Farming '91, 1991-03-20, Page 20A20. FARMING ’91, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1991.
Farming ’91
Join GRIP, George urges farmers of Walton meeting
Roger George, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (second from right) chats with
Huron M.P.P. Paul Klopp during a meeting of the Huron County Federation at Walton March 7.
Mr. George urged farmers to join the GRIP program while Mr. Klopp urged caution not to
overproduce under GRIP.
Roger George, President of the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture
(OFA) urged cash crop farmers to
sign up for the new GRIP program
when he spoke in Walton March 7.
Speaking at the members meet
ing of the Huron County Federation
of Agriculture Mr. George said
GRIP will be “the only game in
town’’ so farmers should make sure
they are covered by the new
program. The plan isn’t perfect but
farmers should put some faith in
their farm organizations to make
sure the plan keeps developing.
He said Federal Agriculture
Minister Don Mazankowski has
said that when the safety-net
program is in place he’ll look at a
deficiency payment for the 1990
crop and “we need a clear signal
from the government that aid is on
the way. Let’s not get sucked in on
accepting a cash advance of future
GRIP payout,’’ Mr. George warn
ed, saying such a move would save
the government an entire year's
assistance. “We have to make sure
we don’t get ripped off.” He said
farmers need to pressure Murray
Cardiff and Paul Klopp and other
politicians across the province and
country to help farmers put profit
back into food production. Ontario
farmers can’t compete with the
support given farmers in the U.S.,
Quebec or the west, he said.
He said farmers need profits to
deal with things like growing
environmental concerns. Farmers
can t afford to put up expensive
new manure handling facilities if
they don’t make a profit.
Ontario food production is being
subsidized by the off-farm income
earned by farmers and their spous
es with second jobs, he said. “I can
see the sense of frustration and
despair on the faces of farmers who
ask ‘Why are we doing it’ ”, he
said. “It should be the concern of
every politician and consumer that
farmers are losing heart.” On the
other hand, he said, the new GRIP
program is giving new optimism to
some cash crop farmers and is even
pushing land prices up.
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But Mr. Klopp sounded a note of
warning on the GRIP program.
“Please use caution and common
sense,” he said. The program’s
figures are based on past history
and guess work of the future but
thev are based on the assumption
of the same corn and soybean
acreage as there has been. But Mr.
Klopp said he had heard stories of
farmers tearing up winter wheat so
they could plant soybeans because
under GRIP the crop looks profi
table. “We’re not figuring that the
whole province will be in soya
beans,” he said. GRIP “isn’t a
bottomless pit. Don’t come crying
to me and saying they’re not
paying because too many farmers
are growing soybeans and I
thought I'd be the only one.”
Mr. Klopp said he was hoping
for a price recovery that would see
soybeans at $10 and corn at $5
because that’s what farmers need
to make their farms profitable.
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R. John Elliott
[519] 523-4323