paradox part 2

[btjadenlepp]

i think the question of, 'who cares about
the disappearance of family farms', which
came up in tom's earlier post, deserves
it's own discussion.

it sure bugs me. interested to hear
everyone else's thoughts.

[parsley]

My idea of successful agriculture is the concept of small value-added family farms specializing in food. LOL

New Zealand makes many varitieties of the best cheese you could ever imagine.
Farms specialize

France grows food that makes you drool.

Numbers of farms keeps the rural areas vibrant and live.

What we are now headed for is large commodity based exporting.

It is not profitable enough for the amount of work he does, and the investment required. Plus it leaves the farmer vulnerable to excessive taxation, unmanageable costs and isolation

The latter will be decimate small towns.

Which means everone rushes to the cities. and builds another 401 as in the TGA.
blah blah click pars

[btjadenlepp]

totally hear where you're coming from, but
i think we're well on our way to achieving
success in the same areas, using similar
models, as those other countries.

we aren't on our way to becoming commodity
marketers, we're smack into it, but
indications are that trend is starting to
change i think.

[TOM4CWB]

btjadenlepp,

I do not understand how the small family business... is part of the CWB system or is at all helped by the 'single desk'.

While I may be allowed to mill the grain produced on my farm... if bad weather hurts the quality I grow... or if the volume needed to produce is greater than I can provide myself... my business is hooped.

If my family wants to build a $5m mill... and produce niche products... the complex lattice of regulations, permits, and uncertainty is staggering.

The lack of ability to contract directly with grain growers... and complex CWB rules involved in supplying the grist for a mill... is overwhelming and unreasonable.

So... we do not even try. For those who have... failure almost for everyone but the largest of multinationals has been assured.

How exactly has the CWB helped us build value added and local community family initiatives?

[wmoebis]

Okay I don't bite. Do you girls punch? LOL

IMHO Todays family farm, in a lot of cases, is the same paradox as the Inland Terminals being licensed as Primary elevators. They preform as both but refured to as what is in their best interest. Family farms also operate as agribuisness. Not saying right or wrong just a thought.

[bgmb]

Very very Interesting and relevant topic. I was at a farm related dinner last week, there was well over 100 people there and no more than 10 under the age of 40.

The default opinion or theory of the average yokel is that "big farms" are the bad guys cause they buy out small farms. I guess they expect retiring farmers or those that can't make it work should leave their land idle before they rent it to a big bad farmer.

I would argue that this trend of large swallowing up small has slowed in our area over tha last few years cause people have stopped going broke due to 3 good crops. The good crops have also kept the older generation farming longer (some close to 70 with nobody coming back to take over).

I often wonder what it will look like in 20 years, even 10.

Parsley

I think the model you speak of is a great one to keep the countryside alive however I'm not sure it will work where I farm there isn't enough population to have a market for boutique cheeses and u pick raspberries, the closest urban area is 3 hours away.

[SASKFARMER3]

Land is up and we now are officially the most hated farmers in area. HA HA.
So now looking at other areas to expand or funny can buy a whole block in Arizona for same price Section at home.
Wonder which one will give me a profit.

[parsley]

I really understand many of you consider me quite mad at times.

I'll say it bluntly. Again.

People are fussy with their food.

People don't even like to buy the shoddy clothes China manufactures. LET ALONE FOOD.

How many countries in the world are your children prepared to EAT food from?

Am sending an order today to the USA with lentil du puis, a few kg bags and the postage is $25

Do you suppose they buy because they like me? Or the product.

Canadian farmers have an opportunity to provide the kind of food we like to ourselves eat. Good water. Good air. Good soil. No melamine.

Food is a 3x/day sale to every consumer I target.


Funny you asked about the raspberries. There was a foreign buying group in Montreal awhile back. They called me to ask what 3 foods grown in Canada I considered the most healthy, and with the most nutrition. Wanted my opinion.

One of the things they asked me about was raspberries. Did I know of any rasp grower....and even would buy frozen. LOL

They were also looking for food they TRUST. Call it paranoid if you want. But disease/contamination is also a consideration in today's food selection.

Tell me...who would NOT buy from Saskastchewan farmers?

We need variety, quantity, and AAA quality and then we've got the choice market in our bucket. IMHO

Okay, public flogging welcome. LOL
Pars

[bgmb]

Parsley,

You cater to a niche market. That makes you neither better or worse than me who caters to the masses who want cheap readily available food.

Talk is cheap but it takes money to buy organic/specialty products. People vote with their wallets, right now they are voting for loblaws safeway ect. Which also means they are voting for the current model of bigger and fewer farmers.

[btjadenlepp]

no, it seems clear to me that both
things are growing at once: big-box
grocery purchases and small-scale niche
foods. on a volume basis the big-box is
still winning by a landslide but i'd be
interested to compare growth percentages
in each of the two sectors.

parsley - i thought we weren't allowed
to market canadian lentils as 'le puy'
because that terms is protected by the
french appelation d'origine (or whatever
it's called, same thing as their wine
bottles are stamped with)?

[charliep]

Within the larger stores, there is significant space allocated to organic products. This has potential to change the organic model as these same stores push to commitments for larger supplies and consistent access. The impact will be how the supply changes to meet these needs for larger volumes and consistent access. How the farm component of this supply responds will be interesting. Individual farm businesses with good record keeping and commitment process are as well suited if not better to satisfy these needs as a larger corportate one.

[parsley]

bgmb

That is true nothing that nothing is neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so. LOL.

Organic IS a niche. But let's talk about lasting power. LOL
Close your eyes. LOL

Thousands of little farmers, all specializing, not necessarily organic, but consciously hygenic, quality oriented, limited chems and pesticides, all farms forming like-minded, and like-markets alliances, rather like a NYC street.

Now think about one eventual huge, ONE EARTHlY farm professioaally managed, that ships raw commodities to China.

Which best fits into the CWB model?

Which one do you see yourself doing the best in?

Open your eyes.

[parsley]

brenda, I only sell, "lentil du puis"
so I have absolutely no idea what you speak of. Pars

[parsley]

And I agree people vote with their wallets.

The trick is this....as a farmer, how do you tuck the most money in YOUR purse, from out of the guy's wallet who buys groceries?

Sell him twice as many, because you grow twice as much, you say? Swallow. Grunt, grunt. lol

I say get him to WANT to pay more.

But that kind of logic is indeed incongruent with the advice of the experts you pay to advise you how to farm. Pars