The Rural Voice, 2001-02, Page 191
for foreign policy and international
policy implementation. While support
programs will continue to be tied to
conservation programs, they will not
be going away. Upon hearing that it
dawned on me that I had heard it
before in 1985 from U.S. Agriculture
Secretary Clayton Yeuter. We are
quickly becoming disadvantaged and I
realized the futility and folly of our
Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief
calling for the U.S. and the E.U. to
reduce their ag support programs. It
also made the b.s. we're being fed
here, both federally and provincially
(OWFRP for one), all the more
abhorrent.
How does it look for the coming
year?
With the unreal discrepancy
between crop prices and fertilizer
prices, I don't see how we can afford
to use the stuff this year. There
certainly is ZERO room for
extravagance. If you're a livestock
producer, you've got an ace up your
sleeve because you make your own. If
you have excess manure that you do
not need, you will find neighbours
ready and willing to pay the haulage
fees, as those fees will not be more
than what the fertilization value is
worth, as has been the common
problem. Signing a manure agreement
with a neighbour results in no Toss of
rights and privileges, unlike that of a
Technology Use Agreement (read the
fine print lately?).
We've all heard the stories —
fertilizer plants selling their natural
gas contracts for more profit than they
could gain by manufacturing fertilizer;
plants being closed down in an effort
to short the market (sounds like
OPEC); past fertilizer prices have not
reflected the true costs of production;
companies need to get a better return
on investment and on assets
employed; buy now because it's going
up on Monday, etc.
No question about it, crude oil
prices are up, natural gas seed stock
prices are up and transportation costs
are up. Remember though, that the
fertilizer industry is largely a U.S.
industry. With the U.S. ag economy
well infused with the largest
government monetary support in
history, their farmers may well be able
to cope with the highest fertilizer
prices in history. However here it may
be the final death knell for Canadian
agriculture. Low prices + high costs +
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FEBRUARY 2001 15