The Rural Voice, 2003-04, Page 30Bad news/good news
for the small farm
No matter what kind of small farm you run,
don't count on help from government, but
small farmers might find surprising allies
By Keith Roulston
Canada's smaller farmers
shouldn't count on
governments for help but they
might find aid from a surprising new
source. Those were two of the
messages delivered recently at a
conference called Size Matters held
at Shakespeare.
Though aimed primarily at the
pork industry and partially sponsored
by the Independent Hog Producers
Association, much of the discussion
could have been relevant to
producers of any farm commodity.
It was Barry Wilson, national
correspondent for Western Producer
who was the bearer of the bad news
that among people on the economics
side of Agriculture and Agrifood
Canada (AAFC) there is a deeply
.rooted belief that there are too many
medium and small sized farms. He
suggested the same feelings would
probably be harboured by people in
similar positions with the Ontario
26 THE RURAL VOICE
Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
The large, high end producers are
seen as the innovators, Wilson said.
The farmers on the low end aren't
thought about much at all. It's the
farmers in the middle group, farmers
earning $100,000 to $200,000 a year
who are the troublesome group for
AAFC planners. They are seen as the
constant requesters for government
help. "This is the group that the
government wouldn't be distressed to
see shrink in the 2006 census."
The politicians, including
government backbenchers, are loath
to admit they are in favour of fewer,
larger farms. They'll insist that size
doesn't matter: sustainability does.
But national and international
policies are throwing the weight
toward fewer farms, Wilson said.
He pointed toward 2001 census
figures that showed there were 26 per
cent fewer pig farmers in Canada but
26 per cent more pigs produced. This
wasn't necessarily a result of
government policy, he said, but at the
same time governments have no
interest in trying to stop the trend, or
even slow it down.
"If the goal is to have good cheap
food then it doesn't matter much
what model (of farm) you have,"
Wilson said. "But if you care that
agriculture creates a good rural life, it
matters that you have 100,000 family
farms instead of 2,000 mega farms."
In contrast to North America's
slide toward fewer larger farms,
European agricultural policy makers
have decided they want a viable rural
economy and they're willing to
spend to maintain it.
Meanwhile in Canada, the news is
almost all bad for those concerned
about the ability of small farmers to
act together to get greater market
clout. The trend has been away from
support for legislation which has
allowed smaller farmers to market