The Rural Voice, 1992-09, Page 74BRUCE
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9
519-364-3050
' The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County Farmers by the BCFA.
Stable funding — separating the wheat from the chaff
None of us can accurately deter-
mine what lies ahead, but one thing is
for certain, change will happen. the
only legitimate question farmers have
to answer is, are we prepared to seize
the opportunity to manage the change
or let it manage us?
Much has been said and written
about the proposal known as stable
funding. The secret to every farmer
formulating his own independent
opinion is to dig through the rhetoric
and mis-information and decide on
fact and logic.
Here are the facts;
1) Farmers are being asked to
register their farm business with
OMAF and provide some basic
information about their operation.
Such information will include the type
of farm enterprise, ie. livestock kept,
crops grown and acreage. They will
also indicate the farm structure, ie.
partnership, corporation, sole
proprietor etc., and provide an
indication of the range of gross
income.
Such information will be protected
under the Freedom of Information Act,
and may only be used by OFA, to
indicate the direction for future policy
change.
2) An independent administrator
will be contracted by the Stable
Funding committee, made up of
farmers, to oversee the collection of
registration fees, and the direction of
those fees to the GFO of the farmer's
choice.
3) Farmers who register will pay a
$150 fee, BUT WILL NOT be
required to hold membership in a
GFO. Membership in a GFO is
therefore voluntary. No farmer will be
bound to direct their funds to any one
GFO. Therefore the support of a
particular GFO is again voluntary.
4) NO funds from the registration
will be directed to or retained by
OMAF. A nominal cost of administra-
tion will be paid by each registered
farmer to the independent administra-
tor, from the $150 registration fee.
70 THE RURAL VOICE
5) The proposal mandates 25 per
cent of the funds collected by each
organization to be directed to local
branches of each GFO, to insure a
strong organized grassroots voice that
provides each member the opportunity
to be involved in the democratic
development of policy and choice of
leadership, both locally and
provincially.
6) The proposal grandfathers three
existing GFOs, Christian Farmers
Federation of Ontario, the National
Farmers Union (Ontario Branch) and
the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
It further provides for the inclusion of
future GFOs and the removal of any
GFO that does not satisfy the criteria
needs.
So why the rhetoric?
Can it be that farmers are satisfied
with things the way they are?
Can it be that farmers believe
government officials will look after
their interests?
Can it be that farmers believe a co-
operative collective voice will not help
them?
We at the Bruce County Federation
of Agriculture believe the answer to
each of the above questions to be a
resounding "NO".
Consider if you will, the provincial
government's advertised agenda in
labour reforms, environmental law,
animal rights, witness, Bill 162,
changes to the Game and Fish Act,
Wildlife Strategy, changes to the Trees
Act, changes to the Drainage Act,
Wetlands and Land Use policy etc. etc.
etc. etc. etc. and a host of other
proposals that strike at the very heart
of your ability to farm.
Do those people who have wrapped
themselves in the flag and are
preaching communism, loss of
freedom and govemment domination,
really represent your belief that you
can stand on your own against the
misdirected, well -funded lobby
groups, that have no understanding of
your needs as a farmer?
At a time when everything we do is
being questioned, from our use of
pesticides, to our treatment of animals
and indeed to the need for our very
existence, there is only one answer for
the majority of farmers, and that is
"NO THEY DO NOT".
The answer for the majority, silent
or not, is unity, co-operation and the
strengthening of General Farm
Organizations now.
The logical answer for the
majority, silent or not, who want to
manage change and manage their
future is to work together through
strong GFOs that actively represent
them.
The farmers of today are not the
farmers of 1969. We want to manage
our future, not wallow in the past. We
can make it happen.
Stable funding is the next logical
step to the future.0
BCFA ANNUAL MEETING
Saturday, November 14,
1992
Ripley Community Centre
6:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Hon.
Ralph Ferguson, M.P.
BCFA REGIONAL
MEETING
Wednesday, October 7,
1992 8:00 p.m.
OMAF Boardroom, Walkerton
Guest Speaker: Gerald
Poechman,
AALP Trip to China and Hong Kong
Bruce County
Federation of Agriculture
Directors' Meeting
Monday, September 28
OMAF Boardroom, Walkerton
8:00 p.m.
Members are welcome to attend