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10 THE RURAL VOICE
QUEBEC'S DOMINANT
DAIRY INDUSTRY
Robert Mercer is editor of the
Broadwater Market Letter, a weekly
commodity and policy advisory letter
from Markham, Ontario, L3P 3A9.
I had the opportunity this past
month to take a fairly extensive crop
tour in the province of Quebec.
Because of the geography of the
province most of my time was spent in
the eastern townships and down as far
south as the U.S. border. I also spent
two days in old Quebec City and
toured the National Assembly
building, a very impressive
architectural structure.
What really struck home when
travelling through rural Quebec was
the absolute need for a dairy industry
to provide some areas with
employment opportunities where there
are none. Without a milk quota, and
the stability it gives the dairy industry,
there are areas of rural Quebec that
could slide easily into oblivion. To
some extent this could also be said for
broilers where other alternatives are
uneconomical. These farms,
supported by supply management, are
the pearls of the countryside. The
countryside itself is often scenic and
beautiful and full of heritage, but not
full of prosperity or richness from the
land.
Further south and to the east the
story is different. There is excellent
soil, some drainage problems, but
crops are as good as could be grown
anywhere else in Canada. There are
grapes and vineyards, apples by the
bushel, and a corn crop that looks as
good as often as it looks poor. Much
of the poor crop is destined for the
silo.
There are good crops of hay, with
some third cuts still in the fields, and
even some small grains yet to be
harvested.
If anything, the provincial
estimated yield for corn could be a
little on the high side from what I saw
on this short trip. The August
Statistics Canada provincial yield was
given as 100.2 bu/ac. This is possibly
4-5 bu/ac. too high. Even with this
suggested revision, feed grain and
roughage supplies look to be ample
for the start of this new crop year, as
long as the weather holds for a
reasonable harvest period.
For anyone who has not visited the
eastern townships and the country to
the north, the experience is very
educational. It is quite obvious why
Quebec farmers and politicians are so
strong in their defence of supply
management. The dairy industry in
Quebec is as important to it as wheat
is to Saskatchewan.
It is this dilemma that faces
the Canadian negotiating team in
Geneva when trying to explain
Canada's position in the agricultural
trade talks. We want open markets
for grain and beef industries (western
Canada), and controlled markets for
dairy and feather industries (eastern
Canada). That is, of course, the
realities of soil and climate as well as
politics.
To compare wheat farming in the
prairies to broiler raising in Quebec
in a single trade agreement is like
saying manufacturing computer chips
is the same as manufacturing steel.
They are two completely different
industries.
Quebec, however, does have one
major advantage over Saskatchewan.
It has a large population base and
demand for agricultural products
within the province. This gives it the
ability to diversify. That isn't possible
in Saskatchewan. During the crop
tour, that diversity was evident from
the grapes and apples, to vegetable
growing, greenhouse, and specialty
crop production.
The fall display of flowers was
magnificent as rural homes took pride
in their front gardens — in villages,
towns and in the country. Some
people may still think of Quebec as a
poor cousin, but it didn't look that
way to me.0