The Citizen, 1996-03-20, Page 48MP's Agricultural Report
By Paul Steckle
MP Huron-Bruce
Huron-Bruce is a
prominent and diverse
agricultural region.
Our local economy
and rural lifestyles are
almost entirely
dependent on the
agriculture and agri-
food industry. Our
farming community
has, in the past, been
an essential and hard
working contributor to the
industry's many advances. This
past year our farmers' hard work
and perseverance paid dividends
in higher yields and commodity
prices.
With that in mind, the most
important task for our government
is to assist in creating an
environment which enables
farmers to continue to make sound
decisions based on stable
economic factors. Confidence in a
practical overall strategy will
allow Canadian agriculture and
agri-food to remain viable and
flexible in the future.
The world's population is
expected to exceed 7 billion by the
turn of the century. As a result, the
expected global demand for
comestibles has never been higher.
With expanded trading blocks and
closer economic unions between
the world's nations, it has never
been more important for Canadian
industry, including agriculture, to
grow and foster innovative and
aggressive ideas. Continued
consultation, co-operation and
communication between industry
stakeholders, is essential in
developing a practical and
beneficial system of production,
distribution and marketing.
Government must be responsive
to market and competitiveness
issues. We must continue to
promote partnerships and co-
operation between all parties,
focusing on value-added
processing. We must understand
that our policies affect market
sensitivity. By constructively
working together, arriving at
reasoned conclusions and
workable solutions, the resulting
stability will benefit all concerned.
Beef industry stakeholders must
be acknowledged and congratu-
lated for their recent achievements
in developing a common
understand-ing on the needs of the
manu-facturing beef
market in North
America.
Defending against
American self-interest
in trade disputes and
ensuring that
Canadian agricultural
interests are preserved
and enforced, as
originally agreed
upon, is fundamental.
We must not allow the
terms of any trade
agreement, negotiated in good
faith, to be rewritten.
The United States was aware
and did not object to converting
import quotas to tariffs during the
seven years of negotiations in the
Uruguay Round of GATT. Our
tariff structure is consistent with
World Trade Organization and
NAFTA rules. We cannot allow
CAnada to become a dumping
ground for American surplus.
The goal is to allow Canada to
focus on its agricultural strengths
and develop the world's most
efficient agri-food production,
marketing and transportation
handling strategy, thus enabling us
to capture a larger share of
domestic and international
markets for raw and value-added
products.
Our aim is to assist in increasing
Canada's global market share to its
traditional level of 3.5 per cent by
the year 2,000. This would require
an increase in agricultural exports
from $16.5 billion last year to $23
billion in 2,000. Minister Ralph
Goodale has estimated that every
$1 billion increase in exports
creates 10,000 - 12,000 jobs in
Canada.
It is each individual farmer
across Canada which contributes
to our proud Canadian agricultural
personality. We are distinct in our
traditions and values, causing
Canadian agriculture to be
respected world wide for its
commitment to quality.
With this in mind, I will
continue to voice the concerns of
the farmers of Huron-Bruce as I
assume my role in the new session
of Parliament with associate
member status on the Standing
Committee on Agriculture and
Agri-Food.
Editor's Note: Huron MPP was
also asked to submit a column,
however there was no response as
of press time.
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PAGE A-24. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1996.
Agriculture 1996
Foodbank milk donation prog. growing
Milky way
The Dairy Farmers of Ontario have succeeded with an
innovative program to provide milk to Ontario food banks
and people in need.
A growing success continues
after the first six months of an
innovative program designed to
provide fresh milk to Ontario food
banks.
Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO),
the Ontario Dairy Council, the
Ontario Milk Transportation
Association and the Ontario
Association of Food Banks
(OAFB) have a program in place
for fresh milk to move each month
by refrigerated transportation to
By Rob Gamble
Business Management Advisor
Waterloo-Wellington
Dr. Ron Hanson, a well known
speaker on the subject of farm
family relationships, recently spoke
to a group of farm families about
building better working relation-
ships between family members. He
identified the top seven areas of
disagreement in a family farm
business. They are:
1. Decision making and control of
the farm business. Who has the
final say in farm business
decisions?
2. New ideas for change in the
farming business operation.
3. Money spending policies.
4. Time off policies and vacations
for family members.
5. Family and farm business goals.
6. Farm business employees.
7. Actual role of the wife or wives
in the farm business operation.
OAFB member food banks. This
co-operative initiative represents a
significant commitment on the part
of the dairy industry to assist food
banks and people in need.
The Food Bank Donation
program has more than doubled in
size since its launch last August
and donations for February to
August 1996 have risen to more
than 25,000 litres per month. This
will allow the program to provide
milk to food banks across the
Do any of these strike a chord
with you? That doesn't surprise
me. If you are running a family
business, chances are you have
encountered some of these
problems. The key to getting
through them is good
communications skills. The
following list highlights some
listening skills that you can use
when navigating your way through
these delicate topics.
1. Do not pass judgement until you
have understood what the other
person is saying.
2. Do not add viewpoints or change
what the other person has said.
3. Do not permit your attention to
drift away while the other person is
still talking.
4. Do not interrupt or change the
subject.
5. Do not close your mind.
6. Do not finish for the other
person.
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province.
The program generates goodwill,
Gerard Kennedy, from the Toronto,
Daily Bread Food Bank, told
delegates at the 1996 annual
meeting of Dairy Farmers of
Ontario. Referring to milk as an
essential product, Kennedy said
milk donations help add nutritional
balance to the packages food banks
provide.
"This milk donation program was
driven from the grassroots by dairy
farmers who wanted to fill an
important need," said John Core,
Chair of Dairy Farmers of Ontario.
"We are especially proud that milk
transporters and processors are our
partners in making this program
work."
"Organic" milk in stores meets
all Ontario standards
Organic milk is on Ontario health
food store shelves.
What does organic mean?
Essentially, the crops used to feed
the cows on the nine farms are
raised to organic standards which
means no chemical fertilizers,
insect or weed controls.
Organic Meadow milk is being
marketed through an agreement
between Dairy Farmers of Ontario
and Ontar-Bio Organic Farmers'
Co-operative.
DFO is pleased to help provide
an opportunity to serve this niche
market, says DFO chair John Core.
However, DFO is striving to
correct the mistaken impression left
by some incorrect media reports.
that the regular milk supply comes
from cows treated with hormones
or antibiotics. All milk marketed in
Ontario meets the same high
quality standards.
Hormones to enhance milk
production are not approved for use
in Canada. As well, stringent
programs are in place to ensure
milk from cows that have been
recently treated with antibiotics
does not enter the marketing chain,
adds Core.
7. Do not permit wishful listening
on your part. (hearing what you
want to hear)
8. Do not rehearse your response
while listening to the other person.
9. Do not put the other person off
by saying "We'll talk about it later".
10. Do not rush the other person by
saying "This better be quick, I'm in
a hurry''.
One of the most useful tips I
have found for communication is
the 90/10/5 rule. What this rule
says is that when you encounter
communication problems or
conflict you should spend 90 per
cent of your time listening and 10
per cent of your time asking open
ended questions that help the other
person to disclose their feelings and
point of view. The five stands for
the practice of pausing for five
seconds after the person has
finished speaking before giving a
Continued on A-25
s IL
Managing conflict on family farm