The Rural Voice, 1980-03, Page 14Farming in Europe
Problems
are universal
BY ADRIAN VOS
Reading agricultural magazines from
Europe, it becomes soon apparent that
problems of farmers are quite similar.
They complain about lack of co-operation
between different farm sectors; increased
production costs in the face of declining
returns; too high prices for foodland; high
energy costs; how difficult it is for a young
man to begin farming. and the lack of
understanding by the non -farming public.
The various general farm organizations
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PG. 12 THE RURAL VOICE/MARCH 1980
in Holland have as one of their priorities
that the farmer of a medium sized holding
must have the same income as his
counter -part outside agriculture.
All three Dutch farm organizations. the
Catholic, the Protestant and the secular
one, have as their avowed aim the
protection of the family farm.
Because it is ever more difficult for a
family to buy the high priced land, the farm
organizations are pressuring the govern-
ment to do something to lower land prices.
Since the end of the war, the European
countries have used agricultural produc-
tion and exports as a means of earning
foreign exchange money.
They have succeeded extremely well,
but have neglected to put a limit to the
expansion caused by the stimulation of
agriculture.
As a result, all European Community
(EC) countries have been overproducing on
an almost irresponsible scale.
We in Canada have felt the side effects
of their dairy policy in the importation of
cheese and our inability to meet the cost of
the milk powder giveaway programs. On
the other hands, the Russians have
prof i ted enormously from the "butter
mountain", which was turned into butter
oil and sold for a few cents a pound to
Moscow.
This great production could only be
maintained by strong protectionism and by
subsidies. These subsidies, and payments
between the EC countries (monetary
transfer payments) are now such a great
burden to the non -agrarian sector, that
after about a quarter century in the EC, the
member countries are going to cut back.
Understandably, the farmers don't like
that idea, and are strongly protesting.
To get all this in some perspective, we
must understand that the average Dutch
dairy farm measures 10 ha (25 acres). The
farm organizations are very concerned that
poor, and often backward, farmers will be
the first casualties of any cutbacks.
Today, a dairy farmer in a country like
Holland receives a minimum amount for
surplus milk. A new proposal is that
instead of paying that money for the milk,
it should be paid for not producing the milk
in the first place.
This sounds a bit like the land banking
scheme in the USA not so long ago. The
problem would likely be the same as there;
the bigger the milk producer, the more he
can cash for not producing.
Some people have thought of quotas, but
no one has accepted that idea as yet.
A day in the life
ofa farmer B.C.
— before computers
–4—
tot.,
too- twi
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