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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1991-09-11, Page 10Page 10 Tines -Advocate, September 11, 1991 FAR 1 Y1 LIPI)ATF It all depends on how you look at it, said the little boy as he looked between his legs. It all depends ... Is the govern- ment of Canada trying to put small egg producers out of business or are the bureaucrats really trying to make sure all eggs sold in this country are really Grade A? If you are a small farmer and your wife or your husband -- or even the older kids -- make a few bucks a week peddling eggs in the nearest town or city, you will be swearing at the government. If you are a big-time egg produc- er, the new regulations don't mean a thing because you have already implemented them. You see, as of January 1, produc- ers of eggs with fewer than 500 hens will no longer be able to sell ungraded eggs beyond the farm gate. You will still be able to buy eggs at the farm, if you want them, e foot in N3B/C7 OW' br lffla pgnv•.VD•.c.HW o, gob 7,014e, tWs1. = E1."..• Om but no more door-to-door selling and no more selling of ungraded eggs to customers in town. When I was a kid, my mother dealt with a farmer who came with horse -and -buggy every week with two dozen eggs. Of course, we also had a milkman who came every day and a breadman, too, but those days are gone forever. Or are they? I read a story not long ago about the "new" grocery stores of the fu- ture. Each customer will have an electronic system at home where- by a computer will send messages to the store. the store will then de- liver the goods and customers will no longer have to make trips to the stores and play chicken with shop- ping carts in too -narrow aisles. I digress. I said small producers will no longer be able to deliver and sell eggs off the farm. Not so. I lied. They will no longer be able to deliver ungraded eggs. The Egg prices change in eight provinces OTTAWA - A combination of factors has led to a change in the price paid to producers in eight provinces for each dozen of Grade A Large eggs, the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency (CSMA) has an- nounced. The producer price is based on a Cost of Production Formula which is updated every three years, and includes feed, pullet, labour, over- head and capital costs. Prices are adjusted to recognize actual pro- duction and transportation cost dif- ferences in individual provinces, as well as to reflect seasonal varia- tions in demand. This price change reflects a de- crease of one cent in the cost of production, primarily due to lower feed costs, coupled with a two -cent increase in the seasonal adjustment. This balances out to a one -cent in- crease for Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Sas- katchewan and Alberta. These same factors, coupled with adjustments for transporta- tion differences, mean a two -cent • increase for producers in Ontario and Quebec while producers in British Colombia will receive a three cent increase. Prices in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia remain unchanged since producers in those provinces are receiving their costs of produc- tion. Established in 1972, CSMA is a national, non-profit organization representing egg producers across the country. Besides setting the farmgate price, the Agency man- ages national egg production and marketing, and ensures that Cana- dians receive a steady supply of high quality eggs. All price chang- es are approved by the National Farm Products Marketing Council, a federal body that overseas sup- ply management agencies. Bury A Little Residue rot New model 445 Conservation Chisel Plow leaves as little or as much residue as you want based on your residue plans. ■ Rippled coulters and chisel points at 15" spacing leave more residue. • Disc coulters and twisted shovels at 12" spacing leave Tess residue. • Optional deep -till shanks till an extra 4-6" deeper than chisel shanks to reduce com- paction problems and rip hardpan. ■ Optional soil leveling bar provides a smoother secondary tillage pass. • Choose one of nine models frpm 7' to 23' working width. (19', 21' and 23' models fold flat). ■ Ask your dealer about special low -rate financing. Walt your White dealer or call 8oa767-3221 for a free color brochure. MEA gummint says the producers will have to build a grading station with a refrigeration room and a separate grading room with hot and cold running water. Then, the eggs will, indeed, be Grade A. Some producers, appar- ently, have been using the Grade A symbol without complying with any sanitation standards. In fact, some eggs have been arriving on doorsteps or in farmers' markets with chicken manure still clinging to the shells. It won't happen any more after January 1, says the gummint. I talked to a Mennonite farmer in our area the other day who said it would cost $25,000 or $30,000 to comply with the regulations. It will, he said, put him out of busi- ness, and he said he had been de- livering eggs to customers in the city for more than 30 years, "and my father for 40 years before that," he said, shaking his head. Grading stations for big produc- ers weigh, size, wash and inspect eggs -- "candle" them as we used to call it, so called because a lighted candle was used to eliminate eggs with cracked shells or blood spots. I can readily understand why government officials are, ahem, cracking down on small egg pro- ducers. I have seen some of those products and those farmers should have been ashamed to sell them. Consumers today are becoming more and more concerned about food safety and sanitation than ever before. The government maintains if it had not stepped in to tighten the regulations now, consumer outcry would have forced them to do it in the near future. They are, then, init- itating change rather than putting out the fire after it gets well started. They are acting instead of reacting. I am inclined to agree with the new regulations but I also shed a tear for another rural tradition that is soon to disappear. A helluva lot of farm kids got goodies and delights from mom's egg money through the years. Some even went through university with mom's egg money. I guess it is the price we must pay for so-called progress. 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