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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-02-21, Page 9Commodity groups speak to me: BY ALICE GIBS He said there are currently two trainsof f Art Bolton of McKillop,. thoughts among president of the Huron producers about the Cattlemen's Association, issue'' asked Huron County's.. Some producers want three members of the quota to be purchased parliament for their by the marketing board, support in preventing put into a pool and re- consumer over -reaction 1 distributed pro -rate to all •to the high price of beef at the producers wanting it, the annual, members of parliament meeting on Saturday. Bolton and represen- tatives from other Huron County commodity groups presented their krie€s to. MPPs Jack Riddell and (-Murray Gaunt and MP Robert McKinley at the dinner held in Clinton. Bolton,said the beef price icrease results from the decline in the number of beef cattle and the decline in value of the Canadian dollar. He said it's expected the number of .cows will continue to decline until 1980 and relatively high prices for beef will prevail until 1982. Frank Vali, ark OFA director fron'i the Niagara •region, : asked Mr. Bolton if -cattle producers couldn't maintain their production at a 's;teady rate. He said. there was again talk by some consumers about boycotting. beef due to the high prices operation with quota rather than buying ex- QUICI WAY OUT pensive land andgoing. into cash cropping., Bolton said cattlemen Murray Gaunt saidhe are trying to , get better . had heard concern ex- market information to pressed about a Cor - the producers in order to porate: concentration: in stabilize; production` 'and the egg business. Scott. price cycles. He added' " said at this point he `didn't that. "mentioning - quotas see the industry getting was the ``quickest way to into corporate hands, get yourself out of a . since individual farmers. cattlemen's meeting that and not industries are I know." leasing available egg Lloyd Stewart,; quotas., secretaz'y, of the Huron The family farmer is County Pork Producers- right out there coin- calle, d.for an expansion of peting," Mr. Scott added. the processing and Bert Elliott, chairman , Packingindustry in the of the Huron ,County brief he presented to, the Cream Producers, three politicians. reported. his organization Jack Riddell said he is still fighting a drop in understood pork con the consumption of sumption will increase 'in cream in the market the .,.future,.,due,.to, .h;ighex.,.,.1?lace and suggests a beef prices and that good percentage .6f Ihe""iirie pork prices are predicted for the next two :years: John Van Beers, of R.R. 1, Blyth, said• Ontario hog producers need another slaughtering plantinthe province to keep up with production, Bill Scott of Seaforth, Huron County director on the Ontario Egg Producers' Marketing Board, said in his brief that both Ontario and Quebec require an in- crease Q in their egg. 'quotas. He said under the federal marketingplan, until a •more realistic agreement can be reached, egg quotas can't be stabilized .and will continue to fluctuate. MAJOR PROBLEM The director told the members -of parliament the major problem facing producers now is the development of an ongoing transfe policy. at the same price. Scott said, "This is- the fairest, easiest and least controversial plan to implement.", However, other producers favor an open, face to face . buy -sell program • with limitations, such . as limiting purchases'to five per cent of lyasie quota. Scott said the marketing board directors are now working on=a program for quotas to.be put forward at their annual meeting in March. Jack Riddell, the Liberal party's agriculture critic in the Ontario legislature, said he is concerned how a young person gets into the egg business today. Riddell asked,' "Have we closed the door to the young farmer who wants to go into the business? " Jim McIntosh, of R.R. 5, Seaforth, said a young farmer, could probably still jlustfy `.buying a successful ":poultry increase for producers be paid ' through higher subsidies. He also told the three politicians that his group is opposed to any changes being made in the Line Fence Act, and feels each landowner should, maintain' his own half of the .•line fences where livestock are pasturing on neigh- bouring farms. Melvin Knox of the Huron • County Milk 'Committee said his in- dustryas a whole has few major problems. . ONTARIO LOST Knox told the audience Ontario has lost too great an amount of their share of -the quota, since they didn't produce enough of the. provincial allotment. Now, "we'd just love to produce more milk in this province" but "we don't want to be stuck with a big surplus." He said producers are now living with a five per cent sleeve on excess quota, but this is "awful tight." Knox said milk producers suffered when the ' United Kingdom joined the European Common Market, since Canada lost a major cheddar cheese market. He said there is now no such thing as an export market for dairy, products " since there is such a glut on the world market from countries dike Australia, New Zealand and'the Common Market'countries. Jack Riddell said in the. past, there has been "a. damn poor job of selling our dairy products" and thathe would like to see a better job done selling these products to the public: DISCOURAGE Bev Brown, an OFA director from Bluevale, Loci w Se,.tlimil, Waiwday, Febreasy 21, •i i - pal said a resolution is coming up at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture conference in Ottawa this week to discourage the imitation of natural dairy products by products like coffee creamers and artificial whipped creams. She said, "In my opinion, all farmers should be supporting dairy farmers in this area." ,Robert , Anderson, representing then, Huron ,County Bean Board, said the major problem facing his organization was to find new markets' for their product. Bean production in Ontario is currently in a surplus situation, he. reported. Allan . Campbell, representing the Huron Plowmen's Association and Glen McNeil, representing the. 4-H' Club Leaders :Association also presented briefs.• At the end of the rs' dinner session, Bev Brown thanked MP Robert McKinley for bringing the binder twine issue up in the House of Commons 9.. and congratulated Jack Riddell on his work on the predator •b111 introduced in the Ontario legislature. Need a change of i -ace? p Whatever your age, CUSO offers you two years in a developing country, using your skills and. contributing to the future, You need job experience, good health and the ability to improvise and adapt. 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