Farms.com Home   News

Supply Management Focus Of Roebuck Debate

 It’s harvest time for farmers and wannabe-federal politicians were hoping to make hay with the agricultural crowd at a pre-election debate here Tuesday.
 
Candidates Gord Brown for the Conservative Party, Mary-Jean McFall of the Liberals, Margaret Andrade of the NDP and Lorraine Rekmans of the Green Party pledged continuing support for farmers at the Roebuck Hall, but with different viewpoints about how best to help the agricultural community.
 
Defending Canada’s supply management, the top issue at the debate sponsored by the Leeds and Grenville Federations of Agriculture, is something all candidates support but they come at it from different sides.
 
Brown said his government has “fiercely supported” supply management while also opening up markets with trade deals that will give farmers other avenues to sell their products. He also had the prime minister’s ear to defend Canadian dairy farmers and stop American suppliers selling “pizza kits” to Canadian markets that were “almost all mozzarella and little pepperoni.”
 
Brown said trade deals have been welcomed by Canadian beef farmers eager to break into new markets. And he pledged Conservatives will fight resistance in the U.S. to a World Trade Organization ruling that allows Canadian beef into the American market without country of original labelling that increases costs for exporters.
 
“Overall, I’m proud of my record on agriculture. It’s such an important industry in our riding,” said Brown.
 
But McFall argues a pan-Pacific trade deal in the works threatens the stability for dairy, egg and poultry farmers who will lose market share to producers from outside Canada.
 
“Free trade is only good if you have a level playing field,” said McFall.
 
“Farmers are wanting to know what’s on the table. How much will be dealt away and what will we get for it,” said McFall, who noted she grew up on Burnbrae Farms in Lyn owned by her father Joe Hudson.
 
McFall said agriculture creates more than 350,000 direct and indirect jobs and every one per cent reduction in market share will cost 3,500 jobs.
 
She also spoke in favour of a federal risk management program based on a successful Ontario plan and, like all candidates, supports efforts to market farm products locally through farmers’ markets and programs to serve area produce at local restaurants.
 
Rekmans said the Green Party shares farmers’ fears about the future of supply management.
 
“People are concerned about international trade agreements,” said Rekmans.
 
Andrade said the NDP rejects trade agreements with countries that provide direct subsidies to farmers while demanding an end to supply management. But it’s only one issue threatening farmers across Canada, she added.
 
“It’s more than supply management. It’s also the debt load farmers have to take on,” said Andrade, adding 30,000 jobs in farming have disappeared over the past 10 years.
 
She said the federal government needs to invest more in existing programs such as agri-invest and agri-security to enhance the farm sector.
 
Both Andrade and Rekmans said their parties support a national food strategy and, in the case of the Greens there is a plan to end land speculation to preserve arable land for Canadian farmers.

Trending Video

Katelyn Gaffield: The role of soy byproducts in pig diets | Ep. 97

Video: Katelyn Gaffield: The role of soy byproducts in pig diets | Ep. 97

In the dynamic swine nutrition sector, investigating alternative feed ingredients such as soy byproducts is essential. These sustainable alternatives provide both economic and environmental advantages, improving feed efficacy while minimizing expenses. Grasping their nutritional significance and influence is crucial for propelling the swine industry forward. In this episode, Katelyn Gaffield, a PhD candidate at Kansas State University, examines the role of soy byproducts in pig diets, shedding light on the use of soap stocks and soybean gums and their potential benefits.