Remebrance Day 2009

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Anti Farmer Articles Again

The issues surrounding the mis-handling of Canada's Wheat Board were passed around again on various mail lists. The powder that touched it all off came from the National Post. No surpise there, either!

Lorne Gunter, National Post Published: Friday, August 14, 2009

What the Canadian Wheat Board calls "single-desk marketing" is, technically, a "monopsony" -- many sellers, but only one buyer; in this case the federal government. Prairie farmers are forbidden, by law, from selling their wheat or barley to anyone but the CWB, unless their grain is destined to be fed to animals. They face jail time if they defy the board.

In turn, the board claims it can take this huge inventory of grain and sell it internationally for much higher prices than individual farmers could on their own. It then promises to spread these gains around to all wheat and barley growers.

Never mind that there is no evidence this works. Indeed, a major study last year showed that even though the board is one of the largest grain sellers in the world, it still controls too little of the globe's total grain trade to have any impact on the final price.

The price the board receives is as much dependent on swings in world commodity markets as the price lone farmers could earn trading on their own. The trick to getting the highest price is the timing of the sale, not the volume being sold. The board's claim that by gathering together all prairie grain and selling it in bulk it will achieve a higher price is a myth, because even though it controls the output of around 60,000 farmers, it nonetheless still controls too little grain to push the price up by withholding wheat and barley from the market, then rushing it to the selling floor.

Occasionally (like last year), the board gets lucky. Once in a while, its slow, plodding, hulking sales machinery gets grain to market at just the right time and the price gets caught in an updraft. But more often than not, individual farmers could make as much or more by watching commodity trading carefully and pouncing faster than the board could on upward price spikes.

Unless the board's traders are better than private traders or individual farmers at predicting the best time to sell all the grain they have in inventory, it is impossible that theboard can produce greater returns simply by flexing its monopsony.

When Ralph Goodale, one of the smarter Liberals in the House of Commons, was the wheat board minister, I asked him why, if single-desk marketing was such a good practice, his government did not employ it for other industries -- auto parts, for instance. Why not make Magna and Ontario's other parts suppliers sell all their production to the feds, who in turn would then assure them all higher returns by selling their parts in bulk to the automakers?

After coughing and stammering for a minute, Mr. Goodale replied that historical differences in the two industries made them different.But history has no more influence over grain sales than it does over auto parts. Whether or not a trade makes economic sense is no more influenced by history than it is by Friday's CFL scores.

The myth, though, that grain is somehow different from other commodities -- peddled by Mr. Goodale and ministers before him and since -- is what sustains the board, so much so that when the current government has attempted to dismantle the board, the myth-swallowers who run it have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on publicity campaigns and legal challenges to stop the Tories.In 2006, the Tories ordered the board to stop wasting farmers' money on vain attempts to preserve its monopsony. The board balked and went to court to overturn the ban. It won in lower court, where a judge ruled the Tories' gag order amounted to an unconstitutional infringement on farmers' freedom of expression.This produced much clucking and glee among the board's supporters. Many columnists and letter writers across the Prairies crowed "what other laws have the Tories broken" and "Harper's undemocratic ways have finally caught up with him."

But in late-June, a three-judge panel of the Federal Court of Appeal unanimously reversed that decision. It said that the board is entirely the creature of the federal government and as such can be ordered to do by Ottawa whatever Ottawa pleases.

That's the way the Liberals set up the board when they restructured it in the 1990s. They gave it a facade of farmer-control, but retained real decision-making authority at Cabinet.

When the Liberals used this chimera to protect the board's dominance over prairie grain, its backers rejoiced. But now that this loophole is being used by the Tories to introduce real choice for grain farmers, the board's political supporters are aghast.

lgunter@shaw.ca

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To: National Media
From: Joe Hueglin
Subject: Latest assault on Canadian Wheat Board an abject failure.

No change came about in the election of one-third of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), directors reported December 8th. Four of five Districts continue to be represented by directors supporting the CWB's single desk system.

Despite altering regulations to permit unlimited advertising by third parties such as the grain companies, disenfranchising thousands who were with a propensity to support the CWB and, as well, Conservative Members of Parliament not registering as third parties when sending out letters in support of candidates favouring their policy of dismantling the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) - all in order to capture enough directorships to be able to control the Board.

‘‘This is a huge victory for farmers. Farmers have stood up to (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper’s vow to ‘walk over’ any opposition to his plan to demolish the CWB,’’ said Stewart Wells, National Farmers Union president. ‘‘With 80 per cent of the farmer-elected Board members supporting the single-desk marketing advantages and a strong role for the CWB, it is time for the Conservative Party to back away from its attacks on the CWB.’’

Back away? Wishful thinking when neo-conservative principles are at issue. Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz says the neo-conservative Harper Conservatives "remain committed to marketing freedom."

Joe Hueglin

***************************************

Subject: RE: "The Wheat Board's tall tales": Fact or partisan distortion?"

When Ralph Goodale, one of the smarter Liberals in the House of Commons, was the wheat board minister, I asked him why, if single-desk marketing was such a good practice, his government did not employ it for other industries -- auto parts, for instance.

Why not make Magna and Ontario's other parts suppliers sell all their production to the feds, who in turn would then assure them all higher returns by selling their parts in bulk to the automakers?"

I think this was a stupid question - There is a huge difference here between wheat and auto parts: Wheat is a commodity - auto parts are not. Grain of the same variety but from different farmes gets mixed together in a grain elevator - whereas other than nut bolts, auto parts are distint to each maker and specfic model of car.

Secondly, you are dealing with hundres or thousands of farmer producing the same crop - versus a small number of companies that are capable of producing the same autopart - few companies can make hydroformed pickup truck frames.

Individual auto parts makers have more of a one-on-one relationship with the user of their parts - whereas there are many middlemen between farmer and consumer. Next, without the Wheat Board, their role would largely be usurped by some big multinational companies like ADM.

The Wheat Board is Canadian and the farmers can have some influence over it - it is not out there to maximise profits at the expense of farmers. Grain production is also tied to the avaiablility of arable land - it is not a mobile industry - auto prts can be made anywhere on the contient, or around the world -heavy handed intereference could kill the industry here - and the manufacture of parts is often too complex for government to have any real understanding of the processes or way it is managed.

It is a complex issue and maybe the Wheat Board is not perfect, but this was a glib comment about auto parts that seemed to reek of anti-Ontario bias. Why not suggest oil, or lumber - why pick on the auto industry?

bt graff

The Great Canadian Moo!!!

This is all about great Canadian fun AND innovative advertising to highlight Canadian milk products and a very familiar little blue cow. A friend told me about the "great Canadian moo". Since she works in Toronto and a lot of her friends are 20 something... well ... they are having a lot of fun with it. I am sure on the appointed day we all need to send those 'moos'!

After all, at the very least it should send profile through the roof.

I went to check it out though and was surprised to see that it is part of the promotion of the updated blue cow logo, from Dairy Farmers of Canada. The newest commercial is just great! Maybe the great Canadian moo, will send the YOUTUBE commercial viral. If every dairy farmer in Canada were emailing their friends and relatives, this stuff would be viral in no time.

Watch it now on YOUTUBE

Food Policy meeting?!?

Many people,have long thought a National Food policy is critical to and for this country's future.

Before the blow-up of the economy, stock markets, global business and bank failures, not too many people were even interested in the idea. Our current government is NOT looking at the issue at all. But in the 'new world' that some economists and citizens, think may be the future, such a concept had better be on the table.

For one thing, if the food processing sector is one of the largest employers in Canada, not too many people are paying attention to THAT salient fact. It would seem that we should be ensuring our plants and processors are not for sale. Look what happened to one of the few remaining fruit & vegetable processors, once it's ownership was secured by an American company. They raided the brands and closed it down.

It looks as if the Liberals are moving forward on the idea of a National Food Policy.

Experts discuss food policy

April 15, 2009

Rob O'Flanagan Mercury Staff
GUELPH

The complexities of developing a national food policy in this country were made clear during a Liberal Food Caucus discussion in Guelph yesterday. see more at :http://delicious.com/dariblawg

I just hope agriculture is paying attention here. Dairy organizations should really be paying attention as this is exactly what some of them have been advocating for a long time. - CG

Calcium Confusion - Health Canada vs Research

This morning on Canada AM, Dr. Shapiro gave calcium a boost. But this was not just any boost. She commented twice that the preferred source and her preferred source of calcium was food, ie) dairy products. WOW!!! See the whole video clip here.

So I went hunting. The rest of this posting tries to make sense of some of what I found.

I also found the print article at CTV which is much more cautious. The good Doctor also talks about 3 servings of dairy. Hmm I think the last rewrite of the Food Guide (Dairiblawg 2006) blew that one out of the water. She goes further and quotes the necessary grams as 1500 per day!

Well, those of us in dairy land who have been paying attention knew that one too, just another reason to blast the Canada Food Guide and the bureaucrats who wrote it!!! I am getting very tired of Health Canada and the simple things they do not do for our health.

In fact I believe it is time some of us reminded the media that Health Canada may have some really serious problems, the least of which is inaccurate dietary advice!!!! What do ordinary Canadians do now?

Other articles link the same study which was written up in the Archive of Internal Medicine. I found another good one at CBC.

While I was there I also found disparaging and very negative remarks by the Nutrition Sleuth! I also spent some time trying to find this person or group. There were some interesting comments on the site as well. One that that still thinks milk may contain rBST (Bovine somatotropin)!!!

Holy cow!!! This just goes to show that farmers and their organizations can never rest when it comes to trying to educate the public. I think they need to farther and take on Health Canada and at the same time keep the public informed about the battle.

One just has to wonder if Candaians are doomed to a litany of deficiency related diseases that our governement should be taking the lead on? -cg

Internet trolling-Guess What??

I have had no time lately for poor old dairiblawg. To be fair though, there were a lot of really wild and unexpected things happening out there at the same time. The McCain's food fiasco, a possible 'coalition' government, economic collapse, the presidential elections .......

So today, I thought I'd troll around on the Internet. Sometimes really good stuff shows up and sometimes not.

Today I hit a bit of pay dirt. Terence Corcoran: The dairy farmers' annual price heist was not unexpected and I'm sure the dairy farmers and their organizations have seem this article, however, I was surprised to see all the anti articles listed so nicely on the Financial Post pages.

I went trolling some more and came up with: Keeping Canada's food safe from the Guelph Mercury and the thought provoking : How Safe is Our Food Supply? by P.J. Wade.

And if anyone from the food or farming sectors think Canadians or the Media have forgotten about the listeria outbreak, check out: What's next for food supply after deadly outbreak? from CTV.

And to round out your reading pleasure : The End of Food from the CBC.

Just goes to show you that vigilance is required to stay on top of the many, many issues that can have a detrimental impact on us, our food systems and our country. Have a great day!- cg