The Rural Voice, 1992-06, Page 12JJ
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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Adrian Vos
The death of a friend
I don't understand the apparent
apathy of the farmers of Bruce, Grey,
North Wellington, and Huron
counties. The excellent TV show
"The Family Farmer" on CKNX-TV
is about to be
cancelled and
nary a word of
protest from any
farmer in the
region. I would
have expected
resolutions to the
OFA, the CFFO,
and the NFU to
urge the
Blackheart,
excuse me, the
Blackburn Group
to maintain the
program. This
samc group got
rid of Gord Wainman when he spoke
his mind in the "London Free
Press" .
The team of Murray Gaunt, award
winning Kevin Stewart, and Gary
Ballagh, with the support staff of
camera men and directors have
shown farming as it really is.
One can argue that "This Business
of Farming" , the London -generated
show by Ross Daly, is sufficient, but
if so the contention is flawed. There
is a world of difference in the focus
of the two shows. The London Show
concentrates on business, as the title
implies, with farmers and researchers
in the studio in business suits, and is
invaluable in its own right. The
Wingham show shows the farmer in
his boots and coveralls, a person
caring for his animals and his land, as
invaluable in its own point of view.
The difference may be subtle as is the
difference in the names of "farming"
and "agriculture", or between
"lifestyle" and "business".
Now the promise is to cut three or
four minutes from the London show
of Ross Daly to present regional
news from the north. Big deal.
Wake up farmers, start protesting.
Too many farm shows, from the CBC
down, have bitten the dust.
* * *
For a while I thought I might have
been mistaken when I heard the first
Why hasn't
there been an
outcry over
program's loss
reports of Professor Peter
Stonehouse's comparison study
between normal and organic farming.
The good professor acknowledged
that his study was too small to be
taken as gospel but went out into the
country to proclaim it anyway. But
when he compared the income of
normal farms with those of organic
farms he increased the price for
organics to what a few of them can
get from health food stores and the
like. Some of those farmers who
thought so too and got into organic
farming were disappointed when
their co-op collapsed for want of a
market.
I have had reservations about the
stable funding proposals of the
General Farm Organizations from
the beginning. But when the original
leaked information came out it was
different from the leaks. When the
final ideas were accepted by the
GFOs I agreed to some extent. After
all, why should those who profit from
the lobbying efforts of the GFOs not
be compelled to help pay for the cost
of these efforts?
But the nagging in the back of my
mind continued. The new tax on
farmers goes into the big pockets of
the GFOs without any conditions that
I heard of. The early rumours of an
umbrella organization to administer
the tax was turned down flatly by the
OFA. But this would be the ideal
solution. The umbrella, as directed
by the GFOs would do nothing but do
research on farm policies and present
these to the various governments.
When I suggested this to OFA
executives they dismissed this out of
hand. They claimed to be large and
dominant enough to act as the
umbrella. So be it. Now the new
members of the GFOs should press
hard to have these GFOs use the
taxes wisely and separately. They
can do it for they are the new
majority.0
Adrian Vos, from Huron County has
contributed to the Rural Voice since
its inception in 1975. He is a writer
and raises exotic birds on the farm
where he raised pigs for many years.