EDITORIAL: QFA EDITORIAL

The following editorial is the second of a seven-part series of commentaries by QFA Vice-president Chris Judd, entitled “The Seven Bank Accounts of a Farmer.” It’s not only money that makes a successful agricultural operation, says Judd, but also education, seed, soil, family, neighbours and politics, which make up any farm’s healthy “bank accounts.” In this instalment, Chris talks about a farm’s seed bank account and what you should do before planting and breeding seasons start.

The Seven Bank Accounts of a Farmer — # 2: Seed, semen and genetics

Chris Judd

QFA Vice-president

The old saying—“You only reap what you sow”—is only true if you know what is in your planter. Before you put that seed in there, or even order the seed, there are a whole lot of important questions you should ask yourself about your farm.

First of all, the very basic questions: Is this the crop you want to harvest and feed your herd? Will it be the most sought-after variety next fall? Is it the newest “stacked” GMO variety? And before you plant, you better know whether or not that GMO variety is saleable all over the world or if it has made it onto a few “banned” lists.

And then there are more technical questions: Will the seed you are planning to plant grow into the top milk per acre alfalfa variety? That third year alfalfa field that yielded fairly well this year—will it still be 20 per cent protein haylage next year after suffering a little more winter kill, or should you plan on putting that field in corn next year? Is your variety of silage corn one with a thin kernel coating and high starch, along with soft kernel texture and high stalk digestibility for fast passage through the rumen? Or is it a variety with top stand ability (woody stalks) and high bushel weight (hard kernel texture)? If so, your seed should be put through a kernel processor to break the kernels and scuff the hard outside layer of the stock pieces to render the silage more digestible. 

On the farm, “seed” doesn’t just mean what you put in the ground, it also means semen and genetics. Take a look at what’s in your semen tank. Is it full of LPI bulls that are in the top ten per cent for profitability? Or are you trying to sneak some of that test bull semen from a “did not make it sire” in there that may be not worth using? If you still use a bull, as most beef producers do, is that bull among the top five at the test station? Or is it some “heifer pleaser” that your neighbour missed getting in the feedlot?

Remember: your herd of tomorrow is in your semen tank today. A 10,000kg dairy heifer gives 4,000kg more than a 6,000kg one! Multiply that by $70 per hectolitre, and then multiply that by $10. All of a sudden, semen doesn’t look so cheap.

Seed, semen and genetics work in the same way on the farm as it does in the family. If your mother-in-law was ugly, don’t expect your grandchildren to be supermodels. In this business, as in life, you only reap what you sow.      

50 years for QFA

Andrew McClelland

Advocate Staff Reporter

“This year marks 50 years for the QFA, 100 years for Macdonald Campus and ten years that the Farm Management and Technology (FMT) awards have been held during lunchtime at the QFA’s annual general meeting,” announced Peter Enright, director of the FMT program at the Quebec Farmers’ Association’s annual general meeting held at Macdonald Campus on November 2. “All those nice, round numbers should bode well for any of you who are mathematicians out there.”

The QFA celebrated its first 50 years with an exciting information day and annual general meeting held at the Centennial Centre of McGill University’s Macdonald Campus in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue. For all members and participants, the day offered thought-provoking presentations and a chance to see where the organization is headed in the future.

“What a celebration!” said QFA President Gib Drury, “50 years for the QFA and 100 years for Macdonald College. It was a great birthday, with toasts, three great guest speakers and a wine-and-cheese reception—a good time was definitely had by all!”

The association took the opportunity of its 50 ^th anniversary to finalize amendments to its governing by-laws, many of which had been unmodified since the QFA’s inception in 1957. Among other changes, the QFA membership voted to delete its by-law stating that the association’s president could serve a maximum of three consecutive one-year terms.

The AGM’s afternoon presentations were full of good news. Membership Committee Chair John McCart reported membership has increased for the association once again, bringing membership revenue up to nearly $25,000, with a member renewal rate of 85 per cent. QFA Executive Director Ivan Hale also outlined the association’s successes from the past year, such as its popular translation services and recent partnerships with UPA Développement international.

The meeting also included the presentation of an honorary QFA membership to Ina Kilgour, wife of the late Walter Kilgour, QFA president for the period 1967-1968. Although Mrs. Kilgour was unable to attend, QFA Vice-president Chris Judd presented the honorary membership and spoke on her behalf, entertaining QFA members with stories illustrating Walter and Ina Kilgour’s lifelong dedication to the English-speaking agricultural producers of Quebec. (See Ina Kilgour’s letter of appreciation to the QFA on page 5).

The morning included a keynote address by Macdonald College professor Donald L. Smith on biofuel production, followed by talks by UPA President Laurent Pellerin and CFA 2 ^nd Vice-president Ron Bonnett.

Pellerin spoke on the increasing importance of food sovereignty and praised the QFA’s involvement in the recent hearings held by the Commission on the Future of Quebec Agriculture and Agri-food (CAAAQ).

“We anxiously await the CAAAQ’s report in January—we really don’t know what will be in it,” Pellerin admitted. “Whatever the case may be, we hope that the identification of Quebec products will be high on its list of recommendations. That is something which many groups, including the QFA, expressed a wish for in their report.”

Lunch in the Centennial Centre ballroom included a new treat this year: two banquet-sized cakes decorated with the QFA’s 50 ^th anniversary logo! QFA President Gib Drury was given the honour (and hard work) of cutting the cake for nearly 200 attendees, including students and Macdonald College faculty present for the presentation of the FMT awards.

Mac Fraser, chair of the Warren Grapes Agricultural Education Fund, once again presented the Warren Grapes scholarships for the year 2007. The QFA presented cheques to five deserving students to help them continue in their agricultural studies. This year’s bursary recipients are Chris Allen, Laura Prosser, Bryson Ruiter, Eric Simpson and Patrick Sullivan.

The afternoon portion of the AGM also featured a screening of an episode of CBC’s consumer affairs program, “Marketplace.” The documentary follows producer Wendy Mesley as she attempts to uncover just how much Canadian ingredients are present in food products labelled “Product of Canada.” Perhaps not surprising to the agricultural producers watching at the AGM, the program discovers that consumers are being mislead if they believe buying an item marked “Product of Canada” will support Canadian farmers.

The afternoon’s meeting was followed by a wine-and-cheese reception to end the day off on a festive note. The election of officers for 2008, traditionally a part of the QFA’s AGM, will follow at the first meeting of directors, slated for November. The QFA would like to thank its sponsors for making the information day and AGM a complete success: La Financière agricole du Québec, La Fédération des producteurs de cultures commerciales du Québec, Bélanger Agro-Consultant Inc., Saputo, SynAgri , La Fédération des producteurs de volailles du Québec, La Coop Féderée, La Fédération des producteurs de pommes de terre du Québec, McGill University, Joseph Kuchar, Hillstream Farm , Le Syndicat des producteurs de chèvres du Québec, the Royal Bank of Canada , La Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec, Pioneer-DuPont and Purina Agribrands.

Farmers must work together, says CFA leader

Andrew McClelland

Advocate staff reporter

Ron Bonnett has always known what makes a farm organization work. As a former municipal councillor and reeve in Ontario’s Algoma region, where he and his wife Cathy ran a dairy farm for 20 years, and a president who served four terms at the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Bonnett’s career has thrived through cooperation and involvement with agricultural producers from all walks of life.

Speaking at the QFA’s 50 ^th anniversary annual general meeting at Macdonald College on November 2, Bonnett carried a message of cooperation and partnership to all attendees in a talk entitled, “It’s Time Farm Organizations Begin to Work Closer Together.”

“Unless we work together on issues like net farm income, product labelling and supply management at the WTO, we’re going to wind up very isolated,” warned Bonnet. “There must be linkages and partnerships between farm groups if we hope to succeed and keep Canadian farming healthy and viable.”

It was a message borne out by the array of industry leaders present at the QFA’s meeting, where the association’s board of directors talked with Union des producteurs agricoles President Laurent Pellerin and Bonnett himself, now 2 ^nd vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA).

Bonnett criticized Canada’s current political climate that fosters name-calling and mudslinging between parties as unconstructive, and cited this as one of the many barriers against the kind of collective action that he believes is vital to farm lobbying.

“Our political climate is changing,” he noted. “We like to believe that our elected officials work for us, but over the past 30 years partisan politics has clouded their view. It used to be that after the election was over, there was a spirit of camaraderie amongst the parties and a devotion to governing instead of bickering. That’s gone now.”

Much of the challenge facing the farming population today, believes Bonnett, is the skewed perceptions of the non-farming public towards the agricultural sector. At a time when Canadian farms are becoming larger in acreage but fewer in number, the divide between country folk and city folk is more real than ever.

“There’s becoming a real split between urban and rural society,” said Bonnet. “Most people in Canada today are at least two generations removed from the farm. They have a horse-and-buggy view of farming. We have a big challenge ahead of us in convincing those people that farmers are innovative, conscientious and safe in their practices.”

Bonnett also stated that the public is willing to support smaller farmers and to buy Canadian, but that current labelling practices make it far too difficult for consumers to tell if a product on supermarket shelves is truly from Canada. The CFA 2 ^nd vice-president spoke of a “Grown in Canada” labelling program that would guarantee—with clear labelling—shoppers that they are buying a 100 per cent Canadian product. Current “Product of Canada” labelling only ensures consumers that 51 per cent of an item’s production costs were spent within the country.

“I, for one, do not want to see a Canada that has all of its acreage in the hands of 15 or 20 corporations. I want to see farmers who have carved out solid niche markets themselves and their products,” said Bonnett. “For that to happen, collective action between groups has to take place—like that between the UPA, CFA and QFA—to ensure our members, farmers and rural people have a better way of life.”

Macdonald prof explains the coming boom in biofuels

Andrew McClelland

Advocate Staff Reporter

“Energy and climate change are humanity’s two big challenges for the 21 ^st century,” says Donald L. Smith, Chair of Plant Science at McGill University. “That’s something which we now know is unavoidable. And biofuels is the one area where these issues come together.”

Addressing the QFA membership and students from Macdonald College’s Farm Management and Technology program at the QFA’s annual general meeting and information day on November 2, Smith outlined the dangers and benefits of biofuels in a presentation entitled, “Sustainable energy: Biofuels as the oil runs out.”

“Peak oil extraction in the world is happening now. It’s here,” said Smith. “We have a large and pending need for new energy sources—where are they going to come from?”

It’s a question that Smith has been asking for the larger part of his career. As a researcher and plant biologist, his work has allowed him to investigate nearly every crop under the sun, from clover and alfalfa to pearl millet and sorghum. In 1996, Smith founded Bios Agriculture Inc., a company that markets a nitrogen fixation method to increase larger crop yields from smaller parcels of land. From 2000 to 2005, he was granted the honour of being awarded Macdonald College’s New Sun Professorship for staff who have made an outstanding contribution to agricultural and environmental sciences. Recently, Smith’s research has focused on how crop plants react to climate change and increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And on top of all that, Smith is also the scientific director of the Green Crop Network, a Canada-wide network for sustainable greenhouse gas management in agricultural production systems

“Fossil fuels have been a fun ride, a ride that’s lasted 100 hundred years—but it’s coming to an end,” said Smith. According to him, the planet will increasingly feel the need for a renewable energy source that does not negatively impact the atmosphere in the years to come. And more than any other known energy source—such as geothermal, nuclear or solar energy—biofuels fits that description, says Smith.

“Biofuels have no net carbon-dioxide emissions and are a renewable energy source,” Smith noted. Most researchers and observers agree that any alternative fuel hoping to slow down environmental impact will have to be car-friendly above all else, and Smith agrees.

“The big role for biofuels is going to be in transportation—we need fuels to move our large transportation fleet. The problem is that we have designed biofuels’ energy source for food.”

Biofuels have garnered more and more press recently as controversy has raged over whether or not it is wise to use cheap food sources—such as corn and soybeans—for filling the gas tanks of the world. As a plant scientist, Smith’s outlook is unique.

“If you’re a labourer in Mexico and your main source of food is tortillas and the price of corn doubles, you’re in serious trouble,” said Smith. “However, if corn prices and grain prices grow slowly it could be beneficial for some Third World countries. It would help sub-Saharan Africa where the economy is 80 per cent agricultural.”

Describing himself as a ‘pathological optimist’ when it comes to applying straightforward scientific solutions to the messy world of economics, Smith suggests that genetically modified crops could provide one answer to the ‘food vs. fuel’ debate.

“For the first five years or so we’re probably going to make biofuels out of food crops-that’s just how it will work,” Smith believes. “After that, we’ll likely be able to make fuels out of things like switch grass and perhaps from genetically modified plants.”

It seems that no matter what the future holds for the biofuels industry, the years to come will find Dr. Donald Smith at the forefront of research and thinking on sustainable plant energy and its effects on our planet.

The time is fast approaching when farmers may think about growing fuel instead of food. It could take a while to get used to the idea.

Producers hoping for a failure at the WTO

Barry Wilson

Special to the Advocate

December 2007 will determine, at least for the foreseeable future, the success or failure of Canada’s supply management defenders in staving off damaging international trade rule changes that would make dairy and poultry producers more vulnerable to unpredictable imports.

From supply management’s point of view, failure will be success. Success will be failure.

What’s that again?

Black is white. White is black.

By December 21 and the end of the World Trade Organization general council meeting in Geneva, it will be clear if there is a basis for a new WTO agreement this year. If not, the expectation is that the negotiation started six years ago will go into deep freeze for at least two years as the Americans sort out who will be their new president and congressional force.

The hiatus could be even longer.

Supply management leaders, led by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and UPA president Laurent Pellerin, have been strong advocates of a WTO deal that does not weaken supply management. With other CFA leaders, they have spent tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours and days over the past six years in Geneva and other WTO meeting cities lobbying for Canada to be a strong negotiator.

After all this effort, they can only hope that December 21 brings failure and a hiatus because any deal signed this year will result in lower over-quota tariffs and probably increased minimum access through expanded tariff rate quotas.

And according to chief Canadian agricultural negotiator Steve Verheul, new rules supported by all WTO countries except Canada would restrict the number of supply- managed products Canada could protect with even the weakened rules.

Make no mistake: a WTO deal would undermine supply management and reduce the ability of Canadian governments to spend money to support farmers.

And make no mistake: despite CFA demands that the government not sign a “bad deal” on agriculture, this Conservative government has been clear that because of the benefits of trade to the broader economy, it will sign any deal reached by WTO members.

While the WTO’s system of consensus agreement gives each of its 150 members the ability to scuttle a deal, this government like the previous Liberal government has said it would not do that.

That is small comfort to Canada’s exporters who have lobbied just as hard for a more aggressive deal, even if it comes at the expense of supply management protections.

Their main complaint is that Canada has not been an aggressive negotiator, shackled by its attempt to satisfy two incompatible agricultural interest groups—exporters and protectionists.

Led by the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and dominated by livestock, grain and oilseed lobbies, agricultural exporters believe a deal based on proposals now on the WTO table would give them access to billions of dollars worth of new foreign sales. They have long chafed at what they consider the government’s unbalanced trade negotiating strategy that puts too much emphasis on defending supply management protections and too little on blowing up trade barriers at home and abroad.

Supply management defenders counter that it would be ludicrous to sign a deal that undermined agricultural sectors that have been consistently profitable and not dependent on taxpayer handouts when markets go sour.

In mid-December, representatives of both sides will be back in Geneva to try to figure out: what next?

Only one side will be smiling.

Barry Wilson grew up on a West Quebec farm and has spent more than a quarter century covering agricultural, rural and trade issues on Parliament Hill as National Correspondent for The Western Producer newspaper.

QFA Young Farmer Profile: Jason Beard

Claudia Villemaire

Advocate Eastern Townships Correspondent

St Felix de Kingsey, QC - Statistics on agricultural production and the probability of a new generation carrying on the family-farm tradition are disheartening to say the least. Young people—many fresh from postgraduate studies in agriculture—are not enthusiastic about the complications of buying into their parents’ life's work. At the same time, many are hesitant to treat farming as a vocation, demanding long days, little time off and not much quality time with family and life itself outside the daily routine.

But there are changes happening when a young son or daughter does decide to follow in the footsteps of several generations of their farming family. A case in point is Jason Beard, now a 50 per cent owner of the Beardson family farm in St Felix de Kingsey where Ayrshire dairy cattle share their board and space with a few beef Salers. Jason has been working towards this acquisition since his return from Macdonald College, ready to begin the slow process of purchasing the family farm.

"It started four years ago when my parents—and they have been really, really supportive in all this, allowed me 20 per cent of the farm and gave me a salary." Beard went on, explaining there were government grants available for farm sons and/or daughters as well. "Small grants have been a great help here too, making it possible for me to begin selective herd sire programs and gradually make changes that I think will eventually give me, my future wife and children, more time to spend with them and outside activities."

"We grow most of our own feed including corn and good quality hay and grain. That keeps production costs down."

Speaking of production techniques is one area where this young farmer excels, showing that those years spent acquiring a diploma in agriculture paid off. “Keeping our dairy cows on a program that levels milk production out across 12 months is another key to good management. Producing too much or too little milk, depending on the quota allotment season can cost a producer way too much."

With his dad, Douglas, and mom, Marion (who looks after the paperwork) and sister Rachel's dedication, Jason is looking forward to pursuing the dream of his great grandfather who homesteaded this plateau over 100 years ago.

"I am hoping to modernize the feeding system which would look after the twice-a-day feeding of grains, silage and supplements to the dairy herd. Bagged and wrapped hay and hay silage have facilitated this chore while providing high quality feed."

"We are milking about 40 cows at present. I hope to increase the herd to around 50 and produce quality replacement heifers, eventually. And I’d like to exhibit at the fair, if I have time," the 27 year-old Beard explained.

Then we were off to the stable where his first Ayrshire calf (the product of his selection of sire and dam) had produced her first heifer calf.

"Marika, (the mother) is the result of the first sire selection I made and so is her calf—hopefully the first of a careful sire selection program." Jason has already taken a course initiating him in the art of doing his own insemination and always has a variety of herd sires' semen on hand.

"I've had a lot of help," he adds. "My parents have been super, the CIAQ Insemination Centre at St Hyacinthe provides lots of information and guidance, my seed and supplement suppliers at the Co-op offer plenty of help and any questions I have I can ask my agronomists in Drummondville or revert back to Macdonald College."

So perhaps the outlook for the future of the family farm is not as bad as first thought. At least, the Beard family are proving there can be a good life for the next generation on their family farm.

Canadian cattle and bison identification programs

You only have a few more weeks to request your subsidy!

Sylvie Boutin

Information Consultant

Agri-Traçabilité Québec

As part of Canada’s global BSE tracing-and-tracking strategy, several aid programs have been put in place for beef cattle and bison, one of them being the Canadian Radio Frequency Identification Reader Program (CRFID). Its goal is to support traceability initiatives by speeding up the establishment of a comprehensive system for the permanent identification and tracking of animals.

Financed by Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC), the progam will end December 31, 2007. If you haven’t already done so, you should send in your application as soon as possible.

Am I eligible?

In addition to farms, the following categories of individuals, businesses, organizations and facilities are eligible for this subsidy program:

Slaughter and processing plants

Sales barns, stock yards, and auction marts

Veterinarians

Veterinary schools and faculties of veterinary medicine

Pathology laboratories (private)

Mobile butchers

Slaughterhouses

Dead stock operators

Commercial livestock truckers*

Commercial feedlots* (semi finishing steers, slaughter steers, grain and milk calves)

Grazing co-operatives/community pastures*

* Commercial livestock truckers, commercial feedlots, grazing co-operatives and community pastures are only eligible for readers purchased after March 24, 2006.

What is covered under the subsidy program?

The subsidy covers the cost of buying and installing panel readers and associated traceability data-sorting software and terminals. The subsidy reimburses 50 per cent of the total cost, up to $3,000.

The subsidy also covers the purchase cost of hand-held readers and associated traceability data-sorting software and terminals. The subsidy reimburses 50 per cent of the total cost, up to $1,000.

Forms and additional information

To benefit from the program, you must fill out an application form and provide proof of purchase for the equipment and software. Application forms and additional information on this program are available on the AAFC’s website:

www.agr.gc.ca/fd_al/crfid-pclirf/index_e.php.

It is important to carefully read the information documents on the website and to fill out the form correctly to ensure a quick processing of your application.

Need Help? Have any questions?

For further information on this subsidy program, contact Mme. Karine Banning at Agri-Traçabilité Québec ( ATQ) at 1-866 270-4319, ext. 5113.

Happy traceability!

Commitment, namely defending one’s rights and taking responsibility for promoting change, is a way of expressing one’s citizenship.

Terres humaines Collection, No. III, February, 2007

Solidarity prize

This year, the Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec (FPBQ) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Plan conjoint des producteurs de bovins du Québec: a quarter century of commitment and accomplishment.

To celebrate this unique event, and to honour the commitment and solidarity of the men and women who have worked to improve the beef sector, its organizations and sister institutions, the Fédération is inaugurating a solidarity prize. This official mark of recognition of personal commitment to the common good will motivate and encourage others to contribute to and find fulfillment within the beef production community.

The solidarity prize will be awarded for the first time in 2008, to a producer or elected or non-elected representative, who has shown outstanding dedication to the common good of beef producers, displaying an exceptional degree of altruism. He or she will have conveyed and applied the values of solidarity in daily life, and demonstrated selfless personal commitment, innovation and dedication. He or she will also have shown leadership and have successfully rallied producers and other stakeholders to a major undertaking. By his or her leadership qualities, the candidate will have encouraged dialogue between producers with differing views, and brought about consensus.

The candidate can be involved on a local level or can have contributed on a regional, provincial or national scale.

The prize

The solidarity prize is a part of a wider initiative to promote community involvement and solidarity among Quebec beef and veal producers. Its goal is to underline the values that motivate producers to work for the common good.

The prize of $1,000 will be awarded every two years at the beef producers’ annual general meeting in April by the president of the FPBQ.

The rules

Any beef or veal producer residing in Quebec is eligible, whether actively producing or not.

The FPBQ executive committee will act as jury in choosing the laureate.

A candidate can nominate him or herself, or be nominated by a third party individual or organization, using the attached form (Appendix 1). The form is also available on the FPBQ’s website or through Mrs. Noëlla Morrissette: tel. 450-679-0540, ext. 8287; fax: 450-442-9348; e-mail: fpbq@upa.qc.ca is preferred.

Candidatures must be submitted no later than February 15 of the year in which the prize is awarded.

Some selection criteria

Amongst other considerations, candidates will be evaluated by the following criteria:

■ Length and continuity of their commitment

■ Main accomplishments relative to beef production and/or its institutions and collective organizations

■ Collective approach and values conveyed

■ Specific contribution to the growth and development of the beef production sector and its institutions

■ The scale of influence of the candidate’s contribution (community level, regional, provincial, or national).

A call for candidates

The FPBQ needs your help in finding candidates who have contributed to the growth, development, influence and future of Quebec beef production through a collective approach. We look forward to receiving many nominations.

Note: Submitted applications should be as complete as possible to enable the judges to properly evaluate the candidate’s contribution. To help both the judges and the candidate, include only the documents that best support the producer’s contribution and commitment.

Photographs, a description of the candidate’s career, or any other pertinent information can be included in the application.

In preparing an application, for yourself or for another producer, keep the following guidelines in mind: remember to be meticulous, be selective and be organized.

For more information, contact prize coordinator Sonia Dumont at sdumont@upa.qc.ca or 450 679-0540, ext. 8354.

Appendix 1 – Application Form

To easily prepare your application, the following items should be included. The reasons why the candidate should be chosen should be clearly indicated and described.

1. Candidate’s name and contact information

2. Brief description of the candidate’s business

■ Briefly describe what the candidate produces as well as his or her facilities

■ Describe the candidate’s professional accomplishments and initiatives, and his or her vision and innovative approach to bringing about change.

3. Description of the candidate

■ What position did the candidate fill during his or her involvement?

■ What are the candidate’s principle accomplishments as well as the effects of his or her involvement?

■ What are his or her greatest qualities, or how, by way of his or her personality, did the candidate succeed in mobilizing producers to attain a certain objective?

■ In other words, why do you consider that this person influences and exceptionally contributes to the development of beef production?

4. Involvement in his or her community

■ Organizations (unions, cooperatives, associations, and others)

■ Organizations (public, municipal, and others)

5. Contact person for the candidate’s application

■ Name

■ Address

■ Telephone number

■ E-mail address

6. Reference persons who know the candidate well

■ Name

■ Address

■ Telephone number

■ E-mail address

You may submit with the application form a short CV or any other document, testimony, or text providing further information. These can be submitted as various audio-visual media.

Note: The completed application should be sent to the Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec not later than February 15.

The agri-food industry in Laurentides pays off

From the time of the first land grants in 1673 and right up to the new millennium, the Laurentides region has enjoyed staggering growth. As the 19th century drew to a close, Father Antoine Labelle, nicknamed the "King of the North," colonized the townships in the north, his "Promised Land." Since then, agriculture in all its bounty has flourished, from field crops, garden market crops, greenhouse crops and ornamental plants, to dairy, beef and sheep farms, maple syrup operations, apple orchards and non-traditional livestock (bison, deer and ostriches).

The region’s agri-food industry has kept pace, posting especially strong development from 1996 to 2002, with a 92.5 per cent increase in its gross domestic product (GDP). How? Through the vitality of the food processing and retail sectors, and the proximity of Greater Montreal markets. By way of comparison, during the same period, the GDP for Quebec’s agri-food industry as a whole rose by only 23.9 per cent. Today, agri-food generates more than 25,800 jobs and the equivalent of 5.8 per cent of the region’s GDP, or $740 million.

… in farm fields

With its fertile soil and climate suitable for a myriad of products, the Laurentides region boasts a diversified agricultural landscape of traditional dairy and beef farms and horticultural and garden market operations. Over 59 per cent of the green belt (195,348 hectares) is farmed, compared with the Quebec average of 53.3 per cent. The bulk of this breadbasket is in the MRC of Antoine-Labelle, in the north, and in the MRC of Mirabel and Argenteuil, further south. The face of agriculture has changed considerably in the past 20 years. The number of farms has decreased by some 30 per cent, but the average size of farms has risen by 20 per cent, from 70 to 84 hectares. Currently, the overall revenue from the region’s 1,358 farm businesses is $250 million.

Horticulture in particular is thriving in the Basses-Laurentides, with its field and greenhouse production of vegetables, berries, apples and ornamental plants. In 2003, it was the main source of income for nearly 420 farm businesses, that is, over one quarter of the region’s farm operations. The resulting revenues of more than $98 million outstrip those of all other agricultural production sectors in the Laurentides.

When it comes to livestock, dairy production tops the list, with 233 businesses and a total on-farm income of $68 million. Dairy production is a region-wide activity, but is heaviest in the MRC of Mirabel. The sheep herd consists of 3,200 animals in 47 farm businesses. Recently this sector has made some major strides in the Hautes-Laurentides, primarily because of young investors in large-scale projects. Hog production, which experienced a growth spurt before the May 2000 moratorium, has held relatively steady in recent years, with 27 pig farmers raising 79,000 grower-finisher hogs per year, barely one per cent of Quebec’s swine production.

… in processing plants

From 1996 to 2005, food and beverage processing recorded phenomenal GDP gains, shooting from $50 million to $170 million in nine years, an increase of 340 per cent. There are now 160 manufacturing concerns. They account for over 3,200 of the region’s jobs in the following areas: bread, bakery products and pastries; products from meat processing; fruits and vegetables; animal feed and pet food; maple products; artisanal alcoholic beverages; and prepared foods. The last sub-sector alone has over 20 businesses. After Montreal, the Laurentides is the biggest job creator in Quebec’s prepared food industry.

Economists forecast that food processing will be the driving force behind agri-food development in the Laurentides region in coming years. Existing businesses will strengthen their position, up production volumes and enter new markets. New businesses will emerge due mainly to a surge of on-farm processing.

… at tables

Wholesaling, retailing and food services in the Laurentides are slightly ahead of the same activities in the rest of Quebec. The proximity of Montreal, a densely interconnected road system, an attractive tourist industry, and demographic growth have spelled expansion for this sector.

In 2005, retail sales reached $1.35 billion, putting the Laurentides region in the number four spot in Quebec in this category. The same year, the region’s 730 retail businesses meant 7,300 jobs.

The food service industry is big in the Laurentides region. Gourmet restaurants feature food grown and processed locally. There are numerous snack bars throughout the region, and fast-food chain restaurants and popular eateriesare found in urban centres and tourist districts. In 2005, total receipts for this sector were $530 million, with nearly 1,200 businesses employing 10,600 workers.

… on highways and byways

The Laurentides is known for its 100-or-so agri-tourism establishments that pump $6 million back into the regional economy and draw more than one million visitors per year. Highlights include the numerous routes, such as the Route des saveurs de la vallée de la Lièvre, Par monts et délices, Pommes en fête, « Rang »dez-vous champêtre, and Trésors d’Argenteuil, and, in recent years, public markets in response to the growing demand for a tighter network for marketing agri-food products. There are seven such markets from Sainte-Thérèse to Mont-Laurier! No wonder that agri-food in the Laurentides region keeps on growing—and paying off!

For further information about this region, go to:

www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/laurentides

2

Highway 30 route still hotly contested

The Fédération de l’UPA de Saint-Jean-Valleyfield has renewed demands for the completion of Highway 30 to be done along the Highway 132 route, instead of running through agricultural land as the government has chosen.

“This has been our top priority for years now,” declared Eddy Proulx, federation president, adding “we didn’t get the support we would have expected from a minister of agriculture.” Proulx said he had the support of the UPA on this matter and that he had asked for a meeting with Minister Lessard, the Action démocratique du Québec and the Parti québécois. The president stated that he can’t understand why the government is “completely ignoring” the opinions of the Commission de protection du territoire agricole (CPTAQ), citing the Rabaska natural gas terminal as the latest example. Farm producers argue that the agricultural route could end up costing $200 million more. In a resolution on the issue, delegates voted to ask producers in the rest of Quebec to stand by them. “The Indian Reserve is supporting us, and that’s a good ally; the government backs down quicker from Amerindians than from farmers,” Proulx said.

Dezoning of agricultural land is a real problem in the region, where no less than two dezoning applications are made per day and only 11 per cent of them are opposed.

In other resolutions on land-protection matters, delegates to the federation’s annual general meeting, held at the Plaza Hotel, voted to exert pressure against the approval of new sandpits, and to defend hog production, which is prohibited in La Prairie. The federation has also intervened in the case of the hog farm project in Saint-Cyprien-de-Napierville, which is soon to go before the courts.

Electricity

Energy was the subject of two of the 17 resolutions adopted. One was to seek a more reasonable cost for installing 600-volt power lines. Much of the agricultural and processing equipment used on farms demands that kind of voltage, for example at apple orchards, but Hydro-Québec can ask over $100,000 to make the connection. “We’re not the only ones wanting this. It’s time for some movement,” declared Roger Caza. One MRC has asked Hydro-Québec to ease access to the network as a way of encouraging development in the region. Delegates also wanted financial assistance and more attractive rates for electricity produced with methane from manure.

Compensation for shoreline buffers

With the return of blue-green algae, delegates demanded monetary compensation for upkeep and loss of income related to shoreline buffer zones. According to field crop producer Stéphane Bisaillon, when the moratorium on new regulations comes to an end the Ministère de l’Environnement plans to produce a new regulation excluding wide-row crops like corn and soybeans from proximity to waterways. This makes compensation all the more important, he says.

Planting clover or other perennials in buffer zones also means a loss of income. The delegates asked for 100 per cent reimbursement of their environment-related expenses without any reduction to the budget for agriculture. Another resolution sought an end to the freeze on new farm acreage, and for continued growth of the white zone.

Taxes

The Fédération de l’UPA de Saint-Jean-Valleyfield, like those of Saint-Hyacinthe and Centre-du-Québec, voted to encourage application of a variable tax rate for farmland. Saint-Jean-Valleyfield also wants the creation of an internet site on the unloading of the tax burden onto agriculture.

Thierry Larivière

TCN 18-10-2007

No improvement in sight for farmers

The financial situation of Quebec farmers should remain stable in 2007. At least that’s the prediction of La Financière agricole du Québec in the latest release of its “agroindicator,” a sort of economic barometer that tracks the agricultural sector through the year. For 2007, the index suggests that net farm income in Quebec will stand at around $425 million, lower than the average for the previous five years. Canada’s strong dollar, high energy costs and rising feed costs for livestock producers are major factors to keep an eye on.

For the last three years the agroindicator shows the net income of Quebec farmers has been dropping. After reaching $843 million in 2004, it fell to $578 million in 2005 and again to $433 million last year. Yet despite rising fuel prices and debt, the agroindicator reveals a few positive signs for 2007. Cash receipts in Quebec, including sales and payments from government programs, grew by five per cent over the first half of 2007 compared to the same period last year. This increase is due to increased receipts from the marketplace, since government programs are at the same level as last year.

For crop producers, the upturn in prices for cereals has led to an eight per cent rise in the market. In the case of corn, the increase has reached 24 per cent. For livestock producers, market receipts have climbed by five per cent, with supply-managed sectors like dairy and poultry production recording increases of three per cent and eight per cent respectively over the first semester.

In view of all these factors, La Financière expects 2007 to see farm producers’ incomes rebound sufficiently to cover the growth of their operating costs. What it comes down to is no significant improvement in the financial situation of farmers, but at least the status quo.

Between now and the end of 2007, La Financière forecasts continued growth in cereals and supply-managed sectors. The market outlook suggests that prices for the 2007 grain harvest will remain higher than the average over recent years. Better yet, if good weather conditions persist through autumn, corn production should increase significantly, since Statistics Canada indicates that acreage under crop is up 16 per cent over last year.

On the other hand, the situation of pork producers is cause for serious concern, due primarily to the strength of the loonie. La Financière thinks the growth in pork inventory in the United States will also affect prices over the coming months. At the beginning of October, the institution notes, pork prices fell to their lowest levels since 2002.

Another subject for concern, farm businesses have experienced strong demands on their working capital in recent months. Farm businesses are more sensitive to income fluctuations and increases in interest rates, and their incomes carry more debt.

“The situation argues for caution in the months to come,” admitted La Financière President and CEO Jacques Brind’Amour.

Pierre-Yvon Bégin

TCN 25-10-2007

Laurent Pellerin argues the case for food sovereignty

Canada’s supply-managed farmers didn’t miss out on an opportunity to promote food sovereignty at a Public Forum held by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, on October 4, 2007. The theme of the forum was “How can the WTO help you control globalization?” UPA President Laurent Pellerin demonstrated that the current approach of liberalizing markets for agricultural products has had disastrous results, and now it’s time to work toward sustainable, equitable agriculture.

Spokesman for Canada’s supply-managed producers, Pellerin declared that “the WTO can’t help us control globalization because it sees agriculture as just like any other economic sector, its objectives are purely economic.”

Disastrous

Pellerin showed that the liberalization of trade that followed the GATT agreement, ratified in 1994, has had disastrous effects on agriculture. Incomes are falling everywhere, concentration is increasing and billions of farmers are condemned to poverty. “Two and a half billion people are living on less than two dollars a day, and 850 million people are suffering from hunger,” he noted. As is well known, a great many of the starving are farmers.

Pellerin also denounced the global hypocrisy of countries that say they want to liberalize agriculture. In reality, countries try to protect their local agriculture, he said. Witness the fact that agricultural aid hit $378 billion in 2004, 85 per cent of that in the United States, Japan and Europe.

The Doha cycle, launched in 2001, should help the developing countries that make up three quarters of WTO membership. Liberalization has meant that developing countries are increasingly unable to supply their internal market. Thus, poultry production has fallen by 30 per cent in Senegal due to imports from the European Union. Though not arguing against fair trade, Pellerin noted that just ten per cent of agricultural products go onto world markets.

Equity

Sustainable, equitable agriculture can only happen with food sovereignty and cooperation among farmers, Pellerin argued. “With food sovereignty, each country can define its own agricultural and food policy, protect and regulate its production and eliminate dumping,” he stated. In this context, supply management is an effective and equitable tool for protecting food sovereignty, he added. According to Pellerin, food sovereignty is a win-win strategy for farmers and consumers. It enables producers to live by their trade, on family farms that offer quality products at affordable prices and contribute to development in the regions. He illustrated his remarks with examples of activities by AgriCord, a group of international cooperation organizations working in agriculture, by the Mouvement pour une agriculture équitable (MAÉ-MAÉ), and by UPA Développement international.

At the same Forum, the president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Alanna Koch, asserted that exports are absolutely essential for Canada’s grain and oilseed producers. Canada would benefit from a liberalization of agricultural trade, she said, because it would lead to an increase of $582 billion in global income. According to Koch, for 92 per cent of Canadian farmers their products are exported or the price is determined by international markets. Canada is the world’s fourth-largest exporter of agri-food. It is time to sign an agreement to lower agricultural tariffs, which globally average around 60 per cent as against four per cent for industrial goods.

Jean-Charles Gagné

TCN 18-10-2007