The Rural Voice, 1999-03, Page 66BRUCE
Email: bruce@ota.on.ca
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551
• The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
What is happening to this business
of producing food for the population
of the world?
Our capital investment and real
input costs are continually increasing
at a rate far in excess of the prices
received for farm gate product prices.
I could quote prices for land,
machinery, etc. but most will know
what I am referring to. If not look at
the copy of "Farm Listings Directory
for Ontario Farm Properties"
included with your January copy of
Farm and County. You could also
look at any implement dealers sales
list of farm machinery. Let's not
forget taxes, hydro, fuel, the list goes
on and on.
No wonder every farm family is
either expanding to produce more,
with their new mega barns "factories"
for livestock, buying additional
acreage for crops or taking an off -
farm job to feed their own family.
The much publicized "Whole
Farm Disaster Program", which is a
step in the right direction, is nowhere
near that of other countries. This
program, according to our farm
leaders and elected officials in both
Ottawa and Toronto must be
considered "Green" or trade neutral
under the World Trade Agreement.
As Canada produces more product
than we consume we must compete
on the world markets. Thus the
requirement to keep government
assistance within the agreements
signed at the last World Trade
Agreement and avoid tariffs being
placed on exports.
Canadian farmers can compete, in
fact there is a very good demand for
our products worldwide but we need
a level playing field, not a fight
against the treasuries of other
countries. •
Canadian domestic subsidies paid
to farm commodities amounts to 11
per cent which is in line with the last
World Trade Agreement. This
compares to 40 per cent in the United
States, 42 per cent in the E.U. and
Japan a whopping 62 per cent. All
62 THE RURAL VOICE
Is bigger better?
this without respect to their
obligations arising from the last
agreement under the World Trade
Agreement.
On top of all this our government
is continually handing down
regulations and their related costs to
farmers. Some that come to mind are:
Publications from OMAFRA;
charges for food inspectors; Pesticide
Safety Course; Pesticide Regulatory
Registration Agency; " Nutrient
Management; Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point; Septic Tank
inspection; and new this year,
livestock medications. Put all these
together with the Firearm
Registration Act with the resulting
requirements to meet the new laws,
outdoor card, acquisition or
possession permit, for a tool required
on many farms.
If you would like to enjoy a little
R and R as I do, you will then be
required to obtain a hunting license
either for small game or a specific
hunting license for each species of
larger game you wish to hunt. On top
of this a boat safety certificate and
fishing license if you enjoy fishing.
By the time we obtain all of the
above our wallets will be an inch
thick with no money in it. This
growing trend is not only in
agriculture but is occurring in all
other areas of society from the
amalgamation of our municipalities
to national and multi -national
corporations including a try by our
Canadian Chartered banking system.
Billion dollar deals are being made in
order to gain more and more control
of their services and/or products on
the global market.
Many of these mergers or buy-
outs, the use of modern technology
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
Directors' Meeting
Monday, March 22, 1999
8:00 p.m.
OMAFRA Boardroom, Walkerton
Members are welcome to attend
eg. computers and robotic machines,
and the closure of nearby
establishments which used to be
competition has resulted in the loss of
many jobs. To me this is the age old
scenario of Capitalism "Greed". The
rich get richer at the expense of the
less fortunate.
The latest that I have heard of is
Ford Motor Company buying the
Volvo car division, making Ford the
largest automobile producer in the
world. Another is Cargill's purchase
of Continental which gives them a
reported control of 80 per cent of the
world's market.
Why is the farmer's share of the
food dollar continually declining
largely because big corporations have
strengthened their hold on the food
chain until they squeeze all the profit
out of farm gate prices.
Perhaps the directors of these
companies and our elected officials
should stop and think about. a
statement written by Henry Ford to
his shareholders when he increased
wages paid to his workers in the
neighbourhood of 500 per cent in one
year. His statement was to the effect
that he had to pay his workers enough
so that they could afford to purchase
the products they produced.
Unemployed workers including
farmers, cannot afford to purchase
products, pay taxes or support our
local communities and their
infrastructure. Is bigger better?0
— Submitted by Allan Smith
OFA Regional Director Bruce North
BRUCE COUNTY FEDERATION OF
AGRICULTURE
Meet the Members and
Tommy Cooper Award
meeting
Friday, March 12, 1999
Elmwood Community Centre,
(downstairs)
Social. 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m.
Tickets $12.50/person
Tickets available from all Township Directors,
Executive and the office.
Call 519-364-3050 or 1-800-275-9551