The Rural Voice, 2004-11, Page 48GREY
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
Email: grey@ofa.on.ca Website: www.ofa.on.ca/grey 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
' The Rural Voice is provided to OFA
Members in Grey County by the GCFA
Perhaps we need a 'wall of shame'
As autumn sets in, Grey County
farmers are competing against the
weather to get in the rest of the crops.
Soybeans are finally off. but most
corn is still in the field. After a short,
cool summer, September was warm,
sunny and dry and October is toying
with us. It has, to say the least, been
a challenging year.
The IPM was a must -see this
September. Hosted by Grey County
and located near Meaford, over
80,000 people went through the
gates. Mother Nature co-operated by
providing some sunny, hot and dry
days for rural and urban visitors
alike. Here in Grey County OFA we
are very proud of our member
services rep, Gertie Blake, who
conceived the idea for the OFA
display, Envirofarm. Gertie, with
much help from OFA staff and other
reps, created a living example of 23
Best Management Practices, from
tillage to manure management, water
well and stream protection,
reforestation to animal housing and
many more. Over 20,000 people went
through this exhibit and had an
opportunity to see first hand the
possibilities and techniques available
to any farmer and to ask questions of
available staff and member service
reps. The exhibit was such a success,
there are plans to "Take it on the
Road!" Way to go, Gertie and all
IPM volunteers!
Here in Grey County, fallout from
the BSE crisis is never far from
anyone's mind as many farm incomes
are so low as to be almost non-
existent, input purchases are vastly
reduced (which affects many other
agricultural spin-off businesses) and
the future of beef farming, in
particular, is in grave doubt. The
feeling of impotence is frustrating as
many of those farming see
themselves as being trapped,
voiceless and helpless, in a situation
not of their making. Our politicians
seem unable to dent the resolve of the
U.S. machine in the BSE matter, and
other trade issues, such as softwood
44 THE RURAL VOICE
lumber. grain marketing, water and
energy concerns as well as our right
to trade with other, more willing
countries as a sovereign nation.
It also does not reassure those
Canadians earning a living from
agriculture to discover the large
number of firms holding, using and
getting increases in Beef and Veal
Import Quotas. With just a little on-
line searching, (your MP can get this
information as well). it is quite easy
to source a list showing 132 separate
companies that prefer to import their
beef and veal products from countries
other than Canada. That's 132
companies that supply thousands
upon thousands of retail outlets to
Canadian consumers. who pay for
their purchases with Canadian
dollars. yet do not purchase Canadian
beef. For Shame!
Perhaps the Canadian Cattleman's
Association should create a "Wall of
Shame" to highlight this lack of
concern and cavalier attitude by
certain Canadian businesses. When
asked about this, the usual reason
given is the inability to source the
cuts, size or consistency here in
Canada. Surely after 18 months of
this BSE crisis, Canadian producers
could indeed provide the products
requested.
Congratulations to one group who
is not waiting for "the government "
to solve this problem but is doing
something locally about a national
problem. Beef Connections is a
grassroots venture, started in Bruce
County and eagerly joined by some
Grey County beef producers and
assisted by the OFA that markets beef
GREY COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
DIRECTORS' MEETING
Thursday, November 18, 2004
8:00 p.m.
Grey County Agricultural Services Centre
meeting room (Grey Gables)
206 Toronto Street South, Markdale
Members are welcome to attend
Note: Date change due to OFA
Convention November 22, 23
directly to the consumer. This results
in a lower price to the consumer and
better profits to the producer.
Homegrown solutions to the
challenges facing agriculture may
well be the future.
Protectionism, free trade, import
harriers, environmental concerns and
labelling issues are all political
indicators of widespread greed and
the apathy towards agriculture. As
primary stewards of the land, the
environment and the food production
system, should farmers not also be
stewards of their own destiny? How
long can or should farmers rise to the
challenges created by others before
they take a stand? As long as
Canadian agriculture is dependant on
other economies, other nations and
other regulations we will not be
independent enough to be self-
sufficient. Trade is healthy,
dependency is not. As a sovereign
nation we should be able to negotiate
with other countries without fear of
reprisals or threatening action taken
by third -party nations. We should be
responsible for our own success or
failure.0
— Submitted by Anne Marie Watson
Second Vice -President, GCFA
THE GREY COUNTY SOIL & CROP
IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION
invites you to attend the
GREY COUNTY SEED
.l
FEED SHOW ANI)
ANNUAL mil:TINtG
Thursday,
December 9, 2004
Chatsworth Community Centre
Placing of exhibits starts at 9:30 a.m.
Show: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Hot Beef dinner at noon
Guest Speaker: Mary Lou Garr on
the Greenbelt Task Force