by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews says a telephone town hall meeting Tuesday between the organization’s members and provincial Treasurer Dwight Duncan and Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell was a success, even if the technology wasn’t up to the task.
About 5,000 members were on the conference call on Tuesday night. Between 20,000 and 25,000 members had been prompted the day before that the conference was taking place.
The first question posed to Duncan was about a risk management program, says Crews.
Last year the province extended a pilot project for grains and oilseeds, which are flying high with record prices. Beef and pork producers submitted their proposals for plans that would back stop those battered industries.
The treasurer “didn’t say yes or no that (a business risk management program) would be in the budget. He did say that he totally understood the need and the rationale,” Crews says.
She adds “It was probably the best answer he could give…. being that budget documents are confidential.” The provincial budget release is scheduled for Mar. 29.
Crews says Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell referred to the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Coalition as “more productive” to deal with “all of the commodities sitting in the room supporting each other and not have to worry about one upsetting the other.”
Crews reiterates that it is still imperative to have federal support for agricultural business risk management programs. “I am not prepared to let the feds off the hook and neither is the province.”
Other questions dealt with the topics of green energy, getting young people into farming, and the high cost of labour as a local input cost.
She says Duncan was amenable to the OFA’s suggestion that farmers be able to get their farm business registration number early in order to be able take advantage of government programs.
Farmers also got the point across that they would rather get returns from the marketplace than a cheque from the government. “That doesn’t get into the news enough,” she says.
Crews says some Federation members surveyed were disappointed that they weren’t able to fully take part in the telephone town hall meeting, which was paid for by the provincial government.
On Monday March 14, between 20,000 and 25,000 members got a “heads up” automated phone call that the conference was taking place, Crews says. A survey of members in her area revealed that “some people sat at the kitchen table and didn’t get a call,” she says. Others got on the phone line and “had their calls dropped.” Other people didn’t get on the line until after the introductory session was over.
Both Ontario Pork and the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association have used similar technology to contact producers via telephone numbers listed in their databases. But the numbers involved were considerably less ambitious. Last fall Ontario Pork attempted to call 1,500 producers and got 600 on the call.
Crews says the technology has a lot of potential. “It will be awesome when it is perfected.” BF
Comments
The phone rang at our house on March 14. Caller ID identified the incoming call to be from 647-478-8437, Min Finance.
Ministry of Finance phone number from Toronto area code.
The recorded message said it was Betty Jean Crews inviting us to give important "input" into the budget.
Why was the OFA President calling from the Ministry of Finance?
"The province’s agriculture minister and treasurer were both on hand for a telephone town hall meeting which OFA president Bette Jean Crews has declared a success"
Since the call originated from the Ministry of Finance when did the Ministry of Finance become a town hall?
When we agreed to be an OFA member, we signed a form. On the form there is a box that grants permission for the OFA to share our private information with other agencies. We denied the OFA permission to use our information other than for stated legal purposes.
How did the Ministry of Finance get our phone number and invade our privacy?
Did the OFA have the legal right to access and distribute membership information for partisan politics purposes without our permission? Did the OFA breach privacy rights by giving the Ministry of Finance private information?
How could Mitchell be part of a process that breached privacy rights of the very people she had made an oath to protect?
Farmers GAY Rights
Farmers GAY RIGHTS meaning G ive Y ielding R ights of reasonable net income like other non farm business who are price setters not price takers as farmers opperate under
Crews says the technology has a lot of potential. “It will be awesome when it is perfected.”
It will be awesome when after 25 years Non supply management farmers get some real economic results. Granted the phone in was a good attempt on the surface. But it as I witnessed on the phone line that night was a love in.
It will be awesome when OFA delivers the Federal 60% share of the RMP program. Then and only then will the farm organiations have the right and claim to fame that they are great organizations. I believe federal minister Ritz on this BF site has recently said absolute No to RMP
Canadian farmers has had tidal waves of disapointment in farm programs, and there is no evidence to believe things will change
5000 farmers on one phone call and Crews said it was a success?
How does muting 5000 invited farmers for "input" make that call a success?
Success for whom?
It was said before the Fall of Jericho:
“You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.”
Sounds like a government is about to fall when they mute voices on a successful phone call.
“I am not prepared to let the feds off the hook and neither is the province.”
What is Crews plan besides talk to get the fed on board with Rmp or anything else? It is time to produce a plan! Or face the fact that they dont have hope in hell getting results
How many years do we wait seeing no results/
The baby boomer farm organizations are leaving a hell of a mess for future farmers. Can you see the future farm organizations need to exist. Past results doesnt show much future indication of improved change in regards to farm structure net income stability as we know it today
It is a cruel joke how our farm organizations Phone ins , etc lead us farmers to believe farm leaders are making economic improvement progress
Grain farmers have had a good year and most know that the good times could vanish. A new cycle down turn if weather cooperates but then there is the Japan situation with world high debt hanging over head. If hard times comes again we have as it stands very poor farm programs in Ontario, questions leading to results need to be asked.
1)who will be farming and what size of farms in the next 25 years and what projected needed profit levels
2) who will own and control the farm land in the future?
3) with the hugh amount of capital needed to run future farms based on present profit models, will family farmers exist or how will business corporations take over farming
It is time to face facts farm organizations are limited to wooing govt, the evidence is very strong that this wooing has not worked.
Comment modified by editors
cost credibility to the impartial nature that farm organizations are supposed to operate. I fear that my operation will suffer because of this partisan breach in protocol.
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