Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

TIME TO RALLY

After hearing that both levels of government want to do more meetings and discuss the future of agriculture in Canada I wonder if it is time to bring all non supply managed farmers and their elected officials together for a major rally to get the point accross that wait and see is not an answer and we need results now. Is this a good idea and if so how do we get the ball rolling.

Views: 545

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by bert on March 9, 2010 at 1:22am
Tom Murray said:
JoAnne Caughill said:
I agree with John that it is the Provincial Government that needs to help us out right away to save this Industry. However I would not let the Federal Government off the hook so quickly. They have AgriStability which (even though Gerry thinks it does) IS NOT working for producers. His 80% satisfaction rating has to be many years old. They need to fix this program. Sheila Frasier, Auditor General has spoke severely against this program and it's ability to work as it should as outlined in the Farm Income Protection Act. We need to take Gerry to task on this program and make it stand up to their (Government's) own test of FIPA.

I think we need a MAJOR protest - and yes as pointed out in another email - it would be great if all Provinces could agree to protest together on the same dates. Anyone interested in this from other provinces can contact me through this chat forum. Let's work together.
Permalink Reply by Roadrunner on March 19, 2010 at 5:06am
To pull off a major rally, there needs to be more than a grass roots revolt....there needs to be organization and lots of communication...where are ofa and cfa on this? they have the time and ability...do we need to push them into action?
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on March 19, 2010 at 6:30am
It is not wether we need to push them but how we push them. I do not think they are listening and understanding how bad things really are or they would be organizing something already.
Permalink Reply by John Gillespie on March 20, 2010 at 2:59am
RoadRunner

I see you asking where the OFA is and why they have not been organizing rallies. As a vice president in the Bruce County federation of Agriculture I am going to turn the question around and ask where have the members been? OFA has been asking for the RMP and other programs and changes. We have not been getting much response from Government to our requests. We know things have to change BUT we are not seeing much from our members. Last fall at our county annual meeting ( with almost 1400 members in the county) we had 70 people out, about 1/2 were directors and spouses, plus media and politicians, hardly any regular members. There were NO resolutions presented for us to do anything different and I think the hog and beef sectors were in trouble last fall too. We always make our monthly board meetings open to members, and we never have any come. If you want to push OFA to do more you have to show up. Go to your county meeting and ask them to do more. Better yet take 25 of your neighbours with you. If 5 or 6 regional directors go to the next OFA board meeting and say they each had 50 or 100 members out to the last county board meetings demanding rallies/protests etc then more is likely to happen.

The leadership of OFA can't do everything for the members without some help. Our county can't even fill all the township director chairs, and most of us have off farm work besides, so we need more help. If you want to provide it, we will accept.
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on March 20, 2010 at 9:52am
Do you think that there might be to many orginizations. I belong to several and the same message is being put out but like you say not enough people coming forward at each groups meetings. Maybe we need less groups working for us in order to have a united voice. I wonder if one orginization stepped up and really started to push how many people would come out. I feel most people do not bother because they see it is a slow process and of little value. One load group seems to work in places in Europe as well as in Quebec.

John Gillespie said:
RoadRunner

I see you asking where the OFA is and why they have not been organizing rallies. As a vice president in the Bruce County federation of Agriculture I am going to turn the question around and ask where have the members been? OFA has been asking for the RMP and other programs and changes. We have not been getting much response from Government to our requests. We know things have to change BUT we are not seeing much from our members. Last fall at our county annual meeting ( with almost 1400 members in the county) we had 70 people out, about 1/2 were directors and spouses, plus media and politicians, hardly any regular members. There were NO resolutions presented for us to do anything different and I think the hog and beef sectors were in trouble last fall too. We always make our monthly board meetings open to members, and we never have any come. If you want to push OFA to do more you have to show up. Go to your county meeting and ask them to do more. Better yet take 25 of your neighbours with you. If 5 or 6 regional directors go to the next OFA board meeting and say they each had 50 or 100 members out to the last county board meetings demanding rallies/protests etc then more is likely to happen.

The leadership of OFA can't do everything for the members without some help. Our county can't even fill all the township director chairs, and most of us have off farm work besides, so we need more help. If you want to provide it, we will accept.
Permalink Reply by linda Hancock on March 20, 2010 at 10:15am
I have to agree with both Tom and roadrunner. Like who is the Bruce county federation of agriculture. When I start looking around there are way to many groups all trying to work towards helping agriculture but not unified enough with each other to make a difference. I have not been to my own cattlemens meeting for 15 years or more mainly to busy but I am going this year because everyones voice is important and now is the time to stand up or soon there will be nothing to stand up for.

Tom Murray said:
Do you think that there might be to many orginizations. I belong to several and the same message is being put out but like you say not enough people coming forward at each groups meetings. Maybe we need less groups working for us in order to have a united voice. I wonder if one orginization stepped up and really started to push how many people would come out. I feel most people do not bother because they see it is a slow process and of little value. One load group seems to work in places in Europe as well as in Quebec.

John Gillespie said:
RoadRunner

I see you asking where the OFA is and why they have not been organizing rallies. As a vice president in the Bruce County federation of Agriculture I am going to turn the question around and ask where have the members been? OFA has been asking for the RMP and other programs and changes. We have not been getting much response from Government to our requests. We know things have to change BUT we are not seeing much from our members. Last fall at our county annual meeting ( with almost 1400 members in the county) we had 70 people out, about 1/2 were directors and spouses, plus media and politicians, hardly any regular members. There were NO resolutions presented for us to do anything different and I think the hog and beef sectors were in trouble last fall too. We always make our monthly board meetings open to members, and we never have any come. If you want to push OFA to do more you have to show up. Go to your county meeting and ask them to do more. Better yet take 25 of your neighbours with you. If 5 or 6 regional directors go to the next OFA board meeting and say they each had 50 or 100 members out to the last county board meetings demanding rallies/protests etc then more is likely to happen.

The leadership of OFA can't do everything for the members without some help. Our county can't even fill all the township director chairs, and most of us have off farm work besides, so we need more help. If you want to provide it, we will accept.
Permalink Reply by John Gillespie on March 20, 2010 at 2:57pm
Well the BCFA is the local level of OFA. We deal with local issues, and act as a voice for members to interact with the provincial OFA.

I do agree there are too many groups, and that the Quebec model works much better, getting there is going to be an interesting process but some parts are starting (Grain Farmers).

The real question is if we do decide to become more active, (and rallies are just one option, a very concentrated lobby on MP/MPP's may be just as effective, if say every MP/MPP had a personal visit every day, and a call and fax every 15 minutes for 2 or 3 weeks) how many people are going to support us, and how many have just given up?
Permalink Reply by Tom Murray on March 22, 2010 at 2:27am
The real point is one of our leadership has to step up and tell us what needs to be done and tell it so that we get a huge majority on board. If not we might as well quit right now. I will support anything that is seen as helping the cause but I am sick of going to meetings that do not accomplish anything. The farm can no longer support my family so my wife and myself ( just like many others ) have found it necessary to work full time jobs and run the farm, how much time do we have to attend meetings that appear to be going no where......none

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Farm Equipment's Best of the Web: Dec. 1, 2023

Farm Equipment editors encounter a variety of articles, social media posts, podcasts and videos that offer a unique look at various aspects of our great farm machinery industry. Here is our favorite content from the past week from across the web: Proven in the most demanding of ag conditions, CLEANFIX reversible fans provide the most efficient diesel engine cooling and radiator cleaning available. The multi-patented reversing fan technology maintains machine cooling as needed and, when required, provides the strongest blowout of dust and debris -- without halting or slowing operations. Will New Holland Combine Get Enough Votes to Become Lego Set? Before Lego will consider putting the set into production, the design must first receive 10,000 votes. The project has been on the site since Nov. 13 and now has 1,982 votes, but voting is still open for 590 days. Marketing’s Next Frontier — Through Seed? Flowers appear on this California hillside in the shape of McDonald’s iconic ‘M’ logo.

Preparing for the Next Generation of Precision Technology

Recent generations of ag technology have seen new features undercut by rising reliability problems, says Clay Mitchell, co-founder and managing director of Silicon Valley-based Fall Line Capital, a farmland and venture investment firm. Mitchell says the shift to autonomy will accelerate reliability problems beyond anything we’ve seen before. The fifth-generation farmer (the precision farming “poster boy” of the 1990s and 2000s), who holds board seats on Farmwise, Guardian Ag, Pluton Biosciences and Sound Ag, says the role of dealer technicians to keep North America’s farm fleet running is about to increase 10 fold. During the 2024 Precision Farming Dealer Summit, Mitchell will set the stage for what’s yet to come in precision farming, and how to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. During Clay Mitchell's presentation, attendees can expect to learn: 1. How to service new technology/equipment coming to the market 2. The skills that are needed to support farming in 2024 & beyond

APAS report shows food prices are not driven by the price at the farm gate

The Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan have released their final report on Farmers and Food Prices. President Ian Boxall said they wanted the report to clear the air, as some people thought the increase in food prices was related to the increase in commodity prices. APAS worked with Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting to determine the farmer’s share of the retail price of eight products flour, bread, canola oil, margarine, lentils, beer, retail beef, and retail pork. The report uses the USDA's methodology to determine the quantity of a farm commodity required to produce a unit of the final consumer food product. Boxall says the independent study indicates that food prices are not driven by the farm gate. "For example, the total retail price of canola oil went up 41%. They've started to fall off now, but when this report was done, the farmer share only went up 18%. So yes, the farmer got extra when the price went up, but not comparative to what it went up on the groce

At White House Tribal Nations Summit, USDA Fulfills Long-Standing Tribal Requests to Strengthen Food Sovereignty and Expand Indigenous Roles in Forest Management

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced ways the Biden-Harris Administration is fulfilling long-standing Tribal requests for USDA to support and better partner with Tribal Nations in empowering Tribal food sovereignty and co-stewardship of federal lands and waters. Secretary Vilsack announced the first grant recipients under the Indigenous Animals Harvesting and Meat Processing Grant Program, as well as advances in Forest Service co-stewardship with Tribes, including 120 new agreements totaling more than $68 million in investments. Secretary Vilsack also announced the inaugural appointees of the new Tribal Advisory Committee. Secretary Vilsack made the announcements at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit, where Tribal leaders gathered for Nation-to-Nation conversations with President Biden and senior administration officials on key priorities, new policies and critical issues facing Tribal Nations. “As Tribes have requested, we are reshaping

On-farm technology report findings released

Astudy of American farmers’ adoption of precision agriculture technology indicates that during the first two decades of the 21st century, acreage farmed with automated systems has increased 10-fold or more. The findings are reported in a study conducted by Kansas State University precision agriculture economist Terry Griffin and colleagues with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The report, Precision Agriculture in the Digital Era: Recent Adoption on U.S. Farms, is available online. Griffin said the report studies adoption of precision technology on several major crops, including corn, soybean, winter wheat, grain sorghum and more. “The most adopted technologies typically have the word ‘automated’ in their names,” Griffin said. “The reason for that is that they tend to make life a little bit easier for the operators than if they didn’t have the technology.” As an example, Griffin said equipment that provides automated guidance makes life easier for farm

© 2023   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service