Que. farmers urge public for support

Nov 19, 2018

About 5,000 farmers marched through Montreal over the weekend

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Farmers from rural Quebec made their way to downtown Montreal yesterday to call on the public and federal government to support local producers.

About 5,000 farmers, with about six driving tractors, participated in the hour-long march organized by the Union des producteurs agricoles.

Several of the attendees included dairy farmers, who voiced their concerns with Canada’s dairy concessions in the USMCA. Under the agreement, the U.S. will receive access to almost 4 per cent of the Canadian dairy market.

Educating the public about how these concessions will impact producers is important, said Johan Van Hyfte, a dairy producer from Henryville, Que., who attended the march.

“I’m upset that we’ve been used as a trade mark,” he told Farms.com. “Why is it that we as farmers take all the risk but are always the ones to lose out? I want people to know that (supply management) isn’t a perfect system, but it’s one of the best in the world. I also want them to know that the price of milk probably isn’t going to go down, so they should continue to support Canadian dairy farmers.”

Another topic discussed at the march was paying temporary employees.

Quebec pays its seasonal workers a higher wage than those in the U.S. and Mexico, yet the local prices for some products aren’t competitive, Van Hyfte said.

“It’s about being fair,” he said. “Strawberries come up from Mexico and the U.S., where the workers are paid low wages, but the strawberries are cheaper than our local ones. We pay our workers well, which is why the prices might be a little higher. And you can’t tell me their quality is as good as ours.”

Participating in the event also included advocating for the next generation of farmers.

Families are having succession planning discussions. Making sure there’s a viable farm available for young farmers is important,” Van Hyfte said.

“Eventually, some of our kids are going to take over our farms,” he said. “I want to make sure that what they take over from me is still something they can live on.”

CTV photo

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