For bucket re supply management

[ajl]

Due to competition at the retail level I have seen the retail price fall from around 4.99 to 4.60 for a 4L jug of 2% milk in the supermarket over the last 3-4 yrs,

[grassfarmer]

Bucket i'm not saying that BSE compensation was generous or even adequate for the severity of the BSE crisis, but you can't deny compensation was paid.

Seabass however seems to want to deny the truth. Got to wonder if you actually farm if you don't know any cattlemen that received BSE compensation - I don't know any that didn't. But then he claims not to get even agri-invest money - have you sent in your contributions Seabass? couldn't be a simpler sure fire pay out program than Agri-invest. Pay in your contribution, have the Government match it then withdraw it. A double your money program with no strings attached!

You do realise the dairy farmers don't get a Government cheque every month? They get a cheque from the milk company for the product they deliver just like a rancher gets a cheque from the auction when he sells cattle or the grain farmer gets one from the grain company when he delivers grain. They still have to produce the product and suffer much the same weather risks the rest of us do. Why the hatred of other farmers being profitable - wouldn't we like all farms to be profitable? Instead of trying to tear down those who are doing well in a race to the bottom why not try and build the rest up? I believe that every farm policy developed by Governments should have increasing net farm profitability as the goal - if it doesn't meet that criteria don't proceed with it. Many of the past policies that were aimed at increasing Canadian exports for example gave no consideration to farm level profitability and now we wonder why profitability is a struggle for many farms.

[Hamloc]

Historically I find myself disagreeing with Grassfarmer. Today I think he is right on most points. First I see nothing in Ceta to benefit grain and beef farmers, as he states correctly we don't fill our quota of beef now. The EU has a non tariff barrier of requiring it to be hormone free beef which Canada by its own choice produces very little of.

As for supply management, it has always baffled me as to why Canadians want to dismantle a system that farmers can make a living under and we get Canadian produced food. If you eliminate supply management you will simply transfer more profit to processors and retailers and eliminate a good portion of Canadian dairy, poultry and egg producers.

As a beef farmer I don't remember getting direct government help during BSE, I believe it mostly went to the packers and feedlots which did trickle down to the calf producer. The Canadian public helped a lot by eating more beef during this period.

[bucket]

I am not against supply management. ...it seems odd to be waiting for a buyout or payment when you are guaranteed to be a profitable entity in this country as a dairy producer.

[bgmb]

I am not against supply management. ...it seems odd to be waiting for a buyout or payment when you are guaranteed to be a profitable entity in this country as a dairy producer.

I am, nothing's personal against dairy farmers but supply management mostly benefits the east at the expense of the west. We could have a viable domestic and export industry out here which would be good for everyone. Its not just about dairy also chicken and eggs. Hate that milk is 1.5-2x what it should be in the store, so financially challenged families are more likely to choose unhealthy beverages.

[farmaholic]

4 liters of milk @ about $4.60 isn't much more than pop prices. In fact in some cases, like convenience stores.... cheaper, on a per liter basis. WTF.... buy pop in 2 liter bottles for a buck plus all enviro and deposit charges is cheap but hard to justify poorer people choosing it over milk when they could choose an even healthier alternative to pop.....WATER! Choices....!

[seabass]

You talking about peanut shit payments. Ones that by the time u pay the taxes u have just enuf left to prolong the agony. Ya those really help our cause. Good thing we have those kind of payments. They may help your big cattle ranch but most of the money the cattlemen got around here barely paid there twine bill.Thanks government.

[sumdumguy]

The people I spoke to everyday for about three years were very grateful for the payment. It could have been bigger and that I know, but that goes for all farm payments. We aren't on welfare, we are free enterprisers.

[dalek]

I am, nothing's personal against dairy farmers but supply management mostly benefits the east at the expense of the west. We could have a viable domestic and export industry out here which would be good for everyone. Its not just about dairy also chicken and eggs. Hate that milk is 1.5-2x what it should be in the store, so financially challenged families are more likely to choose unhealthy beverages.

There won't be an export opening for chicken or eggs with or without SM. There's a reason there's very little poultry much north of about the Mason-Dixon line in the US. Once you factor in the cost of building and potentially heating barns for winter there's no competing.

The SM factor in land prices particularly in Ontario and Quebec is huge

[grassfarmer]

I am not against supply management. ...it seems odd to be waiting for a buyout or payment when you are guaranteed to be a profitable entity in this country as a dairy producer.

Any payment they might have coming is to acknowledge that they will no longer have a guaranteed above cost of production price paid for their milk. Make no mistake the changes coming as a result of CETA will cost dairy producers in this country.

There won't be an export opening for chicken or eggs with or without SM. There's a reason there's very little poultry much north of about the Mason-Dixon line in the US. Once you factor in the cost of building and potentially heating barns for winter there's no competing.

And the same applies to dairy - how do Canadian dairy farmers compete with their New Zealand counterparts who largely set the world price of milk based on their year round, grass growing climate? All the more reason to keep the system we have now.