Have a voice.

[westernvicki]

[url]https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vicki-d-759a028a_agriculture-ag-agstories-activity-7219009367881187328-YvI7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop[/url]

This post came from Linkedin. It is perfect.

It speaks to the urbanization of society in general and the no-consequence leadership in our society.

The author notes farmers have consequences. We must survive in the harsh reality of the economy and nature daily. Our perseverance is real.

Jolene Strain of 4 Suns Ag organized a women's farm tour. I spoke to 55 farm women focused on production and urged them to go beyond production and represent their industry on farm policy. Know the issues. Speak out.

I pointed out the Alanna Kochs' Global Institute for Food Security Study, which cited that Saskatchewan farmers are much better than their global counterparts in environmental farming. Phenomenal evidence of decades of minimum tillage often including pulses,

In a competitive world, we need an edge: Branding Western Canadian farmers as having better ESG is enormous.

The world is more competitive, and we need an advantage in addition to price. Being environmentally better by 67% is a perfect brand. Claim it.

Have a voice.
And insist your ag associations claim the brand.

[sumdumguy]

Vicki, do we even have farm organizations?

[ajl]

ESG is just a big pile of BS. All Farm organizations should be doing is pointing that out. Give it the same treatment as bud lite and john que*re and stamp it out. Apparently when that came to light, Deere, to there credit immediately suspended a lot of this nonsense. The fact that they were involved in it in the first place stinks.

[jazz]

Waste of time. I totally reject this mantra that we must tell the world and city folk about our business and how good we are. Thats never going to work. Better off to keep our heads down and mind our own business so we dont become the next woke target.

If you volunteer to rebrand us as ESG heros, we are going to then be bound by that same policy no matter how stupid it gets.

Didnt work for the oil sands, sure as hell wont work for farmers.

[blackpowder]

Both are correct.
Perceptions will change with or without us.
I feel the above needs to start with our governments. I don't know how to proceed with that, but it is the enemy within.
Playing along did not help the world's cleanest and safest oil industry.
It won't help the cleanest and safest wheat either.
It won't change our competition's methods or prices.
Power in govt. Real money for real power.
Doing nothing will ensure Euro like regs soon.
The message does need to be repeated everywhere. It is up to us.
But I want a big stick in my belt while maintaining stewardship credibility.
We are not mean enough.
An office in Ottawa will always make the decision. We need to own the person in it.
Branding is great but it was also one of the many hills the CWB died on.
Earn the trust of course.
Demand the respect.

[blackpowder]

Sticking your head in the sand is not the right thing to do.
It can have interesting rebound consequences.
Ex. Pesticide jug recycling has gotten increasingly heavy handed and petty.
We let the pencil pushers alone. We played along quietly.
Result. Kijiji ads for farm size incinerators have increased 10 fold in a couple years from zero.
Makes us look bad. Because we said nothing.
Likely buying an incinerator next year as I will likely refuse to mess with those bags.

[goalieguy847]

Dont all the retails take the giant bags full back? Its a great program...no?
empty jug into chem handler... throw into bag... 40 jugs.... tie bag... ?

[SmallTimeOperator]

ESG is a bunch of BS. Do nothing and if the feds try to impose regulations like in the EU, then Western Separation would solve everything. And I think the Ontario and Quebec rural areas and the Atlantic provinces would join us. If we carved out Upper and Lower Canada like it was before confederation, most of our problems would be gone.

[Old Cowzilla]

Old guy here remembers going to chem meetings in the 80's and seeing chem jugs the size of coffee cups to spray a 1/4 . That was the direction we were going to cut down on package costs and storage costs and the huge freight bill. You going to be able to haul all your product in the cab of truck instead of it piled up falling over the side of your truck coming home . What happened to that plan???????? to save the planet .

[cropgrower]

i wish more chem came in the small barrels and totes , far less rubbish to deal with

[westernvicki]

We are the most environmental farmers in the world.
Its a market advantage in a competitive world.

We have created an advantage in marketing. We are ESG producers.

How can anyone find anything negative about claiming the territory?

The Question: Do we have a voice in our Ag Associations is Valid.
Indeed we should expect them to at the very least agree to champion our success in being the most efficient productive producers in the world.

Only fools would ignore this opportunity.

[bucket]

"Only fools would ignore this opportunity?"

That is an understatement as to what we have representing us.

Ag groups make presentations in front of the finance committee and somehow don't hear the whispers of a change to capital gains. Lots of selfies in Ottawa though with MPs.

Just one example of the lack of competence on the farm groups, provincial and federal.

Dave Carey boasts about being a top lobbyist yet the interest free gets reduced on advances?

makes you wonder.

BTW way where did the resolution go with the responsibility passed on to farm groups to enact export sales. Didn't matter to those on the board and got lost.

[blackpowder]

Never sat on a board and not about to start. I believe the people who do so have the best of intentions.
Change the mandate.
Since the board's demise we seem to be floundering. 12 years and I hear the same blah blah and see no changes.
We can't even agree on export sales reporting.
Copies of the Seducer from the 50's have similar headlines as today.
Or maybe it's like I told my elder neighbor. Younger farmers today don't need or want our experience. They just write the check. Solves everything.

[fcr]

One of the biggest problems I see is there are so many middlemen taking a piece of our profits. Eg. the endless amount of so called chem reps and agronomists driving around in new pickups with an unlimited credit card . I have farmed for 42 years and have yet to have to call someone to tell me when to seed or spray or harvest. The new generation knows nothing because they pay someone to do this for them. Or a satellite image to show me my crop is doing good or not. As black powder said just write another cheque.

[fjlip]

Yes Crop Pro, knows all, current farmer on the land apparently NOT! Farmers built ALL the monster terminals and swanky huge Stealerships....plus all workers involved, paid by farmers! Till we can't afford, then what? Collapse

Unless grain prices rebound, doubt the $100-$150 rents will be happening.