Ontario Farmer View of the Farm Bill

[charliep]

Dalek

Just looking ideas on how Ontario farmers are responding to the new US farm bill.

Any chance Ontario farm groups would be friendlier to another countervail challenge on US corn.

By way of background, the Manitoba Corn Growers Association would able to prove US corn was being importecd at well below US cost of production (therefore eligible for countervail). They were not able to demonstrate damage to western Canadian corn producers (damage to wheat and barley growers was not included).

My understanding is that this case would be successfull if Ontario and Quebec corn producers joined. Central/eastern Canada has been reluctant to join in given the impact it might have on value processors in a year of poor crop production.

In a period when the US seems to be rubbing our noses in their subsidies (higher loan on wheat/corn plus adding pulse crops plus other decoupled money) and protectionism (country of origin labeling on live animal/meat exports), would Ont./Que. farmers/their organzations review this position?

[charliep]

Oops. I got the below sentence wrong above.

#rd Paragraph - By way of background, the Manitoba Corn Growers Association were (not would as I said - winter 2000/01) able to prove US corn was being importecd at well below US cost of production (therefore eligible for countervail).

[dalek]

I think some groups might, I'm not sure whether the Ontario Corn Producer's are in a position to do much of anything right now after the shakeup they just had in their staff. Importing corn into Ontario isn't just a bad crop year kind of thing now though, CASCO and others have been having to bring US corn in every year to keep their processing up (they still aren't willing to pay enough to get Ontario farmers to grow more though)

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

Since imported corn that is brought in below the cost of production reduces barley and wheat prices on the prairies as well, why wouldn't the CWB take countervail action against the US?

Is this CWB lack of material action against these subsidised imports... part of the real CWB legal responsibility to keep prices low, and inventories up, to insure Canada has cheap grain?

Where is the CWB's goal to maximise "designated area" grain producer's returns, and isn't the CWB monopoly and single desk being used against western Canadian grain producers, further, against eastern grain producers as well?

[charliep]

As the rules are currently, only corn growers can launch an action against US corn imports. Manitoba Corn Growers Association would have had to initiate. The most most important group to bring on board would be the Ontario Corn Growers Association.