There doomsayers and there are realists. A report in a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan newspaper caught my attention. In my opinion, it adds to the farming confusion – But at the same time, it lays it on the line.
Family grain and oilseed farms can no longer turn a profit, and society is at a crossroads where it must choose whether to subsidize them or let them fade away, a University of Saskatchewan professor says. Agricultural economics professor Hartley Furtan says an analysis of Statistics Canada data from 2003 shows government subsidies and income earned outside farm gates kept family farms. With similar incomes in 2004 and 2005, and a bleak outlook for 2006, it’s time for society to make a choice.
“If the sector is not important enough to warrant more financial support, let the market process take its course and we will have fewer farm families with less grain and oilseed production,” writes Furtan. “If it is the families we care about, we need to consider new policies such as guaranteed annual income for farmers.”
Canada’s new Ag Minister Chuck Strahl begged about 2,000 farmers in an Ottawa, Ontario rally for more time to solve the income crisis plaguing the country’s agriculture sector. Some heckled; others even turned their back on him.
Obviously, unfair to the minister, it shows how deep the hurt is on the farm. In fact, in Ontario, 70 percent of farmers don’t get their primary income from the farm