ONFPPB 1992

The applicant, a residential neighbour, complained to the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board about the noise from a diesel irrigation pump used by the respondent strawberry farmer.

The Board considered whether the use of the pump, the duration of its use, and the resulting noise level constituted normal farming practices.

The Board found that the respondent was a good manager, the irrigation was necessary for the crop, and the noise level was consistent with a well-managed operation.

The complaint was dismissed as the noise resulted from a normal farming practice.

The applicant, an asthmatic, brought an application complaining about the odour from liquid hog manure spread by the respondent agricultural operators on a neighbouring property.

The applicant alleged the respondents failed to follow the Agricultural Code of Practice guidelines for incorporating the manure into the soil.

The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board found that the respondents' methods, including the use of a cultivator and the timing of incorporation, were consistent with normal farm practice given the weather conditions and the rocky nature of the soil.

The Board concluded that no adverse effect under the Environmental Protection Act was established and dismissed the complaint.

The applicant filed a complaint regarding odour generation from the respondent's mushroom farm.

Following improvements in compost production and handling methods that significantly reduced odours, the applicant requested to withdraw the complaint.

The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board ordered that the complaint be dismissed.

The applicant brought an application under the Farm Practices Protection Act complaining about the noise from a bird banger used by the respondent to protect their grape crop.

The Board found that it had jurisdiction to hear the matter as there was no evidence that the respondent's operation violated any land use control law or the Environmental Protection Act.

The Board concluded that the use of impulse acoustical bird scaring devices is a normal farm practice in the grape growing industry.

The Board ruled that the respondent's specific use of the bird banger is a normal farm practice, provided it is located at the northwest corner of the grapery, pointed westerly, and operated solely between dawn and dusk.