The Rural Voice, 1993-04, Page 14can -con.
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10 THE RURAL VOICE
Adrian Vos
A Line In The Dirt
After reading about., and listening
to reports on "A Line In The Dirt"
actions, there remained some unan-
swered questions, especially critical
comments made by Paul Frayne on
the TV program
"This Business
of Farming". To
get more infor-
mation I asked
Paul to explain
his critique in my
monthly column.
Here is his
response:
"During the
past 18 months I
have been hon-
oured to be a
spokesperson for
ALine InThe
Dirt. There are
those who may wish we were 'the
end of something'. However, I think
it is becoming increasingly evident
that we are "the beginning of
something".
Frayne then went on to explain
what A Line In The Dirt is:
"Briefly, it is a very loosely struct-
ured organization of farm men and
women which originated in north-
west Huron County and southwest
Bruce County. These people, in the
summer of 1991, were concerned that
they were caught between the old
ASA program and the new GRIP
program — which would have seen a
year, the 1990 crop year, without any
type of retroactive government
support at a time when it was very
much needed."
The two rallies are well enough
known in our reader area so I will
skip it to go to Frayne's next
paragraph.
"A Line In The Dirt spent the
winter and spring of 1992 lobbying
the provincial government for an
increase in agriculture's share of the
provincial budget. These efforts fell
on deaf ears, as the agricultural
portion actually took a cut in last
spring's budget. However, public
awareness of the problems and of A
Line In The Dirt was increased.
"I do not wish to criticize the
existing mainline GFOs. Much of
what they do is extremely worthy
work, and it is increasingly necessary
when so many diverse issues confront
the farmer. But the question remains
— why are some of their membership
rolls increasing but their popular
support declining? At the same time,
why is A Line In The Dirt's star on
the rise?
"In my opinion the answer is clear.
Twenty per cent of the farmers pro-
duce 80 per cent of the nation's food.
This same 20 per cent has an even
greater percentage of this nation's
farm debt. The primary issue they
are interested in is a decent return on
their investment and labour, without
which they will not survive. Without
ever planning to target these people
we appeal to them since this is our
main thrust. We have also broader
popular support because many farm-
ers, while they may not fit into the
same fmancial and production criter-
ia, inherently know that what is good
for this group, will also be good for
them and for the industry as a whole.
"This 20 per cent of farmers is
quite a bit younger than the average
58 -year-old farmer. They are better
educated and, by economic necessity,
more outspoken and aggressive. They
are not extremists but they believe
that the best defence is a good off-
ence and they are waiting to advance.
Whoever can harness their power,
their forces, their abilities (and they
may be us) will play a major role in
the future evolution of agriculture.
Those in the way, those who do noth-
ing, and those who oppose will be left
standing at A Line In The Dirt."
I have a question. What has been
accomplished by A Line In The Dirt
beyond what the GFOs have? As
Paul states "These (A Line In The
Dirt's) efforts fell on deaf ears." Yes,
the rallies "increased public aware-
ness of the problem" in agriculture,
but the government did nothing to
give more financial help to farmers.
But maybe, as Paul writes, "we are
the beginning of something".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.