Several times, I have mentioned the seven bank accounts of a farmer. The most important being soil and money being the seventh. Politics is the one seldom mentioned. . .
We all think of federal, provincial, M.R.C. and municipal. Trade unions also come quickly to mind for many people.
Politics for a farmer starts at an early age when kids get involved in 4-H. Then as farm kids or farmers get older there are Young Farmers, QFA, OFA, UPA, NFU and a general farm organization in every province and state. There are also organizations for every production like milk, beef, corn, soybeans, veggies, fruit, honey, fish, organic and the list goes on and on. Representatives for all these organizations are elected first in their own local regions. From these locally elected representatives the best are again elected to sit provincially, federally and at world organizations. Sometimes a leader is selected not because he or she is the smartest or best informed but because of successful politicians.
Agricultural marketing has become a very complex and intertwined business. There are some commodities that are provincially regulated, some federally regulated and some are left to the open market, free to be bought or sold anywhere by anyone, be they individual, corporate, or a country.
In some countries, many commodities are directly subsidized once the item sells for less than it costs to grow or produce it. Some products are subsidized indirectly by a country subsidizing the fuel, grain that animals eat, or transportation of products by the country maintaining roads or waterways as a necessity for national defence.
In the province of Quebec, only 20 percent of beef cuts bought by Quebec consumers are produced in Quebec. However, Quebec holds a large majority of Canada’s quota for milk used to produce butter, cheese and other manufactured products made from milk. Quebec is also Canada’s largest producer of blueberries and relies on other provinces to purchase most of the crop. Although some products are controlled by provincial quotas, most can move freely anywhere. Many products like beef, pork, milk, etc. cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. From the moment a cow is bred until her heifer calf (only half are heifers) goes through nine months of gestation, grows up for two years and begins to produce milk, almost three years have gone by.
If prices are bad or no young replacement farmer is ready to take over the farm, it may take many, many years for a new farmer to find a location, look for and obtain several millions of dollars of financing to set up a new facility. Unless the new farmer can be assured of a market and a price for the product, neither would any banker lend the several millions of dollars required, nor would the young farmer sign a commitment with the lender.
Several weeks before the last referendum on sovereignty in Quebec, I attended the annual meeting of the UPA or Quebec farm union. Although the official annual meeting lasted for four days, there were many times in back rooms, at a bar or in the hallways where farmers discussed the possible repercussions of a yes vote. Many farmers were shaking in their shoes because nobody knew how the rest of Canada or the world would react. Would western Canada allow Quebec dairy farmers to continue to produce the cheese and butter that their consumers eat? Would Quebec continue buying western beef when they could buy it from South America for less money? What about grain, pork, maple syrup, etc.?
Today, Quebec still produces most of the cheese, butter, etc. for western Canadians. At nearly every Dairy Farmers of Canada meeting, the Quebec farmers are reminded of this. Many western dairy farmers would gladly accept more milk quota to produce butter and cheese. Then there is the oil pipeline that Quebec will not let come through the province even though Alberta cannot get its oil to market.
Then there is the continuous brain drain of Quebec’s smartest, well educated, bilingual young people leaving Quebec to get much better paying jobs in other provinces or countries. Two of the smartest, most educated dairy nutritionists in the world left Quebec to accept extremely well paying jobs as a college professor at a top dairy college, and head nutritionist for an international feed company in another country where they were less politically restricted.
Many of our Quebec government employees are not allowed to attend educational events outside the province of Quebec, even though many of the agricultural and construction practices which are accepted as common practice outside Quebec and have been for many years.
Most of the top politicians are bilingual and have received higher education outside of Quebec. Why are they privileged, bilingual and at the same time keep their citizens unilingual and locked within their own province? When will our politicians make the right decisions for their people and not just try to divide and conquer to win an election?
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com
