SHEGUIANDAH – Ten days have been set aside for a hearing before the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board (NFPPB) that will determine whether nuisances filed against a Green Bay farm family are as a result of normal farm practices.
In an application dated April 22, 2019, applicants Claudio and Jacqueline Rocca, allege “disturbances of odour and flies as a result of the storage, transportation and application of manure and the management of bales on the farm of the respondents, Roy Baker and Doris Baker,” pursuant to section 5 of the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c.1 (FFPPA).
The application has since been amended to include allegations of “an increase in manure odors and flies caused the respondents’ damage and/or removal of hedgerows, shrubs, trees and vegetative buffers; the additional nuisance of manure laden dust on my property, gardens, fruiting hedges, shrubs and trees; and deadstock disposal causing odors and flies.”
All allegations before the board have yet to be proven.
The 10 days were booked during two separate weeks with a gap in between to accommodate the needs of panel members. The hearing will begin April 25 for one week and will resume on May 16 for a second week, if required.
The board was created by the FFPPA to resolve disputes regarding agricultural operations and to determine what constitutes a normal farm practice. The FFPPA was established to promote and protect agricultural uses and normal farm practices in agricultural areas in a way that balances the needs of the agricultural community with provincial health, safety and environmental concerns.
