The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 23paid up. The real challenge is can we
get through year after year will
those margins sustain productivity?"
The crunch in grain prices that
forces a focus on animal agriculture
as farmers try to "walk the feed off
the farm", he says also makes
Ontario agriculture better. But how
long can we sustain low grain prices
and will this lead to a slump in hog
or beef prices? Will the World Trade
Organization allow our supply
management system to continue in
our dairy and feather industries?
The only thing individual farmers
can do in the long run is to produce a
superior product at competitive
prices: "I think Ontario farmers,
when you compare the kind of
numbers we're producing in Ontario
with anyplace else, we're right at the
cutting edge."
Whether it's broiler chickens
being shipped with the best feed
conversion and health status, or milk
producers producing good quality
milk and average production per
cow, Ontario is extremely
"1 think Ontario
Farmers ... are right
on the cutting edge."
competitive. In almost every case
Ontario's animals are being housed
in a more expensive facility, but in
the long run that can be a competitive
edge, he says. Ontario's pork
production, for instance, isn't
interrupted by adverse winter
weather conditions as much as
midwestern U.S. production.
Weather losses in poultry aren't as
severe here as in the prime
production areas in the U.S.
For himself, Verkley sees his role
in speaking on behalf of farmers
tapering off. Now that he's not an
active farmer he sees his credibiljty
fading. He's purchased 40 acres, 30
of it bush, on which he hopes to build
a new house. He'll also be able to
catch up on his snowmobiling.
motorcycling and other leisure
activities.
Few farmers can envy him his
relaxation after the thousands of
hours he has spent on their behalf in
the past decade.0
If you ate today...
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JULY 2001 19