The Rural Voice, 1980-02, Page 18Voice of a Farmer
by Adrian Vos
More pressure
on the farmer
We can expect more pressure, not less, on food prices in the
coming years.
High interest rates and other anti-inflation measures intended
to decrease spending, will make it more difficult to buy a boat, a
cottage or a trip abroad, a new house or a new car.
The public, however, will understandably be reluctant to give
up these luxuries that are perceived as a right, and will fight
desperately to maintain their standard of living. The easiest
thing to cut back on is food. But it is hard to eat less well or go
out to a restaurant less often, so the pressure can be expected to
be on food prices. Without any doubt, the five marketing boards
with a quota allocation will bear the brunt.
What will make it especially difficult for the farmer will be the
projected increase in food prices caused by the same high
interest rates, and by high feed prices.
The advantage to the farmer who produces the quota
regulated commodities will be very apparent, for they are the
only ones who are protected against inflation.
Grain producers will likely have an increased income because
of the huge demands for grain caus .ed by production shortfall in
other countries. This means. of course.that most prairie farmers
will be better off and most Ontario and Quebec farmers will have
to take a drastic loss of income.
The input costs of farmers will rise an expected 15% and
wipe out any increase in gross income. Nevertheless the food in
the supermart will be up some 10 percent and no doubt
marketing boards will be blamed. 1 -arm organizations have a big
task ahead to explain to the consuming public that the rise in
food prices cannot be blamed on any single step in food
production, but is caused by a variety of factors, not least the
increased price of oil, both domestically produced and imported.
Farm organizations are not doing their job now. How many
consumers are aware that Canadian wheat producers are
subsidizing them with a maximum price of five dollars a bushel
when they could sell it abroad for more than six? Why isn't the
wheat board blowing their horn? Peter Lougheed is not so timid
in proclaiming big (AL) Bertha subsidizing Canada with low oil
prices.
Why aren't the supply management boards boasting more that
they garantee a supply of product at a predicted price? A levy for
promotion is a legitimate business expense and can be
incorporated in the pricing formulae.
Just as the household must pay more for natural gas for
heating and cooking, so the farmer must pay more for nitrogen
fertilizer made from that same natural gas. Why don't the
poultry boards get together and tell the public in a common
public relations program that this is one argument for higher
egg, turkey and broiler prices?
There is much more that the farmer can do to head off the
coming criticism, but we can expect that he'll wait until the
critics hit, forcing him to be defensive.
PG. 18 THE RURAL VOICE/FEBRUARY 1980
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