by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Ontario Goat’s days may be numbered if the organization doesn’t find new ways to fund itself. Executive director Jennifer Haley says an end to the organization is “a possibility, very much.”
She says “the board is already in the process of figuring out what resources do we have to carry on some of the things we do. We may not be able, in the new year, to continue to do some of things that we currently do today just because we don’t have the financial resources to support it.”
OG president Tobin Schlegel says OG will exist in a year, “the question is what form it takes.” He says the board is meeting with industry partners to see what to do next.
At a producer expression-of-opinion vote held in June producer support did not meet the threshold established by the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission. A positive response to Ontario Goat’s proposal for marketing board status would have resulted in check-off funding from the sale of milk and the marketing of goats for meat. Haley says OG needs about $300,000 a year to maintain current programs. At production levels of 30 million litres of milk a year (projected at the time of the vote), the check-off of $0.0075 per litre would have netted about $225,000. The addition of $2.50 per meat goat marketed, at about 40,000 goats a year, would have added $100,000 in revenue.
“A ‘no vote’ doesn’t mean producers don’t want Ontario Goat,” Schlegel says. “What we’re hearing is it’s primarily a cost issue at this point.” He says the high cost of feed, hay and bedding has left some producers with negative margins. “The timing of the vote was a little unfortunate from that perspective.”
Haley says Ontario Goat is asking producers what it could have done differently with the proposal in terms of costs, benefits and services.
However, a second vote is a distant possibility. Haley says the Commission told them would take a “groundswell” of producer support for the commission to open the file again so soon.
“The commission is pretty clear . . . that if another proposal was to come back to the commission it needs to have an overwhelming amount of support from the industry,” Haley says. She also recalls that the former Ontario Goat Milk Producers’ Association tried 10 years ago to get goat producers organized and failed.
Haley says Ontario Goat – which represents dairy, meat and fibre producers – gets positive feedback from goat producers all the time. “One thing we’ve heard from everybody,” she says, “is we don’t want to lose what Ontario Goat has built.” However, time is running out.
“From an organizational point of view,” Haley says, “our time lines are pretty short because our funding to have the organization and the partnership that we have with veal and rabbit is winding up at the end of the year.” Haley added they have transitional funding “that will probably take us the next six to nine months.”
Ontario Goat, Ontario Rabbit and Ontario Veal make up the Ontario Livestock Alliance. Each of the three is governed by its own producer-elected board of directors.
Goat and rabbit producers voted in June on the marketing board option but neither hit the threshold for a positive outcome. The commission required that 66.7 per cent of the total number of voters had to support the proposal and those in favour had to represent 50 per cent of the production for each proposal to pass. BF
Comments
A newsletter went out to OG members in May 2013. With a heavily dairy represented board of directors, they are putting together a new proposal and drumming up support for another 'kick at the can' on voting for a goat marketing board. They will drop the check off fees to 0.005 cents/litre and $2.00/ head for meat goats. What a slap in the face to those that voted "No" to a marketing board only a few months ago. This is big business, and capitalism. There is no concession for the small producer in this matter, except for big brother saying, "it will be good for all". It is my experience, that when someone else is spending my hard earned money...it is never enough. A marketing board will forever reach deeper into the pockets of the producer until only those with the deepest pockets remain. Please stay alert and let the Ontario Farm Products Commission know that you are against a goat marketing board.
I was reading that Ontario Goat needs to decide its future after the lost vote for Supply Management.
In the spirit of helping OG's transition, I have some questions that might help them focus. If OG has excellent answers, their OG members may agree, and this could help decide OG's future.
1. Does Ontario Goat ("OG") agree that the granting of a Supply Management ("SM") monopoly gives powerful rights to the goat farmer, but those rights come attached with responsibilities as well? If yes, then what does OG see as their responsibilities under Supply Management towards the Canadian public, OG farmers, and those upstream and downstream of the OG farmer? What objective evidence can OG show that clearly demonstrates that they fully recognize those responsibilities, and the Board and all members of OG will be constantly reminded about and can be held accountable to those responsibilities?
2. Does OG's Board agree that the organization needs to be of net value to each and every OG farmer who is a member (ie. OG's Board produces more value than the levy collected on every goat & every litre of milk produced)? If yes, please provide objective evidence of the Board's business case which justifies their existence at the planned levy costs they would seek under SM.
3. How many goats/kg of meat/litres of milk are exported each year from Canada? What % is that export market of the total Canadian goat/milk production? Why is that % so small? If Canada obtained 50% of the OECD export market share, what effect would this have on the Canadian goat growers (ie. what % increase in current production, logistics, risk, profits, cost of production, etc.). If OG gains SM ranking, what will be the Board's approach and responsibility for exporting goats/meat/milk from Canada to the OECD countries, and the rest of the world?
Glenn Black President
Small Flock Poultry Farmers of Canada
basically they are there with their milk production now because you can only start once you get a contract to produce when you get some one who agrees to buy your milk . In other words if you don't have a buyer you can't just produce and flood the market .
However unlike cow dairy you CAN create your own market and sell as much as you want as long as you follow health regulations.
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