Rally

[grassfarmer]

Just a heads up that we are organising a rally in Edmonton next week. A delegation led by Alberta NFU organiser Jan Slomp will go to the Legislature and hopefully meet with the Minister of Agriculture as well as opposition MLAs. We will present them with a list of problems facing the industry that require action from the Alberta Government. We are not content to wait for a border opening that will solve few of the underlying problems. It is clear that ABP is a joke and refuses to fight the corner for Alberta producers - the concencus (sp?) out of the ABP meetings this week was that cow/calf producers have no reason to complain - all is good for them. We want at least 100 farmers present to attract media attention but we should really have 1000 there.10 O'clock next Thursday morning - please spread the word and motivate your neighbours.

[magpie]

Just a suggestion, why don't you contact Bowes Publishing, they publish most of the newspapers in rural AB., and get them to do a story in it.
Also the Edmonton Journal and Sun would likely do a news item, and 630 Ched will certainly do an interview with whomever is organizing the delegation.

[PureCountry]

grassfarmer, I'm definitely interested. Call me anytime, 780-888-3791. I'd like to talk to you about this rally. I'll spread the word wherever I can.

[wd40]

Grassfarmer - Send this message to the politicians - Tell the govt. "Thanks for the fish but we need a fishing rod."

[grassfarmer]

We intend to and we'll tell them exactly the kind of tackle we need to land the fish!

[grassfarmer]

Is anyone else coming out to support us though? It's awfully quiet here - what's the problem? are producers not really suffering financially? are they all too apathetic when it actually comes to doing something? All talk and no action? Did I mention the letters N.F.U (damn! I forgot that meant communist in Alberta)
This is a group of primary producers from across the board that feel our voice is not being heard through ABP or CCA so we have a chance of direct contact with Government. Please don't let another opportunity pass off without doing something.

[ivbinconned]

Just wondering here if you have given enough lead time to do this? Forgive me if I missed it but one week is short notice.

Numbers are really important when doing this and with enough lead time all industrie sectors that have been impacted might be encouraged to participate.

[grassfarmer]

Maybe so, it's been put together in a hurry to get done before everything shuts down for Christmas. In truth how much difference does a week versus 3 weeks make? If people are hurting as much as we imagine they are they would soon decide whether to attend or not.

[grassfarmer]

grassfarmer, if you have a good group organizing the rally with a fan out system in place to get people there, hopefully you will have a good turn out. Unfortunately it won't have much of an impact if only a handful of people show up, because the powers that be will think that only a few people are having a difficult time.
Good luck !

[farmers_son]

Grassfarmer: A word of caution if I may. What do you hope to gain by associating yourself and your group with the NFU when approaching the Alberta provincial government? I think it is fair to say the NFU has zero influence with the PCs in Alberta. It is not in beef producers best interests to marginalize themselves with the province. The election is over, we know who is firmly in control of the Alberta Treasury. As such any rallies in Edmonton should be structured to garner the support of the government for beef producers plight rather than garner support for the NFU from disenfranchised beef producers who are dissatisfied with the pace of change.

Although you have not included in your post the list of problems you intend to present to government, for the most part I would think government is aware of them. What you might hope to achieve is attention from the media but we need to be careful that media attention is positive for our industry. I have seen the media attention the Quebec producers drum up in Ottawa but we should realize those rallies and events were staged by a very professional organization. Those events were very coordinated, organized, prepared. They had speakers ready to be interviewed by the media with a consistent message for government. Sure there was some dramatic tactics used as media hooks but no one should assume for a minute those rallies were staged by your average Joe. Although that may have been the impression, that was not the reality.

Grassfarmer, you are an intelligent person. This is the time for a reasoned, measured, targetted response from producers. There are better ways to raise your concerns than to associate yourself with the NFU.