The Rural Voice, 1978-03, Page 18how many at the meeting were mvoivea in
marketing boards and of the about 100
persons present, only one said he was
involved.
Dr. Collin said that the 21 marketing
boards operating under the OFPMB selling
everything from milk to tobacco are
responsible. "They are grass roots boards.
They represent the producers."
One of the greatest future problems for
marketing boards, he said, will be the
establishment of national boards, citing the
problems encountered by the Canadian
Egg Marketing Agency. Chicken producers
are now going through the process of
forming a nationil agency. The .decision of
which province gets what share of the
national market is a difficult one to make,
he said.
If producers are going to get a fair shake
in the market place, he said, they will
continue to need marketing boards to
represent them. "Producers deserve
orderly marketing," he told the federation
members.
Charles Gracey, secretary -manager of
the Canadian Cattlemen's Association,
jokingly took exception to the advertised
topic of his address. When he was asked to
speak to the Ag. Week meeting, he said,
his topic was to be the free market system,
but the Ag Week program listed him as
talking about the advantages of an
unregulated marketing system.
The CCA represents beef producers
across Canada and has maintained strong
opposition to setting up a marketing board
for beef or implementing any form of
supply management.
Mr. Gracey said he has no reason to
condemn any of the existing marketing
board systems because they seem to suit
their particular commodities, but beef
production and marketing is different from
tobacco production and doesn't lend itself
to controlled production and marketing.
Whether a commodity is handled by a
marketing board or by the individual
producer, the price is almost entirely affect
by supply and demand, he said. Beef
producers created this current deficit
situation by overproduction, he said.
"Farmers have been the victims of their
own high productivity," he said, and in
some areas they have turned to marketing
boards and supply management.
The Canadian Cattlemen's Association is
continuing to set up new information
services for beef producers that should
make them more aware of the consumer
needs, thus reducing the boom and bust
cycles that have hurt the industry so much
recently, he said.
"We should get enough information to
the producers that we don't let the cow
herd grow three times as fast as the human
herd," he told the meeting.
Mr. Gracey referred to figures from
sales of beef and pork in Canada and the
United States in the past several years to
show the meeting that the free market
system has served the beef industry well in
the past. In the past six years Canadian
beef producers have received prices 13 per
cent above their U.S. counterparts.
During the same veriod. he said. Ontario
PG. 18. THE RURAL VOICE/MARCH 1978.
pork producers have only realized prices
six per cent above those received by U.S.
producers: and Ontario's pork producers
have a marketing board handling their
business.
"This is good evidence that we shouldn't
rush to condemn the Canadian cattle
marketing system." he said.
Beef producers, in the past four years,
have received 73 per cent of the dollar
value of their product. he said, while the
average for all commodities is only 39 per
cent with the remainder going to marketing
boards for administration and other costs.
"It's a good thing you have the beef
producers to bring that average up," he
said.
The cycle which has dealt beef producers
such low prices in the past three or four
years is beginning the turn. he said. and
prices will improve for them in the future.
However, he said, a lot of equity has been
lost in the beef industry in the past four
years with many producers going
bankrupt, unable to hold on any longer
waiting for better prices.
Safety film to be shown
in Perth
A film Play Safe by the War
Amputations of Canada will be shown by
the Perth Farm Safety Association at four
variety nights to be held throughout the
county. County children were involved in
making the film. It is one of the measures
being taken to promote farm safety in the
county.
The Junior farmers of the county have
been contacted about holding a tractor
safety rodeo and the Kirkton Fair Board
has made an invitation to hold the event.
At the annual meeting of the Association
Harold Mason, R.R.1, Listowel was named
past president. Bert Vorstenbosch, R.R.2.
Mitchell was named the new president;
Roy Swart, first vice-president; Lorne
Fuhr, R.R.2, Tavistock, second vice-presi-
dent; directors, John Neeb (from the
Junior Farmers), R.R.1, Stratford; Em-
manuel Albrecht, R.R.1, Gowan stow n;
Mrs. Don Crowley, R.R.2, Godshill; Mrs.
Murray Riddell, R.R.1 Newton.
Mitchell man
on executive
of Farm Manager group
A Mitchell man, Stuart Bryans was
elected vice-president of the Ontario
chapter of the American Society of Farm
Managers and Rural Appraisers which was
recently formed at Woodstock.
The purpose of the group is to promote
the professions of farm management and
rural appraisal. The majority of the Ontario
membership is in the appraisal business,
but as the membership of farm managers
increase the group will direct activities at
both groups. The group will be able to
PLETCH
ELECTRIC
WINGHAM
• Residential
• Farm
• Industrial
• Commercial
Phone Collect
357-1583
Doupe's
Equipment
Ltd.
Sales -Service -Rentals
.R.#4 KINCARDINE
395-2685
DEALERS FOR
CASE
GEHL
KUBOTA
NEW IDEA
BUSHOG
SEE US FOR INTEREST
FREE DEALS ON
TRACTORS, HAYING
& HARVEST
EQUIPMENT
GOOD SELECTION OF
NEW AND USED
EQUIPMENT IN STOCK