The Rural Voice, 1992-07, Page 12Martin Mills Inc.
Lucknow Division
See t the
'LUCKNOW SUMMER FARM SHOW)
July 10 & 11, 1992
at the Lucknow Arena
Fri. 7 - 10 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
COMPLETE LINE
OF ANIMAL FEED AND
VETERINARY SUPPLIES
HOG — BROILER — LAYER
TURKEY — BEEF — DAIRY
VEAL — FISH — PET FOODS
357 Campbell St.
Lucknow
519-528-3000
or
1-800-265-3006
8 THE RURAL VOICE
Adrian Vos
Don't be a victim
A recent article in Reader's
Digest dealt with "victimism" in the
U.S. The thrust was that almost
everyone in the U.S. who is in trouble
loudly proclaims to be a victim. The
blacks, the His-
panics, and the
poor whites are
victims of the
system. The auto
makers are vic-
tims of the Japa-
nese, and so on.
We in Canada
are no different.
Our poor blacks
are victims of
whites, the un-
employed are
victims of Mul-
roney and free
trade. Prairie
farmers are the victims of the subsidy
war between the U.S. and the EC.
Hog farmers and loggers are victims
of U.S. countervail abuse. Tobacco
farmers are victims of anti-smoking
groups and sin taxes. Grape growers
are victims of the FTA. Cash crop-
pers are victimized by the difference
in price between the U.S. and Canada
for pesticides. Furniture factories
blame free trade for their woes. And
soon...and on ... and on...
But when we ask the successful
people, we get a completely different
perspective. It is as if the two groups
live in different countries.
Successful blacks laud the equali-
ty in education opportunity between
blacks and whites, something lacking
in the U.S. They point out that the
background (families, communities)
of other visible minorities, e.g. Cana-
dians of Chinese, Vietnamese or In-
dian descent, do not blame the system
for the failure of their children. They
put the blame where it belongs, on
the families and communities that fail
to instill a strong desire to rise above
the poverty of their community.
Some people are never unem-
ployed for long, despite the FTA. If
they can't find an employer they start
a business of their own.
Remember the complaints of
grape growers and wineries when the
FTA came in? But a number of them
immediately ripped out the inferior
cultivars that were only profitable
when supported by subsidies, and had
new grapes from which good wines
can be made ready for the new win-
eries that sprung up to take advantage
of the FTA. They now make world
class wines of which Canada can
finally be proud.
There's not much wheat growers
can do, caught between the U.S. and
the EC, except grow as many differ-
ent, unaffected crops as possible.
They produce such different crops as
canola where possible.
Vegetable growers with a disad-
vantage in chemical prices experi-
ment increasingly with changing to
non -chemical pest control and may
find ways to have a better bottom line
than before.
Tobacco farmers "victimized" by
the anti-smoking lobby and high sin
taxes have, with government help,
turned to specialty crops such as
ginseng and others.
Some pork producers went broke
but others studied and implemented
new production techniques and, with
help from computers, are cutting
down on cost and are still making a
decent profit. Some formed produc-
tion and computer clubs and help
each other. We see reports of for-
ward-looking hog breeders, like the
Stein brothers and the Lichti family,
who revolutionize the pork industry,
setting an example for more timid
farmers. They too are hurt by the
countervail abuse but refuse to let it
beat them and be victims.
Some furniture and textile factor-
ies have changed the style of their
product to produce more expensive
products which bring a premium
price. They not only sell in Canada,
but on the world market.
Seniors, as I am, complain that
lower inflation causes lower interest
payments on their investment. But
others look at the benefit of low infla-
tion which off -set the drop in interest
rates. They refuse to be victims.
If there is not (yet) an income
problem, as in the supply manage-
ment sectors of farming, many in
these sectors already feel victimized
because of the fears the GATT