The Rural Voice, 1987-03, Page 74RAINY RIVER Federation Of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
Box 416, Emo, Ontario POW 1 EO
807-482-2051
The Crop Insurance Commission
review hearing was held in the Red
Dog Inn on February 10. Several
changes pertinent to our area and crops
were suggested. It is hoped that other
areas of the province will have as good
a turnout or better and that some
meaningful changes will come out of
the submissions.
The improved cattle prices have
lured many cattle out of the district.
Those who could see their hay sup-
plies going down have taken the
opportunity to sell some of the anim-
als they had planned to pasture until
next fall, rather than buy hay.
The Crop Check North Report is in
and it shows that 1986 had just about
half the rainfall of 1985, confirming
that 1985 was abnormally wet and that
1986 was dry. The crop results are
sufficient to show that many of the
western crop varieties adapt much
more readily than those suitable to
southem Ontario and recommended by
OMAF specialists.
It has been announced that the Crop
Check North is to be expanded into
considerably larger acreage, which
should allow for some more mean-
ingfully sized test plots.
It has been an abnormally mild
winter here, not much snow. There
are no high drifts to slide down or ride
over. It is just about as sloppy under-
foot as in southern Ontario.°
Jacquelyn Hunsperger
REPORT ON THE OBPFC ANNUAL MEETING
On February 9, the Ontario Beef
Producers for Change held their first
annual meeting in Guelph.
Bill Sieders, Peter Spuzak, and
Dean Hodgson represented the Rainy
River District.
Guest speaker was Del O'Brien of
Pembroke. O'Brien is chairman of the
Ontario Drainage Tribunal and was
chairman of the task force that recently
completed the study of farm income in
Ontario.
He believes that the farm commu-
nity is not getting enough support
from the agrologists and economists
supposedly advising farmers.
The problem, O'Brien says, is that
the world was once crying for food,
and we continually needed to increase
production to feed the hungry. But
improved agricultural technology is
fmally allowing most of the world to
produce adequate amounts of food.
Countries such as China and India,
once among Canada's best customers,
are now exporting wheat, and most
countries that have become self-
sufficient in food production have
decided to protect their farmers from
outside influence.
O'Brien notes that politicians are
ready and willing to help. But they are
receiving conflicting advice from their
own agrologists and economists, and
different farm groups present different
solutions.
Farmers themselves cannot agree
that times have changed, or if there is
even a problem. Some older, well-
established farmers proudly announce
that it is not as bad as the thirties.
72 THE RURAL VOICE
But in eastern Ontario, he noted,
lending institutions will not endorse
loans for entry into the beef industry,
although they are still more than
willing to finance dairy, egg, or other
farming operations under a supply
management system.
Supply management, O'Brien says,
is the only answer to the economic
crisis facing the rural community in
Ontario.
The objective of the Ontario Beef
Producers for Change is to establish a
marketing commission for all beef
sold in Ontario. This commission
would be directed by representatives of
all segments of the industry.
The main purpose of this com-
mission would be to supply Ontario
consumers with quality beef at a cost
that would provide Ontario producers
with a profit.
To achieve this goal, the commis-
sion would probably have to establish
a supply management system. In the
interim, provincial government sub-
sidies would be needed to provide a
profit based on a cost of production
formula (not a system using the
average of the past 10 years of losses).
Although supply management and
quotas appeared to dominate many of
the questions from the floor, chairman
Gerry Long of Komoka dismissed
quotas as unimportant at present.
He said that the latest statistics
show that about 15 per cent of all beef
consumed in Canada is imported, and
that beef production in Ontario has
declined 30 per cent since 1979.
Even though the flood of subsid-
ized Irish beef was stopped, it has been
replaced by beef from Australia and
Argentina. Much of this imported
beef passes on into the U.S., causing
friction from their producers.
Long and O'Brien agreed that there
is more than enough market in Ontario
for all present producers.
The constitution for the Ontario
Beef Producers for Change was passed
by an overwhelming majority after
some lengthy discussions.
Membership will be limited to
residents of Ontario physically caring
for four or more head of cattle. This
means all dairy, cream, and veal pro-
ducers will be included in any plan.
Off -farm investors will be excluded.
It was suggested, and approved,
that if the Ontario Cattlemen's Asso-
ciation were to adopt the needed
changes to improve the beef industry,
the OBPFC would disband.
The steering committee noted the
$500 received from Shur -Gain Feeds to
help the organization get off the
ground. The Canadian Imperial Bank
of Commerce was also recognized for
sponsoring the first annual meeting.
The new directors of the Ontario
Beef Producers for Change will be
elected from 14 zones in Ontario.
Zone 13 consists of the districts of
Rainy River, Kenora, and Thunder
Bay. The zone must hold a meeting of
paid members and elect a director on or
before March 11, 1987.
The Ontario Beef Producers for
Change will meet again in Guelph
April 10.
Dean Hodgson