THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013
VOL. 91 | NO. 12 | $4.25
WHAT’S UP IN CANOLA? | P4
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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WWW.PRODUCER.COM
ENSURING SAFE STORAGE
FARM SUPPORTS | PROBLEMS
Support programs benefit large farms most Competitiveness of small farms may continue to erode, says report BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
Kyle Forsyth of Canpulse Foods at Zealandia, Sask., climbs into a load of red lentils to measure the temperature while it’s being unloaded March 8. As the road ban approaches, one trucker said they never stop hauling grain. They just lighten their loads. | WILLIAM DEKAY PHOTO
Canada’s farm support programs are flawed and should be reconsidered, say University of Western Ontario researchers. A report from the Richard Ivey School of Business argues that existing business risk management (BRM) programs contribute to a widening investment gap between large f a r m s a n d s ma l l e r o p e rat i o n s because they put far more money into pockets of large farmers. Income stabilization programs favour larger producers because their cash flow, sales and revenues are larger and take a bigger hit from volatility. SEE FARM SUPPORTS, PAGE 2
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COUNTRY-OF-ORIGIN LABELLING | HOGS
Tempers heat up over COOL
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BY ED WHITE WINNIPEG BUREAU
Manitoba’s weanling hog producers are feeling disgust, despair, outrage, resignation and, above all, frustration as they question whether they are in a viable industry with a future. The long trade war with the United States appears no closer to an end than it was months ago, when the World Trade Organization handed
the industry an apparent victory that many believed would end the crippling situation. “It makes it worse and just puts more pressure on (U.S.) packers not to buy foreign-born animals,” Manitoba Pork Council general manager Andrew Dickson said a few days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed its proposed countryof-origin labelling amendments. “It doesn’t address the issue the
WTO ruled on.” Dickson’s opinion was echoed by virtually all Canadian pork and agriculture industries, the federal and provincial governments and major U.S. pig, cattle and meat processing organizations. COOL’s trade-distorting effects are likely to become more extreme if the USDA does not change its proposal by May 23 because it eliminates much of the flexibility presently
given to U.S. packers. The proposed rule would force a total segregation of U.S.-born and Canadian-born animals so that food labels can clearly state where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. It would also get rid of the one acceptable label that now describes meat as being a product of either the U.S. or Canada. SEE TEMPERS HEAT UP, PAGE 3
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The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240; Registration No. 10676
Proposed changes worse | Labelling plan will force U.S. packers to avoid buying foreign animals
MARCH 21, 2013 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4