The Rural Voice, 1994-02, Page 29strength in marketing can be its
image of beauty and cleanliness, he
says. "He's the kind of guy who can
bend your mind, give you new ways
of looking at problems and
opportunities."
Tom McCormack, president of
Strategic Projections Inc., an
economic consulting firm providing
assessments, forecasts and advice on
Canadian demographic and economic
developments will be the other
speaker at the conference.
The conference comes at a time
when there are big changes
happening in the agricultural
community. "The farm population is
dealing with market and the new
realities positively. We went through
a phase for the last five years of
looking inward and trying to keep
things the way they were: we need
subsidies to keep us in business, we
need to keep supply management the
way it is. I guess we've sort of come
to the conclusion that entrenchment
and off -farm jobs aren't everything
they're cracked up to be. I see a
change in attitude: I see people
saying 'I don't want to drive two
hours to the city for a job then do
chores at night.' I think we have
resources around home, all kinds of
things people can do from their
homes and in the family context,
roadside stands, crafts and services,
products that people in urban areas
are willing to pay for and even
willing to drive for. This is a chance
for those who have been thinking
about these opportunities but haven't
really made a concrete contact or
have been having trouble getting a
business plan put together. We're just
hoping to provide that networking
opportunity. The more people you
have together with ideas, the more
ideas you can get about how to use
your own capabilities, or ways of
adding value to what you're doing."
Braeker sees it as essential for
agriculture to build bridges with the
rest of the community. "Agriculture
on its own cannot stand on its own,"
he says.
Farmers, says Poechman, have
traditionally spent their time and
resources doing what they like best,
producing food, and have ignored the
marketing. Market Grey -Bruce hopes
to change that, starting with its
conference in Owen Sound.0
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