Times Advocate, 1989-08-02, Page 14Page 1'f
'1111 •`i 114v^^^.0, 1.ugut.1 2, 1989
Speaker's Reward - Larry Plaetzer presented guest Murray Cardiff
with a gift at the July meeting of the Huron Federation of Agricul-
ture.
Want more flexibility
in crop insurance
GEORGETOWN - The Federal
Crop Insurance Act should be made
more flexible so that Ontario can
get on with improving its crop in-
surance programs, according to the
Christian Farmers Federation of
Ontario.
The CFFO Provincial Board has
endorsed, with one exception, the
proposals for program changes that
the Ontario Crop Insurance Com-
mission has drafted.
They endorsed anew cost sharing
arrangement: the federal govern-
ment pays 5 percent, farmers pay
35 percent and the provincial gov-
ernment pays 15 percent of premi-
ums. The province would also pay
for administration of the present ar-
rangement. At present, the premi-
ums are shared 50-50 between the
federal government and user while
the province pays for administra-
tion.
The CFFO Board supported the
development of options that allow
coverage above 80 percent of aver-
age yield. However, it does not
want;cost sharing arrangements ex-
tendedto them. Users should pay
for the full costs of such options,
according to the F t • :e 1.
The Federation su , . arts flexibili-
ty in the federal act • allow for
coverage adjustments when farm
entrepreneurs adopt new farm prac-
tices.
The proposed changes do not in-
clude spot loss coverage or separate
farm coverage.
"These changes to the federal act
will allow Ontario to get on with
tailoring crop insurance to the
needs of the 1990's," said Jack Va-
derkooy, CFFO President. "They
go a long way to meeting the con-
cerns that we have about the pro-
gram."
Are property taxes
rebate subsidies?
GEORGETOWN - This spring's
budget cutbacks to the Ontario
Farm Tax Rebate Program has
caused a debate within the Chris-
tian Farmers Federation of Ontario:
Are property tax rebates farm subsi-
dies?
Two different perspectives re-
ceived a vigorous debate at the July
meeting of the CFFO Provincial
Board. Some members argued that
the Federation should support it as
a farm program and target it to le-
gitimate family enterprises. Others
noted that it is unfair to burden
property with people services such
as education and that all those so
burdened should be eligible for re-
bates.
Provincial Treasurer Nixon an-
nounced cutbacks to the Ontario
farm Tax Rebate Program this
spring in the hopes of reducing the
cost from $167 to $140 million.
Full rebates will be paid only for
properties that arc farmed by the
owners and to owners with Tess.
than $40,000 in off -far income. At
the same time, Agminister Riddell
announced a major review of the
whole program.
The meeting was almost equally
divided on which view to take. The
delegates decided not to react direct-
ly to the interim changes and in-
stead to focus the Federation's ef-
forts on the major review.
It is now expected that one of the
Federation's standing committees
will draft a position paper.
In other business, the Federation
will vigorously renew its request
for an interest rate reduction pro-
gram to replace the expiring OF-
FIRR program.
The Federation notes in a letter to
Agminister Riddell that interest
rates on loans that need to be re-
newed now are just as high as they
were when OFFIRR started. The
Federations also wants a program
that is better targeted to those who
need it.
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Cardiff fields questions from F of A members
CLINTON - MP Murray Cardiff
was the target of a barrage of ques-
tions at the Huron County Federa-
tion of Agriculture. The guest
speaker fielded queries on a number
of issues of concern to the more
than 30 people who had come to
the Clinton and District High
School to hear what their MP had
to say.
Many were unhappy with the
hold-up in compensation for last
year's drought. Cardiff said the ad
hoc program had been "terrible to
administer", 'and that what was
needed in future was a program al-
ready in place that would
"automatically trigger" in similar
situations.
Cardiff said agreement had been
reached with all provinces but On-
tario, and was meeting this week
with commodity groups before
making an announcement. He
would not say what was holding up
the negotiations with Ontario un-
til they were completed.
Patel Klopp got to his feet to say
farmers deserve a decent break, and
he was ashamed of what both feder- .
al and provincial ministries did af-
ter last year's drought. He was pre-
pared to give the MP the benefit of
the doubt until the promised an-
nouncement.
In response to other queries, Car-
diff said "in any emergency prepar-
edness program, we'd have to be
certain a number of local dollars
were spend before the federal gov-
ernment kicks in". Provinces, pro-
ducers and commodity groups are
being asked for input before a basic
national plan is developed. He
said he would like to see a safety
net program combining stabiliza-
tion and crop insurance that gives
producers their choice "at which -
level to participate".
Noting "frantic desire" by Ottawa
to cut participation by 50 percent,
Gordon Hill wanted to know why
Ontario should join a plan "just to
reduce Ottawa's share". Cardiff
said producers have not asked for
less cost, but for a better program.
Another questioner wanted to
know "why I should take money
out of this pocket and put it into
another", adding that Ontario teach-
ers were smart to refuse to make a
larger contribution to their pension
fund.
When Cardiff said any protection
plan has to be actuarily sound,
Klopp responded with the wish all
government programs were.
Cardiff said 7,000 drought relief
cheques had already been sent out,
and 2,00C more were ready, but had
been delayed a week in Ontario be-
cause "we have to compete for the
cheque -writing machine".
Cardiff said the federal govern-
ment is meeting this week in
Prince Albert with the 10 provin-
cial ministers 'of agriculture. He
hoped a solid policy statement
would result.
The farmers were also unhappy
with what has been happening with
the Farm Credit Corporation.
They feel less and less money is
available. One gave figures'show-
ing that $750 million was lent in
1983. That has decreased to $102
million last year.
Cardiff pointed out some of the
current difficulties. Farm Credit
holds 1,500 properties in Ontario.
That number was 34 in 1983. On-
tario is the only province without a
provincial lending mechanism. He
said it's difficult to make headway
in dealing with a situation dating
back to 1981-83.
When queried, about the present
interest rate, Cardiff expressed the
hope that "we will see the day fann-
ers can afford to pay 12. percent.
Wq must work together, and bring
common sense to world markets, or
it won't happen". He agreed FCC
should be more responsive, and new
ways must be found. He said that
if farmers were guaranteed mortgage
insurance, more would be willing
to leave funds in farms.
He also agreed the three-month
penalty for paying off mortgages is
unfair.
Klopp was again on his feet to
say if banks got into trouble, they
were bailed out overnight, and in
his opinion the banks "got farm
credit into trouble" in the first
place. -
Another area touched on was dai-
rymen's concerns about GATT and
milk pricing. Cardiff promised that
will be dealt with through a dairy
task force due to report in 1991.
Ed Segsworth, an executive mem-
ber of OFA from Halton County,
broached the subject of property
tax, "which has gone from a land-
based rebate to an income -based
program" that is opposed by most
full-time farmers. -
Segsworth said there was no dis-
cussion by the province before the
change was introduced, and he wants
Ontario to "go back to 100 percent
tax on all farm land, then sit down
and talk".
"We are now much more suscepti-
ble to countervail- by the US...We
are going from a rebate of unfairly
collected taxes to an income -based
subsidy", Segsworth concluded
In other business, Larry Plaetzer
brought members up to date on the I
efforis of the Groundhog Day Com-
mittee formed on February 2 to op-
pose turning former railway right of
ways into public hiking trails. I
Their recommendation that the adja-
cent landowner be given the priority
to determine whether the land be re-
turned to agriculture or reforested.
Abolition of the requirement that
a farmer must provide a 2,000 -foot
buffer zone from his land when
something such as a trailer park is
built next door was the base of an-
other resolution. All agreed that a
farmer should not have to give up
part of his property to a developer.
A resolution was passed stating no
rezoning of agricultural lancl should
be approved without the agreement
of all affected farmers.
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