This often misunderstood AND maligned marketing system is generally difficult for most non-farmers to understand. So what does the farmer get out of it?
In big picture terms, dairy farmers get stability. They get a fair price for their milk, based on actual farmers’ costs or cost of production. The processors MUST pay the agreed price, their milk MUST be picked up and processors must take it, if it meets all health requirements. Your neighbour cannot steal your market from you and farmers large and small, have equal opportunities for success or failure.
This is important for Canada, because for many other kinds of farmers, this is not necessarily true. Canadians have heard over and over again about the catastrophic problems sometimes with pork farmers and recently with grains and oil seeds farmers.
Remember what happened to Canadian beef farmers when BSE forced the abrupt and devastating closure of the US border?! Much of this pain can be laid at the door of international trade, a heavy reliance on export markets and the subsidies paid by foreign governments to their farmers!
Not only do these abrupt changes in fortune affect farmers, they affect Canadians too. Agricultural products are a large part of the national GDP. These financial ups and downs also impact rural Canada, which relies on farmers to keep their economic engine running.
And in the end it costs us all, because both the federal and provincial governments end up paying dollars out to stabilize agriculture.
Contrary to this woeful picture, supply managed farmers do not receive subsidy dollars. Dairy farmers share many of their costs. They also share both their lowest value markets and their best ones. This has been successful in developing AND maintaining regional dairy farms, so all regions of the country can benefit.
This same stability has allowed dairy farmers and their organizations, to concentrate on investing in their industries. Again, consumers have benefited, as milk is one of the safest, most tested food products shipped from the farm.
This unique Canadian system is all about what is good for Canada, Canadian farmers, processors and consumers .
Key to the success of these farmers is their desire to focus on the Canadian domestic market and their willingness to share both the profits and any pain, with each other. They are responsible for any costs if they make a mistake. They cannot over-produce and then expect the government to bail them out.
The system is designed to supply Canada with all the healthy fresh dairy products she needs. At the same time, the stability in the industry, has resulted in one of the lowest percentages of consumer income spent on dairy products, in the world.
Sounds pretty good, right? So why then, would ANY Canadian government ever think of risking this group of farmers in the International trade arena? And why do right wing think tanks and economists continually attack these self reliant, productive, successful, responsible farmers?
In big picture terms, dairy farmers get stability. They get a fair price for their milk, based on actual farmers’ costs or cost of production. The processors MUST pay the agreed price, their milk MUST be picked up and processors must take it, if it meets all health requirements. Your neighbour cannot steal your market from you and farmers large and small, have equal opportunities for success or failure.
This is important for Canada, because for many other kinds of farmers, this is not necessarily true. Canadians have heard over and over again about the catastrophic problems sometimes with pork farmers and recently with grains and oil seeds farmers.
Remember what happened to Canadian beef farmers when BSE forced the abrupt and devastating closure of the US border?! Much of this pain can be laid at the door of international trade, a heavy reliance on export markets and the subsidies paid by foreign governments to their farmers!
Not only do these abrupt changes in fortune affect farmers, they affect Canadians too. Agricultural products are a large part of the national GDP. These financial ups and downs also impact rural Canada, which relies on farmers to keep their economic engine running.
And in the end it costs us all, because both the federal and provincial governments end up paying dollars out to stabilize agriculture.
Contrary to this woeful picture, supply managed farmers do not receive subsidy dollars. Dairy farmers share many of their costs. They also share both their lowest value markets and their best ones. This has been successful in developing AND maintaining regional dairy farms, so all regions of the country can benefit.
This same stability has allowed dairy farmers and their organizations, to concentrate on investing in their industries. Again, consumers have benefited, as milk is one of the safest, most tested food products shipped from the farm.
This unique Canadian system is all about what is good for Canada, Canadian farmers, processors and consumers .
Key to the success of these farmers is their desire to focus on the Canadian domestic market and their willingness to share both the profits and any pain, with each other. They are responsible for any costs if they make a mistake. They cannot over-produce and then expect the government to bail them out.
The system is designed to supply Canada with all the healthy fresh dairy products she needs. At the same time, the stability in the industry, has resulted in one of the lowest percentages of consumer income spent on dairy products, in the world.
Sounds pretty good, right? So why then, would ANY Canadian government ever think of risking this group of farmers in the International trade arena? And why do right wing think tanks and economists continually attack these self reliant, productive, successful, responsible farmers?
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