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The Rural Voice, 1999-04, Page 8• 39" forged tine • Easy stabbing & removal • Optional 49" tine available Material Bucket • Wrap-around wearbar for extra strength • Unique formed construction for easy filling and clean-out HORST WELDING R.R. 3, Listowel, Ontario N4W 3G8 (519) 291-4162 FAX (519) 291-5388 Dealer enquiries invited 4 THE RURAL VOICE Keith Roulston Will we be allowed to be different? Back in the days when Mao Tse- tung ruled China, there was no greater symbol of the enforced conformity of communism than the identical drab clothing that everyone in China was forced to wear. Thank- fully, that kind of communism is dead, but arc we being forced into an equal con- formity by global capitalism? Prior to the free trade/glob- alization, diff- erent countries could develop their own solutions to problems. In Canada that solution in some commodities was collective action. Supply manage- ment poultry and dairy and central selling of wheat and pork provided a better income to farmers and a guaranteed, quality supply of raw products for manufacturers. Rural Canada, by comparison to the U.S., has prospered because of these innovative ways of doing business. But as one small player in the international marketplace, Canada will be under increasing pressure to abandon solutions that hav worked well in favour of systems that give the advantage to processors. In the U.S., for instance, the "free market" system has turned farmers into sources of cheap suppliers for the processing industry. Recently the Christian Science Monitor told the story of the Morison family of Chestertown, Maryland. They raise 700,000 chickens a year for Perdue Farms Inc., yet both Morisons must work off the farm to support them- selves — just like most other chicken farmers in the U.S. On average, according to a 1995 study by Louis- iana Tech., U.S. chicken farmers have a $12,000 annual profit. Under contracts with the major companies, farmers provide build- ings, labour, land, equipment, water and electricity while the companies provide feed, medicine and chicks. In fact the only time the farnicr owns the chicken is if it dies. It's estimated farmers provide half the investment capital yet get small return. Farmers say they don't even Iikc to speak out because they fear retaliation. The National Broiler Council says if broiler contractors don't like the business, they can get out. It's just frec enterprise. That word "free" has been bandied about a lot in recent years but let's face it, "free" trade and globalization is about power. That's why companies arc merging for more competitive clout. National laws designed to even the playing field, by limiting the power of big business to give smaller players an even break, are being attacked right left and centre in the name of free trade and free enterprise. The role of govern- ment as a referee to protect the Icss powerful, is being obliterated. The truly amazing aspect of it all is that the powerful people, as they unite for more power, have managed to convince many people that their best option is rugged individualism. In doing so they have found support- ers fighting within the system to destroy it. Out west, opposition still tries to undermine the Wheat Board, provincial hog boards have been disbanded, and egg production has been allowed outside of quotas — all in the name of free markets. Here in Ontario we've had the freedom to create balance and diversity. The recent plan by hog producers to invest in small packers, for instance, is only possible because there's still a pork marketing board. If the board had been dismantled as happened in Manitoba, the plan would be nearly impossible. But international businesses prefer the kind of model that sees farmers only as suppliers for the processing industry. They'd happily create more families like the Morisons: people with little choice but to conform. These people might not be wearing uniforms, but their choices are still limited.° Keith Roulston is editor and publisher of The Rural Voice. Ile lives near Blyth, ON. QUICK -FIT INTERCHANGEABLE FRONT-END LOADER ATTACHMENTS Front Loader Pallet Fork • • • 48" long solid forklift tines Sliding adjustable 5000 Ib. capacity Manure Fork • • 48" - 7 tines • 60" - 8 tines, 72" - 9 tines • 84" - 11 tines Single European -Style Spear • 39" forged tine • Easy stabbing & removal • Optional 49" tine available Material Bucket • Wrap-around wearbar for extra strength • Unique formed construction for easy filling and clean-out HORST WELDING R.R. 3, Listowel, Ontario N4W 3G8 (519) 291-4162 FAX (519) 291-5388 Dealer enquiries invited 4 THE RURAL VOICE Keith Roulston Will we be allowed to be different? Back in the days when Mao Tse- tung ruled China, there was no greater symbol of the enforced conformity of communism than the identical drab clothing that everyone in China was forced to wear. Thank- fully, that kind of communism is dead, but arc we being forced into an equal con- formity by global capitalism? Prior to the free trade/glob- alization, diff- erent countries could develop their own solutions to problems. In Canada that solution in some commodities was collective action. Supply manage- ment poultry and dairy and central selling of wheat and pork provided a better income to farmers and a guaranteed, quality supply of raw products for manufacturers. Rural Canada, by comparison to the U.S., has prospered because of these innovative ways of doing business. But as one small player in the international marketplace, Canada will be under increasing pressure to abandon solutions that hav worked well in favour of systems that give the advantage to processors. In the U.S., for instance, the "free market" system has turned farmers into sources of cheap suppliers for the processing industry. Recently the Christian Science Monitor told the story of the Morison family of Chestertown, Maryland. They raise 700,000 chickens a year for Perdue Farms Inc., yet both Morisons must work off the farm to support them- selves — just like most other chicken farmers in the U.S. On average, according to a 1995 study by Louis- iana Tech., U.S. chicken farmers have a $12,000 annual profit. Under contracts with the major companies, farmers provide build- ings, labour, land, equipment, water and electricity while the companies provide feed, medicine and chicks. In fact the only time the farnicr owns the chicken is if it dies. It's estimated farmers provide half the investment capital yet get small return. Farmers say they don't even Iikc to speak out because they fear retaliation. The National Broiler Council says if broiler contractors don't like the business, they can get out. It's just frec enterprise. That word "free" has been bandied about a lot in recent years but let's face it, "free" trade and globalization is about power. That's why companies arc merging for more competitive clout. National laws designed to even the playing field, by limiting the power of big business to give smaller players an even break, are being attacked right left and centre in the name of free trade and free enterprise. The role of govern- ment as a referee to protect the Icss powerful, is being obliterated. The truly amazing aspect of it all is that the powerful people, as they unite for more power, have managed to convince many people that their best option is rugged individualism. In doing so they have found support- ers fighting within the system to destroy it. Out west, opposition still tries to undermine the Wheat Board, provincial hog boards have been disbanded, and egg production has been allowed outside of quotas — all in the name of free markets. Here in Ontario we've had the freedom to create balance and diversity. The recent plan by hog producers to invest in small packers, for instance, is only possible because there's still a pork marketing board. If the board had been dismantled as happened in Manitoba, the plan would be nearly impossible. But international businesses prefer the kind of model that sees farmers only as suppliers for the processing industry. They'd happily create more families like the Morisons: people with little choice but to conform. These people might not be wearing uniforms, but their choices are still limited.° Keith Roulston is editor and publisher of The Rural Voice. Ile lives near Blyth, ON.