The Rural Voice, 1992-08, Page 56G F:EY
County f Federation o Agriculture NEWSLETTER ' The Rural Voice is provided to all Grey
`y 9 County Farmers by the GCFA.
44610th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1 P9
519-364-3050
Stable Funding is getting closer
and this time farmers will have to
work together to get it through. Yes,
there have been other attempts at one
General Farmer Organization (GFO)
in the farm community and they did
not succeed. But never before has
there been such a strong sense of
unity in the agriculture community.
Coalitions have been forming from
every sector.
The coalition of farm groups that
got together to form an
environmental agenda for Ontario
farmers is a good example of unity.
This group had representatives from
GFOs and commodity groups that
had never sat in the same room
before.
Within the OFA more unity is
being formed by having more
representatives from different boards
and producer's groups than ever
before. This helps the Board of
Directors to understand the special
needs of each agriculture sector in
Ontario.
Last year the 1991 OFA
Convention was opened by a
representative from the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario. This
is another example of the unity being
Let's get it together
created.
But the biggest show of unity was
of course, the Ottawa Rally where
40,000 farmers showed the Canadian
Government that they cannot have
their marketing systems traded away.
It also showed farmers they can do
something and the power that
organized unity can have.
The issues farmers are facing are
multiplying every day, making it
harder for us to make a living. Farm
organizations are forced to sometimes
stretch themselves thin to cover all
these problems. Stable Funding will
increase these resources so more can
be done. It could also prevent groups
from duplicating research and
lobbying activities making them more
effective and efficient.
Making the government realize
our needs is getting harder and we are
also finding the huge job of making
the public aware of our importance.
They need to know how important it
is for a country to feed itself as well
as food quality and the employment a
healthy agriculture sector will create.
This is a very difficult task that can
be made easier through stable
funding.
The proposal for stable funding
GCFA
REGIONAL
MEETING
Wednesday, September 9, 1992
Markdale Legion, Markdale
8:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker:
Tony Morris
OFA Executive Director
52 THE RURAL VOICE
has been approved by all parties
involved and covers certain criteria
that must be followed. The public
meetings will have details on these.
The Minister of Agriculture,
Elmer Buchanan deserves credit for
listening to the farm organizations
and taking the initiative to make it a
priority. We'll save the pat on the
back for January 1993 when it should
be in place.
We, as farmers don't have the
resources or time to effectively lobby
governments on all the issues
affecting us. Let's all pay our fees
and let the GFOs work for us more
effectively in the difficult years
ahead.0
Jeff Torrie
OFA Regional Director
GCFA Directors'
Meeting
Thursday, August 27, 1992
OMAF Boardroom, Markdale
8:00 p.m.
Members are welcome to
attend
BENTINCK TOWNSHIP
FEDERATION
MEETING
Monday, September 14, 1992
8:00 p.m.
Lamlash Hall
Slides on Farming
in Germany
by Herman Weller