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The Citizen, 1990-02-28, Page 22THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1990. PAGE 23. McKinnon feels gov't, committed supply management Ken McKinnon, one of the people in charge of reshaping Canada’s dairy policy told Huron dairy farmers Friday that he felt the Canadian government of Brian Mulroney remains committed to supply management marketing boards. The Port Elgin farmer, former head of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board, vice-chairman of the Cana­ dian Dairy Commission and mem­ ber of the Task Force examining the dairy industry for the govern­ ment, said he would never have taken on the job if he wasn’t convinced the government was committed to supply management. He said that there has been a lot of concern in the dairy industry, not only since the Free Trade Agree­ ment was signed, but dating back to before he went to Ottawa with the CDC in 1986. The dairy task force had been set up earlier than the Agriculture Task Force, he said as part of the five-year review of dairy policy. The urgency of the situation was increased when the ruling of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) put a cap on dairy prices. Agriculture Minister Don Mazenkowski turned to the dairy industry for advice. It had become obvious, Mr. McKinnon said, that the minister and trade negotiators had been getting advice that was not as good as it should have been. One of the aims of Mr. Mazen­ kowski is to get the setting of milk prices out of the political arena, he said. Currently the final setting of prices is at the minister’s discre­ tion. “In my view it is hurting the industry to have it (price setting) in the political arena,’’ he said. Putting the decision in the hands of the CDC would improve the situa­ tion. But he called for more public input into dairy policy making decisions. “We have nothing to hide," he said of the policies used in setting dairy pricing. “Let’s get out there and show it off. We can defend it.’’ One of the terms of reference of his task force, Mr. McKinnon said, is self-reliance for the industry. With cuts to dairy export subsidies contained in last year’s budget, he said, Canadian dairy farmers can now say there isn’t one cent of government subsidy going into exports. “I don’t think any other country can say that,’’ he said. The government is loaning some money to buy surpluses for export but this money is recovered by farmers. Another area of review is market Farm Fat substitute could hurt dairy sales Dairy industry officials were divided in their assessment of the impact of a new fat substitute may have on dairy farmers. The new substitute, Simplesse, a blend of egg white and milk proteins is heralded as doing for fat-contain­ ing foods what sugar substitutes have done for the food industry. Speaking to the annual meeting of the Huron County Milk Commit­ tee on Friday, the day the an­ nouncement of the breakthrough hit the front pages. Bruce Saunders member of the board of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board (OMMB) said that consumers’ concern for food quality may override the damage Simplesse might have in eroding the market for dairy pro­ ducts. “We have a natural food and that’s what we have to sell’’, he said. But Ken McKinnon, Vice-Chair­ man of the Canadian Dairy Com­ mission and former chairman of the OMMB said because it is made with natural products the new fat substitute may also be able to bill itself as a natural product. He called the new product a major competitor to dairy products. The price of butterfat is way out of line with what the consumer is showing she is ready to pay, he said. The amount of low-fat product in the market has signalled the need for lower butter fat, he said. The dairy industry needs a multiple-component pricing policy, he said and is 15 years behind in getting it. He said one of the failures of his term as OMMB president was the failure to get a multiple-component pricing sy­ stem. The message is loud and clear, he said, that the consumer thinks butterfat prices are too high. A system must be put in place that lowers the support for butter and increases it for milk used for skim milk. orientation and on that, he said, he thought the Dairy Commission could improve its performance. He said the CDC buys and sells products it doesn’t need to buy and he feels the private sector could do more. Other items to be examined are the cost of production formula for setting dairy prices. Should there be a Canadian Dairy Commission at all? Other commodities operate without a national agency like CDC. The whole area of quotas will be examined, he said. Do the charges that quotas make the industry uncompetitive have any validity? How do quotas effect new produ­ cers? What about interprovincial quotas? The task force will also look into the dairy subsidy which he said will likely become a target of govern­ ment cost cutting. The task force will look into the effect of phasing it out. The task force is also charged with looking at the export potential of the industry. If farmers want to live only on the domestic market as they cur­ rently do, he said, there are indications they may be left alone to do that but Mr. Mazenkowski wants the task force to look into export potential of the industry. The process of the task force is now underway, he said. A team has begun to put together a consulta­ tive document that will cover everything from where the industry currently is to where people might think the industry should go. He hopes the document will be ready by June 30 and will be sent out to comment. Comments will be accep- Don Pullen retires Continued from page 1 retirement age. He said he would be looking at new directions and has been approached with some proposals but hasn’t decided what to do as yet. He said, however, whatever the future holds it won’t involve leaving the county. He and his wife Florence own a farm in Hullett township east of Clinton where Florence operates a well- known sheep flock. The couple has two sons, David and Michael. Mr. Pullen became Ag. Rep for the county in 1968 after serving as assistant Ag. Rep. from 1963 to 1968. He had earlier served as a summer assistant in agricultural offices in Perth, Wellington and Dufferin. Dennis Martin will serve as acting Ag. Rep., Mr. Pullen said. The normal process to fill the position will be undertaken to fill the position permanently. ted until Sept. 15. There will be public hearings across the country before the task force begins to make its recom­ mendations, he said. The intent is to recommend a new five-year dairy policy by April 1, 1991 for implementation in August, 1991. 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