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Home My WebLink AboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-02-10, Page 6Page 6 - Lttcknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 10, 1993 About 90 per cent of '92 corn crop was Graefe '5 or junk frompage 1 coin producers in Ontario either chose not to or could riot afford insurance policies." Mr. Ho an went on to explain that the ii sur- ance policies do not allow for the higher cost faced by, livestock pro- ducers who have to replace feed at a higher price than the commission pays for their, lost crop. "With the bulk of this year's harvested corn crop going in the silos at above the standard 40 per cent moisture level," Mr. Hogan said, "many farmers will be receiving unjustly lower payouts or no payments at all. Mr. Lowry estimates the average corn yield "somewhere around 50 bushels per acre," and says, "About 90 per cent of this was Grade 5 or junk. The majority of the hay crop would only make good bedding, and grain that was stored at too high a moisture content, in a lot of cases, became m^uldy and can't be fed to sows ant .nakes poor feed for anything else." Mr. Hogan said that established hay crops do not qualify for protection under the cun:ent crop insurance commission, other than for drought only. Farmers have been told crop insurance premiums will rise by over 50 per cent for the '93 corn crop. Mr. Hogan said the govern- ment is defeating their desire for a higher level of producer participa- tion. "They should make it more appealing, rather than less appealing and less affordable." According to Mr. Hogan, "GRIP is becoming worthless to the pro- ducers of Ontario, based on the. declining prices for the last 10 years multiplied by the 80 per cent factors." In its second year, .the program was developed to assist farmers through short-term periods of low prices in the market place. "Pay- ments are triggered when the prov- incial annual average market price for a qualifying crop falls below the present support level." Participants are guaranteed 80 per cent of the previous 15 year average price x 80 percent of their five year average yield. Add to that the market price on the remaining 20 per cent of the average yield, if you harvested a crop yielding more than 80 per cent of your five year average. - To make matters worse, Mr. Hogan said, the federal government has chosen to treat provinces inequitably. Using a formula of average prices x enrolled acreage, he says support level to Ontario is approximately one-half of that received by Quebec and the Mari- time provinces, and. 75 per cent of that received by western provinces. And , Mr. Hogan saiyl both crop insurance and GRIP are based on gross income. NISA, in Mr. Hogan's opinion, "barely warrants discussion. Although good in principle, Nisa is in bad need of many changes before it could be widely accepted in Ontario." In it's third year of existence, the program was designed so farmers could deposit funds in the account when net incomes allowed and receive a competitive interest rate. Withdrawals are allowed when net income drops below a trigger point, ''based, onthe previous years' „net incomes. Mr. Hogan said the application forms are much more complex than necessary and Costing more in accounting fees than benefits would allow. Positive comments were made by Mr. Hogan on Land Stewardship I and II programs, administered by local Soil and Crop Improvement Associations. Admitting they have done a lot of good, he said " ... like other programs (they) are cash short for our society to reap full benefits from them." John Xing, a Wingham area crop producer summed it up when he said, "If you are not enrolled in these then the benefits do not apply. Even with enrolment in these 'safety net program's' many farmers are experiencing; financial diffi- culty." Third Line The third line of defence is ad hoc programs, or those put in place for a specific purpose, or special • case only. Mr. Hogan said the governments assured farmers that onlyin the event the second line of defence (joint farmer/government programs) failed would there be any more ad hoc programs. "Looking at some- where , in the 'neighbour of a $1 billion loss m '92 in Ontario alone," he said, "I would definitely say they have failed to make up the differ- ence." Putting the $1 billion into per- spective, Mr. Hogan said,," ... it would be equivalent to a mere 10 cents for every meal in this prov- ince for one year. Is that too much. to ask for if it would mean the survival of the producers of the. high quality, safe food grown in this province under our stringent federal and provincial guidelines?" Mr. Hogan added he was not suggesting an added tax, "only for our members of parliament to get their priorities in order and make the funds available." He did suggest "A good starting point would be to roll back the unjust pension plans they "set aside for themselves. ... who really needs $4 million dollars to retire in his early 40s?" Fourth Line Addressing the fourth line of defence, "a last resort" (emergency . aid, social assistance) were John King, a Wingham area crop pro- ducer and Brian Ireland, co- ordinator for Queens Bush Rural Ministry. "Imagine in Canada, land of plenty, • breadbasket to the world, that a committee (HEART) was formed to find a way to provide., basic needs for food producers,"_ said Mr. King. "Yes, there are farmers going to. foodbanks, - farm families without heat or hydro, and children going to school with empty lunch boxes. It's ironic that -food producers and their families are going hungry in Canada,"butthat is • reality." • Farmers are not eligible for wel- fare assistance as they are ",self- employed. HEART (Huron Einerg- ency Agricultural Response Team)" was initiated in -the last week of .December 1992. "The program has received funding from, OMAF's Enhanced Counselling and Emerg- ency Assistance Program to provide short-term financial • assistance to Huron County farmers facing finan- cial distress," said Mr. King. "We have received at least 12 calls inquiring about this assistance." People can call OMAF, Rural Con- nections or Social Services to get information on this program. " Mr. Ireland said calls to Queens . Bush have increased dramatically. They have received $20,000 in emergency funding for farm fam- ilies. Over $10,000 of that has been spent, most in the last couple of months. "It is really sad to have a farm family phone and seek aid because they can't afford to put groceries on • the table. It's something I thought I'd never see. Mr. Ireland said he ' spends almost every slay on, the road dealing with family farm prob- lems. He predicts that if something isn't done, "We're looking at 10 per cent 'of farriers facing real serious diffi- culty this spring even getting a crop in; likely five to 10 per cent will • leave the land in one form- or another." J -UI across Ontario . is catching on. Each Ontario Lottery ticket you buy helps make good things happen. Since 1975, over $4.6 billion in lottery proceeds have been used to support worthwhile social services organizations through the Trillium Foundation, cultural and recreational programs and the operation of Ontario hospitals. • So get into the act. Every time.you play your favourite Ontario lottery game, it makes winners of us all. 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Exeter (519) 235-0918 or (519) 235-8543 TFUNK seeps Part of a stronger corn program 2®G-4024 550 H.U. - SO Day �G-4043 2600 H.U. - 82 Day G-4120 - 2725 H.U. - 86 Day ALFALFA r-2833 !ndex 105 VG -2841 Index 107 G-2852 Index 104 See your Funk FUNK'S dealer today I i WALTER ELLIOTT RR#1 LUCKNOW NOG 2H0 357-1358 357-1532