The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-02-21, Page 26ik
.91
ain largest number in production of commodities
Oak ditorc
OOp en .ec ter to:
-the Hon. Lorne C
H''enderson, ..
Minister of Agriculture
and Food
Parliament Buildings,
Toronto, Ontario
land, livestock and
equipment, lay out
' $30,000 to $50,000 just for
--quota, the •right to
produce and sell milk
Quotas are a very
necessary. •element in
today's farm marketing
system, amd we stand_ 10..11
percent behind the.
principle: However, the
system is not serving the
purpose intended.
Marketing boards were
first established that
farmers might collec-
tively contend with a
market economy which
was able to manipulate
the individual farmer to
his detriment and of the
whole farm community.
Marketing quotas, within
supply management
programs, were con- •
ceived with the belief the
largest possible number
of farmers could share a
specific market for a
particular food product.
Regrettably, they are
now becoming an ob-
struction for: .(1) young
people wanting to enter
farming and, (2) smaller,
average sized producers
whp cannot finance the
capital outlay simply for
the right to produce.
Banks and financial
institutions,- not
marketing boards, nor
farmers nor -government
may soon 'be deciding
who will be farmers,
especially of specific
commodities.
Another factor, and one
•
-Dear I1+Tr. Henderson,
We are very concerned
•by the accelerated trend
of some' f arm 'marketing
boards to facilitate a
more 'open negotiable
and transferable policy'
for farmers buying and
selling marketing quota.
It is our fear, and many
others', the consequences
will be to seriously
restrict the number of
farmers who may par-
ticipate in the production
and marketing of several
basic food commodities,
and become a financial
obstacle for young people
wanting to become
farmers.
For example, the
current price for Group 1
milk quota has been
about $16 per pound, a
price controlled by the
Ontario Milk Marketing
Board. Now the Board
intends to embark upon a
'quota exchange'
scheme, which it has
been _predicted, may Well_
result in quota doubling
or tripling in price. A
young farmer wanting a
minimum Group 1.quota
of 800 to 1,000 pounds,
must along with a very.
heavy investment for
Marketingar s
should be involved
Dear Editor:
"Quota value is like
• cancer.'.'
Quota is issued as a
. privilege to produce a
i mo'dity-in-an' orderTy
marketing systeth, with
. the most possible number
of producers producing it.
If you put a value on
quota it is like a disease
(cancer) it will kill you.
• For the young or
beginning farmers
money must be borrowed
----from---franks- or $Sill e r
' credit people for farm,
livestock and equipment.
Now, they will in-
creasingly borrow more
first to buy -quota for
some commodities.•Soon,.
if not now, the financial
' people will control who
gets quota, and it's not
likely to be the young or
financially weak. Then
these people must go to
the cities for employment
and rural are -as have lost
a valuable resource, and
in turn- creates more
unemployment in the
. co.untry as a whole.
This in .turn kills the
way of life in the rural
.communities in that their
parents have to sell their
farms becarrsi-nf iTc-kC of
help, financial reasons.
health and old age. Who
buys their farms but a
neighbour who now
becomes bigger and a
step toward consolidation
of the farms in the
community and fewer
,and fewer producers of
each commodity, which
-may not "necessarily he'
more efficient. This in
time leads to exploitation
of the family farm. Two
examples. •;'of these
commodities are,the
dairy and.egg industies.
When the. Canadian
Dairy Commission setup
a national quota system it
gave each province a
i
CLAY -
Silo tlnioaders
'Feeders
Cleaners
Stabling
Leg Elevators
Liquid Manure
Equipment
Hog Equipment
BUTLER .-
Silo Unloaders
Feeders
Conveyors
FARMATIC
Mills
Augers, etc.
ACORN --
Cleaners
Heated Waterers
WESTEEL-ROSCO
Granaries
B d 1. - Hog Panelling
LOWRY FARM SYSTEMS
RR 1, Kincardine, Ont.
Phone 395.5286
percentage of the total
market share quota. In
, Ontario it was given' to
the •.._.. Ontario Milk
Marketing Board free of
va�lue.n Turn The OMMB
divided their percentage
of the quota . among its
producers again free of
value.
•Down through the •
years, the OMMB has
allowed a value on this .
qudta between producers.
The OMMB has put
r istriet-ion-3 i n chis$ va ue
to keep it in an orderly'
market. But the. OMMB
has put this quota back on
the open market 'to be
traded betweenits
producers without third
party involvement. This,
quota should remain the
property of the OMMB
and not the producers. It
should be distributed to'
producers as a privilege
to, produce, not a right -to.
capitalize on the quota
itself. 'If a producer no
longer wants to produce
milk, the• quota -'should go
back to the board and be
given to new and small
producers who want to
expand: By small b
producers, I mean the v
_ones --under 300;600 1b
total quota, and to an
upper limit of 700,000 lbs.
The OMMB is there for
such a purpose and of
course they should be the
third party involved in
the .- administering of.
quotas.
Another example would
Turn Ea page 1 IA •
which many farmers
express a concern, is the
windfall money a -farmer
may receive for• that
marketing quota when
retiring and how it ap-
pears to the consumer.
As gtwtabecomes mor
expensive it will al
becone more con
centrated into the -_,hand
of fewer farmers. It mus
be remembered
originally _quota .did no
costacent, it was issued.
There is an argument
pertaining to som
commodities, at least
that the cost of quota i
not .included in a cost o
production index used to
determine price paid to
producers. This may be
so for presentation
purposes, but it is
definitely a 'cost
production'.. that must be
regained from . the
commodity sales. Cer-
tainly, when. a farmer
spends thousands of
• dollarsjust to obtain the
right to market the
consumer will assume
there is areal good profit
in that line of production.
The OMMB 'quota
exchange' will provide
farmers, in the business,
to outbid each other for ma
quota. - -Egg rketing
quotas are following a
similar form with open
negotiable quotas among
farmers, with -limits on
each purchase.
The National Farmers
Union believes marketing
quotas should carry no
value; be fully ad-
ministered by the
respective marketing
board and be the property
of the board when a
farmer retires or gives up
production of that par-
ticular line.
The argument is
pr'esente'd, mainly by
ro a r,keting ._._. •--_-bo-a-r-,d.
members, that there is no
equitable way of
distributing quota, except
by way of those with the
most dollars available?.
We believe criteria and
priorities can be devised
that will be fair and
beneficial to the whole.
farming indasky First
.there must be a genuine
desire to have that
happen:
One thing is certain, as
long as quotas fall into
fewer and fewer hands,
the harder it will become
to arrest the situation.
We believe the matter
is reaching such serious
proportions that your
Ministry and government
must give it more at-
tention and intervene, if
necessary, to retain the
largest possible number
of farmers in the
production of specific
commodities, and to,,,
assure our domestic
_requirements do not
ecome 'dependent on
eryfew producers.,,, _
Failing to recognize the
danger signals that exist
today may well result in
very distressing con-
sequences for many in
the future.
Yours sincerely,
Joe Casey,
Co-ordinator
Region 3
National FarmersUnion
e
so
s
t
t
Like to win a Canadian farm vacation?
Not this kid. I'd appreciate one of those 10 -speed
e bikes or even a squall jacket more than the farm
vacation.
s I mean, who wants to go to a dairy farm and get up
every morning at six or seven in the morning, hike out
f-
-bne i
in t
furrow' °Y�.c
t
ARE YOU
LIVING WITH A
'DRINKING PROBLEM?
Al -Anon can help!
PHONE 524-6001
OR WRITE P.O. BOX 482
WATER WELL
DRILLING
'79 YEARS EXPERIENCE
to the barn through a few snowdrifts up to you -know -
where, milk 40 or 50 cows, clean up the equipment get
the production records filled out properly, clean the
barn and then get inside in time for breakfast.
After breakfast, of course, you'll have to go back out
to the barn and finish all those wonderful, aromatic
chores, get feed mixed, bedding down, hay ready.
Maybe a trip to town for parts and an hour-long wait
while the dealer tells you he will have to send to the
United States for it.
Then back to the farm -- if you can make it through
the snow -- in time for a stimulating lunch which the
lady of the house had to prepare between phone calls
from the Women's Institute who are -preparing to feed
150 at the annual breed meeting.
Then more work in the afternoon before starting the
t cores again at three or four. By this time, most city
slickers will be stumbling through the snow back to
the ranch, too tired to eat that wonderful home -cooked
Lenea a.e app,ec aged by 80b T.etle, ElOate Rd Elmira Ont N38 2C'
fortunate vacationers can enjoy the country at-
mosphere, take strolls along wooded lanes, watch
colts cavorting in the snow or take a cutter ride
through country roads.
If the vacation is taken in the warmer months,
maybe you'll even get to swim in a natural swimming
hole or horseback ride through unspoiled bush country
or simply sit on a swing under aharvest-moon where
the.birdsongs drown the traffic noise instead of vice -
versa.
Few people in the big cities of this country are
aware of what goes on at the farm level. It would be a
great idea if every full-time farmer could take half a
• dozen people from the cities to the farm for a week or
two. It would certainly open the eyes of those who
think farmers spend most of their time walking to the
mailbox where they. trip over subsidy cheques.
On the other hand, I'm convinced that most people
don't give a tinker's damn what goes on in agriculture.
They turh up their noses at anything that smacks of
farming believing that most farmers are romper room
dropouts who can't make a living doing anything else
besides slopping hogs..
It's a myth that lives in the minds -of most city -born
meal topp-ed with Intik still warm from the cows. -- and city -bred people that is difficult to erase. They
I'm getting old and cynical and I don't want to picture farmers as' ignorant hayseeds clad in bib
discourage anyone from entering the well -advertised overalls, a stringy straw hat and chomping tirelessly
contest being sponsored with farmers' . money. But on a timothy stalk.
I've spent too many hours on a farm, especially a It's not enough to tell them that many farmers today
dairyfarm a m to recommend that way of life to anyone. have college diplomas or university degrees; that
Dairy cows are not religious. They keep chomping most farmers are well -versed in genetics, soil culture
and chewing even on Sundays and they have to be and agriculture; that farmers have to be welders,.
milked whether you want to sleep or go to church. mechanics, accountants, amateur veterinarians,
They are also serenely unaware of statutory holidays carpenters, plumbers masons half-assed engineers
and l"abor-management.relarions. They just keep right and almost any other trade profession.
on producing. A. good farmer today is all of these things and more.
It would be interesting to see how many people enter He has to be a marketing manager as well. And know
that contest. I'm sure, though, that the farm vacations a'good banker. Anyway, good luck to those who enter
will not involve all the hard work that takes place on a that contest to win a Canadian farm vacation. Winners
dairy farrn. They are probably hand-picked farms -: will certainly get a new outlook on the problems of
they should be -- in picturesque settings where the Canadian farmers.
Prices
Effective Until
We
.he R.9h,
TWIN PACK
®,®� IDALARM
Key Wound
ALARM CLOCK
A. For sale
APPROX. 750 bales
straw. Asking 75 . cents
bale. If one buyer takes
all 01 sell -cheaper.
Phone 482-3340:-7-9X
3,000 BALES': of alfalfa
hay, .conditioned, with no
rain. First and second
cutting 'starting at' $1.25.
Phone 524-4350.-6-9
2000 BALES' ot-straw for
sale. Phone 529-7890 or
529-7469.-8-1,1 '
STRAW for sale. Phone
529-7571.-8-9-10
BALED wheat straw for
sale, can deliver. Phone
524-7(121-8,2 ..
MASSEY FERGUSON .
BACKHOE equipped with
cab, 24” bucket, 1500
hours on tractor, backhoe
in excellent shape.
Asking $14,500. Phone
Clinton 482-3042.-8x
A, For sale
FOR SALE: Double cut
red clover seed, baled
hay, first and second cut
sand baled straw. Horace
Crawford, 524-4482.-8,9
•
D: 'Livestock
ONE York Boar,
Purebred. May be seen
after 5:30 p.m. Phone 529-
7839..-8 • •
REGISTERED polled
Hereford bulls; ready"for
service. Good con- ,
formation. Halter
broken. Gobd rate of
gain; sire gained 3.5 lbs.
per day. Ed Powell, RR1
Wingham. Phone 335-
3893. -8;9 -
FOR SALE: Service age
Hamp, York, Hemp x
York and York x Lan-
drace boars. Also York x
Landrace • gilts. Bah
Robinson, RR4 Walton,
345-2317.—=6-8
l5
W MI a= gum i®
HWY Fi,l
ow wag
_
ttAsHVvOODFX1150
I In
MI LARMLI
I1 i(ORM I10
GRAND
PEND
Il ORM R
CUUf(IR5
1 41i fa
SI =
HOURS MON. - SAT. 10-10
SUN. 12-6
a
sak_�
SNOWMOBILES10-1
AND MOTORCYCLES
LSI
1
237-3456
FNTR MT •
CARMEL
INERS •
-- PIM MR MB
—
YAMAHA SERVICE AND PARTS
Dee Tee
.ray, 40,60
�. Off 100 WATT
LIGHT BULBS 2's
100
WATT
Vs Show & Tell
Time at Discount Dave's!
LEARN
HOW
-O- APPLY, INSTALL AND
USE THESE GREAT
PRODUCTS...
• DECOR BRIQUE
Interior Decorative Wali = rick
XYPEX ® It's New!
CONCRETE WATERPROOFING
TREATMENT
• PRO -GRID
Do -it -Yourself Suspended
Ceiling System
• HOLZ-HER POWER TOOLS
New Professional Quality
Tools from Germany
• TREDWAY BY ARMSTRONG
Revolutionary new do-it-yourself
vinyl flooring
Factory Trained
REPRESENTATIVES
Will Show You How
GODERICHaa>N<H ONLY
SATURDAY F..._,
10 A.M. - 4 P.M.
Gillette
Gillette
RIGHT GUARD
ANTI-PERSPIRANT SPRAY
• FARM • SUBURBAN ° INDUSTRIAL • MUNICIPAL • 0.4
• FREE ESTIMATES
° GUARANTEED WELLS
• FAST MODERN EQUIPMENT
• 4 ROTARY & PERCUSSION DRILLS
"OUR EXPERIENCE ASSURES
LOWER COST WATER WELLS"
WELL DRILLING
LIMITED
a Rotary and Percussion Drills
PHONE 357-1960
WINGHAM
Collect Calls Accepted
"ONTARIO'S FINEST WATER WELL`S SINCE 1900"
200 _
O
DANGER
WIN VALUABLE PRIZES rnracREar`CONTESTS!
•ThLCONTEST
».,s, pray .s a t,.0 In. two n tunny Barbary, .•aloe $1.550 o01
„,p a.• ,a,e 4^r, nr.n wank arrr n•, . ,... ,e a first clean
air r ,nd nn^ed ,•n,et roc„� wdh break fall and n^•^n. Aa y Tnp must be
•,k 0,1 f,, 0egarl„re 0elween Apr„ 1715 and Ju v J's, ' RO Date sub!UCI
!t, eva.dahww•ty at ,.me or book .nq ' n tot, -.syr,. '•a, r9Ry March 1510
^w.10 ,r.b draw taking 0'er10 00„• 7nr1 tgRr)
CHECK IN STORE FOR DETAILS OF OTHER DR ,7ES;
IICK
could gin 1 of 4 Saabs
GILLETTE'S
MAKE
TRACKS
CONTEST
MEM
Vm
SAME
AS CASH
NO PURCHASE REQUIRED! ENTRY FORMS AVAILABLE IN f D.A. DRUG STORES
14 Shoppers Square.
Goderich
524 »7241
OlLsza.APHARMACY
-I .
HOME CENTRES
4 4,VlelON or a,y(f.Nt.., u.NeEn co no
295 IAYFIELD RD., Ph. 524-8321