Harley Furtan on Agriculture in Canada

[SASKFARMER3]

This week ag Economist harley furtan will release his paper on agriculture and should goverments continue to subsidise or just stop all together.
It is flawed since his only argument as to why we should keep supporting farmers is that there needs to keep a way of rural life.
Give me a fricin break. Furtan your out to lunch.
We are getting hammered by the europeons and Americans every day.
Subsidies equal Didly squat on most grain farms in Canada.
On our 8000 acres we got 22000.00 or 2.75 an acre.
Our reletives in North Dakota on 8000 acres got 786,000.00 last year (their totals are published online) $98.25 an acre. And in europe you just dont want to know.
What he is missing also is if I am gone and all others yes the Govt in Saskatchewan wont have to give up oil royalties to farmers since they will be paying them to the banks and the province.
Also then we wouldnt need equip dealers chem dealers fert dealers hospitals lawyers etc it would be one big wide open area.
And yes MR furtan when I am gone I would leave CANADA also and move to Brazil or just leave and move to mexico.
So keep your economic ideas in your head instead of on the front page of city papers.
Also look at who is buying our oil gas potash etc. its subsidised american farmers but thats OK.
You Just Have TO LOVE CANADA EH.

[sawfly]

i get a little annoyed with the furtan types too. when you consider what they produce. (paper)
when they talk about farmers ,they calculate subsidys based on farm gate price. which is ridiculous, Our 3 or 4 $ bushell of wheat ,has another1.50$ of shipping and handleing value just to get it to port. (elevators, rail roads terminals ports,processors etc.) all have a stake in any farm support.

Its pretty obvious from the income statements of grain farmers that very little ever stays in their hands.

assume the farmer produces a tonne/acre wheat gets 28$ subsidy. he/she is the engine that converts that into 200$ or more of exportable goods. the railroads are gaurented profit and ROI,
on the other end the chemical manufactures get to squeeze an extra 10$ of the 28$ simply by Govt.regulations blocking competition

we farmers are not benificaries of subsidys ,were just the courier.

[myopinion]

What is your arguement here? Personally I dislike Harley Furtan and don't give him much credit for anything, but all you give for reasoning is to keep the rural economy going. Believe me, I want a strong rural economy and don't plan on moving from rural Sask, but come on, don't support Furtan's point of view!

[WoolyBear]

I haven't had a chance to read the report yet, but I will. As far as the govenment subsidies go, I am sure that the big corportation must love them. For every dollar they don't pay the farmer, for what ever reason, they know that there is a government program out there that MIGHT pay the farmer for the shortfall. As soon as a majority of farmers quit, they can step in and manage the land to their own desire.

An example was in one of the farm papers last week. ADM has no intention of building Biodiesel or ethanol plants in Canada until such time as THEY get the right incentives from the govenment of the day. Railroads will abandon more track unless THEY get the govenment help to maintain them. And so goes it for Manufacturing, paper, forestry, communications etc etc etc.

[ivbinconned]

SF3 you must be careful of this trap..."We are getting hammered by the europeons and Americans every day."

What is the MO of a pickpocket...he tries to make you look the other way!

Subsidies to ALL Quebec producers have always been as high if not higher than the countries you mention. However the canadian talking heads, of course would have you vent on jurisdictions that we have no influence on.

In 99 Quebec feed grain producers recieved a $120.00 and acre subsidy ...over and above their crop...guess where the money comes from?

[r.reid]

YOU KNOW WHAT PEOPLE!!!! IT'S TIME FOR A PROTEST!!!!.

I know what your thinking...."been there, done that", right?

I'm not talkin about driving to Regina and standing infront of the legislature building, waving a sign and freezing for nothing. It's been tried...and got no place.

What I'm talking about is getting a bunch of us togather and closeing down the Trans Canada #1 highway. A REAL IN YOUR FACE, RIOT POLICE, AND TEAR GAS PROTEST. We would have every farmer in the West on board before long "RAISING HELL".

I'm not joking....we (farmers) are going to loose everything if we don't get something done and get subsidized like our American and EU counterparts. Nobodies gonna do nothing for us, but us. GET IT...Guys are feeling like cornerd animals, and clowns like this Furtan punk make me sick to my stomach!!! CMON. Talking on a web site isn't going to do anything. If anyone else thinks I right SAY SO PLEASE, and we can make some plans and get started

THIS ISN"T LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE NO MORE

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree that its time to end little house on the prairies and do something, But what I see is that farmers have been beat up so bad the last few years they have nothing left inside them.
The feds won i fear and most city people think were rolling in cash from Government programs because that's what the liberals created big media event and then big announcement with no details. Farmers feel like something done city people just hate us and when weeks later the details come out the farmers see they have been screwed and the city people don't read that bio in the paper and the great divide continues.
Look at yesterdays rally in Ottawa 2000 farmers wow that's great number but in the Ag Canada Office they said Ag bureaucrats were looking out of their office building window.
(Probably wondering what all the fuss was about weave sent them money)
So Yes I agree something has to be done but What!

[SASKFARMER3]

Yes I agree that in Canada were shafted out west and Quebec has a far superior program.
For years, But the big problem is that province is a lot more like Europe or the states when it comes to their farmers, in the rest of the country the city people hate us.

[ivbinconned]

BUT THEY ARE DOING IT WITH ALBERTA MONEY!!!!

The helplessness that prarie farmers feel is a direct result of making us look and blame the Americans and others. Where we have NO INFULENCE!!

The only way to get action is to expose what happens right here in one province in Canada where they have ONE farm organization not thirty!

[cowman]

Now I only read what I saw in the local paper, not Furtans whole report, but isn't what he's saying is there are two options? Either bring the level of support up to world standards...or get out of the game?
In the paper I read he also listed the pros and cons of each option? And lets remember this is just a report from one professor not a person who has any authority?
Maybe it is a good thing to bring this debate up and get people thinking about how they want to go in this country? Because not talking about it and pretending things are just peachy down on the farm obviously isn't working?
I don't think city people hate farmers. I don't think they understand them though? The city slicker dances to a different piper is all. They have a different set of priorities.

[dolin]

hi,i just got the final payment for 2004 crop.if you want some numbers let me know.am from quebec

[dolin]

hi,i just got the final payment for 2004 crop.if you want some numbers let me know.am from quebec

[ivbinconned]

Good to see you are still with us Dolin.
That would be great if you could provide us information about the details and dynamics of how things are done in your province.
Would like to have the numbers on all commodities if you can.

The medium age in rural Quebec is about half of what it is in Saskatchewn so there is a world of concern here as we are seeing land values slowly decline making it very hard for older men to get out.

[Horse]

IVB is that mabey ENVY I see you have towards Quebec tis-tis.

[ivbinconned]

Yes I do envy the way Quebec defends their Ag industry...using YOUR money Horse!
But I don't envey the breaks my neihbors get!!!