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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1987-04-15, Page 23K -W CARNIVAL BANQUET Ian McGibbon of Dale Carnegie Institute was the guest speaker at Tues- day's awards banquet of the Kirkion-Woodham Winter Carnival. He is shown at the left with vice-president Jack Rundle, president Murray Insley and past president Dave Williams. T -A photo Amazing, isn't it, how Ontario_ chicken producers got more national quota when they agreed to stop tak- ing kickbacks? - Whoops! That's a bad word. The chicken producers were not getting kickbacks. They were being paid premiums by the processing companies. It all began a couple of years ago when chicken wings and chicken fingers -and -chicken- nougats hit -thy market. Chicken producers could not supply the demand. Under the na- tional marketing scheme, Ontario had a certain percent of the national pie — - eV tactors a,. appquatod and, no matter .how Ontario pro- ducers screamed, the rest of the pro- vinces tn-twnation-- ide-agreement - would not give the Ontario farmers more quota. In other words, the de- mand in Ontario far exceeded the supply. It has been happening for thousands of years. When the demand exceeds the supply, somebody devises a .method of solving the problem. In spite of the fact that import permits. which allowed chicken to be imported from the United States, were issued almost without question, processors still wanted more chicken to fill the Introductory Prices on Farm King - Allied Grain Augers 2 YEAR PARTS GUARANTEE Examples of Savings Transport Augers Regular Special 7-x41' PTO drive '2122 `1860 8"x51' PTO drive '2632 '2370 Utility Augers O 4"x 1 1 auger '134 4"x16' auger '169 6"x11' auger '191 6"x16' auger '232 CaII Now: Scile ends April (ALmAR) '120 '152 '171 '208 30/87 GRAM SYSTEMS LTD. call Brad Marsden Days 235.1919 Evenings 235.2018 263 MAIN STREET N PO BOX SSO. EXETER, ONTARIO NOM 180 We're Fully Equipped for any Job Drogline • Farm ponds • Gravel Bailing • Trucking • Gravel, Sand &Stone • Bulldozing • Excavating • Top Soil • Septic Systems "No' job is too big or too small" Res. 482-9212 CONTRACTING LTD. Trucking - Excavating Clinton Shop 482.9926 • by sob Trotter Eld44, Rd fttnna Ont N38 2C 7 J demand. Farmers who produced the chickens became selective. They got a little coy. Or some of them surely did because the processors paid an extra premium to get chickens. • And, under the national and provin- cial agreements, that's a no -no. You cannot sell your products -- or you are not supposed to sell your pro- ducts -- for more than a cost -of - production formula figured out with painstaking accuracy by the provin- cial chicken marketing boards and the Canadian Chicken Marketing Agency. The formula is designed to give pro- ducers a reasonable return on their investment and also designed so that processors and consumers have a steady supply of home-grown chicken. But the old law of supply and de- mand got out of whack. Processors had orders from retailers all over Ontario for more chicken. They couldn't get more chicken. So they offered extra premiums to the chicken producers. Premiums soared to as much as 10 percent higher than official marketing board prices. And that ain't all, my friends, Some of those greedy chicken producers were rumored to be getting extra favors from processors who wanted more chicken. Of course, I do not believe that farmers in Ontario or any other part of Canada would stoop so low as to accept bribes or kickbacks or a Florida vacation from pro- cessors. I cannot figure out how those nasty rumors got started, can you? I mean, farmers are having a tough enough time defending their marketing boards from attacks by consumers and politicians without giving those attackers such meaty issues as bribes and kickbacks to throw at them. The same day that the Ontario Chicken Producers Marketing Board banned premiums or "other con- siderations between a buyer and a producer", the Canadian Chicken Marketing Agency granted Ontario producers an increase of two million kilograms, a 19 -percent increase from the same period last year. Do you smell something besides manure here? Did the rest of the farmers in this great nation get a little jealous of On- tario farmers because they were receiving more for their chickens than the cost -of -production formula allowed? Were Ontario chicken farmers blackmailing the rest of the country into giving them more quota, an increase they had been screaming about for five years? Or was it a move by all of them to prevent the Excited States form im- porting too much chicken into Ontario? What a great little drama has been played behind the scenes by these wonderful people running marketing boards and agencies in staid old Canada. I have been a staunch supporter of marketing boards for farmers for 20 years but I am scratching my head today. BRANDY POINT FARMS • Our breeding stock pro- vides our buyers with proven genetics from the top 3°u animals tested across Canada • Our program enables us to offer quality and health at a price that is hard to bebt • We have an ongoing supply of A.1. sired. Hamp/Duroc, York and Lan- drace boars' and F1 York/londrace gilts. All Boors are priced from $275-$375 F1 York Landrace gilts are priced $55 above market hog value. • Our closed herd is ranked "Good" by the OMAF BRED GILTS ALSO AVAILABLE Delivery available KURT KELLER R.R. 1 Mitchell, Ontario 519-348-B043 Volume up, but price down April 15, 198? Page 7A Mixed sale for whealrower g s than 2.4 billion bushels far outweighs Canada's volume of only 891 million bushels produced annually, free trade for wheat will spell total disaster for Ontario producers. Ontario wheat producers have sold the largest volume of wheat ever pro- duced in the province. During the cur- rent crop year, July 1, 1986 through June 30, 1987, the Ontario Wheat Board has already purchased 871,902 tonne, or 32.036,905 bushels of soft white winter wheat from producers. In addition-, the board has purchas- ed over 46,247 tonne, or 1,09,285 bushels of red winter and red spring wheat for a record total of 918,149, tonne, or 33,736,190 bushels delivered to the board. In releasing the latest purchase and sales figures, board chairman Edgar Walcarius, RR 6; Aylmer, said the board has sold 91 percent of the soft white winter wheat deliveries with 214,706 tonne going to domestic millers; 523,416 tonne sold for export; 13,140 tonne for domestic seed and 48,732 tonne for domestic feed. Walcarius said red wheat sales to date total 41,135 tonne to domestic millers and 1,912 tonne for seed. An additional 4,251 tonne of red utility milling wheat has been purchased and sold to domestic millers. Total unsold stocks owned by the --board at -the present-time-which-are-- --expected-to-be sold by crop year end,; include 71,906 tonne of soft white winter wheat and 3;200 tonne of red wheat. Ilowever, the export price of.wheat. --ser-ions price war detween the E.E.C. and the U.S., has hit Ontario wheat producers extremely hard. The Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board says its export sales of 1986 crop soft white winter wheat have averaged only $103.77 gross compared to $152.00 per tonne for the - 1985 crop. - Walcarius said following the board's inaugural meeting that as a result of the depressed export price. the board has applied for a stabiliza- tion payment on the crop, and Many great ideas have been lost because the people who had them couldn't stand being laughed at. - A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and- the value of nothing. CHAPARAL FENCING R.R. 1, Lucan Ontario NOM 2J0 ALL TYPES FREE ESTIMATES Industrial Fences Chain Link & Patio Farm Fences epAtfrie Bob Hardy 227-4160 although an amount is not known at present, it is expected an announce- ment can be made soon. 'He also added that it is very for- tunate that Canada's Two -Price Wheat Act is in place. which provides for a domestic price for wheat used for -human consumption at a gross level to processors of $257.00 per tonne, or $7.00 per bushel. About 20 percent to 25 percent of Ontario's pro- duction is consumed domestically.. Walcarius said the board is very concerned that the Two -Price Wheat Act may be in jeopardy as a result of trade talks between Canada and the U.S., and the board wants the Two • - Price Wheat Act protected against. any threat because it is absolutely essential to the producers' returns for wheat: . He also pointed out the board is con- vinced that, since Ontario is a net ex- porter of wheat. and since the United States' production of wheat at more CANADA•ONTARIO Crop Insurance 1 Agent Donald H. Weigand RR 1 Dashwood Ont. NOM 1NO I A. Agncutture On*arto M,nestry d Canada O Agnaiture and Food Let Cook's direct you to the best seed varieties Whether it's edible beans, corn, cereal grains. forages—your seed decisions are based on perform- ance. Your choice of seed suppliershouldbe too. Cook's quality seed varieties, informed advice and local market knowledge can put you on the road to making more profitable cropping decisions. When you're selecting seed, Cook's can steer you in the right direction. "Where you can trade with confidence" Division of Gerbro Inc. Hensoll 262-2410 Centralia 228-6661 Kirkton 229-8986 Walton 527-1540 887-9261 NILL CO.OP Attention Farmers! NEED COMPETITIVE FIXED RATE FINANCING FOR YOUR '87 CROP? AGRI FINANCE Agri -Financing has it and it's available at your Exeter District Co-op and Ailsa Craig Branch. Check and compare these features: (Ili No payments 'til your crop is harvested or Nov. 30. '87. Your crop is the only security required. [ill Easy administration, no application fee. • Available to qualified purchasers • O..C.A.F.S. is the licensed user of the Agri -finance trademark For complete details, contact the Exeter District Co-op and Ailsa Craig Branch Applications must be in place by April 30 Exeter Manager Murray Insley Ailsa Craig Manager Bill Windsor (EETER DISTRICT CO -33-208 7