by SUSAN MANN
The National Farmers Union warns the future of Canada’s supply management system is in jeopardy after federal Agriculture Minister tabled an Act this week to remove the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk marketing authority.
“What the government is doing is dismantling these collective marketing structures that were in place to protect farmers and give them market power,” says Kevin Wipf, National Farmers Union executive director. Ontario farmers need to pay attention to what’s happening because “supply management is next in line,” he says.
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz denies supply management is on the chopping block. The national system was created in response to farmers’ demands for stability and profitability at the farm gate, he explains in an email Wednesday. In contrast, the wheat board was imposed only on western grain farmers by government during the Second World War to ensure cheap wheat to Europe.
It’s too early to tell what impact ending the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk selling authority for western wheat and barley producers will have on Ontario grains and oilseed growers, says Grain Farmers of Ontario chair Don Kenny.
Kenny says he thinks Ontario farmers are following developments because the news is widely being reported. “I think they’re all watching with interest.”
But Don Mills, NFU vice president of operations and an Ontario farmer, says it’s not their first priority. “There are probably Ontario issues that are more pressing.”
Ritz tabled the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act on Tuesday to remove the single desk selling authority of the Canadian Wheat Board by Aug. 1, 2012. Western farmers would then have the ability to market their grain either on the open market or through a voluntary wheat board. The bill calls for an interim board of directors to be established, a new check off to fund research and development agencies and federal support for the Churchill, Manitoba port. The wheat board will have four years to transition to a private company or co-operative.
Ritz says in a press release an open grain market will attract investment, encourage innovation, create value-added jobs and build a stronger economy for all Canadians.
Ritz announced his intention to introduce the legislation in Parliament at an Ontario wheat farm “where farmers already enjoy the freedom to market their wheat and barley products as they choose,” the press release says.
But NFU officials say despite Ritz’s attempts to tie Ontario’s changes to its marketing system to wheat board changes the government is now introducing, the two situations are completely different.
NFU research and policy director Cathy Holstlander outlined the differences in a research paper posted on their website. Ontario farmers decided on their own to shift from a single-desk selling authority to the open market. The change wasn’t mandated by the federal government, as is the case with the wheat board. The transition was completed in 2003.
Moreover, Western Canadian wheat production is ten times bigger than that of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes combined, Holstlander notes. Ontario produces soft wheat used for pastry, cookies and doughnuts and the crop is mostly sold domestically or in the northern United States. Prairie farmers produce hard, red spring wheat for bread and durum for pasta. Most of the western crop is exported. BF
Comments
The other night, on CBC TV's - "Lang and O'Leary Exchange", a spokesperson for the Grain Growers of Canada, put the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) issue, squarely in the context of old farmer versus young farmer - he maintained that, by and large, older farmers want to keep the CWB as it is, younger farmers don't.
The farmer support profile for supply management tends to be the same - older farmers like it, younger farmers don't.
Therefore, support for both supply management, and the CWB, is dying, literally, one funeral at a time, and there's no way, unless the NFU can find a way to stop the clock, to avoid the end of either.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
As young farmers the baby boomer farmers were taught in the william a Stewart days to be " farmers to stuarts of the land", unfortunately boomer farmers have farmers and stuarts of greed
"Ritz says in a press release an open grain market will attract investment, encourage innovation, create value-added jobs and build a stronger economy for all Canadians."
From what I see and hear, the end of supply management would do the same thing....open market will attract investment, encourage innovation, create value-added jobs and build a stronger economy for all Canadians.
However it would diminsh the value of that peice of paper representing quota. Bring it on!!
For young farmers it would be the best thing to ever happen to agriculture. I still cant figure out who is going to buy this quota with the average dairy farmer almost sixty. I know a lot of guys my generation who don't want to work for 20 or 30 years to pay off our fathers out of control system. YF
Mr Thompson go look at the OFA website directers bio's have mazor supply management incomes, get the picture
but look at the ages of these directors, and ask yourself - do they represent the interests of ALL farmers, or just themselves?
Because farm organizations tend to be run by, and for, older farmers, they are usually the last to "get" any picture, particularly when it comes to the possible end of their utopia at the hands of younger farmers.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
This by your words is not a pretty example it seems it must have the same when you were a young farmer, so no change
When I was a young farmer, farm organizations didn't seem to see much, if any, problem with the high interest rates of the day - the older farmers in charge of these farm organizations, of course, didn't owe a lot of money, younger farmers did.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Given the opportunity,,most larger scale dairy farmers will trade in their quotas for the chance to expand.The economies of scale are definitely an advantage waiting to be realized by many. Supply management has been great for the family farms of yesterday,but this is today.Many will choose to leave the industry but it will hardly be noticed,and i m sure there will be monetary compensation offered. Quebec will get the biggest payout of all,they will threaten to separate again and march on Ottawa,,yawn. There was a good article in a recent issue of Macleans that dairy farmers should read.Apast cabinent minister reportably told our P.M. that the time is right to dismantle the system. Should be an interesting time.
Be careful what you wish for. The end of supply management is the begining of a food supply that is bought as cheap as possible and sold to the consumer at prices just a little cheaper than consumers pay now. if you think the prices will drop dramatically think again. Furthermore we will not have control over where it comes from. sounds Scary to me.
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