The Rural Voice, 1990-11, Page 62GREY
• Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER The County Farmers by the GCFA.
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050
It seems impossible that another year
has gone by and that we will again be
choosing a new executive to represent
our organization. Over the past month
each county has been holding elections
for delegates to vote at the annual meet-
ing in November and regional directors
to represent them on the OFA board. In
Grey, Murray Clarke and myself have
decided not to stand for another term. In
Murray's region, Grey South, Karl
Bracker was elected as the new director.
Karl has, for the past few years, served
Grey County Federation of Agriculture
as a township director and on the execu-
tive. Karl has devoted a tremendous
amount of time to the agricultural cause,
particularly in the field of waste man-
agement. He is a beef producer with a
good working knowledge in what it
takes to earn (scratch) a living from
farming. Karl would be an asset on the
Committee for Waste Management
with the parent organization. Karl has
taken the time to view a waste manage-
ment site in New York State that would
work in our area if Grey County joined
forces in handling their waste. Karl has
presented this waste system to town-
ships, towns, and city in Grey County
with mixed results. Maybe it is time that
all the residents in Grey were invited to
view this concept for input and reaction.
My replacement, Jeff Torrie, was
elected to represent Grey North. Jeff is
a young man, working on the family
farm, who recently graduated from
Guelph University. TheTorrie family is
well-known and respected in our com-
munity and operate a large dairy and
custom cash crop operation. It is grati-
fying to see our young people taking an
interest in agriculture. Jeff will serve his
area well, bringing fresh ideas to the
OFA board.
In looking to the candidates for the
executive of OFA who will be vying for
delegate and director votes in Novem-
ber, it would be prudent to review the
results produced this past year. In re-
viewing our successes and failures, it
seems that we lack success and are
chalking up the failures. We managed to
"save" the Land Tax Rebate but the
rebate was reduced from 90 per cent to
75 per cent on farm land. Our failures
are easier to see. More full-time farmers
than ever have made the decision that
they can no longer support the consum-
ers at large by farming, particularly in
the milk industry. Statistics reveal that
Canadian imports of food have doubled
over the past five years, and according to
a recent Angus Reid Poll, nearly 75 per
cent of present farmers are not encour-
aging their children or the next genera-
tion to go into farming with 50 per cent
of these people "strongly" feeling this
way. The major reason for this is low
commodity prices, high production
costs, government programs and their
present positions on Free Trade, GATT,
and the Goods and Services Tax. I have
been saying the same old thing for years
with nobody listening or listening but
not responding. Unless we receive a fair
price for our product we cannot continue
to produce food for Canadians. You ask
what can I do about it? The answer is
simple, START BY COMPLAINING
IN THE AREA THAT COUNTS.
WRITE YOUR MP AND MPP a one
line letter stating that YOU DEMAND
A FAIR PRICE FOR YOUR PROD-
UCT AND SIGN IT! Only the squeaky
wheel gets the grease, and if you, the
farmer, remain mum, quietly go out of
business and walk away from your
farms, your government will keep pro-
ducing reports stating: "Canadian farm-
ers, on an average, earn a profit of
$25,000.00 a year or more." This type of
reporting only angers the consumers
because of the "tax breaks" they think the
farmers receive at their expense. I do not
believe that any one industry has suf-
fered for so long (over 10 years) and yet,
this suffering continues because the
farmer refuses to stand up and fight for a
decent share of their own market. They
seem quite willing to allow the "middle
man" to market their products for a profit
while you, who take all the risks produc-
ing the product, and quietly go out of
business. We are only as good (or bad) as
the picture we present to the country. If
the independent farmers continue to sit
on their backsides, there will be fewer
and fewer to correct the picture that has
already been painted and large integrated
farming, which is already here, will
continue to grow. Financial institutions
are far more willing to cash flow an
integrated farming corporation than an
independent. This trend will only con-
tinue unless farmers put aside their petty
differences, join forces with ONE
VOICE, and FIGHT for their rightful
share of the market. I hope that the
parties electing our representatives for
the OFA executive have put aside their
personal prejudices and voted for the
people who will FIGHT to change the
position that all independent farmers are
in. We cannot look to the future with any
expectation if we do not start changing
the present.0
Donna Vanderham,
Director, Grey North.
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58 THE RURAL VOICE