Farm columnist’s biases

Better Farming recently ran a cover story on supply management and marketing boards. In it, the article quoted the egg board’s Harry Pelissero as saying some “farm columnists have a bias against supply management.”

Editor Robert Irwin told me that quote used by writer Don Stoneman was directed at columnists of Ontario Farmer newspaper. However, the article doesn’t say that. It does, however, introduce me four sentences later, the obvious inference being that I am a columnist who had this bias.

Not only is this wrong and Mr. Irwin knows it, but he has refused to take responsibility for the error by refusing to run a correction in his magazine after I requested it. Leaving me to write a letter to the editor, he leaves the impression that this is merely a “he said-they said” issue.

The fact of the matter is this. Eastern Ontario Farmers Forum has never supported any farmer selling eggs outside the marketing board system. Knowing that the error in Better Farming magazine will defame my reputation in the eyes of his supply management readers and Farmers Forum readers, Mr. Irwin and Mr. Stoneman have added to the injury by the conflict of interest Better Farming has in printing the error. BF

Patrick Meagher
Editor, Eastern Ontario Farmers Forum

Editors’ note: Our recollections of conversations with Mr. Meagher differ from his.

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