December 2011 - Quebec Farmers` Association

Transcription

Vol. 31, No. 11
December 2011
Napierville•Saint-Guillaume•Saint-Denis•Stanbridge
Former dairy president
elected head of UPA
used combines only
CHRISTMAS SUPER SPECIAL
18 months
without interest
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What’s Inside
QFA’s health
insurance plan
p. 11
Grazing and
helping the
environment
PHOTO: BEATRIZ SALAS\TCN
The fate of the
Canadian Wheat
Board
p. 4
p. 5
Occupy Farmland!
p.12
Internet deal for
QFA members
p. 14
“Becoming president of the UPA is first and foremost a responsibility,” says UPA’s chief executive Marcel Groleau (right), “to represent as best one can every farmer in Quebec, to
speak in their name, to defend their interests and to promote positive improvements to agriculture and its profession. These responsibilities are shared among all of us, because we are
all part of a ‘Union,’ the most important word in our organization’s name. As such, Anglophone farmers have a valuable part to play, just like every other group of farmers in Quebec,
to rebuild confidence in the future, between farmers, in the agricultural sector and in its potential.”
w w w. q u e b e c f a r m e r s . o r g
w w w. q u e b e c f a r m e r s . o r g
Andrew McClelland
Advocate Staff Reporter
P u b li cat i o n Ma il No .: 40 033 77 3
The Union des producteurs agricoles has elected a new man to its
top executive position. Longtime Fédération des producteurs de
lait du Québec (FPLQ) president
Marcel Groleau was acclaimed
president of the provincial farmers union at the UPA’s 87th
annual general congress on
December 1 in Quebec City.
“We must all work together,
both producers and the government, to restore confidence in
the agricultural sector,” said the
Thetford Mines-area dairy producer during his address to
UPA delegates. “To achieve this,
we have to recognize how agriculture contributes to the economy as any other sector of the
economy does, to see it as an
investment ensuring the vitality
of all links in the food chain—
and to create conditions under
which our companies can continue to invest, create jobs and
contribute to the economic sustainability of all our regions.”
Two-term pres bows out
Groleau has been a member of
the UPA’s executive committee
for many years, and ran against
out-going president Christian
Lacasse in 2009, only to fall short
of the mark by nine votes. This
year, Lacasse decided not to
seek a third term as UPA leader,
choosing instead to vacate his
seat at the UPA to spend more
time with his family and farm in
Saint-Vallier (in the MRC de
Bellechasse.) Lacasse also said
that he felt it was detrimental to
the organization to hold elections every year. In his farewell
speech, he said it is important
for a leader to recognize when
an able successor is ready to
assume the role and he had
every confidence in Marcel
Groleau’s ability to do so.
QFA members’ reaction to
Groleau’s leadership was overwhelmingly positive. “I am very
excited by the choice of the new
president of the UPA,” said
board member Gib Drury.
“Marcel Groleau brings a world
of experience in international
affairs as well as an excellent
consensus-building ability to his
leadership. I would also like to
thank Christian Lacasse for his
30 years of sacrifice to the UPA
and his exceptional diplomacy
in not creating a leadership confrontation.”
In spite of everything, Lacasse
sees a positive side to his departure. “I will be able to spend
more time with my wife and
family, who are looking forward
to my return to the farm. My
children are grown up and I
More Farm Food Forums are coming!
See p. 3 for our list of events…
missed out on a lot of that—I
have some catching up to do. In
spite of my involvement as a
UPA leader, my profession as a
farmer remains as my first priority. Sylvie and I have been able
to develop our farm business,
which will now permit me to
achieve new dreams.”
Helpful to Anglo farmers
Groleau comes to the organization with plenty of experience.
As FPLQ president since 2004,
he is also president of Valacta,
Quebec’s dairy production centre of expertise, and acts as viceCONTINUED ON PAGE 2
“To sin by silence when they
should protest makes cowards
of men.” —Abraham Lincoln
Page 2 - Quebec Farmers’ Advocate / December 2011
president to the board of directors at Dairy Farmers of Canada.
“I was on the milk board with Marcel for several years,” reported
QFA President Chris Judd after Groleau’s election. “We’ve always
respected each other and our vision was always in the same direction. I’m familiar with all the executive of the FPLQ, and most of the
board, and am very confident in their success in the future too.”
Judd also noted that Groleau’s stance as FPLQ president has
always been supportive of Quebec’s English-speaking agricultural
producers.
“When I talked to Marcel at a milk convention a week before the
UPA congress, he assured me that he hoped he’d soon be working
for all English-speaking farmers—not just the dairy ones,” recounted the QFA president.
Groleau’s speech to the UPA assembly indicated that making sure
a proper agricultural policy, with helpful support programs, would
be a top priority during his presidency.
“Without denying that some production sectors are doing well,”
remarked Groleau, “the fact remains that nearly one third of agricultural enterprises—especially those in meat, small grains and
forestry, are in a difficult situation to varying degrees. In times of
crisis, producers must rely on risk management programs and flexible funding to make ends meet. We have work to do on this side,
producers, governments and partners to meet all the safety net...
We’re ready for a real farm plan in Quebec.”
QFA Executive Director Ivan Hale said, “Mr. Groleau has been
serving as vice-president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. He is very
familiar with provincial and national issues. His bilingualism will
be a big asset as he represents Quebec farmers’ interests.”
The UPA’s two vice-presidents, dairy and maple syrup producer
Pierre Lemieux of Cap-St-Ignace and livestock producer Denis
Bilodeau of Warwick, were re-elected at the annual general congress.
The Best of
Mission
To defend the rights, provide information and advocate for the
English-speaking agricultural community
in Quebec
Vision
The QFA’s actions contribute to a sustainable future
for both agriculture and the environment while providing a decent quality of life and financial return for the individuals and their families who have made agriculture and food production their chosen professions.
Shared Values
Members of the QFA believe in:
• Maintaining family-owned and operated farms • Food sovereignty and
self-determination by individuals and nations • Intergenerational involvement
• Lifelong learning • Protection of the physical environment • Preserving land for agricultural production • Minimum government interference • Working
alone and in partnership with others
PHOTO: CAROLINE DÉSILETS
Quebec Farmers’ Association
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“When I talked to Marcel at a milk convention a week before the UPA congress, he
assured me that he hoped he’d soon be working for all English-speaking farmers—not just
the dairy ones,” said QFA President Chris Judd regarding Quebec former dairy producers’ president Marcel Groleau’s election to head the UPA.
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Crossbreeding scheme=schéma de croisement
Reprinted from Vocabulary of Agriculture.
Government of Canada publications, 1990.
Quebec Farmers’ Advocate / December 2011 - Page 3
QFA’s Farm Food Forums
Forty-eight turn out for second farm succession videoconference
Dougal Rattray
Advocate Staff Reporter
Farmers from across the
province gathered in Community
Learning Centres on November
24 to learn more about issues pertaining
to
farm
transfer.
Challenges were described and
solutions offered by two experts
who gave complimenting, professional presentations on the sometimes more difficult aspects of
succession—emotions and communication. Forty-eight farmers
turned out to listen and share
their experiences and thoughts.
Many were impressed and left
with greater knowledge than they
had arrived with.
Pierrette Desrosiers and Elaine
Froese are both veterans in offering support to the agricultural
sector in Canada. What’s more,
both come from family farms
themselves. Desrosiers gave a
strong presentation, eloquently
highlighting research showing
that 20 per cent of success comes
from Intellectual Quotient (IQ)
and 40 per cent from Emotional
Intelligence (EI). With her
authoritative knowledge, she
underlined the importance of
developing core competencies
for creating stronger management
skills—self-awareness,
self-control, motivation, empathy and social skills—and went
on to uncover some of the main
obstacles for a successful transfer.
“On average, business owners
spend up to 80,000 hours building their businesses and only 12
to 16 hours on their succession
planning,” reported Desrosiers,
adding that “this may explain
why 70 per cent of businesses
don’t make it to the second generation and 90 per cent don’t
make it to the third.” Other interesting points for reflection
included an example of an
“anger thermometer” reference
tool, tips for developing emotional intelligence and powerful
questions to keep in mind when
decision making: “What do I
want?,” “How badly do I want
January Forum – Learn about the Power of Smart Phones and The Internet
✦ Meet Peter Gredig, the farming go-to whiz on mobile devices, smart phones, apps and QR codes.
✦ ‘Knowledge is Power’ - Xplornet CEO John Maduri on the uses and options for high speed internet.
✦ Thursday January 26th at participating CLCs across Quebec – 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
it?,” “What do I have to do to get
it?,” and “Is what I’m doing
now, helping me to reach my
goal?”
Elaine Froese, a certified farm
family business coach from
Alberta, presented ‘Discuss the
Undiscussabulls—Ten Tools for
Talking about Tough Issues.’
Her concise presentation underlined some of the challenges
encountered in transfer—fairness; finances; family fights; forgiveness and respect; fear of failure; fulfilment of roles; and fixing the stress mess.
“There was such a lot of really
useful information,” commented
one participant. “There was not
really enough time to digest it
all. I’m really glad I came.”
Please be sure to attach the
insert found in this issue of the
Advocate to your fridge to
remind you of the ‘where’s,
when’s and what’s’ of this pioneering initiative.
The QFA wishes to sincerely
thank Pierrette Desrosiers and
Elaine Froese for their integrity and
the generosity of spirit given in the
preparation of this event.
To contact Pierrette go to
www.pierrettedesrosiers.com.
To talk with Elaine, please go to
www.elainefroese.com.
For enquiries regarding the Farm
Food Forums please contact the
QFA office on 450-679-0540 Ext.
8536.
QFA Board
Members
Host Sites
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
Campbell’s Bay
Low
Lachute
Huntingdon
Magog
Richmond
Bury
Macdonald Campus
St. John’s Elementary
St. Mike’s High School
Laurentian Regional School
Huntingdon Adult Ed Centre
Princess Elizabeth School
Richmond Regional School
Eaton Valley CLC
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue
Tel: 819-648-2408
Tel: 819-442-3584
Tel: 450-562-8571 Ext. 8449
Tel: 450-264-9276
Tel: 819-843-4847
Tel: 819-826-3702
Tel: 819-872-3771
Tel: 450-679-0540 Ext. 8536
PLEASE ATTACH THIS TO YOUR FRIDGE
QFA FARM FOOD FORUMS
DATES
TOPICS
January 26, 2012
Harnessing New Technologies
February 23, 2012
Food Safety
March 29, 2012
Pasture – It’s Management and Nutritional Value
April 26, 2012
The Food We Eat – a panel discussion
Douglas Brooks
Executive Member
Franklin
Ken Brooks
Franklin
Ben Nichols
4-H representative
Wendall Conner
Executive Member
Canton de Hatley
Roy Copeland
Lachute
Gib Drury
Executive Member
Alcove
HOST SITES
Campbell’s Bay
St. John’s Elementary
819-648-2408
Low
St. Mike’s High School
819-442-3584
Lachute
Laurentian Regional School
450-562-8571 Ext. 8449
Huntingdon
Huntingdon Adult Ed Centre
450-264-9276
Magog
Princess Elizabeth School
819-843-4847
Richmond
Richmond Regional School
819-826-3702
Bury
Eaton Valley CLC
819-872-3771
Macdonald College Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue
Mark Boyd
Wakefield
450-679-0459 Ext. 8536
Bill Fairbairn
Executive Member
Wakefield
Chris Judd
President
Shawville
Patricia Keenan
Brompton
Walter Last
Poltimore
John McCart
Vice-President
Grenville-sur-la-Rouge
Armin Ruf
Stanstead
Ronald Strutt
Shawville
GUEST EDITORIAL
Where is democracy
for the Wheat Board?
Allen Oberg
Chair
Canadian Wheat Board
The Harper government’s dismantling of the Canadian Wheat
Board’s marketing mandate is
an issue of utmost importance to
the farmers of Western Canada.
It will affect our farms and our
families for generations to come.
The problem is that farmers
have not been consulted about it
or asked if we want it. Instead,
the government gone to great
lengths to ensure that farmers
are excluded from this decision.
Recently, we have seen a glaring example of that. The Federal
Court of Canada issued a ruling
on December 7 that Minister
Ritz broke the law when he
denied farmers a vote before
taking steps to dismantle the
CWB single desk. The minister
immediately announced that he
intended to press ahead, regardless of this decision. He stated
that he would never reconsider
his actions, and that the judge’s
declaration would have no effect
on his government’s determination to move forward.
Rule of law is not the only
thing that this government has
disregarded. Results of the fair
plebiscite held by the CWB on
this issue have been ignored and
belittled. Basic democratic rights
have been denied, and the opinion of the Federal Court is being
disrespected.
The court ruled that Bill C-18
was brought before Parliament
in an illegal way. We have been
appealing to politicians and
Canadian citizens to ensure that
the government acts in accordance with the laws of the land
and the orders of its courts.
Farmers are the stakeholders we
must all be concerned about,
first and foremost. This bill will
tear apart their 75-year-old marketing structure. Their views are
being ignored and their interests
trampled.
Farmers who have protested
losing their democratic rights
have been branded as backward
hold-outs. Producers who have
tried to explain why they value
the single-desk marketing system have been painted as incompetent grain marketers. We, as
farmers’ elected representatives,
have been maligned as irrational
diehards clinging to an outdated
concept. Our views have not
been taken seriously by government, nor have we been able to
convince Minister Ritz to engage
on any level beyond rhetoric and
ideology.
We acknowledge and respect
that Parliament is supreme.
But—as the court ruling suggests—the process that guides it
must reflect the principles that
our great country has long
embraced. Democracy. Due
process. Careful consideration of
the interests of its people—not
just those of large corporations,
or the dictates of a particular
ideology.
Farmers fought very hard,
over the decades, to build a system that could serve their own
interests against predatory grain
companies and giant railways.
My own father and grandfather
devoted their lives to the Prairie
cooperative movement that
resulted in creation of the farmers’ Prairie pool elevator companies and the Canadian Wheat
Board.
But over the last decade, we
lost the pools, as the power of
corporate agri-business giants
grew. The last vestige of farmer
power and ownership has been
concentrated in the structure of
the Canadian Wheat Board. On
purpose. By government. As a
way
to
benefit
western
Canadian farmers, to help
ensure our power and profitability in the face of agri-business
consolidation and the virtual
monopoly of the railways.
Now the Wheat Board too, is
on the verge of destruction. And
not over the span of decades or
years. Not after careful consideration. Not after extensive consultation among stakeholders.
Instead, this is occurring in a single foul swoop over a matter of
weeks, with no proper analysis,
debate or discussion.
I could accept this, despite my
own personal convictions, if it
were farmers themselves who
had decided to end the CWB single desk. But that is not the case.
Farmers have approved none of
this. Most are well aware that
this path will only diminish their
own power and profits, and
hand them back to the corporate
world of agri-business.
Allen Oberg is the chair of the
CWB’s farmer-controlled board of
directors.
He
farms
near
Forestburg, Alberta.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Le Salon de l’agriculture
un Rendez-vous technique et d’affaires incontournable au Québec
Maximiser nos plantes fourragères
- January 10 to 12, 2012
St-Hyacinthe Terrain de l’Exposition
Exit 130 on autoroute 20
Cost: $10 for students, $12 for producers, free for children under 12.
Info: www.salondelagriculture.com
Tel: (450) 771-1226
Les Journées sur l’innovation et le progrès
en agroalimentaire au Centre-du-Québec
(Conferences on lamb, goat, beef and organic dairy production)
- January 13 and 14, 2012
Complexe Sacré Coeur, Victoriaville, QC
Info: www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca/centreduquebec
Tel: 819 758-1591, ext. 255
QFA’s Farm Food Forums presents
“Harnessing New Technologies”
- January 26, 2012
by videoconferencing at your local Community Learning Centre
See page 3 for more details.
Quebec Farmers’ Advocate
Editor-in-Chief
Ivan Hale
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Andrew McClelland
[email protected]
Published to benefit the English
agricultural and rural community in Quebec
Vol. 31, No. 11: December 2011
All contents copyright and may not be reprinted or translated without
permission. Published in Quebec by The Quebec Farmers’
Association. Legal deposit: National Library of Canada. Dépôt légal:
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec.
ISSN#0714-9518
Publication Mail No: 40033773
THE QUEBEC FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE SUPPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE IN THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS PAPER.
Production Manager
La Terre de chez nous
Sales Director
André Savard
[email protected]
450-679-8483 ext. 7221
www.quebecfarmers.org
Sales Representatives
Daniel Lamoureux (National Sales
Representative), Christian Guinard,
Sylvain Joubert, Marie-Claude Primeau.
Contributors
Steve Adam, Julie Baillargeon,
Heather Ballard, Angie Beaudet,
Michel Dessureault, Jean-Charles Gagné,
Chris Judd, Yvon Laprade,
Thierry Larivière, Hubert McClelland,
Paul Meldrum, Myles Mellor,
Julie Mercier, Terry Mosher,
Giovanna Nicolo, Allen Oberg,
Dougal Rattray, Robert Savage,
Marc-Alain Soucy, April Stewart,
David Wees.
As of January 1, 2012, QFA memberships (includes a free subscription to
the Advocate) will be $68.36 ($60 +
GST and QST) per year and are
renewed every year.
Send cheques to:
The Quebec Farmers’ Association
555 Roland-Therrien, office 255
Longueuil, QC J4H 4E7
Phone: (450) 679-0540, ext. 8536
Fax: (450) 463-5291
E-mail: [email protected]
Going green by keeping livestock on pasture
Hubert McClelland, agronome
Advocate Grazing Specialist
There are lots of differing
opinions on how agriculture can
reduce greenhouse gases and
improve soil at the same time.
Since as far back as 1916, there
have been research projects
examining the possibility of
sequestering carbon and greenhouse gases by using management-intensive grazing for livestock production.
years researching scientific literature and conducting new
work on how the carbon cycle
can be made to improve our net
carbon gain. Liebig’s research
shows that there has been an
increase in soil carbon in the
past 50 years, largely due to
management-intensive grazing
and maintaining grass residue
after grazing (i.e. leaving grass
on the surface when cattle leave
a parcel). Since the first soil
samples were analyzed in
1959—where grazing residuals
were maintained on rangeland
that was managed for optimum
stocking rates—they had as
much as a fivefold increase in
net carbon gain. Carbon can be
measured as organic matter as
we know it. Organic matter
contains about 56 per cent
organic carbon.
Both Allan Savoury of the
Holistic Management Institute
and Dr. Christine Jones of
Australia’s “Carbon for Life”
have independently come to the
conclusion that if 10 to 20 per
PHOTO: ELEANORE MCCLELLAND
Management-intensive grazing can reduce the levels of methane in the air, sequester carbon
in the soil—and be profitable!
Research shows that, even on poor rangeland, more methane can be captured than
released through management-intensive grazing practices.
Neil Dennis, a grazier from
Wawota, Saskatchewan, says
his ‘mob’ grazing over the last
15 to 20 years has increased his
soil water holding capacity by
10 to 15 times. When he first
started his management-intensive grazing some 15 or more
year ago, only three-fifths of an
inch of water in a tube would be
absorbed into his soil per hour.
Today, with this same soil test
and four to five times as much
soil organic matter, a tube of
water placed vertically on the
soil’s surface will be absorbed
at the rate of six to ten inches an
hour. He has increased his carrying capacity to about 800
stockers on 1,100 acres for 120
days without any additions of
seed or fertilizer, only management intensive grazing. He now
thinks, with his soil’s increased
carrying capacity and moisture
retention, that he could carry
1,400 stockers for the 120 days
grazing season. Dennis also
believe that the CO2 increase
from tillage and the loss of soil
carbon has been greater than all
the fossil fuels burned in the last
200 years. (For more on
Christine Jones’ work go to
http://renewablesoil.com/drchristine-jones.html)
NEIL DENNIS, A GRAZIER FROM WAWOTA, SASKATCHEWAN, SAYS HIS ‘MOB’
GRAZING OVER THE LAST 15 TO 20 YEARS HAS INCREASED HIS SOIL WATER
HOLDING CAPACITY BY 10 TO 15 TIMES.
According to Jim Gerrish of
the Stockman Grass Farmer, anybody who still claims that there
is no benefit to support pasturebased livestock production
“needs to get their head out of
the sand.” Gerrish quotes Dr.
Mark Liebig, a United States
Department of Agriculture scientist working at the Montana
Northern Great Plains Research
lab who has spent the last ten
cent of the world’s grassland
were grazed with a couple more
inches of residue, the net carbon
gain would be enough to reduce
the present levels of CO2 to the
levels before the industrial revolution in perhaps 10 years. They
claim that tillage and the using
up of our organic matter is one
of the greatest reasons for the
increased CO2 levels in the
atmosphere. Some experts
Studies show that overgrazed
pastures, particularly those on
muck soils, emit more methane
than they capture. Dr. Liebig’s
work showed that, even on poor
rangeland, more methane can be
captured than released through
management-intensive grazing
practices. When pastures are
managed for active organic matter increase, more methane is
captured than is emitted.
Neil Dennis has increased his carrying
capacity to about 800 stockers on 1,100
acres.
claims that if the soils of the
Prairie were managed like his,
the impact of the floods in the
Assiniboine River Valley would
not have occurred in 2011.
In Quebec, if we could
increase the period during
which all beef cattle are on
grass—from about 130 to 180
days—and get our dairy cows
on pasture with managementintensive grazing for 150 days,
we could probably capture all
the greenhouse gases needed to
meet Quebec’s environmental
objectives. We’d improve our
product, capture more carbon
in our soils and reduce our cost
of production all at the same
time.
Hubert McClelland grew up on a
farm in Cantley, Quebec and was
educated at Macdonald College. For
over thirty years, he worked for the
Outaouais sector of the Ministère de
l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de
l’Alimentation du Québec as an
agronome and pasture specialist.
Currently, he encourages grazing
for beef and dairy production and
offers consultation through the
Réseau Agriconseils to Quebec producers who wish to improve their
grazing management.
REMINDER
Contact the Centralized Quota Sales System at the following telephone number: 1-900-565-5248 (1-900-565-LAIT)
All offers must be made between the 20 - 28th of the month preceding the exchange, Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays
and the holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Always have your producer number indicated on your pay or on your quota certificate.
Centralized Quota Sales System
Centralized Quota Sales System
Fixed Price
Number
Quantity
in kg b.f./day
53
314.70
Offers to sell participating
in the distribution
53
314.70
Successfull offers to sell
participating in the distribution
53
314.70
0.50
Total offers to buy
1,045
5,360.80
Offers to buy participating
in the distribution
1,045
5,360.80
Successfull offers to buy
participating in the distribution
1,045
315.20
Purchase and Sale offers by Stratum
SALES
$25,000.00
Total offers to sell
Quantity sold by the reserve
DECEMBER 2011
Number
14
39
Quantity in kg
b.f./day
85.40
229.30
PURCHASES
Price offered
$ / kg b.f./day
Cumulation
314.70
< 25,000.00
25,000.00 ceiling price
Number
1,045
Quantity in kg
b.f./day
5,360.80
Cumulation
5,360.80
The fixed price for December 2011 is the ceiling price for this month. A quota quantity of 314.7 b.f./day was offered for sale at
the fixed price. Of this quantity, an amount of 70.9 b.f./day was allotted to new producers, producers benefiting from the Start-up
Assistance Program and producers holding less then 12 kg, in accordance with the quota regulation.
1st step distribution by iteration = 0.1 kg BF/day
2nd step distribution by prorata = 2.72%
Portion of quantities satisfied = 5.9%
149971
Cougars may be adding
horses to their dinner menu
PHOTO: LINDA LAROCQUE/MAPAQ
The Eastern cougar, once
thought to be extinct, is the
prime suspect in a series of
attacks on horses in the Eastern
Townships since July 2011.
The first, in the Stukely-sud
area, gave a horse-owner the
scare of her life when a large
feline jumped over her shoulder
to take after one of the horses she
was feeding in a pasture.
Reports of other attacks soon followed in the months of August
through October in Danville,
Dunham, Notre-Dame-des-Bois
and Kingsey Falls.
Although the current situation
has brewed excitement as to the
species’ survival, it has left oth-
ers none-too-thrilled and a little
scared for their safety and that of
their horses.
Tina Jeanson, from the
Richmond area, says she is a little worried about her foals that
live outdoors with two adult
horses.
“They’re small and wouldn’t
stand a chance against such a
large predator,” says Jeanson.
“At least the two adults could
defend themselves.”
Many others remain uncertain
or in disbelief, as possible theories have been all over the media,
some putting the emphasis on
the lack of proof that the attacks
are, in fact, the work of a cougar.
To try and answer this question, I explore the many theories
in various media sources and
contact the Ministère des
Ressources naturelles et de la Faune
(MRNF). According to media
reports, the sole piece of evidence as to what kind of animal
is preying upon local livestock is
a paw print taken from the
attack-site in Danville, which
was identified as belonging to a
large feline. Witness reports and
numerous sightings have also
suggested this could be the case.
The Ministère des Ressources
naturelles et de la Faune (MRNF),
who have been trying to gather
photographic and DNA evidence, say this cunning feline
has yet to be proven guilty. They
just don’t have concrete proof
that it was a cougar– although it
is possible and the “witness
accounts are very credible.”
The Kingsey Falls attack was
the most debated, some saying
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Angie Beaudet
Advocate Eastern Townships
Correspondent
Although the attacks have brewed excitement
as to the species’ survival, it has left others
none-to-thrilled, scared, or sceptical
as many questions remain unanswered.
In addition to protecting cattle from the wind, a windbreak also helps to control snow accumulation. If properly
installed, the windbreak will cause snow to deposit in little-used areas, while keeping the high-use zones clear,
thus reducing the work and expense of snow removal and cattle feeding
The winter season: a good
period to see the importance
of a windbreak
Are your animals exposed to cold winter winds? Or are they in a
wintering pen that can provide protection against these winds? If you
are not sure, take the time to observe their behaviour during a very
windy day over the coming months. Indeed, a pen layout may be practical for the farmer, while not necessarily satisfying the needs of the cattle.
A wooded area located close to the wintering pen may act as a natural windbreak. However, in order to be effective, it must be upwind to
the prevailing winds, which blow mainly from the north or west. If your
pen does not have the protection of a natural windbreak and your cattle seem to be suffering from the cold winter winds, the construction of
an artificial windbreak may be a profitable investment. But in order to
be effective, it must respect certain construction rules.
A windbreak can improve your animals’ well-being, and at the same
time, reduce maintenance and feeding costs. However, the planting of
a natural windbreak or the construction of a mobile or fixed structure
must follow some basic rules. Do not hesitate to contact your MAPAQ
advisor in your region for further information on this subject.
A word from the Outaouais-Laurentides Regional Direction,
Outaouais sector- MAPAQ
Reference: Smith Thomas, H. 2011. Cattle comfort in winter pays in
a lot of ways, Beef Magazine http://beefmagazine.com/pasturerange/0901-cattle-comfort-windbreaks/index.html, (consulted on Nov.
7, 2011)
Source: Sébastien Whissell, Jr. Engineer and Agronomist, Gatineau
Agricultural Service Centre
Starting up or retiring
from farming, planning
can make it easier
Have you given some thought to putting up a for sale sign? Are you
searching the web (or back roads) for farms to buy? Are you planning
to transfer the business to the next generation? It can be difficult to start
into farming but it can also be just as hard to retire from farming. All of
theses actions require financial and personal planning that needs to
start long before your papers are ready to be signed. There are important steps to take to ensure that all aspects are covered. There are also
exciting opportunities to work together to maintain the dynamics of our
farming community. We are planning an afternoon information session
(12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) on February 7, 2012, at Heritage College
Campus in Campbell’s Bay. Mark your calendar if you have any
thoughts on starting up or retiring from farming in the upcoming years.
For more information, contact the Shawville MAPAQ office at 1 888
206-7575.
Source: Mavis Thompson,
Agricultural Service Centre
Agricultural
Technician,
Shawville
the behaviour of the predator
doesn’t fit with that of a cougar
(the lacerations being on the
back area rather than the neck
and head) while other specialists
debate that no other predator
would have been large enough
to cause these injuries. Some say
the cougar may have simply
missed its target or is a young,
inexperienced male in search of
territory. This could also explain
why none of the attacks so far
have been fatal. The MRNF, cautious with their answers, simply
state that since they have no
proof, they can’t affirm whether
or not it was a cougar or if all
attacks could be by the same
cougar.
Another question raised in the
media was whether the cougars
really are the “extinct” Eastern
cougar subspecies. Some specialists say there is a possibility
that the cougars are the result of
escaped or abandoned cougars—
as it is legal to own them as pets
in some parts of North
America—and would therefore
be a mix of the Southern and
Western subspecies.
One thing specialists do agree
on is that cougars are definitely
present in the Eastern Townships and throughout our
province.
A study started in 2001 has
confirmed, by means of DNA
samples from hair, the presence
of at least 15 different cougars in
Quebec. However, there still is
no estimation as to the total population, only that cougars are
present in nearly all regions of
our province.
The Eastern
Townships,
Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Gaspé, Bas St. Laurent
and Saguenay-Lac St. Jean
regions seem to have the highest
concentrations.
According to the MRNF,
cougars like many other predators, are nocturnal and often
hunt at dusk and dawn. The best
protection is to bring animals in
for the night and to have good
lighting around buildings to
help spot any potential predators.
This has been a very good year
for Melissa Duncan, a 19-yearold student at Macdonald
College and senior member of
the Ormstown 4-H club. It be
accurate to say that she was
quite lucky at the Quebec 4-H
Provincial Rally this summer
when she won the Champion
Dairy Showperson title, or tied
for Champion Public Speaker,
which helped her become the
Top
Overall
Individual
Aggregate, beating out 100 other
participants. It might also have
been chance that helped her
make it onto the South-West
Quebec dairy team attending the
TD 4-H Canadian Dairy Classic
earlier in November (it was her
first time representing the competitive region).
But perhaps after considering
that Melissa has also won several scholarships based on
extracurricular activities, academic success and career goals
this year, her achievements may
have less to do with pure luck
and more to do with hard work.
Melissa was recently named as
the Quebec winner of the 2011
TD 4-H Agriculture Scholarship,
sponsored by TD Canada Trust,
which is available to 4-H members pursuing post-secondary
studies in a field related to agriculture. Twelve of these $2,500
scholarships are offered annually to the 4-H’er with the highest
academic average for their
province. Melissa is currently in
her last year of the Farm
Management and Technology
program at the Macdonald
Campus of McGill University.
She plans to study AgroEnvironmental Sciences, with a
specialization in Professional
Agrology
and
Animal
Production at McGill next year,
in order to pursue a career as an
Agronome.
This fall, Melissa has been kept
busy preparing for the Classic in
Toronto, competing at the North
American Intercollegiate Dairy
Challenge in New York State,
and rehearsing with the
MAC/JAC 4-H square dancers
on campus, who made their first
trip to the RAWF competition in
mid-November. She has also
been a member of the Ormstown
4-H Club for 10 years, completing dairy and various life skills
projects. Here’s hoping 2012 is
an equally good year!
2011 TD 4-H Scholarship Winner
interested in career as agronome
QFA Vice-president John McCart presents Melissa Duncan with a cheque and certificate from the QFA’s own Warren Grapes scholarships at the association’s 2010 annual meeting. Melissa was also recently awarded the TD 4-H Agriculture Scholarship.
HEROES
The QFA extends a
warm welcome to the
EVERY ONE! following individuals,
businesses and
organizations who have either renewed their
memberships or who have joined the QFA
family for the first time. Your membership is
greatly appreciated. Together we are supporting
and strengthening the English-speaking rural
community in Quebec.
Mark Boyd
Donald Brownlee
Steve Brus
Gilbert Campbell
Jennings & Angela Derouin
Winston Dewar
Peter Ednie
Bill and Penny Fairbairn
Norman Graham
David Hall
Arthur Hobbs
Doug Hogan
Chris Judd
Matthias and Odette
Kaiser
Mark and Darlene Kearns
Graham Larocque
John Lindsay
John and Darlene McCart
Hubert McClelland
Doug McColm
Colin Murphy
Ben Nichols
Martin Nitschkie
Garry and Charleen
Overton
Rodger and Marlene Pfeil
Hugh Salsbury
Martina Schneider
Annemarie Tolhurst
Eddy Whitcher
To become a QFA member, clip out our membership form
on page 2, or call 450-679-0540 ext. 8536
154632
Teaching that “you are what you eat”
We have all heard the familiar
horror stories about how people
take their food for granted. City
kids think milk comes from the
grocery store and that tomatoes
magically appear inside ketchup
bottles. And their parents aren’t
much better.
There are two important
contributing factors to the
public’s misconceptions about
food and agriculture: over 80%
of Canadians live in cities and
less than 2% live on farms. In an
increasingly urbanized world,
consumers are far removed from
such basic issues as where our
food comes from and how it is
produced.
Fear of nature
A related issue is “nature
deficit disorder” — educators
are seeing children so sheltered
from outdoors activities like
climbing trees and playing in the
mud that they learn to ignore
nature or worse, to fear it.
Here’s a telling example: on a
recent tour of the orchard at
Macdonald Campus, a sandalwearing student (definitely a
city girl) complained that she
“didn’t like the feel of the grass
on her legs and feet and could
we please stay on the path!”
Definitely not a future treehugger.
You are what you eat
Enter “You are what you eat”,
a public outreach program
created and delivered by the
Faculty of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences at
McGill University’s Macdonald
Campus. The Faculty of
Education, which trains future
school teachers, is also involved.
This program aims to make
school age children, and their
teachers, more aware of food,
agriculture
and
the
environment.
Since December 2010, “You
are what you eat” has delivered
workshops to almost 1500
children in primary schools,
high schools and fairs. The
program is funded in part by the
Natural Science and Engineering
Research Council (NSERC)
though
its
PromoScience
program, a Federal Government
initiative to promote science
literacy to the general public.
Our team of science promoters
includes education specialist
Valentina DeKrom (MSc’90,
DipEd’91), as well as a team of
students and recent graduates
from
Macdonald
Campus
including Lauren Pochereva,
Kirya Marchand, Jenna Senecal
(BEng’10), Kate McGregor
(BEng’11)
and
Jenia
Faibusovitch (BSc(AgEnvSc’11).
The team has created half a
dozen learning activities aimed
at sparking interest in things
scientific in children and
teenagers.
Workshops and
more workshops
One of the first workshops
created
was
on
vermicomposting, composting
kitchen wastes with worms in
plastic bins. To paraphrase a
young budding scientist, kids
found it “gross” yet strangely
exciting to see hundreds of red
wigglers chewing on left-over
coffee grounds and apple peels.
The team, while showing their
young audiences how organic
wastes are decomposed, also
dispelled a few common myths
(“no, a worm cut in two pieces
will not re-grow”).
Another successful workshop
has been on biodiesel. Fuel and
the environment are hot topics
and many students have heard
of biofuels but have no idea how
they are made. Our team
devised a simple but effective
method for extracting oil from
walnuts — the nuts are crushed
in a vise-grip, the oil is poured
into test tubes with a solvent,
then shaken until the oil
separates from the walnut pulp.
The “coolest” part is that the
students then get to burn their
bio-diesel, proving that plants
can indeed generate fuels. This
activity illustrates an important
link between agriculture and the
environment.
“You are what you eat”
delivers other workshops and
learning activities on water
quality, the microbiology of
yogurt and the construction of
“squishy circuits” — how to
turn dough into an electrical
conductor.
Each activity, while fun to do,
has
serious
educational
components. The activities can
be tailored to meet the
pedagogical requirements of
different grade levels.
So far, most of the participants
have been students and teachers
from the Montreal area.
However, the team has travelled
to eastern Ontario as well as to
First Nations communities.
While science is part of the
school curriculum, many school
boards don’t have the resources
to put science in practice. And
yet, for many students, science
only comes alive when they see
it before their eyes, hence the
importance of hands-on learning
activities that also meet
educational objectives.
From high-tech to low-tech,
“You are what you eat”
workshops draw students from
all walks of life. Although many
young
people
don’t
see
themselves as scientists, these
workshops can spark an interest
that will lead to scientific careers
later in life. After pollinating
tomato plants in the Macdonald
Campus
greenhouse,
one
enthusiastic
fourth-grader
declared that he wanted “to
come here to study plants!”
Jenia Faibusovitch delivers a science education workshop on biodiesel in Kahnawake. The
participants were from the Heads Up Summer Program.
Bring education to the people, even at an outdoors farmer’s market in Hudson. Some
young scientists ponder how electricity can be transmitted through salt dough.
Get involved
For more information on “You
are what you eat”, educators
may contact the team through
[email protected] or
contact
David
Wees
at
[email protected].
David
Wees
teaches
horticulture in the Department
of Plant Science and in the Farm
Management and Technology
Program.
Kirya Marchand reveals the secrets of worms and vermicomposting to a young audience
at St Edmund School in Pointe-Claire, Qc. The vermicomposting workshop is one of the
most popular delivered by the “you are what you eat” team.
Dean Chandra Madramootoo
and the faculty, staff and students at Macdonald
wish you all a
Happy and Healthy New Year!
PHOTOS: VALENTINA DE KROM, MSC’90, DIPED’91
By David Wees, agr.
Macdonald Campus of
McGill University
The Quebec Beef Producers Federation
Fédération des producteurs de bovins du Québec
Working for tomorrow
The future is knocking down
the door, and we can’t help but
act. After several difficult years,
the Quebec cattle sector needs a
shot in the arm. The issues currently facing the industry
require resources, and our
involvement as producers.
Looking forward, our production sectors—fed cattle, cull cattle, dairy calves, and grain- and
milk-fed calves—are undertaking a strategic planning exercise.
The strategic plans will aim to
determine the cattle industry’s
direction and objectives over the
next few years, and to identify
the means and tools needed to
achieve them. Put it this way:
where are we headed, what kind
of vehicle do we need to get
there, and what should our fuel
be.
We believe that Quebec cattle
production does have a future,
and we know how to apply our
creativity, and our spirit of innovation. We have ideas, solutions,
and proposals. In order for any
development strategy to gain
widespread approval, however,
this look to the future must lead
to concrete actions. That’s what
we’re working toward. Our
recent Green Paper position
memo provides eloquent proof
of our industry’s strategic capacity.
Fortunately, we are not alone
in implementing development
projects. The Quebec government has invited us to submit
proposals to further our vision,
and is prepared to support
promising, results-based initiatives. We have been waiting a
long time for this government
gesture—Quebec’s cattle producers are on board.
At the same time, the government must provide an efficient
business environment that will
benefit the growth of the cattle
ducing, on profitable farms,
healthy, quality and competitively priced meat that meets and
exceeds the needs and expecta-
tions of consumers. This vision
will soon be buttressed by strategic planning in each sector, and
by proposals for concrete action.
So who’s with me? Will be
allow ourselves to be distracted
by our detractors, or will we roll
up our sleeves and get to work?
PHOTO: ARCHIVES\TCN
Michel Dessureault
President
FPBQ
sector. Legislation must notably
strengthen collective marketing
tools, among other things.
Producers must also have access
to solid development support
programs and to funding to
increase the productivity of
Quebec farms (research, consulting, environment, financing,
management tools, animal wellbeing, etc.) As well, cattle producers must be able to count on
adequate income support to
manage production risks (market price fluctuations, production costs, among others.)
The strategic, economic, social
and environmental importance
of Quebec cattle production has
been proven many times over. It
is up to the government to help
us maximize the socioeconomic
benefits for Quebec as a whole.
Despite the many challenges we
face, with a little hard work, the
future of cattle production does
look promising. A strong cattle
sector can sustain the hopes and
dreams of producers, and those
of Quebec.
And what is your federation’s
role in the significant and complex work to be done? The FPBQ
is your tool to keep cattle production, and producers, strong
and healthy into the future. The
FPBQ is working hard, now and
in the months and years to come,
to maintain services and
resources that meet the needs of
producers.
We all know how much
remains to be done to make
Quebec cattle producers’ vision a
reality. Every day, Quebec’s cattle
farmers are working toward pro-
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
To allow everyone to spend time with family over the holidays,
the sales schedules of each production sector will be modified.
The grain-fed calf sales agency will hold only one, electronic
auction, on Thursday, December 29, 2011, at 9:30 a.m.
We also ask that notices be posted before 4:00 p.m. on
Wednesday, December 28.
The fed cattle auction will be held on December 29, 2011 at
11:00 a.m. for the slaughter week of January 2 to 6, 2012. Please notify us of offers for the electronic auction
before December 29, 2011, 9:00 a.m. at the latest. For U.S. sales, the deadline will be December 29, 2011, at
11:00 a.m. for the week of January 2 to 6, 2012. Note that Bovitrace technical support will be closed from
December 23 to January 2 inclusive.
Throughout the holidays, you can leave a message for the fed cattle sales agency at 450 679-0540,
extension 8545, and we will call you back. The FPBQ offices will be closed from December 23 at noon;
our regular hours resume on January 2, 2012.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM EVERYONE AT THE FPBQ!
Transition Period Management
My cows are not producing as much milk as they could be—what should I do?
behold, the cow will suddenly
be producing less milk. Here are
a few avenues to explore to
improve your transition management practices:
Comfort
• Minimize pen moves (from
dry-off until after calving).
No moves from three to ten
days prior to calving. Each
move causes stress and can
lead to reduced feed intake.
• In free-stall barns, introduce
new cows into a group once a
week to reduce stress and
aggressive behaviour.
• Put close-up cows in the most
comfortable stalls in a visible
area where they can be
watched over.
• Pens: 160 sq. ft./cow for the
rest area, 120 sq. ft./cow if the
feeding area is included (for
cows in lactation). Individual
calving pen: 13X13 ft.
• Cows need a minimum of 3036 inches (or X cm) of feed
bunk space prior to calving.
• Add at least 2 kg of straw per
cow per day. A clean, dry
environment will reduce the
risk of mastitis and metritis.
• Trim hooves at the start of
dry-off at the latest. Avoid
hoof trimming during the dry
period unless it’s urgent.
Feeding
• Minimize ration changes and
ensure that the ration is well
balanced.
• Monitor
intake.
Weigh
amounts fed and refusals to
“It really is possible to increase production
with better transition management!”
- Sylvain Dion, Ferme Motain, Saint-Pierre-Baptiste
Unhappy with the lactation performance of his
herd, Sylvain Dion, a producer in the Centre du
Québec region, suspected that the comfort level of
his dry and transition cows might be a factor. By
the end of Valacta’s A Good Dry-Off for a Better
Start-Off training course last winter, he was convinced of it.
His Valacta dairy production technician, Martin
Côté, had heartily recommended that he take the
course and had also spoken highly of the
Transition Cow Index report. Using that tool,
Sylvain was able to confirm that there was indeed
room for improvement in his management of the
transition period and his freshly calved cows.
With the help of his dairy production advisor,
Mélanie Joubert, he worked out an action plan
and effected a number of changes:
o Dry cow stalls were refitted and comfortable
mattresses were installed.
o Rations were revised by adjusting the amounts
of grain fed to cows (corn-barley, supplements
and minerals). It is important to adhere to some
specific guidelines for energy, protein and various minerals to ensure that lactation gets off to
a good start.
o The close-up period now lasts at least three
weeks for cows and four weeks for yearling
heifers.
o Instead of moving cows to the calving pen three
or four days before D-day,
Sylvain now waits until the
day they calve to move
them or—number of cows
permitting—makes
the
move three weeks earlier.
This helps avoid stress that
could affect voluntary dry
matter intake. Sylvain had
in fact noticed a significant
drop in consumption when
the cows were moved a few
days before calving.
o Changes were made to
ensure a gradual increase of
the amount of grain in the
ration. Sylvain has an automatic concentrate dispenser
and so it is easy for him to make adjustments.
o More attention is focused on the length of the
dry period. About 70 per cent of the cows are
now dried off within the desired time as compared to 40 per cent in 2010.
These few management changes and the
improvements in transition cow comfort seem to
have brought Sylvain closer to his goal of increasing milk production. From February to September
2011, the annual average Transition Cow Index
went from -328 to +315. This increase clearly
reflects the improved management of cows during the dry period and in early lactation at Ferme
Motain. In terms of increased yield, an average of
643 kg of additional milk is expected for all the
cows over a one-year period.
estimate voluntary dry matter
intake.
• Check particle length using a
PennState particle separator
and examine the dry matter in
the ration, preferably on an
individual basis.
Length of the dry period
• In managing a conventional
dry period, aim for an optimal
60-day target. Combining a
conventional dry-off feeding
strategy with a shortened dry
period (less than 42 days) is
not beneficial and may even be
harmful.
• Consider implementing a
short dry period for cows that
are still producing significant
amounts of milk 60 days prior
to calving. Strictly adhere to
the recommendations for feeding and duration for this type
of management:
o Pre-calving ration only
o Optimum target of 35
days, 29 days minimum.
Authors: Julie Baillargeon, M.Sc.,
agr., Research Project and
Technology Transfer Coordinator ,
Steve
Adam,
agr.,
Dairy
Production Expert – Comfort and
Well-Being, Jean Brisson, agr.,
Dairy Production Expert, and René
Roy, agr., Agroeconomist, R&D,
Valacta.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to
Louis Fréchette, Sales and
Marketing Manager, and Mélanie
Joubert, Dairy Production Advisor,
Valacta, for their valuable contribution.
Your toolbox for better
transition period management
Transition Cow Index™
The Transition Cow Index (TCI) provides a quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of your transition cow management program (dry period and early lactation). The result is expressed as the
difference between the first test projection and the predicted average
based on more than a dozen historical factors specific to each cow.
Because you are enrolled in the milk recording program, Valacta has
all the information required to calculate the TCI for the cows in your
herd. Consult your monthly report to analyze your results.
KETOLAB
This unique new service makes it possible to assess the risk of
ketosis in your herd without any additional effort on your part. A
measurement of the concentration of ketone bodies in milk is
obtained directly from your milk recording sample and the results
are included in your DHI report.
Agri-Lacta and Vision2000 reports
How do I interpret this graph?
o If the average TCI is clearly below zero, changes
to your transition cow management are recommended.
o If the average TCI is +500 or better, your transition management is excellent.
Graph 1: Evolution of the Transition Cow Index
from September 2010 to September 2011 at Ferme
Motain.
These reports enable you to monitor reproduction, dry period
length, the distribution of dry-off days, body condition, transition
and culling.
Analyses +: provides an analysis of lactation curves by parity
and days in milk
Analyses + test: provides an analysis of milk components by
parity and days in milk
Your dairy production advisor and your veterinarian
These valued allies are well acquainted with your herd and can
help you evaluate your herd’s transition period, define realistic
goals and put together a concrete plan of action.
PHOTO: ARCHIVES/TCN
In answer to your query, have
you thought to take a look at
your transition period? Yes,
we’ve told you once and we’ll
tell you again, a good dry-off
gets you off to a better start.
Shortcomings in your management practices hinder your
cows’ lactation performance. A
few small changes can make all
the difference.
There are three critical elements to consider when evaluating your transition period management: Comfort, feeding and
the length of the dry period.
While we tend to attach a
great deal of importance to feeding, comfort is at least as important to consider. An uncomfortable cow will eat less. Health
problems will follow and, lo and
First Anniversary of QFA
Health Insurance Plan
Ivan Hale
QFA Executive Director
In January, the QFA’s group
insurance plan will begin its second year with Manulife Financial.
Members who have signed up
report a high level of satisfaction
with the customer service and
level of coverage. No modifications are being made to the plan’s
coverage for 2012.
Industry reports for 2011 show
that healthcare claims in Quebec
rose an average of 13-15 per cent
and seven to nine per cent for
dental. Part of this is attributed to
a jump in the price of prescription
drugs as a result of Bill 33, the
Quebec government prescription
drug plan. Coupled with this, the
QFA’s program experienced a
higher level of claims than origi-
nally anticipated. Every effort
has been made to ensure that the
health plan provides high levels
of coverage at competitive rates.
Notwithstanding this fact, mod-
est price increases are required
beginning in January. (Rates for
2012 appear in the table to the
right.)
In order to contain costs, QFA
members are encouraged to use
generic drugs as much as possible.
Quebec Farmers’ Association is
working with a new insurance
broker based in Montreal called
Bene-Flex Quebec. Members
wishing to sign up for the health
benefits plan may do so at any
time by contacting the Manulife
Customer Service Centre at 1-800268-6195 between 8:00 a.m. and
8:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Rates as of January 1, 2012
Monthly Cost Benefit
Monthly Premium
Single Coverage
Monthly Premium
Single Parent Coverage
Monthly Premium
Family Coverage
Basic Life Insurance
$4.35
$4.35
$4.35
Basic Accidental Death & Dismemberment
$0.59
$0.59
$0.59
Dependent Life
N/A
$1.73
$1.73
Extended Health Benefits
$83.46
$129.87
$213.33
Dental Benefits
$46.70
$53.71
$97.10
$135.10
$189.72
$317.10
Total Monthly Cost*
* Quebec and Ontario charge a sales tax that varies depending on the province of residence. 9% for Quebec and 8% for Ontario. This amount is not
included in the above premiums.
Symbols
for Safety
There are dozens of
hazard and safety
symbols that you may
encounter in working
around your farm.
Below are some
pictograms that can
appear on heavy
machinery or in your
work area. Each one is
industry-recognized
internationally, and
remembering what
they mean may help
you prevent an
accident or injury.
“I see where each
dollar goes, so I know
where I can save.”
– Vern Schaab
To learn more,
visit the Association
1of Equipment
Manufacturers’ website
at www.aem.org and
click on PICTORIALS
Never stand in unloading area.
AgExpert Analyst makes your
cost of production – simple
Get an accurate financial picture
Track your income and expenses. Create GST reports. Find efficiencies in your operation.
With AgExpert Analyst, it’s easier than you think. Just ask Vern.
Use Canada’s #1 selling farm accounting software.
Never stand in unloading area.
1-877-721-0064 | www.fccsoftware.ca
153672
Prohibition of digging.
PHOTO: JEAN GAGNON
Protestors camped outside in downtown Montreal as part of the worldwide “Occupy” movement, aimed at bringing light to the glaring
gap between rich and poor. Although they may go about things differently, radical protestors and farmers may share much in common.
Farmers and Occupy protesters
have much in common
“We are working long hours for
little pay and no rights.”
Many small farmers—the backbone of Canada’s ag industry—
barely, if even, make a living
wage. Many spouses work offfarm as the majority of farm
income goes to operating expenses.
“Farmers work long hours for
comparatively little pay and
more and more of these hours are
devoted to paperwork created by
increased regulations set by
bureaucrats who are basically
busy trying to justify their own
jobs,” says Elgin dairy farmer Bill
Stewart. As for rights, they seem
to lean towards those agri-biz
corporations who lobby for policies that will increase their
exports, line their coffers and
market system has shifted to a
big business friendly one where
all operations, no matter the size,
must comply with one-size-fitsall regulations. Priority has seemingly been given to exports over
domestic markets and a ‘bigger is
better’ mentality—again favouring larger operations. “The golden rule is: those who have the
gold make the rules,” says Andy
Greig, an Ormstown dairy
farmer.
As for raises, they are practically non-existent. Dairy producers,
for example, received $0.48/litre
of fluid class milk in the late
1970s. The price currently averages $0.72/litre (Class 1)—a raise
of just $0.24 over 33 years.
Canada’s pork and beef industry
have likewise crashed; all while
input and living costs have
increased substantially. Farm
suppliers have had to increase
their costs creating an unsustainable pattern of operating costs
versus insufficient farm prices
received.
“There simply wouldn’t be
time for me to work another job,”
says Stewart. “Farming takes
care of all the time I have. Almost
all of a small farmer’s income
goes in to paying bills for operating costs—which increase much
faster than our profits.”
“We are getting nothing while
the other one per cent is getting
everything.”
Our governments allow agribusiness oligopolies and monopolies to exist, to sway the vote, to
use their enormous cash potential to lobby government in their
best [capital] interests—similar to
the
arguments
made
by
Occupiers in regards to large corporations.
“Farmers make up about 1.5
per cent of the population,” says
Stewart. “We are quite literally
the polar opposite of the corporate, affluent one per cent. We are
small, we are marginalized and
we are certainly not affluent.”
“My husband works two jobs,
I work two part-time. I’ve had no
raise for 10 years… ”
While farmers of most production types receive more or less
the same price regardless of farm
size, small farmers have been
supplementing incomes with offfarm jobs for several years as the
“Governments throw us bones and we are
led to believe that it is steak. As farmers
we deserve more than cost of production,
we deserve cost of living for what we produce,” says Ken Brooks, a Franklin maple
syrup and apple producer and QFA board
member.
“Why we can’t afford anything:
almost all of our money goes to
keeping our home.”
After WWII, the agriculture
industry experienced its own
industrial revolution with the
advent of synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides. There has been a slow,
but steady demise of small farms
as big ‘agri-biz’ and ‘industrial
farms’ have taken over the market ultimately creating an industry and policy environment that
rewards the almighty dollar over
those who believe a small system
can perform just as well as a large
if given parameters on par with
their size of operations. Thus, a
disproportionate and unsustainable amount of income goes into
keeping the farm alive.
“I feel the human psyche needs
adversity otherwise we’d be
overcome by boredom—regardless of affluence,” says Greig.
“However, in my humble opinion capitalism in its current form
is a virtue-less and entirely
unsustainable concept.”
“We will not be able to buy a
home until our parents die; what
kind of American dream is
that?”
Hundreds of young farmers—
including yours truly—live this
non-dream everyday: we can’t
afford to buy the farms outright
from our aging parents, because
start-up costs or the price of
entry (particularly dairy) is far
too high or the amount of loans
required would be too difficult
to pay back. Many parents are
making a gift of some of the
farm’s assets to ease the load—
and ensure the farm will continue. “I try to be hopeful of times
ahead for all farmers,” says
Brooks, “but I realize that the
government always does what it
does for reasons unknown to us
at the time.”
Perhaps J. David Hulchanski
from the Toronto Star sums it up
best: “There is no doubt in the
minds of many that the economy
is rigged in favour of the very
few, and that most politicians act
on behalf of those few. Why? To
quote Jesse James, because
“that’s where the money is.”
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155141
The parallels between the
Occupy Wall Street/We Are the
99% protesters and Canada’s
small farmers are as glaring as
the winter sun on snow.
I came across the blog We Are
the 99% (www.wearethe99percent.tumblr.com) a few weeks
ago and I was struck by the comments: many of them could easily have been said by small farmers. ‘We Are the 99%’ is part of
the Occupy Wall Street movement that has swept the U.S. and
Canada over the past few
months. It is characterized by a
series of on-going demonstrations aimed at “social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption, and the undue influence
of
corporations—particularly
from the financial services sector—on
government.”
The
“99%,” a slogan adopted by
Occupy protestors, is perhaps
best explained in reference to the
remaining one per cent: that portion of society where the vast
concentration of wealth is situated. In an effort to demand and
cause change in our “corrupt economic system,” the 99% have
been uniting in mass gatherings.
Armed with a few sample comments from the blog (in italics
below), I went to the farmers
themselves for their insight and
opinions on how they see themselves as part of the 99%.
make it harder for the little guy
so they’ll ultimately sell out.
“There certainly is a plan for
farmers at the political level and
my feeling is that it is not good at
all. Governments throw us bones
and we are led to believe that it is
steak. As farmers we deserve
more than cost of production, we
deserve cost of living for what we
produce,” says Ken Brooks, a
Franklin maple syrup and apple
producer and QFA board member.
April Stewart
Advocate Eastern Townships
Reporter
Coping with the winter holiday season
As the holiday season nears, many of us are anticipating the
frenetic pace that so often accompanies this time of year. And for
some, the aftermath of the celebrations are quickly replaced by
dread for the ensuing bleak winter months. Whether you have a
mental illness or not, many of us share the same overwhelming
feelings about the holidays. Our expectations are such that we
feel we must live up to the heavily marketed ideal of the perfect
holiday season. I’ve interviewed Elizabeth Gluch, a specialneeds adult education educator based in Montreal, asking her to
impart her wisdom on how to make the best of the coming
months. Hopefully her insights will illuminate and provide
some practical ideas for those in need.
Quebec Farmers’ Advocate: How can one deal with unrealistic
and overwhelming expectations of the holiday season?
Elizabeth Gluch: This is a time of year that can elicit all kinds
of emotions. We may be invited to social and family gatherings
that we don’t necessarily look forward to attending. We may feel
that we don’t have the physical or mental stamina to deal with
overwhelming responsibilities and expectations. There are a lot
of great ideas that have come out of our research, like “Acting in
our own best interest”: what do we look forward to during the
holiday season, and what do we dread? Can we enhance the former, and decrease the latter? Can we put a limit on our social
obligations, and decide ahead of time who we would really like
to spend time with, and under what circumstances?
QFA: What about feelings of loneliness and isolation during
the holidays and ensuing winter months?
EG: Being alone and feeling lonely are two separate
issues. Maintaining existing support networks at this time may
be crucial. Do you belong to a club, a spiritual organization, a
sports team, a support group? Can you initiate contact with
friends whose company you really enjoy? If you don’t particularly feel like interacting with others, but you know that staying
at home will worsen your state, can you go to a public place? Do
you have a short list of destinations that will help you get out of
the house, such as a museum, a library, a gym, or the park?
Establishing a routine is helpful for most people. So is participating in some kind of meaningful activity, such as volunteering. It’s also a great way to meet new individuals and be stimulated intellectually, creatively, etc. How about having a few
phone numbers at hand for the more difficult days (i.e. Tel-Aide:
514-935-1101; Suicide Action Montreal: 1-866-277-3553).
For those surfing the web, there is an infinite number of sites
that can provide information and support. AMI Quebec’s website is absolutely fantastic for links (go to “resources” and “websites”), as well as Mikesstory.com for stories of inspiration and
hope. Should you prefer to exercise at home, youtube has countless exercise routines. Here is a link for yoga:
http://tinyurl.com/86s2oq2. You can also search for “cardio,” “aerobics” or “pilates” home workouts for instance.
QFA: How can one deal with economic concerns over the holiday season?
EG: That’s a sensitive issue for many people. How about more
“A” words? “Alter”: Can we change the way things are done
during the holiday season? Is it possible to suggest a limited gift
exchange (in terms of amount or number of individuals)?
Perhaps this sounds like a cliché, but can we focus more on the
AMI wishes all a merry winter season. Always know that
despite the hardships of mental illness, that does not stop one
from living a life well-lived.
For those living in rural communities with limited services,
please be informed that that as of January 6, 2012, free counseling from AMI-Quebec is just a phone call away at 514-486-1448
or toll free at 1-877-303-0264
PHOTO: ARCHIVES/TCN
spirit of the season? Can we share our skills, talents, and passions? Can we avoid the classic frenzied last-minute shopping,
where desperation and overspending may take over? Giovanna Nicolo
AMI Quebec
JJanuary
anuar y 1
0-1
2, 2
012
10
12,
2012
A variety of seminars (one in english)
Thursdayy, January
12
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Cérès Gala
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154542
Internet
3
2011 - Page
/ October
Advocate
Farmers’
Quebec
L
ITORIA
QFA ED
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TIE
family members hundreds or
thousands of kilometres away
using Skype—at no cost. Your
children will be able to download
movies or songs onto their iPods
or MP3 devices. You can sign up
for a university or college distancelearning course and study greenhouse production, or anything else
that appeals to you, right from the
comfort of your own living room.
And the best part is that you will
likely pay no more for your internet services than people living in
major urban areas, usually $50 – 60
a month.
QFA has partnered with
Xplornet, a New Brunswick-based
company specializing in providing
high speed internet connection at
competitive prices. The future is
now. All aboard!
CHANTAL
... wait no longer
on dial-up connections!
Beginning next February, a new
satellite orbiting the earth will
make it possible for Quebec farm
families living beyond the boundaries of cable or fibre optics to join
the rest of the world on the internet. Finally you will be able to participate in information programs
like the webinars hosted by the
Canadian
Farm
Business
Management Council; or send
financial records to your auditor
by e-mail; or up-date your herd
records with ATQ without needing to hand write the forms and
send them in by mail. Need to
build new livestock handling facilities? Simply download plans
from sites like the Saskatchewan
department of agriculture. The
possibilities are endless. Imagine
being able to see and speak with
Stopping
ethanol
won’t solve
world
hunger, says
reader
PHOTO:
QFA provides
on-ramp
to information
highway
Letter to the Editor
rd
QFA Boa
s
Member
Mark Boyd
d
Wakefiel
Brooks
Douglas
Member
Executive
Franklin
and
information
Mission
, provide
d the rights
for the
advocate
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To defen
community
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in Quebe
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Ken Broo
Franklin
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Meredith
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Conner
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Member
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Roy Cop
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Gib Dru
Member
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Bill Fairb ber
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Chris Judd
President
Shawville
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Patricia
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Walter Last
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return
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The QFA’s
providing
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in partnership
and
alone
I think Gib Drury should
pull his head out of you
know where in regards to
his article on “growing
grain to feed the world”
instead of using it for
ethanol (see “Why don’t
we just eat that corn?”
Quebec Farmers’
Advocate, October 2011,
p. 3). Yes, this makes
sense on paper. But the
problem is that farmers,
like anyone else in business, are trying to make
money and stay in business—the government
isn't going to do that for
us. If there are people
that want to make fuel out
of grains, then all the
power to them! If that’s
what it takes for us to not
have cheap grains and
opens the door to profit
then it makes a viable
industry.
Yes, this is selfish thinking, but it’s also realistic—unlike thinking we
can end hunger in the
world by not using our
grain for fuel. How many
years did we grow cheap
grain and there were still
hunger problems in the
world? If that’s what he
wants, I think Gib should
move to a communist
country, because his article is very, very naive!
If
it’s
ag
we finance it
“FCC is a partner in my
business – they’re always
available when I need them.”
Ghislain Guinois
See his story and others at www.fcc.ca/advancing
Regan Crone
Spalding, Saskatchewan
11/11-17142-9H
11
/11-17142-9H
154593
DEVOTION TO DAIRY
It’s all in the approach
Paul Meldrum
Manager
Macdonald Campus Farm
By our very nature, we farmers are optimists. We have to be.
How often have you heard yourself or a friend or neighbour say
after a season of bad weather,
“Well, there’s always next year”?
Or when you have a run of bull
calves, the response is usually,
“The heifer calves will have to
start coming soon because we’ve
already had this year’s allotment
of bull calves!”
When I first started milking
cows, I went down to see a
neighbour one afternoon to borrow a wagon. It was autumn,
and he was harvesting corn with
a two row New Idea picker.
Now this is the most relaxed,
patient person I know. He also
has a reputation for being able to
patch and cob together tired and
old machinery, keeping them
running long past their expiry
dates.
We exchanged the usual salutations and I asked him how it
was going.
“Well, I’ve had better days,
but I suppose I’ve had worse,”
was his calm reply. With a little
prodding, I learned that the
tractor pulling the picker would
not start, so they had to unhitch
and tow it back to the yard. No
sooner were they up and running, when the gravity box,
fully loaded with corn, had a
flat tire. Got that fixed and then
the corn picker broke. Hauled
that back to the yard, and put it
back together with some strong
wire and a spot of weld. Back
again to the field where the
replacement tractor caught fire.
Quick thinking and some frantic scooping of muddy soil put
the fire out. Towed that tractor
back to the yard and got another one. On the way back to the
field, noticed that the cows
were out and meandering down
the road.
All of this was relayed to me
without a hint of exasperation.
And then this young beginning
farmer shows up in the yard asking to borrow a piece of equipment. Yet I was greeted with a
welcome smile and a bit of a
chuckle at the events of the day.
I couldn’t help thinking as I
went home with the wagon that
if that had been me, I would
have been fairly dancing with
frustration, and some tool in my
hand would have gone sailing
across the field! And God forbid
that someone should come calling looking for a favour!
This is the same man who survived a tumble from the hay
mow, landing on the concrete
manger below and splitting his
head open. This is a man who
watched his grown son stricken
down by a debilitating disease
that kept him bed ridden for the
better part of a year, and aged
him prematurely.
You can learn a lot from other
farmers. Some can show you a
better way to plant corn, or how
to save money on your fertilizer
bill, or raise calves or keep your
somatic cell count down. But
what I learned from my older
neighbour is far more valuable.
He taught me that life, and farming, are much more enjoyable
when you appreciate the days
when things go well, and realize
that the world will not come to
an end when your plans go
awry. That the trying days help
you to better appreciate the days
when things go well. And that
on balance, there are more good
days than bad.
My old neighbour continues
to farm. The dairy cows have
gone; he now raises beef cattle
and grows corn, and his son
continues to farm with him. The
same old tired machinery still
sits in the yard, somehow managing to limp through another
year. He moves a little more
slowly now, yet every time I see
this man, I am greeted with a
warm smile and sparkling eyes.
When I ask him how things are
going, the response is always
the same, “Everything is going
well — couldn’t be better.” And
he genuinely means it. Perhaps
that is why he is still farming at
90 years of age. Not because he
has to, or because he doesn’t
know how to do anything else,
but because he is an optimist.
For him, each year holds the
promise of a new crop of calves,
the tilling of the rich earth,
another good harvest. And the
rough days — well they are just
another challenge that can be
overcome with a deep breath
and the knowledge that better
times are just around the corner.
Katie Ballard
W.H. Miner Institute
Each year I work with our
Advanced Dairy Management
students to review approaches to
evaluate reproductive performance in herds when conducting
dairy farm evaluations for their
coursework at Miner or in preparation for the National Dairy
Challenge that takes place in
March. The benchmarks proposed by Dr. Ray Nebel, previously a professor at Virginia
Tech and now serving as a
Senior Reproductive Specialist
for Select Sires, Inc., have been
commonly cited and are used by
most to evaluate reproductive
performance on farms.
Over the last 10 years, the
benchmarks have changed slightly…becoming a little more forgiving particularly in the areas of
calving interval and days open.
While there is value in many of
these benchmarks, I find it challenging to teach students the
lingo without confusing the fundamentals of what we are trying
to accomplish. Abortion rates
and reproductive culls are pretty
straightforward. Days to first
service isn’t as valuable an
assessment tool with the
increased use of timed AI which
usually results in all animals
being serviced at the same days
in milk. The discussion gets a little murkier when we get to conception rate and pregnancy
rate…biologically they are similar but when it comes to measuring repro efficiency we define
pregnancy rate as heat detection
rate (HDR) x conception rate.
This leads me to a pet peeve of
mine: how we define HDR — the
number of animals bred over a
21-day period divided by the
number of animals eligible for
breeding over the same period.
With the increased use of timed
AI, HDR is no longer a measure
of our ability to detect heats. In
many ways it over-inflates the
value, which subsequently overinflates our assessment of pregnancy rate. As a result of timed
AI, HDR is now substituted with
the term Insemination Rate or
Risk in the calculation of pregnancy rate. At this point in my
lecture to students, I’m getting a
glassy stare and I must say I
don’t blame them! There has to
be an easier way.
Quite a few years ago, my husband and I got into a discussion
about the value of these reproductive measures to him as a
dairy producer. He bluntly told
me that he didn’t care what any
of his herd values were (with the
exception of abortion rates).
Bottom line for him was checking
20 animals pregnant each month
in our milking herd of around
200 cows. If he accomplished this
goal, he would have consistent
cash flow and sufficient herd
replacements assuming a cull
rate of ~30 per cent. This goal has
allowed him some flexibility
most years to augment farm
income by increasing voluntary
culls or selling dairy heifers. I
took his simplified approach to
the classroom, expanded it slightly and incorporated it into the
following evaluation of reproductive performance for our
farm evaluations:
• How many cows are checked
open during veterinary clinics
for pregnancy?
If >25 per cent checked open,
then heats have been missed or
cows aren’t showing heats — a
good indicator of true ability
to detect heats on farm.
• How many heifers are checked
open during clinics?
If >15 per cent checked open,
then
heats
have
been
missed…these animals should
be the most fertile on a farm.
• Ten per cent of number of cows
milking should be checked pregnant each month (cows + heifers)
Using herd DHIA records, plot
calvings by month to determine
if farm is meeting this target.
This plot will also illustrate seasonal impacts on reproductive
efficiency and areas of opportunity for improvement.
All herds experience a substantial drop in calvings during
the months of March, April and
May. This translates into breedings that would have occurred
during June, July and August
indicating that heat stress, may
have been a contributing factor
to reduced fertility and warrant
an evaluation of heat abatement
PHOTO: ARCHIVES\TCN
Measuring reproductive
efficiency—simplifying the approach
systems. Other contributing factors should also be considered
such as cropping activities that
may have resulted in reduced
labour for heat detection in the
herd.
Obviously, this simplified
method of evaluating reproductive performance in dairy herds
has limitations. It is not applicable to herds bred for seasonal
calvings and would need to be
modified for herds with higher
cull rates. However, I think it’s a
useful tool to quickly assess
whether severe reproductive
problems exist in a herd and
doesn’t rely on me carrying a
repro lingo dictionary to class!
—[email protected]
Rethink Your Farm Business
Jingle bills, Jingle bills, Jingle all the way!
The ups and downs of Christmas tree production
Robert Savage, Agronome,
MBA, CEO
Solutions affaires experts-conseils
We would like to thank those
who found the time to submit
requests to the Quebec Farmers’
Association regarding future
topics. Your ideas and comments are always welcome and
most appreciated. After all, our
articles are intended to provide
you with useful, and hopefully
entertaining, information. So,
bring on the suggestions!
Now,
let’s
talk
about
the Holiday Season.
With the Christmas season
unquestionably coming our
way, fresh cut Christmas trees
are being sold just about everywhere and anywhere. Not so
long ago, most Quebec families
would simply take a walk to the
closest woods to cut their not-soperfect, but, nevertheless, perfectly free Christmas tree.
Today, you can purchase your
precious evergreen tree, what
goes underneath it, and the necessary medication to relief the
stresses of a memorable family
gathering at your closest pharmacy. How convenient, indeed!
But what provides Quebec
Christmas tree growers with
their largest and most profitable
market is undoubtedly our
American neighbours. However,
since our Canadian dollar has
regained its past vitality, thereby
lowering the outrageous 40 per
cent exchange rate to something
approaching par, economic sectors, such as our Canadian
Christmas tree industry, have
not been enjoying their most glorious years. In other words profits and exchange rates go handin-hand. When the exchange
rates drop, so too will profits,
and vice versa. Exchange rates,
coupled with a serious economic
crisis, have forced numerous
American families to choose
food on the table over a tree in
the living room. Moreover there
is the added factor resulting
from the fact that there are thousands fewer U.S. homes in
which to put up a tree.
Now, let’s agree, a Christmas
tree is… a tree, but a field of
Christmas trees, well aligned,
nurtured and harvested, is a
farming activity, not forestry.
Furthermore, once cut, those
trees have limited lifespans,
making them perishable agricultural products. As with any
farming production, Christmas
tree production requires proper
soil, up-to-date knowledge and
solid skills. If you find yourself
tired of milking your cows and
are considering changing to a
rumoured not-so-demanding
Christmas tree production,
you’d better think about it twice
and be prepared to be very
patient. After all, if everything
goes according to plan, you
should start realizing income
from your first harvest in seven
or eight years.
If, however, you are really
serious about such a new career
project, get into your car and
visit us in the Eastern
Townships. Pioneers such as the
Downeys in Cookshire, the
Beloins in East Hereford, and
many other renowned families
need no further introductions.
They know their stuff, and so
does
agronomist,
Pierre
Pettigrew, the only MAPAQ
adviser dedicated to the
Christmas tree industry in the
entire province of Quebec. You
will find him in Sherbrooke.
Be ready to hear about marketing strategies, which is one of
the major successes of this
industry, all of which could
explain why, in an actual situa-
tion in the exact same year, saw
one producer complaining to me
about hardly getting $6 per tree,
while his neighbour was pocketing up to $12.50 per tree. The
first one was involving a wholesaler, whereas the second one
had developed a well-structured
and diversified marketing strategy. Finally, since your main
customers are located in the territory of Uncle Sam, being able
to speak English is mandatory.
You should also be aware of
the new trends. A Balsam tree
may smell like Christmas, but
unfortunately it can barely make
it to December 25th without
shedding most of its needles. On
the other hand, its cousin, the
Fraser tree, is rather odourless,
ALLEY SCRAPER SYSTEMS
CROSS-GUTTER SYSTEMS
but can keep its greenery until
Epiphany. Customers, therefore,
started sacrificing odour in
favour of longevity. The king of
longevity, of course, is the versatile artificial Christmas tree. It,
for sure, is a fierce competitor,
but not a dominator of a natural
tree… at least not yet.
The main preoccupation of
Canadian Christmas tree growers remains their dependency on
the American market. They
surely could strive to increase
their sales in places like Panama,
Venezuela, Aruba, and the
French Antilles, a Canadian
exportation market of $2.4 million in 2009, but it sure doesn’t
come anywhere near close to the
$26 million US market.1
The saying, “One man’s trash
is another man’s treasure,” doesn’t always prove to be true.
Should President Obama succeed in reviving the American
economy, it will also be a shot in
the arm for our Christmas tree
industry. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy
Christmas and all it has to offer,
including a real Christmas tree!
Having worked for over 16 years
for various financial organizations,
Robert Savage, founder of Solutions
affaires experts-conseils, has established an innovated approach to
farm consulting services. With the
help of a multidisciplinary team of
experts, Solutions affaires expertsconseils can get your farm on its
way to greater profitability by
working with your existing
resources and by having access to a
network of professionals involved in
agri-business.
1
146600
TRANSFER PUMP SYSTEMS
Source: Statistics Canada. Christmas
trees… by the numbers 2010.
December 2, 2010. www42.statcan.ca/
smr08/2010/smr08_148_2010eng.htm
Land-use planning in the agricultural
zone—it is possible
For once, all of the community
stakeholders sat around the
same table with the MRC des
Rousillon to talk about agriculture.
“We can be nothing but
happy, especially since, for many
of them, the importance of agriculture in the regional economy
was a complete revelation,”
declared Pierre Caza, the director of union activism and regional development for the Union
des producteurs agricoles de
Saint-Jean-Valleyfield, following
the publication of a report by the
Ministry
of
Agriculture
(MAPAQ) regarding the results
of pilot projects on Development
Plans for the Agricultural Zone
(PDZAs).
This report, available on the
ministry’s website, summarizes
pilot projects done by eight
Regional County Municipalities
(MRCs), who submitted their
reports over the past several
months. The MRCs of Argenteuil, Bécancour, Bonaventure,
Brome-Missisquoi, CharlevoixEst, Domaine-du-Roy, Roussillon and Témiscouata were
each tasked to produce a PDZA
that promotes the dynamic use
of their agricultural territory.
Furthermore, the PDZA also had
to include recommendations to
enhance the potential of agriculture in the MRC, with an objective of increasing or diversifying
the agricultural activities, as well
as developing agritourism and
good neighbourliness among the
citizens. In addition, the multifunctionality of the territory was
also to be examined in sluggish
communities.
Caza admits that at their first
meetings, the regional representatives of the MRC de Roussillon
did not have agricultural concerns as their priority. The UPA
representatives had to intervene
in order to get the committee to
focus on agriculture. This problem was not restricted to one
MRC, according to Andrey
Tessier, a land-use planner with
MAPAQ’s Direction de l’appui au
développement des enterprises et de
l’aménagement du territoire.
“We quickly realized that it
was very important to clearly
explain the purpose of the PDZA
from the outset, especially in
cases where the research and consultations were being contracted
out to consultants,” Tessier
declared to La Terre de chez nous.
Worries
The UPA’s 2nd vice-president,
Denis, recalled that the early
stages of the PDZAs worried
him somewhat, since they
stemmed from an initiative by
Minister Lessard, which re-surfaced following the Pronovost
report in 2008—a report that had
quite upset the UPA.
“The process could have
derailed,” Bilodeau admitted.
Among the recommendations found in the PDZA pilot projects, the MRC d’Argenteuil suggests that residential and commercial construction should be prohibited along the region’s
autoroutes.
However as the various reports
and summaries were made public, he began to see the results of
the exercise in a more favourable
light. According to him, even
though
the
consultations
between the UPA and various
MRCs differed from one another,
a positive consensus for agriculture emerged in the end. He even
confessed that he is now more
open to initiatives that could
soften the application of the Act
to preserve agricultural land and
agricultural activities (LPTAA),
on condition that they are first
submitted to the Commission de
protection du territoire agricole
(CPTAQ), that the MRC’s master
development plan is complete
and that there has been an agreement on the LPTAA’s Article 59
(collective exclusion requests).
“With all of these conditions
met, the PDZA becomes the icing
on the cake,” he declared.
Of course, it was mainly the
subject of agricultural rezoning
that caused the most mistrust at
the start of the process in many
of the MRCs. UPA representatives were afraid that the PDZA
was nothing more than a disguised attempt to rezone agricultural land coveted by the municipalities and land speculators.
In the MRC d’Argenteuil, it was
deliberately decided not to allow
any questions about rezoning
into the discussions. Richard,
president of the Fédération de
l’UPA de l’Outaouais-Laurentides
lauded this approach.
“It was decided to keep agricultural zoning off the table and
this allowed discussions to
progress smoothly,” Maheu
explained. “We started by dealing with the issues where there
was already consensus. This
method facilitated subsequent
discussions on the more contentious subjects.”
Maheu is especially proud of
the consensus obtained whereby
the MRC d’Argenteuil recommended in its PDZA to prohibit
residential and commercial construction along the region’s
autoroutes—an agreement that
surprised many. “We did not
want our autoroutes to stifle the
dynamism of our municipalities,
as seen along Autoroute 20
between Montreal and Quebec
City,” he added.
Lack of uniformity
MAPAQ’s Andrey Tessier
admits that the reports from the
eight MRCs participating in the
pilot project did not all follow
the same outline. For this reason,
MAPAQ is presently preparing a
guide for the elaboration of
future PDZAs in other MRCs,
which should be published soon.
In fact, while some MRCs
restricted themselves to not making any recommendations in
their action plans that would
require regulatory changes, others did not hesitate to do so.
Maurice Richard, the prefect of
MRC de Bécancour boasted about
the method followed by his MRC
in the preparation of its PDZA,
which he referred to as nothing
less than revolutionary. At the
same time, he admitted that they
did not restrict themselves to follow existing regulations. “We
agreed to forget about the existing laws and to come up with
what we thought was best for
our region,” he declared to La
Terre de chez nous.
Andrey Tessier admits that,
based on the initiatives proposed
in this development plan, it is
probable that modifications to
the existing municipal by-laws
would be required. For example,
the Bécancour PDZA recommends an initiative to evaluate
the suitability of passing a bylaw on deforestation within its
boundaries, in order to ensure
that any subsequent reforestation is not done to the detriment
of agricultural land.
Richard acknowledged that
the preparation of the PDZA did
lead to some heated exchanges
between representatives from
the UPA, MAPAQ, the Ministry
of Municipal Affairs, the MRC,
the regional agrifood businesses,
etc. However, according to him,
everyone shared the common
objectives of promoting agriculture, regional development,
good neighbourliness and social
stability.
“Farmers are not always winners when the LPTAA is applied
to the letter,” Richard explained.
“When a village loses its residents, both the rural and urban
areas suffer. This law must be
made less rigid.” As a sign of his
openness to the agricultural sector, he explained that the
Bécancour PDZA proposes to
have all new residents to the
rural community sign a contract
declaring that they agree to
accept all the inconveniences
related to residing in the agricultural zone.
Forests and woodlots
The number-one priority of
any PDZA is the development of
agriculture. However, some
stakeholders criticized that there
is not enough attention paid to
woodlots.
Andrey
Tessier
explained that in most of the
PDZAs prepared under the
guidelines of the pilot projects,
woodlots were in fact considered
and characterized. For example,
in the case of Argenteuil, BromeMissisquoi and Charlevoix-Est,
each MRC devoted a whole section in their PDZA to woodlots.
Some MRCs suggested actions
that would better develop woodlots within their agricultural
zones. Tessier cited one example
in the MRC d’Argenteuil where it
was suggested to encourage
woodlot owners in the green
zone to have a forest management plan prepared and implemented, in order to promote best
practices. Another example is in
Charlevoix-Est, where it was
suggested to conduct studies on
possible field trials for growing
high-value trees compatible with
farming activities.
Follow-up committees
Generally speaking, reaction
to the first PDZA pilot projects
seem to be positive. However,
how do you ensure that all the
work involved in the characterization of the structured and
devitalized areas of the agricultural zone, the assessment of the
strengths, weaknesses and limitations, and especially the MRCs’
action plans themselves, do not
end up collecting dust on a shelf?
Already, several follow-up
committees have been formed to
take concrete steps to ensure that
their action plans are implemented. This is the case in the MRC de
Roussillon, among others, where
it was decided that the same
committee that developed the
PDZA would be charged with its
implementation. Thus, according to Pierre Caza, the some 33
actions proposed in the plan will
not fall on deaf ears. “However,
since money is always the limiting factor, I admit that I cannot
predict the future,” he said.
Others, like Denis Bilodeau,
the UPA’s 2nd vice-president,
hope that the budget allocated to
ensure the follow-ups does not
come from MAPAQ coffers.
“Indeed, there is an interest to
develop agriculture, but this
exercise is a fundamental part of
regional development, which is
an
MRC
responsibility,”
Bilodeau declared. It is the opinion of many that the Ministère des
Affaires municipales, des Régions et
de l’Occupation du territoire
should
naturally
become
involved in this file. When questioned on this subject, MAPAQ’s
Andrey Tessier replied, “It
would be premature to speculate
on questions of financing with
regard to the follow-up of the
pilot projects.”
Marc-Alain Soucy
LTCN 2011-12-01
We cannot practice agriculture
without a safety net!
Christian Lacasse
UPA President
(The following is a summary of
out-going president Christian
Lacasse’s speech to the Union des
producteurs agricoles 87th General
Congress, held in Quebec City from
November 29 to December 1.)
PHOTO: BEATRIZ SALAS/TCN
In his opening remarks, the
UPA president praised the motivation, perseverance and great
determination shown by farmers
over the past year—a year that
was particularly difficult for
those hit by the ASRA program’s
25 per cent reduction measure.
“What upset us most and that
motivated us to continue the
fight on this issue was the injustice that the measure imposes
upon farmers, especially on
those who were already hard-hit
by the crisis situation and at
their wit’s end.”
Within the UPA, we were
aware of the consequences this
cut would have. “What angers
us most in this affair,” emphasized the president, “is that
while we understood the impact,
others pretended not to understand or did not want to understand. We could clearly see that
this was the case.”
“You cannot impose a cut of
$150 to $160 million with your
eyes closed, in a context where a
large number of businesses are
having major difficulties. This
difficult context was certainly
not a figment of our imagination—not in 2009 any more than
in 2010!”
“If La Financière agricole had
done the impact studies that we
were asking for, we would have
avoided all of this. Instead, we
were told that it was not significant and that, in a worst case scenario, it represented only about
two or three per cent of the
affected businesses’ gross revenues.”
Lacasse continued by saying
that such a drastic measure
should never be implemented
without doing an impact study.
“To see farmers forced to abandon their profession made me
sick to my stomach. But knowing that the whole situation
could have been avoided if
things had been done differently
hurt even more!”
“With the introduction of the
25-per cent measure, the safety
net was lowered to about one
inch from the ground,” Lacasse
described. “When you fall from
30 feet, the net does not help
much… The support programs
for income stabilization are part
of the underpinnings of our agricultural sector. Without good
programs, it becomes impossible
to think about the long-term
future of our family farms and
agriculture.” He emphasized
that the UPA never gave up and
kept the pressure on, while
recalling how rapidly farmers
began to doubt the seriousness
of La Financière agricole in generating the surpluses that were
indispensable in order to follow
up on the commitment made by
the government; that is, to use
these surpluses to compensate
the farmers.
It was necessary to explain
and prove everything several
times rather than just once.
Nonetheless, the UPA succeeded
in proving that the risk evaluation based on the five years previous to the reduction measures—those years of consecutive
crises—had nothing in common
with the risk assessment for the
coming five years and that the La
Financière’s method of actuarial
calculations would, in fact, lead
to a premature reimbursement
of its debt in five years instead of
15!
Once the UPA’s calculations
were shown to be correct, La
Financière was forced to modify
its calculation methods. The
result was a $42 million reduction in the premiums paid by
farmers and $80 million for the
FADQ—certainly a fundamental
change, since it would have an
impact not only in 2011, but also
in years to come. “A major gain,”
indicated Lacasse. “As much as
we wanted to avoid this 25-per
cent ASRA cut—something we
considered to be utterly destructive and we were proved to be
right—we wanted, just as much,
to ensure that the government
kept its word regarding the compensation to farmers.”
On the subject of the Green
Paper on the province’s future
agricultural policy, the president
came to the defence of the three
other major pillars of Quebec’s
agriculture, notably the single
union accreditation, the collective marketing and the Act
respecting the preservation of agricultural land and agricultural
activities.
Lacasse first reminded delegates that single union accreditation in Quebec was the rule, not
the exception—not only in agriculture, but in all trade union
sectors.
“We are fed up with those
who have for years deafened our
ears with this supposed monopoly argument,” said the outgoing president. “Single accreditation is based on membership.
In the UPA, this membership is
increasing and has reached 95
per cent. It is unbelievable that
these people continue to question our representative character. Continue and we will soon
reach 98 per cent!”
On the question of collective
marketing, Lacasse indicated
that the UPA intended to take
advantage of the consultations
on the Green Paper regarding
the future agricultural policy, in
order to bring to the forefront all
the issues that documents such
as the Pronovost and SaintPierre reports failed to mention
about Quebec’s agriculture.
Lacasse criticized them for having raised problems that did not
really exist, while avoiding other
important topics, such as the
convoluted path that Quebec’s
agricultural products must travel, via an ultra-concentrated network of major distributors, in
order to eventually find a place
on our supermarket shelves.
Lacasse continued by saying
that there is no doubt that our
model of agriculture has undeniable advantages. He cited the
example of Ontario, a province
where the gross agricultural revenue is 50 per cent higher than in
Quebec, but where the net farm
income—the number that matters the most—is three times less
than in La Belle Province. How do
you explain this difference, he
asked, if it is not because of
things like the collective marketing tools that so clearly define
Quebec’s agriculture? “We are
efficient, above all, because we
have effective tools.”
To that effect, Lacasse
applauded the government’s
recent adoption of Bill 21, which
closed a breach that appeared in
the Act respecting the marketing of
agricultural products. He emphasized that minister Corbeil
should be commanded for his
determination on this issue.
Only one year has passed and
the law has already been
changed—and done properly at
that! It is definitely a sign that
the law is here to stay and to be
used. Something he cited as
“another major gain.”
“This law is fundamental—
fundamental for negotiating our
marketing agreements and fundamental for the existence of our
marketing agencies. Furthermore, while buyers and food
processors are consolidating,
why should we divide ourselves
and abdicate the very tool that
allows us to maintain a certain
balance of power?”
With regard to the protection
of agricultural land and farming
activities, the Lacasse recalled
that for a long time, the UPA
was alone in defending this
law—a period that he described
as exhausting. However, now he
is happy to see that, over the
years, the question has become a
real societal issue, and he
emphasized that some 20 other
organizations have recently
joined the UPA in reaction to the
development plan being prepared
by
the
Montreal
Metropolitan
Community.
“Every time we lose a hectare of
farmland,” illustrated the president, “it is as if we remove a
shelf from our collective
pantry.”
Finally, Lacasse reminded delegates that at the closing of the
87th General Congress, he
would bring to an end his 30
years of active involvement in
agriculture
trade-unionism,
from his beginnings as secretary
of his local syndicate in the early
1980s, to his final position at the
highest office of the UPA. “For
someone who never likes to give
up, the decision becomes that
much more difficult,” he confessed. “In the end, your must
listen to your head rather than to
your heart. But I must admit that
my heart is still with the UPA.”
Just before ending his speech,
Lacasse indicated that he did not
wish to make a detailed list of
achievements, but that he
believes it to be a positive. “The
context was extremely difficult
but you do not always get to
choose that. In fact, it is in such
times that one must dig deeper
to find inner strength and determination.”
Courage, determination, perseverance, as well as solidarity
with one another are, Lacasse
said, the indispensable ingredients that must be put into practice every day. “When we are a
union, we must work together—
be united—especially once decisions have been made. The
results we hope to achieve
depend on it.”
LTCN 2011-12-01
“We finally have regulations
with teeth,” exclaimed Serge
Beaulieu, president of the
Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec (FPAQ), following the adoption of Bill 21
regarding the marketing of agricultural products.
The president of the federation, with a membership of 7,400
maple syrup operations in the
province, did not hide the fact
that he has been waiting impatiently for the Charest government to set things straight
regarding the powers of the
Régie des marchés agricoles. “But
to do that, we needed government intervention. Now that has
been done. It was the missing
link to ensure that our marketing could continue normally,”
explained Beaulieu.
The FPAQ believes that “common sense has been re-established” and now, with clear and
indisputable rules, maple syrup
producers in particular and the
agricultural community in general will be the beneficiaries. In
order to better understand the
situation,
the
federation
explained metaphorically that
the Régie “could now give tickets
to those who exceed the speed
limit,” something it could not do
after the recent decision handed
down by the Court of Appeal in
the Bourgoin case, a New
Brunswick buyer who contested
a $1-million fine and won. With
the revised law, all producers
must comply—or risk paying
fines to the Régie.
Nevertheless, Beaulieu hopes
that disputes can be resolved by
mutual agreement, “as happens
now in 95 per cent of the cases.”
However, about 200 cases
involving producers are currently being investigated by the federation. According to Beaulieu,
these are “uncooperative producers who oppose the principle
of collective marketing.” About
a dozen of these files are considered as very problematic, to the
point where the federation is
considering taking them to
court. “We intend to file lawsuits in the Superior Court in
order to have the regulations
respected,” threatened the federation’s president.
A major step
Bill 21 was adopted on
November 23 by the National
Assembly. According to the government, this constituted “a
major step in preserving the
judicial stability of the biofood
sector.” In a press release,
Quebec Minister of Agriculture
Pierre Corbeil said that the revision “validates the tools avail-
able to ensure that the regulations are respected.” This MNA
from Abitibi-Est also added that
“it allows us to re-establish a stable business environment, in a
legal sense, by confirming the
authority of the Régie des marchés
agricoles et alimentaires du
Québec.”
The bill validates the clauses
regarding financial penalties, as
well as decisions made by the
Régie. It describes certain criteria
by which the Régie must abide in
establishing the penalties. They
include the volume, quantity
and value of the product sold, as
well as the cultivated and/or
exploited area.
The article-by-article study of
Bill 21 generated lengthy discussions and forceful debates,
notable by the Barreau du Québec
[Quebec Bar Association], during hearing of the parliamentary
commission in Quebec City. The
Barreau submitted a legal brief
that caused quite a stir and put
into question the process of
revising the powers of the Régie.
The UPA, on the other hand,
argued that it was high time to
finalize the issue, which reestablished the Régie’s power to
sentence a buyer to pay damages for having contravened a
marketing agreement subsequent to an arbitrator’s decision.
PHOTO: ARCHIVES/TCN
A feeling of relief following
the adoption of Bill 21
Serge Beaulieu, president of the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles [maple producers]
du Québec
Approximately 30 groups of
farmers, foresters and fishers in
Quebec fall under joint plans. In
fact, 80 per cent of the province’s
agricultural products are mar-
keted collectively. This represents annual sales at the farm
level of some $5.5 billion.
Yvon Laprade
LTCN 2011-12-01
Bucketfuls of good news
for milk production
Fédération des producteurs de lait
du Québec in an interview with
La Terre de chez nous.
With regard to dairy product
consumption, the federation’s
economists
qualified
the
increase in the “right to produce” for the P-5 provinces during 2011 to be “at a historic
high.” Indeed, during the period
between February 2011 and
January 2012, P-5 production
quota increased by four per cent,
which does not include the
incentive days. During a typical
year, there are generally eight
incentive days to boost production. In this case, there were 16
days up until January 16. If these
16 days were taken into consideration, the production quota
increase would have been 8.5
per cent.
The economists’ data also
show that, for the 12 months
ending in September 2011 compared to the same period in
2010, milk production showed
an increase of 4.4 million kilograms of milk fat, or 1.9 per cent.
Industrial milk was responsible
for most of this rise, with an
increase of 2.83 per cent.
Production rose from 145 million kilograms of milk fat in
2009-2010 to more than 149 mil-
lion kilograms in 2010-2011.
Fluid milk was also on the rise,
with an increase of 1.12 per cent.
Retail sales
With regard to dairy sales at
the grocery store level, news
was also very good. Butter,
yogurt, cheese in general and
specialty cheeses in particular,
showed a net progression.
However, among the losers in
the group, cheddar showed a
small decrease, as well as ice
cream, where sales were down
by 4.5 per cent. This latter
decrease was due in part by the
poor weather that prevailed in
many regions throughout the
summer.
To the great satisfaction of delegates, margarine continued to
show a decrease in sales, dropping by 2.8 per cent again in
2011. One dairy farmer, evidently with a sense of humour, wondered if the publicity by Becel,
which markets its margarine as
having “a buttery taste,” was
perhaps a good thing in the end,
since margarine continue to lose
sales while butter is increasing
rapidly.
Marc-Alain Soucy
LTCN 2011-12-01
According to milk federation economists, between February 2011
and January 2012, P-5 production quota increased by four per cent,
which does not include incentive days.
PHOTO: ARCHIVES/TCN
Dairy farmers, gathered in
Quebec City for a special general meeting on November 24,
were greeted with very good
news. Firstly, it was on this day
that the Supreme Court of
Canada announced its rejection
of the petition made by Saputo
and Kraft, who were contesting
the regulations regarding the
composition of cheeses.
“We were confident in our
ability to win this case, but we
are very happy with the decision, since these regulations
guarantee the integrity of our
products,” declared Marcel
Groleau, president of the
UPA out-going president
Christian Lacasse believes that
the success of the future agricultural policy will depend on the
mobilization of farmers around
the project.
“It is necessary that farmers be
satisfied and fulfilled by this
societal project,” said Lacasse
during the UPA’s traditional
press banquet on the eve of its
87th General Congress. He also
added that the optimism of
farmers would have been more
evident if the project had started
out with this in mind.
“Pronovost did not understand
this, nor did Saint-Pierre, and
everyone has been pussyfooting
around ever since,” summarized
Lacasse, categorizing these
reports as “ultra-defeatist.”
Lacasse also confessed to the
press that he was somewhat
worn out as a result of the “pillars” of agriculture being repeatedly put into question throughout his four years as president.
The Pronovost report came out a
mere two months after his election to the UPA’s top job.
Positive record
PHOTO: BEATRIZ SALAS/TCN
In spite of this difficult context, Lacasse summarized the
overall progress as positive during his presidency, citing several
gains. The first of these was the
increase in the budget of La
Financière agricole du Quebec
(FADQ), rising from $305 million to $650 million, which constitutes the first significant
increase in an agricultural budget in years, according to the UPA
representatives.
The coalitions for the defence
of the agricultural zone and for
food sovereignty, which brought
together 20 and 80 organizations, respectively, were also
important achievements, accor-
ding to the UPA president. He
explained that the societal project proposed by the farmers
must also be shared by the general population and these coalitions are steps in the right direction. Additional gains were also
achieved with the renewal of the
Prime-Vert program, as well as
support for animal health and
new measures for young and
beginning farmers. Furthermore, the “UPA of the future”
project is on track and the
changes it proposes are considered necessary more than ever.
“I am leaving the presidency
at a time when the situation is
very difficult in several sectors,”
admitted Lacasse, while adding
that in agriculture, it is rare to
see periods where things are
going well for everyone. Now,
he will return to his farm and his
family after 30 years of commitment to the UPA, 12 of them as a
provincial leader.
“After 30 years, I have given
enough and now, new blood is
there to take over,” concluded
Lacasse, while recalling that in
the past, he himself had
demanded that the organization
make way for new blood within
its senior management.
La Financière
The UPA’s three senior executives also took the opportunity
of the press banquet to bring up
several current “hot topics,” the
first on the list being La
Financière agricole. Several recent
decisions, including that of
reducing the farmers’ premiums
by $42 million, were welcomed
by the UPA, but there is still
much to be done in order to
ensure the survival of the “several thousand farm businesses”
in difficulty in Quebec.
“The 25-per cent measure
PHOTO: THIERRY LARIVIÈRE/TCN
Farmers calling for a mobilizing project
At a press briefing on the eve of the 87th congress, Christian Lacasse reviewed the crucial questions that agriculture and farmers will
face in the future.
must not continue to be
applied,” hammered Lacasse,
while adding that the recent
reduction in premiums should
mean a better chance to obtain
some compensation for the 25per cent measure, through the
FADQ’s anticipated surplus.
“We are calling on the Minister
to take a clear stand on this
question during our Congress,”
added the president.
“The best adaptation measure
would be to reimburse the 25per cent measure to small farm
businesses,”
added
Pierre
Lemieux, the UPA’s 1st vicepresident. He even went further
by suggesting that the government cannot claim that abolishing this measure is a bad decision simply on the basis that it
would have to reimburse all
farms. According to him, the
government can decide to soften
the measure based on the size of
the farms.
“The government must make
a decision and be ready to discriminate, if necessary. This is
not a reason to penalize everybody,” declared Lacasse adding
that the situation remains critical
on many farms.
Collective marketing
The UPA welcomed the recent
adoption of Bill 21, which closed
a serious breach in the existing
law. The Bourgoin judgement
had previously reduced the
power of the Régie des marchés
and limited its ability to enforce
the “agricultural pillar” created
by the Act respecting the
Marketing
of
Agricultural
Products. “It has now been confirmed that the law is here to
stay,” analysed Lacasse, while
acknowledging the determination of Minister Corbeil on this
issue.
“During the coming years, we
should look at the best ways we
can influence the distribution
sector,” added Pierre Lemieux,
referring to possible improvements in marketing. “We have
always sidestepped the real
problem. There are three major
chains that control 80 per cent of
the food we eat, but Pronovost
did not address any questions to
this,” declared Lacasse, with
regard to this same subject. The
UPA leaders also emphasized
the necessity for farmers to continue to stick together in order to
achieve these objectives.
Thierry Larivière
LTCN 2011-12-01
QFA CROSSWORD - by Myles Mellor
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There’s increasing demand for this type of farm
produce
North American financial services provider which
predicts market trends
Big wine holder
Break a regulation
Almond, cashew, or pecan
Break bread
Plant fiber used for making rope
Dairy product
Used to be
Fruits
Trophy
Make an offer at auction
Wearing away, soil for example
R and B singer, Green
Local outlet for produce (2 words)
Sodium symbol
System to allow water to run off
Plan
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Animals raised for profit
Wheat, barley, etc.
Grazing area
Important pollinator
Not just lease
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Where it’s ___!
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Contents of some bags
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December 2011 - Quebec Farmers` Association

Transcription

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