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PAGE A-4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1996.
Agriculture 1996
411, es
scale
Ec
By Janice Becker
The family farm, a hundred acres which provides not only
employment and income for family members, but personal
food and a way of life.
This was the way of agriculture over the many decades
from before confederation to the industrial revolution.
With the advent of mechanization, the development of
agriculture took a step towards ever-expanding acreage and
larger livestock operations, never looking back.
Today, many areas of the country, province and county are
dotted with agricultural businesses run by corporations.
'Sidewalk farmers' are becoming prevalent, says Dr. Al
Hecht, Department of Geography professor at Wilfrid Laurier
University, Waterloo.
In terms of cash crops, these are large scale operations
which hire managers to run the land. They may hire seed
companies to plant the crop and harvestors to take it off.
"The biggest expense in agriculture is the machinery," says
Hecht. "If they can spread the cost of the equipment over more
acreage, using a combine for more than three days a year, it
can only be to their advantage."
An excellent example of econ-omies of scale can be seen in
the Huterites of Manitoba, says Hecht.
"Communal farms may support
30 families with several thousand
acres and it has been documented
that they outperform any other
operation in the west."
They can make volume
purchases for discounts and are
able to upgrade equipment more
frequently, thereby avoiding
breakdown delays, he says.
One corporate farming operation
in Huron County is Canadian Agra
International, which farms 15,000
to 16,000 acres in the county
under Kincardine Farming Inc.
"Farming large acreages allows
us to spread capital expenditures
over a broader base and purchase
inputs on volume at discount,"
says Doug Fletcher of Canadian
Agra Inc, Kincardine.
"With a management staff we
are able to monitor the markets
and forward contracts and do a
little hedging."
With consolidated properties,
Fletcher says they are able to utilize the
advance technology of global position
satellites, maximizing yields and
monitoring moisture levels.
"Precision farming capabilities with data
on field performances allow adjustments to
be made. Smaller operations cannot afford
the technology."
Hecht also says 'sidewalk farmers' do not
live on the land they farm. Large cropping
acreages are purchased for consolidation
and efficiency, but the structures on the
property may be left to deteriorate.
Fletcher, too, concedes that there are
some disadvantages to running several
thousand acres.
The most difficult aspect is management
co-ordination, he says. "We need real go-
getters. Fortunately we have some geniuses
who have come up through
the corporation."
However, Jody Durand of
Zurich, secretary for the
Huron County Pork
Producers, says being bigger
is not always better.
"Sometimes building too
big can create a monster. A
small operation can be
controlled and overseen by one person, one who
has responsibility for the entire business. A hired
manager does not have the same vested interest
of the owner," says Durand.
Ontario does not have huge pork operations
which would constituent an environmental
concern though as the number of animal units
per acre increases, the more difficult to dispose
of the waste and the higher the risk of a spoil, he
says.
When North Carolina invited huge pork
operations to the state for political reasons, a tax
base and job creation, the possibility of an
environmental risk was not considered, says
Durand
Today, he says, the state is having to battle
single-site facilities with in excess of 10,000
animal units, in some cases, a massive spill of
manure into the Mississippi and odours
unbearable to neigbours.
The Huron County Pork Producers passed a
resolution recently in reference to large operation
pork producers, setting guidelines for animal
units per acre and minimum separation distances.
"If we don't do something, the government could bring in
rules which are unworkable," says Durand. "If we are
proactive and work together, we can set rules and guidelines"
which work for pork producers.
"It is not necessary to be big. A 100 farrow to finish
operation provides a good family income and there is little
threat of an environmental concern or odour."
"Smaller producers must do a really good job because they
are against the debt wall. In productivity results, the top two or
three herds in Ontario, were less than 100 animal units," says
Durand. "It is not that the larger operations don't do a good
job, but the small producers eat, sleep, breathe and live their
business."
Another disadvantage of large operations is that supplies
are often obtained from wholesalers due to the huge volumes,
says Hecht.
Local merchants often do not benefit from the business.
Continued on A-27