion and carrots prices have been reasonably decent this year. Last year, not so good we were getting paid what my husband's parents did in 1978. Currently, carrots are $4.50 to $5.00 for 50#, and o…

Started this discussion. Last reply by Avia Eek Oct. 2, 2009.

 

Avia Eek's Page

Latest Activity

The workshop made you think about the goals for your farm, and how to implement them. We want to incorporate a couple of things into r plan
March 2
When the session was over Bill and I met with Brad from GeoShack (Leica) GPS products.
March 2
Day 2 (final day) of Farm Business Workshop now finished. Janet Horner did a great job of teaching us. She's got a good sense of humour.
March 2
Patricia Chisholm and Avia Eek are now friends
February 26
Ppl buy near farms then have the audacity to complain about noise, smell, dust, etc.--I don't hear any complaints when ppl eat though!!
February 26
Municipal planners really need to start using their heads and plan smartly. Create large enough buffer zones so the Farmer can still farm.
February 26
A question came up 2 the effect of what would stop u from expanding & growing your operation--urban sprawl. Developments too close 2 farms.
February 26
Good snow morning everyone! I'm glad we got the snow today & not yesterday. We were in Alliston (potato country) for a Farm Bus. workshop
February 26
Come to think of it, we also provide safe, healthy & nutritious food to other countries!!!
February 21
Cndn Farmers do an incredble job of providing safe, healthy, & nutritious food 2 the ppl of this country--let's stop taking them 4 granted!
February 21
Preserving our farmland, and ensuring that farming is profitable is important now more than ever. I don't want to rely on imports 4 food!!
February 21
Bill attended the pesticide course yesterday and found out that now Farmers are only 1% of the population, not 2% any more!
February 21
Bill's looking for a forklift rotor--anything out there for sale? Preferably within a 2 hour drive!!
February 21
Good morning everyone! What a beautiful looking day out there today!
February 21
Good night and God bless.
February 17
I told him we have a surprise for him, but I'm not going to tell him WHAT it is.
February 17

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Avia Eek

Pulling the Plug...

Part II—You Can’t Eat Energy!!

Monday, January 18, 2010, was a night for small victories for the Farmers of the Holland Marsh, the citizens of King Township, and the people of Ontario!

This was the night our Township Council voted, unanimously, in favour of an interim control by-law. Basically, if upheld by the OMB, it halts the building of the power plant slated to be imposed in the Greenbelt, on agricultural land in the Holland Marsh. This will allow Township staff the opportunity to underta… Continue

Posted on January 31, 2010 at 10:24am — 2 Comments

Avia Eek

Democracy lives in King Township

Last night was a tremendous night for the Farmers of the Holland Marsh, and the citizens of King Township. We are fortunate to have so many astute individuals willing to take up this cause, and do battle with the Ontario government! As one Councillor put it "I never would have thought we would ever have to deal with the building of a power plant in the Holland Marsh"--yah, no kidding! A hydrological study has been done, independently, which does not favour the peaker plant builder's position, an… Continue

Posted on January 12, 2010 at 12:00pm — 2 Comments

Avia Eek

You Can't Eat Energy--Peaker Plant in the Holland Marsh

PEAKER PLANT IN THE HOLLAND MARSH


My name is Avia Eek. My husband, Bill, and I farm in the Holland Marsh. My husband, and many of the farmers in the Holland Marsh are descendants of the first pioneers who broke this land in 1934. Although, it should be noted the first industry here was the harvesting of the marsh grass for mattresses. This business took place from 1880 to approx. 1915, when it peaked.

The soil in the Holland Marsh is organic based, the result of thousands of years of vegetati… Continue

Posted on December 19, 2009 at 12:03pm — 1 Comment

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At 3:38pm on January 19, 2010, Avia Eek said…
A little typo in my paragraph" ...apparently, there will be a negligible..." should read, "...apparently, there will be no negligible...".
At 3:35pm on January 19, 2010, Avia Eek said…
It does SOUND promising, but this small victory is only at the municipal level, although we will take what we can get to stop this ill-advised project. The provincial government initiated this project with layers of conditions that would have to be met by the proponent, and decided upon by lower-tiered authorities. So, you would think, in the grand scheme of things that our municipality, knowing what is best for its residents, would actually HAVE the final say in this regard, but no. We still have to go to OMB and hope they give us their blessing. The provincial government can still step in and say the peaker plant will be built here, but for now it is halted. Infrastructure can be put into an area of the Greenbelt under the Green Energy Act as long as it "supports" agriculture, and is compatible with it, or words to that effect. The proponent interprets this to mean that since we use electricity, this power plant is compatible with agriculture--quite a twist, in my opinion. What I'd like to know, however, is why OMAFRA has on their website what damage is caused to crops as a result of air pollution, yet where this power plant is concerned, apparently there will be a negligible effect on crops! Hard to believe since it would be emitting nitrous oxide, VOS volatile something or other, PM2.5 (particulate matter) that is known to cause respiratory problems, etc. and is considered "air pollution". Further, in my opinion, the proper studies were NOT conducted properly. Hell, the environmental assessment for this facility (393 MW, natural gas-fired, simple cycle power plant running at 35% efficienty) is the same as a 2 MW windmill. I'm no scientist, but even I know there is a huge difference is these two forms of energy makers.
At 12:21pm on January 19, 2010, Roadrunner said…
Congrats.... It sounds promising that the gov't has listened to your group...
Good luck.
At 8:55pm on January 14, 2010, John Kikkert said…
Yes I am the person who was elected vice chair of AAC. Thanks
At 11:11am on December 16, 2009, Avia Eek said…
Thanks Rein. Our operation is 85 acres, and my husband works off the farm in the winter, but I would say you could JUST make a living with 35 acres. We are definitely affected by the imports from other countries--especially pricewise. Many of our trading partners do not have the same rules and regulations for food production, food safety, human resources, etc. that we must adhere to, therefore, their costs are considerably lower. Consumers like lower prices. On the other hand, 40%-50% of the produce in the Holland Marsh is exported as well. Naturally, we would prefer Canadians to be benefiting from our produce, but it's a global market, and it's out of our hands unless the Consumer is educated as to the benefits of eating local, and they start demanding more locally grown food.
At 12:57am on December 16, 2009, rein minnema said…
Hello Avia,

congratulation with keeping your seat.
now a question
how big of a producer do you need to be to be able to have living and make payments and how are you effected by the imports who likely not meat allour production standard.
At 9:21am on November 18, 2009, Joe Dales said…
Hi Avia: I was wondering what Sobey's position on supporting Canadian Agriculture was....is it lip service or are they committing resources? Thanks, Joe
At 8:19am on October 26, 2009, Gail Gordon Oliver said…
Hi Avia,

I hope the rest of the Soup-a-Licious event was a success. Saturday's soup sampling sure seemed to be going well!

I discovered this site through Twitter, which I signed up for on Friday (www.twitter.com/edibleTORONTO). What a great resource!

Warm regards,
Gail
At 8:35am on September 3, 2009, Avia Eek said…
Are there any other Holland Marsh, or even horticulture producers out there?
At 8:57pm on August 31, 2009, Avia Eek said…
I'm glad, I think, I was told about this site. It looks similar to Facebook, cool, but it is for farmers. Our farm crops are onions and carrots. Our farm is located in the Holland Marsh "Ontario's Salad Bowl". Proud to be a farmer!!
 
 
 

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