Farmers Matter draws 800
Monday, November 29, 2010
by BETTER FARMING STAFF
The substantial turnout at Friday’s Farmers Matter town hall meeting in Stratford proves that government policies supporting livestock production in Ontario must change, says beef farmer Murray Brodhagen, an organization founder.
Brodhagen estimates that a crowd of more than 800 farmers and suppliers watched and took part in the four hour forum on agricultural issues at the AgriCentre. The presenters, comprised of federal and provincial politicians, farm leaders, and grass roots farmers from nearby counties, focused on four points; food safety and labelling, domestic equality among agriculture programs, cost structure, and a sustainable future for farmers. Sustainability includes a profitable industry that young people will want to enter.
Wayne Easter, Prince Edward Island MP and Liberal agriculture critic, told the crowd the malaise crosses Canada. He predicts that 80 per cent of Prince Edward Island beef producers will default on their Agricultural Advance Program payments on July 1, 2011.
Last summer Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced stays on payment defaults came into effect on Oct. 1 for pork and beef producers. Cattle producers are supposed to commence repayments on the Advance Payments program in eight months and pork producers are supposed to start repayments in June 2012. Otherwise, interest accrued since the stays began will be added to their bills. Easter says farmers need a long term plan for repayment of the loans.
Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Progressive Conservative agriculture critic, says this year grain and oilseeds producers won’t need the business risk management program that the provincial government recently extended. “It won’t pay out,” he predicts.
According to a Farmers Matter press release, the organization was formed in July 2010 “as a platform through which Perth County beef and pork producers could voice our concerns and ideas for policy change that will support the sustainability of Ontario’s beef and pork sectors, as well as offer solutions to short-term risks currently affecting our respective industries.”
"One goal was to really have good dialogue on our four points and see if farmers were concerned about it. They came out and they filled that hall,” says Farmers Matters vice-president Brodhagen. “Our sponsors supported getting a message through us that people are hurting. Government got that message.”
“All our bills were paid by the sponsors,” Brodhagen said. “Small businesses want to see the farmers here survive. They won’t have business if (agriculture) is in a couple of hands.”
The Farmers Matter steering committee wants to see a support program for livestock equivalent to Quebec’s. Politicians “aren’t on that page yet,” Brodhagen says. “But the people in the audience were on that page.”
Alberta farm programs are also a concern. Brodhagen says the Cattle Price Insurance Program, announced this fall, appears to address cost of production issues for stocker cattle in that province. “It is insurance where the producer puts money in and the government puts money in. But somehow they’ve topped it up like in Quebec.”
Brodhagen says Ontario needs a cost of production support program. There’s lots of studies done on the cost of production raising beef. It’s not that hard to come up with.”
From the floor, Middlesex cash cropper Steve Twynstra told the forum he considers the grain and oilseeds business risk program “a tax” on his business. It’s not the program farmers asked for Twynstra said. Perth MPP John Wilkinson disagreed. The program was designed by farmers, he says.
“We need to get a program in place now regardless of the price of the commodity . . . and regardless of if there is an election.”
Bev Shipley, Conservative MP for Middlesex, says federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has spent a lot of time not just finding new markets for beef, but reopening old ones Canada was shut out of when BSE hit Canada’s beef market.
He pointed out that Canada’s pork industry doubled its size in 10 years. “It became an investor’s dream,” citing investor type businesses such as now defunct Premium Pork. “Real farmers” paid for that expansion, he says.
“This meeting is long overdue,” says attendee Adrian VanNynatten, who raises pigs near Kinkora.
Curtis Royal, Ontario Cattlemen’s Association president, says ethanol production is one more development that hurt livestock. It raised corn prices but cheap feed byproducts “never really materialized.”
Currency exchange “is the largest and most difficult topic we have to overcome,” says presenter Clare Schlegel, former Canadian Pork Council president.
Better incomes won’t come with educating consumers, Huron grain farmer Bev Hill says. He quit raising pork after many years in the industry.
“I’m enthused about what has happened today. I’m very concerned this is going to end up a love in,” he said. “We have to have a support program that supports Ontario . . . Like the ASRA program. it has to have the support of both governments.
“We have to have the support of both levels of government.” BF