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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1969-05-15, Page 6PAGE SIX The In&iiatona Scene (by Raymond Canon) I have been following the attempts by the Ontario farm organizations to snake farming a more profitable and efficient business, and not unexpectedly, there has been a great deal of bickering going on as to the hest way to go about it. For any farms who may read this column, you're not alone in your problems. The Comm- unists can't seem to figure out what to do with their farms either and one of the biggest headaches Communist leaders have is how to make their farms more productive. First of all, part of the prob- lem seems to be with the size of the farm. You will recall that when the Communists took over in Russia, there was a great upheaval in farming. Farni land was joined together into one huge mass, either in State Farms, that is, land own- ed outright by the State, or in collective farms, in which many farmers all pooled their land and worked it as one unit. Now, the Russians thought that such an arrangement would be more efficient, and to a certain extent it was, but not as much as had been hoped. One interesting sidelight which cropped up was that, on the collective farms, each farmer was given a little plot of land for his own use. Not surprisingly the fanner gave the little plot tender loving carr, so that the yield was uucli higher, and he was able to sell his extra produce, capitalist style, on the nearby market. Now the Communist leaders have to figure our how to get the farm- er`S to show the sante devotion in the collective farm as they do in their own little plot. Apart from this little insight into human being: under the (onlmunist system, does collectivization really work" To answer that I'll teal \ ou a bit about the situation in Jugoslavia, since it is a bit easier re ger some figures our MEM of that country. Right after rhe war, under Marshall Tito, amalgamation of the smaller farms went on at a fast pace. In two years, from 1948 to 1950 the number of collective farms rose from • 1, 318 to 6, 968. of the var- ious types promoted, the one preferred by the government was the kind I described above - where the farmer lost the title to his land but retained a home- stead and a plot of land with implements and animals. To encourage farmers to join the latter type of collective, there was any amount of coersion used - typical Communist ploy. However, in 1951, the farmers, having previously been granted the right to decide if they would` stay in the collectives after a three year period, voted in droves to get out. Only a . massive use of terror by the government prevented then front doing so. I remember this very well,, as 1 happened to be in Jugoslavia at the time, and was repeatedly told by government officials how happy the farmers were. How- ever somebody must have seen the Handwriting on the wall, for the following year the whole program was modified. Strangely enough the resistance of the farriers to further collectivization minded exactly the Russian farmers' resistance twenty nears before. By 1.953 over 2, 000 collective farms had been disolved and since that rime the trend has continued. Tines the central planning committee discovered that too much government control was a had think that fanners were a pretty Individ- ualistic lot, and that it is really difficult to know just how to arrive at the most logical solution. I often wonder if it isn't just about the sante in Ontario. Not that we have collective farms, but many farmers are unhappy at the thought of too much ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, MAY 15. 1969 'utline Procedures For Operation Of General Farm Organization The objective of the General Farm Organization Campaign Committee is to forms a strong GFO which can protect the hest interests of the farmer and his family, improve his income and consolidate farmer power in defence of a maximum number of farmers, points out Malcolm Davidson, Brucefield, Chairman of the committee, Reports that the Campaign Committee is organizing to move half of Ontario's farrmers out of farming is simply untrue, Mr. Davidson comments. On the contrary, the Campaign Committee believes that a strong GFO can stem the tide of adversity that drives some farmers from the farm. A GFO could also help develop better government policies to help those farmers who want to leave the farm, Mr. David- son continued. Farmers are the only group in society that lacks a power structure and they will continue defenceless as long as they give allegiance to competing farm organizations, Mr. David- son said. 13y 1980 the total farm labour force is expected to drop from eight percent to four percent of` the total national labour force. The director general of the Economics Branch of the Canada Department of Agriculture government control. At the same time many farms are economically unsound, and something has to be done. I don't have any solutions, but if misery loves company, the Ontario farmer in misery can take consolation in the fact that there's plenty of misery both sides of the Iron Curtain. We have a complete line of Seed, Fertilizer and Che icals for Your Spring Needs GR SEE Ct 4P SS SEE SEE IP? CO BEANS HENSALL T FE BMJ a K .:GLEN and D GCE ANHYDROUS AMMONIA LIQUID NITR ATRAZINE EF'TAM 2-4-D ATORAN ZURICH suggested recently that govern- ments must become more in- volved in helping farmers who leave the farm and that the salvation of remaining farmers depends on a team approach through farm organiz- ations. What this means, Mr. David- son commented, is that four percent of the labour force can be easily ignored by society.,.. in general and by politicians in particular. ,. The Campaign Committee forsees a real danger that, -. should farmers fail to get to - ether through a GFO, they will pe driven from their farms by thousands. To achieve equal recognition with other segments of society, farmers must make maxiinuni use of marketing legislation and the legislation on a GFO which is now before the Ontario legislature. "Farmers must work together, " Mr, Davidson said, "using all available help to maintain an industry of independent businessmen who also recognize that some collective action is essential for their individual survival, The situation in agriculture is just that serious." The need for a single strong general farm organization in Ontario was sparked by the re- port of the Special Committee on Farrel Income which suggested among other things, that some farmers might be -better off if they left the far, The GFO Campaign Commi- ttee is pressing for a strong general farm organization but the committee neither approves or disapproves other parts of the report, Indeed, the Campaign Committee believes that a new GFO should give priority to study of the report to determine which parts it can approve and which parts it must reject in the best interests of the farmers. ASPHALT PAVING DRIVEWAYS, PARKING LOTS, BARNYARDS Anywhere within 50 mile radius of Clinton. 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