The Rural Voice, 2006-11, Page 12patit Ettektd I
'TOYS FOR THE
BIG BOYS & GIRLS'
1 Owner
2002 GMC SLE Z71
• ext cab • 4x4 • 4 door • burgundy
• chrome step up bars • bedliner
• 5.3 L Vortec V8 • trailer tow pkg.
• Z71 off-road pkg. • 114,000 kms.
$19,995 certified
Duramax Diesel
• �� 2 wawa..
•
2003 CHEV SILVERADO LS 3500
• : Few cab • duauy diesel • 4x4 • trader tow pkg.
• 200.000 kms • white/charcoal interior
$28,950 certified
1 Owner - 4x4
e
r1 r•ey �
'.Z.
2002 CHEV SILVERADO LS
• ext cab • Z71 • 4 door • to-tone burgundy/silver
• 5.3 L Vortec V8 • off-rood trailer tow pkg.
$18,995 certified
1 Owner - 75,000 kms.
••tet..
2004 CHEV SILVERADO
• regular cab • long box • 4x4 • silver
• 4.8 L Vortec V8 • air conditioning • tilt • bedliner
$18,950 certified
1 Owner - 64,000 kms.
,•! cE�.
2003 GMC ENVOY SLE 4x4
• 4.2 L V6 • showroom condition
• Gower group • charcoal slate • saddle interior
$21,950 certified
HOURS;
Mon. 8-6; Tues., Wed., Thurs. 8-8; Fri. 8-5; Sal. 8-3
HWY. #6 CHATSWORTH
Off ice/Fax: 519-794-2765
8 THE RURAL VOICE
John Beardsley
Strahl stalls
John
Beardsley is
a freelance
journalist
and crop
specialist
with Huron
Bay
Cooperative.
The rainy weather this past
October reminds us how risky a
venture it is growing crops in
Ontario. There is nothing as
depressing as a rainfall when you
have beans still out in the field to be
harvested and wheat seed in the drill
ready to plant.
Battling the elements is an
expected part of farming. Why must
we also battle the government? On a
recent tour of the U.S. Midwest I
asked a farmer in Indiana what was
his biggest problem. It wasn't the
trade distorting subsidies of the
Europeans or the flood of cheap
Brazilian soybeans. His biggest
problem was the weather, specifically
excessive heat. He was using
irrigation to produce his seed corn so
lack of rainfall wasn't an issue.
I was stunned by the difference
between our two countries. With
adequate farm programs he was able
to grow crops profitably and focus on
production problems rather than
financial ones.
But don't let me leave you with
the impression that he could do just
about anything and just wait for a
subsidy cheque in the mail from
Uncle Sam. He had to run a viable
business and make all the right
decisions to stay in business.
What the U.S. farm programs do is
to remove some of the risk of wildly
fluctuating commodity markets. They
produce an economic climate in
which long-term business decisions
and planning can take place that will
have the approval of his banker
because they increased the
probability most years of realising a
return on investment.
Crop farming in Ontario is just a
slow bleed under the current climate
of government double talk masking
inaction. Last January when a new
federal government was elected there
was a hope that some progress could
be made in getting a long-term
sustainable risk management program
for grain and oilseed producers.
The Federal Minister of
Agriculture Chuck Strahl has
recognized some of the flaws of the
current program. In the October issue
of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable
Growers Association newspaper The
Grower, Strahl says that the Canadian
Agricultural Income Stabilization or
CAIS program allowed limited access
tq negative margin coverage. He says
it has a hopeless inventory valuation
system and an aggressive "claw -
back" that gave with one hand and
took away with the other. But worst
of all Strahl says nobody could
predict what the payout would be for
deserving applicants.
He reiterates that his government
is absolutely committed to replacing
CAIS with an income stabilization
program that is responsive,
predictable, bankable and transparent
for farmers. These are nice words and
extremely welcome but unfortunately
are put in grave doubt by Minister
Strahl's remarks in the October 12
issue of the Western Producer. Strahl
brings up all the same stale
arguments put forward by the
Liberals for the past 13 years. Strahl
dismisses the Risk Management
Program proposed by Ontario farmers
because it would be too expensive.
Agriculture Canada estimates the
RMP to cost $8 billion while farm
leaders have estimated a full national
cost of $3 billion. I think Wayne
Hamilton from the Huron County
Federation of agriculture sums it up
the best when he said "if we were
talking $3 billion to be spent in
automotive, ethanol, casinos or
wineries it would be termed as a great
investment with an unlimited ROI
(return on investment) but for farmers
it is inferred as a black hole expense
with no ROI."
What the Conservatives seem to
have forgotten is that not having a
good program in place is definitely
too expensive for rural Ontario and
the economy of Canada.0