First, let me be clear about any conflict of interest. Yes, there’s a wind farm in the works for the wide swath north of Lake Erie that I call home, but no, I don’t have any direct commercial interest in the project. It’s true I’ve been asked by its builders to sit on an advisory committee, but it’s an unpaid position, and really, it’s mainly an exercise in public relations.
Probably I should also tell you my position on wind power. After all, the sky is a big part of my life. Few Canadians realize that this part of Ontario is so intensely rural. Within 150 miles, there may be countless skyscrapers, but believe me, none of them can be seen from here.
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To put it in perspective, last weekend when my wife and I were winding down on a Saturday night with some friends including a leading local farmer and another couple who run a short-line farm equipment company, the talk was all about our local town’s slow demise.
Now, back to the wind turbines. For the record, as long as they’re built with reasonable set-backs and an eye to environmental protection, I’m all for them. If a neighbour drops round to tell us what eyesores the turbines will be, I say that I honestly believe that six months after the towers are up, we’ll all be bragging about them.
Besides, I say, we must believe that what’s good for farmers is good for everyone in the region.
That, though, is my little white lie. Or at least, it’s a line that I sneak across and then move past before anyone gets a chance to really think about it.
Because the truth is, few farmers believe it either. Yes, farmers think they help keep the local hardware store in business, and they help attract lawyers and accountants, and they help keep the local school open. But they too rarely fight for the local economy.
So, for instance, when I suggested to the wind farm group that they should lobby as loudly as they can to get their wind electricity made available to local businesses and homeowners at a preferential rate — on the rationale that it doesn’t need costly transportation — nothing happened.
Actually, something did happen. I got an answer. “It doesn’t work that way,” I was told, which of course is the worst answer of all.
Across Canada, just think what a difference it would make if farmers would fight for their neighbours with the same vigour that they think non-farmers should fight for them, which we know isn’t happening.
The hard truth is, farmers have to be the countryside’s leaders. They’re the ones with the skills, the commitment, and the capability of finding novel solutions.
Look at everything that farmers are achieving across this country. How can you see these successes and not be sure that this is where we should put our hope for leadership too. Our towns aren’t saving themselves. So this, too, is another job for farmers.
Let me know if you think I’ve got this right or wrong. Call me at 519 674 1449, and send me an e-mail at [email protected].
