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THE BRUSSELS. T JANUARY 19 0• 1977
Gordon Hill in '54
--- Farmers on't want union
(By John Miner)
The man who headed the
crusade to organize Ontario
farmers started out as a
non-believer.
It was in 1954 when. Gordon
Hill, recently retired president of
the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture, saw a notice posted
on the wall of the Varna chopping
mill announcing an organizational
meeting of the Farmers' Union.
"I had been reading alot of
articles about how bad unions
were. Times were very tough, but
I decided on the spur of the
moment that we didn't want a
union. I decided to go and
straighten this fellow out."
But the meeting didn't turn out
quite like Gordon ..expected.
"Most of the people simply
said the speaker wasn't telling
the truth. We decided to hold
another meeting in two weeks and
check out what he said in the
meantime. By the next meeting I
had pretty well decided it was the
truth. Two of us signed up for six
dollars membership fee."
Two members soon became
thirteen members and Huron
County had its first local of the
Farmers' Union set up in Varna.
"We became missionaries to
spread the gospel of the Farmers'
Union. Our membership grew to
about 50 members and there were
locals set up in Goderich,
Crediton, Zurich and St.
Joseph's."
Huron County became one of
the main counties of the Farmers'
Union and men like Gordon Hill
travelled to other counties to
speak on the virtues of
organization. Then hi 1957 Albert
Cormack, president of the O.F.U.
decided not to stand for re-elec-
tion and Gordon Hill was elected
in his place.. 4.
" When I was elected I had no
hired man, a young family, and I
didn't know who the hell was
going to run the farm.'.'
Fortunately for Gordon and
Ontario farmers he was able to
hire a man to run the farm and
put his energies into strengthen-
ing the Farmers' Union.
It was during this period that
Mr. Hill got , to know many
farmers and farm leaders across
the province. •
"I found that most of those in
the Federation of Agriculture had
the same concerns as we did, but
had a different idea abbut going
about it. They were quiet,
respectable, gentlemanly. They
didn't want to embarrass anyone
and weren't prepared to do things
to get attention."
Gordon Hill never had the same
reluctance, but after three years
as president he felt it was time to
be 'back on his farm outside of
Varna.
h He remained active though,
being heavily involved in the
Ontario Bean Producers'
Marketing. Board and various
other boards.
Then in the late 1960's rural
unrests began to grow as wheat
piled up on prairie farms and
tax until the Government agreed
to reform the system.
"That was part of being
militant as necessary," says Hill.
But the most important battle
in the view of Gordon Hill was the
fight to establish a 'national
prices dropped. Mr. Hill
participated in the farmers'
famous tractor protest ride to
Toronto and altended a special
conference called by the Minister
of Agriculture Bill Stewart to
discuss the problems.
At this conference Gordon Hill
worked closely with the lath
Malcolm Davidson to force the
conference to focus on farm
incomes.
"We thought the conference
would dengerate into the usual
discussion on productivity and the
matter of income would be lost
entirely."
Incomes
Mr. Hill
and Mr. Davidson moved that the
conference be , stopped and the
agenda rewritten so that farm
incomes would be disCussed. The
motion was defeated, but it set
the mood for the rest of the
conference and farm incomes
were disucssed. It was decided to
set up a special committee to
study the problem and. Gorodn
Hill was given a seat on it.
The major recommendation of
the committee was that a single
genral farmers ' organization be
set up to which every farmer had
to pay a levy. In the ensuing
campaign, Mr. Hill strongly
supported establishing a General
Farniers' Organization which the.
Farmers' Union opposed. When
the G. F.O. was defeated Mr. Hill
and other farm leaders were left
not sure what to do next.
"I decided that I had enough. I
had been working in farm
organizations since 1953 or '54
and trying to run a, farm too."
His retirement from farm
organizations didn't last long.
Gordon attended the fall
convention of the Federation as a
representative from the Bean
Board and by the end of the
meeting he was president of the
Ontario Federation of
Agriculture.
Style Changed
The style of the Federation
soon changed, under his
leadership.
"Our motto was 'responsible
as possible, and militant as
necessary'. We believed in
negotiations around the table, but
if we didn't get results we were
prepared to do something more."
The membership of the
Federation was reformed so that
individual farmers could become
direct members instead of the
Federation simply being an'
organization of different farm
commodity boards and co-ops.
And a campaign Was launched to
bring more members into .the
Federation.
The Federation took stands on
such issues as property tax
reform encouraging farmers not
to pay the education porion of the
marketing board for such
commodities as eggs.
"It was a hell of a fight. I think
if it hadn't been for the OFA the
legislation would never have been
continued" he said.
Back to Huron
Now seven years after taking
the job as president Gordon Hill
has decided to come back to his
farm in. Huron County.
"I felt it was time for a new
face and a new man, The
Federation has grown to the point
where there is a large number of
members, but they don't
understand how to use the
organization to be- influential".
"I think that is the skill of the new
president Peter Hannam - to show
people how to use the
organization."
Mr. Hill also points to the need
to get younger people involved in
the Federation as a reason for his
retirement.
"I think young people feel the
pressures of farming more than
us older ones do. They should
have their day in the saddle too."
"And I'm tired."
Looking ahead Gordon has
many concerns for the futur e of
farming in Ontario. He predicts
that the next few years will not be
as prosperous as ones have been
in the past and he is worried
about consumer advocates who
view the farmers as the enemy.
The large amounts of capital that
a farmer needs to get started also
bothers him. But he has no fears
that the family farm will
disappear.
"In the sense that it is the
family that takes the risks, finds
the capital, and does the
managing , the family farm will
be here as long as there is
farming."
He is opposed to companies
such. 'as McCains which "have
operated as buccaneers".
"They charge top price for
averything and pay the lowest. I
think they .are simply ruthless
buccaneers which shouldn't in
any event get government
support."
"Food processing plants
should decide whether or not they
want to produce or process. I
don't think they should be
involved in both."
But whatever the future of
farming, Gordon Hill is sure that
the Federation of Agriculture will
have a part to play in it.
"The Federation has a very
assured future as long as it
remains responsive and is willing
to change as society'changes and
conditions change. I think that is
the only thing it can be sure of."
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