ÉCONOMIE / BUSINESS
Living Locally Fair attracts over 1300 year 90 booths were allotted. Horticultural Society members said the addition of St. ThomasAquinasCatholicHighSchool’snew wing allowed them to sell more spots. Saturday. There were also representatives frommany local non-profit organizations. A large number of attendees came from Ottawa.“Buylocalisexploding,”saidoneof the attendees. “The food is better, fresher, supportslocalbusinessandsmallbusiness. The flavour and freshness is outstanding.”
Besides improving quality, buying local reducesfuelemissions.Informationprovided by the Hort Society stated the average distancefromfarmtoforkforapplesis5925 kmandbuyinglocallycanreduceemissions by149times.
C ANDICE V ETTER candice.vetter@eap.on.ca
RUSSELL | The Russell Horticultural Society’s fourth annual Living Locally Fair, a showcase for local producers, tallieditsbiggestattendancesofar,with 1375 attendees, not including children, which is up almost 400 since last year. The fair has been popular since its inception in 2009 when it had 30 vendors. Thenextyeartherewere40,then60andthis
Many local small producers don’t have a venue to market their goods in the winter andvendorsstatedbeingveryhappytohave this outlet at this time of year. Sales were reportedtobebrisk. Manyvendorsarealsoorganicgrowersor produceinsmallbatchesandseveralalsosell at theMetcalfe FarmersMarket, whichwill behostingtheirfirstspringmarketonEaster
photo Candice Vetter Kim and Sarah Herweyer, at their booth at the Russell Living Locally Fair on January21,promoteRussellMarketGardenlocatedonConcessionStreet.Besides selling locally Herweyers sell to Ottawa restaurants. “People think they can’t afford to buy some things they really like,” said Sarah Herweyer. “But everyone can afford to eat well. We sell any quantity and if someone wants to buy a sprig of dill or one beet or a large bag of potatoes they can.” Maintaining rare breeds crucial to non-commodity marketing
photo Candice Vetter
AHorticulturalSocietymemberannouncesthefinaltalkofthedayatthefourth annual Living Locally Fair held at St. Thomas Aquinas school in Russell on Saturday, January 21.
YOU ALREADY HAVE THE TOOLS TO SAVE A LIFE. WITH OUR HELP, YOU’LL BE ABLE TO USE THEM. Approximately 45,000 cardiac arrests occur in Canada every year. 85% occur in public places or private homes. Less than 5% survive. However, when defibrillation is applied with CPR in the first few minutes, it can dramatically improve the individual’s chance of survival by up to 75%.
C ANDICE V ETTER candice.vetter@eap.on.ca
Rarebreedsarerecognizedineveryspecies oflivestock.Onthecriticallistarefivebreeds of cattle, 11 horse/pony, four pigs, 15 sheep, oneofgoats,sevenchickens,twoducks,two geeseandsixturkeys.Inpoultrycriticalmeans there are fewer than 100 breeding females. There are also lists of breeds considered endangered,vulnerableandat-risk.Formore information on rare breeds visit www.rarebreedscanada.ca.
RUSSELL | Many small farmproducers, including hobby farmers, are entering the non-commodity marketplace and forming successful commercial enterprises,andoneoftheirstrategiesis maintainingrarebreeds. Rarebreedsarenotbredtogrowverylarge veryfast,likemostcommonbreeds,butoften retain improved characteristics, such as flavourful meat, easy birthing, good motheringinstincts,robusthealth,ordocile personalities. As a result they can be less trouble to raise and a more desired end- productbytheconsumer. Russell resident Lindley McPhail, secretaryofRareBreedsCanada,stressesthe importance of maintaining biodiversity. A widepoolofgeneticcharacteristicsismore likelytoproducedisease-resistantanimals, meaninglessdamagefortheentireindustry in an outbreak. In rare breeds, just like in mainstream livestock breeds, keeping track of specific bloodlineshelpsimprovetraitsimportantto commercial production. Most breeders maintain their own herd records but both theCanadianLivestockRecordsCorporation andAgricultureandAgri-foodCanadaadvise thatregistration,evenofsmallherds,isakey partofanimalimprovement.
FREE CPR Skills & AED Awareness Event
Saturday February 4th, 2012 – Clarence-Rockland Saturday February 18th, 2012 – Hawkesbury Saturday February 25th, 2012 – Alfred-Plantagenet Saturday March 3rd, 2012 – Russell
Saturday March 24th, 2012 – Casselman Saturday March 31st, 2012 – Champlain
To register or obtain location details, please visit www.prescott-russell.on.ca or call (613) 673-5139, Ext. 226
photo Candice Vetter
Pam Heath, office manager of Rare Breeds Canada, discusses the importance of maintaining rare livestock breeds at the Living Locally Fair held in Russell on January 28.
Learn more at heartandstroke.ca/restart
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