In the Media

[parsley]

ORGANIC SPECIAL PRODUCTS GROUP (OSPG)

PRESS RELEASE JULY 07, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CWB PROPAGANDA NEVER STOPPED UNDER GAG ORDER

The Organic Special Products Group (OSPG) recommends that the Government does not appeal their Federal Court gag order loss to the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).

"The CWB never did stop their propaganda, even when they claimed to be following the government’s order", states OSPG member John Husband, and organic farmer at Wawota, Saskatchewan. "While under muzzle this spring CWB spokespersons stated that the present legislation would not allow marketing choice. This is simply untrue."

Under direct questioning from Parliament’s Standing Committee on Agriculture, the CWB was forced to admit the truth that the Act does indeed allow grain out of the monopoly by granting export licences without buy-backs. That was the very same day the Committee recommended marketing choice which was promptly rejected by the Liberal government.

"Granting licences to prairie organic farmers, just like the CWB does for pedigreed seed growers and eastern organic farmers was one of four options tabled by the CWB at their latest round of organic meetings" says Bill Rees, organic farmer at Stockholm, Saskatchewan and long time member of OSPG. "Clearly, the vast majority of organic farmers wanted marketing freedom by licencing, but the CWB again put their own self-interest ahead of farmers and instead chose to keep prairie farmers captive. The government should put a stop to this CWB abuse of organic farmers by ordering the CWB to issue licences to certified organic farmers just as they already do for seed grain."

"The courts defer to what the CWB tells them, and Minister Ritz and the government should learn the facts and the truth by ignoring what the CWB says and instead put attention to what they actually do." concludes Husband.

For further information, please contact:

John Husband 306-739-2900 Bill Rees 306-793-2113

OSPG is a voluntary and totally self-funded association of organic grain producers from all regions of the Prairies with the goal of marketing choice for farmers.

[parsley]

The single deskers who are afraid of marketing on their own should read this:


QUOTE
Bold male bird gets the girl: study


Male birds whose choice of singing posts puts them within reach of predators are also more likely to attract mates, say European scientists.


08/07/2008 7:56:34 PM

CBC News

Females prefer risk takers, who "are likely of superior quality and harbour good genes for the offspring," according to researchers at the University of Antwerp in Belgium and Eötvös University in Hungary.

In a study to be published in the online journal "PLoS ONE" on Wednesday, the researchers detailed how they recorded the songs of 24 male European collared flycatcher birds and characterized several song features.

Bird song has a well-established role in sexual selection and displays considerable variation from bird to bird. Scientists also suspect bird song reveals personality traits, such as a tendency to take risks.

For example, singing may reveal risk taking, because conspicuous songs attract not only the interest of females but also the attention of predators.

That means only high-quality individuals can afford to display attractive songs, because they are well-equipped to evade predators, even as they put themselves in harm's way.

The researchers suggest males singing at low song posts - relative to the surrounding vegetation - were especially successful in finding mates because they were seen by females as explorers and risk takers.

UNQUOTE

Parsley

[parsley]

GOVERNMENTS ANNOUNCE COMPLETION OF THE GROWING FORWARD MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORK



A profitable and innovative agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry that seizes opportunities in responding to market demands and contributes to the health and well-being of Canadians



July 11, 2008 | Québec City, Quebec



Today, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of agriculture reached an important milestone and announced the completion of the Quebec agreement: the multilateral Growing Forward framework. The agreement is supported by a commitment of $1.3 billion in funding over five years for non-business risk management (non-BRM) cost-shared programs. The announcement was made at the conclusion of their two-day annual meeting in historic Québec City.

The $1.3 billion is cost-shared on a basis of 60/40 between the federal government and the provincial and territorial governments and represents an increase of $330 million over non-BRM funding that was allocated under the Agricultural Policy Framework. The investment demonstrates the ongoing commitment of federal, provincial and territorial governments to a strong, competitive and profitable agricultural sector.



The new five-year multilateral framework is a significant achievement paving the way for new programs that support the Growing Forward vision of a profitable and innovative agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry that seizes opportunities in responding to market demands and contributes to the health and well-being of Canadians. Ministers credited input from more than 3,000 stakeholders and a strong partnership between federal, provincial and territorial governments as being the driving forces behind the development of Growing Forward.



Growing Forward is an integrated and comprehensive plan that focuses on key results in the areas of competitiveness and innovation, society’s priorities and proactive risk management. Growing Forward will give farmers and others across the value chain the marketplace edge to capture business success, both domestically and in export markets. The new framework includes programs that enable greater adaptation and quicker response to changing consumer markets. A commitment to reducing governments’ regulatory burden and providing better tools for entrepreneurs to plan and evaluate their businesses are other examples of how Growing Forward will help the sector achieve long-term profitability.



Growing Forward also focuses on supporting the enhancement of food safety systems and the continued implementation of on-farm environmental actions. In addition, the framework commits Governments to continue to work with the sector to put in place traceability and biosecurity systems.



The Growing Forward framework includes an improved demand-driven suite of business risk management (BRM) programs that was launched in April 2008. Ministers agreed to undertake a strategic review of BRM programs over the coming year to ensure programs meet evolving needs.



Growing Forward sets the stage for Governments to complete bilateral agreements and launch new programming in each province and territory prior to April 1, 2009. Flexibility is a key element of Growing Forward and will enable Governments to deliver programs that better respond to local priorities. Ministers committed to continued consultations with the sector as Growing Forward programs are developed and implemented. The efficiency and effectiveness of Growing Forward programs will be evaluated on an ongoing basis.



Ministers discussed developments in the livestock industry and committed to continue working together on programs that focus on long term goals including innovation, regulatory streamlining and market access.



Ministers remain hopeful for a successful conclusion to the Doha Round of trade negotiations which benefits Canada’s entire agricultural sector, including export-oriented and supply-managed industries. Ministers affirmed their commitment to working closely with the full range of Canada’s agriculture industry stakeholders. Most provincial Ministers confirmed that they will be joining Minister Ritz in Geneva later this month as Canada pursues its objectives at the World Trade Organization.



Ministers instructed the federal, provincial and territorial Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) Task Force to continue to strongly advocate Canada’s opposition to United States COOL through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule-making process and to examine all options available to defend Canada’s interests.



Ministers were provided with an update on progress to date on the proposed revisions to chapter 9 of the Agreement on Internal Trade. They directed officials to finalize the text and report back by October 31, 2008.



Ministers also recognized Canada’s important role as a global producer of food. They discussed the recent volatility of commodity prices and agreed to monitor the situation and maximize opportunities for the agricultural sector at home and abroad.



The next annual conference of Agriculture Ministers will be held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario in July 2009.