The Rural Voice, 1990-05, Page 7FEEDBACK
It should be obvious that if we are to
compete effectively with our American
counterparts in the spirit of free trade, then
we must have a "level playing field." To
deal with only one problem area while
ignoring the others is simply another "ad
hoc" bandaid approach.
Approximately 80 per cent of the
Canadian wheat crop is exported. Having
lost our two -price wheat system through
free trade negotiations, we are at a com-
petitive disadvantage to our U.S. counter-
parts because of their Farm Bill — and
their Export Enhancement Program.
For the same reason, Ontario corn
farmers no longer have access to historic
export markets. Unless Ontario corn prod-
uction falls significantly short of domestic
consumption, we will continue to see our
corn price at a discount to U.S. values.
The countervailing import duty on
corn affects corn "basis" values only dur-
ing periods of "net import." This occurred
during 1988-89. While there was a posi-
tive effect on com prices during this time,
pork producers were effectively left being
double -countervailed. To achieve U.S. re-
placement values for our corn, we must
export enough corn to leave us in a calcu-
lated "net import" position as early as
possible in the marketing year, without
distorting the competitive position of pork
producers and other users of corn.
A Canadian "Farm Bill" structured
similarly to the U.S. Farm Bill, plus a
Canadian Export Enhancement Program,
would offset many of the disadvantages
faced by Canadian food producers. It
would provide support for Canadian pro-
ducers in a way that would obviously be
"non-countervailable." A Canadian farm
bill that involved acreage restrictions, tar-
get prices, loan rates, deficiency payments,
storage incentives, and export incentives
could beindexed plus or minus to U.S.
Farm Bill prices to compensate for any
cost of production disadvantages or
advantages Canadian producers may
experience.
The cost of a Canadian farm bill to the
Canadian taxpayer would be exactly the
same cost per bushel as experienced by the
U.S. taxpayer. The cost to implement a
Canadian farm bill that would provide a
competitive "playing field" can be calcu-
lated easily. The cost of creating a safety
net program that is not competitively
adequate for our Canadian food industry
will be much more difficult to assess.
Now is the time to do it right!O
Bev Hill, Hill and Hill Farms Ltd.
Varna, Ontario
JIM'S FLYING SERVICE LTD.
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GODERICH
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524-7300 1-800-267-7300
MAY 1990 3