FEBRUARY 28, 2001
NFU ADDRESSES GRAINWORLD CONFERENCE
WINNIPEG, Man.--"To farmers in Canada, free markets mean giving away your products almost free." This was part of the message delivered by NFU Board member Stewart Wells to farmers and other grain industry experts at Grainworld in Winnipeg yesterday.
Wells contrasted public policy, of which agricultural policy must be a part, to policy developed within the boardrooms of major corporations: corporate policy.
Against a backdrop of a graph [see backgrounder] showing that realized net farm income has been stagnant for 30 years, while the wealth that farmers create has skyrocketed, Wells highlighted the increasing dominance of corporate policy over public policy. He pointed out that Canadian farmers are now creating over six times as much wealth as they did in 1970, $5 billion versus $30 billion. "Farms are larger, farmers are using global positioning systems, computers, growing chickpeas and lentils, raising wild boars and fainting goats, value adding and using more fertilizer and chemicals than ever before. Canadian farmers are creating enormous wealth. How much of the increase since 1970 have they been allowed to capture? Zero," said Wells.
"Corporate boards have a legal obligation to capture wealth," Wells said. "We cannot look to them for guidance in formulating public policy or farm policy. They are legally restricted from acting to help farmers out of the current income crisis unless such actions also enhance corporate profits."
Wells concluded by urging the federal government to come through with meaningful cash now as a bridge to a long-term, comprehensive federal policy that supports family farms and rural communities.
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For More Information:
Stewart Wells, NFU Board member: (306) 773-6852 OR (306) 741-7694
Darrin Qualman, Executive Secretary: (306) 652-9465
Backgrounder to the NFU's February 28, 2001 news release
Below is the graph that Stewart Wells used in his presentation to Grainworld.
Canadian gross and realized net farm income: 1970-2001
Source: Agricultural Economic Statistics, Statistics Canada, Catalog # 21-603E