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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-07-08, Page 24PAGE 8A —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8. 1981 _t • furrow' Lette,s al,P,ec•atecll tp. Bob 1.011eg icsigoe Ra h1382(�nt Ten years ago, the consumers associations and the farm marketing boards werebickering like children in an ice cream jug. 'Consumers were aceusingfrinners of all kinds of skulldug- gery, especially in the areas where marketing boards had,the power to set and allocate quotas. Farmers were telling con- sumers . to get out of the back forty and mind their own business. Then, with some hesitation and trepidation* the two faitionSgot together. It didn't happen overnitht and suspicions were confirmed in some reipects. Eventually, though, Oahe Canadian track:- tion, the two factions got to know each Other and reached an unde.rstanding. As soon as consumers found fanners were not out to rip off the public, they began to listen and understand. When farmers found that consumers were only trying to learn more about the intricacies of the food chain as well as trying to understand fanners' problems, they became less defensive and more articulate. The mutual respect that was engendered was good for all concerned. Consumers understood fanners and farmers imderstood consumers. • Consumers suggested they should participate in some of the decisions made by farmers. Reluctantly, fanners agreed and consumer advocates became members of the National Farm Products Marketing Council as well as some of the pro- vindal boards. Although consumers associations did not quit keeping a critical eye on marketing boards, the atmosphere between the two former adversaries became one Of mutual respect. Even last month when the report from a committee of the Economic Council of Canada said marketing boards— supply management Marketing boards — were gouging the public, an active member of the consumers association defended the boards • . June Menzies, now chairinan of the National Farm Pro- ducts Mar'ketiniCouncil, was emphatic in her understanding of agriculture. . The prices of farm produCts controlled by quotas and marketing boards have not increased as much as the prices 'of beef and pork, two uncontrolled sectors of agriculture. "When you take it over a, 10 -year period, the prices in the supply -controlled commodities have not run out of control," she said in a television interview over cry. Only milk, eggs, chicken, turkey and tobacco are supply - controlled. Mrs. Menzies said that in 1980, chicken prices increased by 7.6 per cent compared to 8.6 for beef. In the same year, turkey prices actually dropped by 31/2 per cent while pork went down by less than one per cent. I could, of course, get into the fact that, retail prices in- creased dramatically for all farm product i last year yet the return to the farmer actually dropped in many commodities but there isn't room this week. While the price of beef, especially, was soaring in the supermarkets, farmers were getting less. If there is a ripoff in the food chain, it certainly is not farmers who are doing the ripping. The potential for ripping off the consuiner is not in the hands of fanners. hi Canada, not more than- half a dozen companies control more than 60 per cent of the food chain. They control it from the time it leaves the farm gate until it reaches you. They control the truckers, the packers, the packagers, the wholesalers and the retailers. They control flour mills, grain elevators, shipp- ing lines, perhaps even the banka. Farmers had to get deeply 'involved in marketing just to survive. Even then, the horror stories in agricultural circles are evident in the bankruptcies proliferating across the coun- try. If anything is done now to dismantle marketing boards, which farmers have fought so. hard and long to establish, there will be a serious revolt right acrossCanada that will Make Louis Riel look like a piker. The Huron County Junior Farmers recently presented a cheque for 033.20 to Huron County's Fatally and o1 1 Services (FACS)., The money, which was raised at the .hudor Farmers' provincial whiter games in Exeter in February, will be used to buy skates and skating lessons for a ghrl and a bicycle for a boy, both in the care of FACS. Left Cattlemen meet Meat cutters at the Annual Barbecue at Brussels July lith will be wearing new caps and aprons. The new apparel will display the Association's name and the phrase "Encourage your friends to eat more beef." - Promotional T-shirts are being purchased for resale. The Huron Cattlemen's Association approved the co- sponsorship of a Beef Twilight Meeting September 14th at the Hensall Livestock Sales Ltd. The evening pro- gram will be on manage- ment, diseases and financing and is sponsored by the Saleyard, Shur -Gain and the Cattlemen's Association. The Huron Cattlemen's Association agreed to assist the Agricultural Power Line Working Committee with its activities in the area. A motion by Grant Webster and seconded by Jim Love that the Huron Cat- tlemen's Association Send a letter to the Ontario Cat- tlemen's Association Presi- dent Gus Lask and request that quotas be put in place to the effect that. imports from the U.S.A. be restricted to a certain percentage of the On- tario weekly kill was defeated after lengthy discussion. Jack Tebbutt moved that the Small Business Develop- ment Bond be made available to the individual farmer as well as to the in- corporated farm and that the Small Business Develop- ment Bond be also made available for operating capital as well as for the pur- chase of land, buildings and equipment. The motion was seconded by Art Bolton and carried. News received just prior to the meeting dealt with the announcement of Lorne Henderson, Minister of Agriculture and Food for On- tario, of an Emergency Pay- ment to beef producers $40.00 per head of finished cattle marketed in 1980. WATER WELL DRILLING NYVAPI EXPERIENCE" • FARM' SUBURBAN • INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • e FREE ESTIMATES • GUARANTEED WELLS • FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT • 4 ROTARY 4, PERCUSSION DRILLS "OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES LOWER COST WATER WELLS" DAVIDSON WELL DRILLING LIMITED 4 Rotary • and Percussion Drills PHONE 3,/-1960 togopidgiAM Celiac, Calls Accepted "ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELl4 SINCE 1400" to right are .,.,•14. Rivers, co-ordinator of volunteer ser- vices at FA o..- . John Penn, local FACS director who ac- cepted the cheque and Sharon Colclough, Junior Farmer, preddent and Bob Wilson, Junior Farmer community bet- terment project committee member who presented the che- que. (Photo by Joanne Buchanau ) ., ' b More farmers in crop insurance pro It appears that snore and mone fairtmen are potaetJag themselves from the MO associated with the gmwing of crops, by enrolling in the goverruneut sponsored Crop Insurance Pogram. Crop ba surance is aidd to fanners at a sabstaatially reduced price. The Federal Govern- ment made this possible by paying one-half of the premium while the Provin- cial Government covers the administration cost, thereby 'enabling the farmer to pur- chase Crop Insurance at p proimatelrone-third of its total cost; Crop insurance officials are pleased to announce a record increase in Crop In- surance Policies in Western Ontario. Figures released by the Crop Insurance Commis- sion indicate a 20 per cent in- crease in crop endorsements for the counties of Hump, Bruce, Perth, Oxford and Mdddlesex with the biggest increases for 1981 appearing in the areas of corn, white beans and colored beans. Crop Insurance agents believe that the increase in new business can be at- tributed to a number of fac- tors. High interest rates which coupled with spirall- ing production costs, promp- SUTLER- Ring Drive Silo Unlooders Mg Jim Silo Unioeders` Valuate Melt Feeders Convey -n -Feed Cottle Feeders Single chaos Conveyors D arn Cleaners Oswalt EnsliMbows FARMATIC- S lender Hammer Mills Slender Roller Mills S lender Mills for Ground HI -Moisture awn Augers Leg Elevators ACORN - Cable Sam Cleaners Hydraulic Manure Pumps INESTUL-ROSCO Grain Sin. . 1.350 to 230.000 bu. '- B ulb Feed Tanks ACME - Fan -Jet Ventilation Systems ventuatio• . • CoWplete Hog Confine- *nt Systems SLURRY -SLINGER Liquid Manure SPrioders CLAY - Parts and Service fort Clay Equipment - ABM -FLUSH Liquid Manure Pumps, Aerators, Separators WE HANDLE EVERYTHING -ALMOST LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS, RR 1, Kincardine, Ont. 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Other factors offecOng the increase in enrollments tor MI are the changes the Ciarimissiion has made in its COM and Soybean Coverage which offered higher re- SeediaggeVeragfia attola new Unweded Acreage *neat widen appealed to western °surto tanners more than the- Preplant Coverage previously offered by the CADIA*40A. 0;040 Crop lasurance • ____offers plans on 40 different crops which alt are multi -peril plans cover- ing the farmer from adverse weather condititiak disease andinsects • INTEREST RATE ON ALL NEW AND USED TRACTORS AT H. LOBB & SONS Pit 4 YEAR PAYMENT PLAN 10% for the first 11 months 15% for the remaining tem (Contract Maximum 411 madlis) Right Now is your, best time to trade up! Call us for complete details on this limited time offer! CERTIFIED SERVICE Tell children to play safely...away. from hydro wires Touching or coming close to hydro wires can be fatal. If kites or model airplanes contact over- head lines, even touching \\\ the string or control wire can cause serious injury. If a pet runs up a hydro \\ \\, W pole, never climb after it.ait for the animal to come ! - down by itself. Climbing hydro poles, fences around electrical, equipment, or trees near power lines can be fatal. And remind children not to go near areas marked "Danger" or "Keep Out Or, the fun c6uld be over. • ontario hydro Safety around electricity is no shock to you.