national
farmers union
national
farmers union
HAZLET, Sask.-The Northern Plains Producers Conference held in Fargo, North Dakota from November 15-17th was a useful start, says Derek Dewar, one of 37 representatives from Saskatchewan who attended this event.
The farmers from Saskatchewan's farm organizations and commodity groups worked with their counterparts from Manitoba, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota to discuss current trade opportunities and issues, reports Dewar.
Dewar, who traveled on behalf of the NFU and worked in one of the two grains groups, says this was a much more productive process than the recent border demonstrations. "The working groups achieved consensus on a variety of topics such as value-added processing, joint marketing where it applies, using subsidies to cover the cost of production, and setting of common standards and labels for various commodities traded between our two countries," said Dewar.
The conference also featured concurrent panels on the topics of New Generation Co-operatives, Export Challenges with the European Union, and Genetically Modified Organisms. Dewar was pleased to hear experts from both Canada and the U.S. agree that institutions such as the Canadian Wheat Board and Harvest States Elevators in the U.S. do not impede the formation of New Generation Co-ops in the value-added industry.
The conference concluded with a consensus to meet again for further discussions aimed at improvements in the agricultural economics of both countries.
Provincial and state agricultural ministers attending the entire conference agreed to provide leadership in future developments.
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