Grainboys move plants seeds of discontent in Goodwood
by Roger Varley
Conrad Richter, owner of Richter's Herbs in Goodwood, appeared before council to object to the proposed development of a Grainboys grain processing operation immediately next to his property.
Grainboys Holdings Inc. currently operates in Aurora, but is looking to move the business to Goodwood. To that end, Grainboys has filed an application for a zoning bylaw amendment.
Richter said such a business should not be allowed on rural land, but instead should be located on industrial lands. He complained that allowing the business to locate on the proposed property would see and increase in the number of large trucks already travelling through the hamlet. In addition, he said, it would pose a threat of introducing an invasive, noxious weed called dodder onto agricultural land. He said dodder already has taken hold along the banks of Elgin Pond. Richter said dodder seeds could easily arrive in grains imported from Asia, noting that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found seven per cent of imported food grains contained prohibited noxious weeds.
A large crowd attended an open house on the Grainboys application at the Goodwood community centre on Monday night. Reports say while a large number of those in attendance were against the Grainboys application, a number of farmers voiced their support, saying the facility would be a market for their corn.