Farmers have two choices when it comes to the food chain: They can either move up that chain or become snack food for the large corporations that control much of the agri-food industry.
That was the message from George Sinner, a former governor from North Dakota, who spoke at Manitoba Ag Days held in Brandon Jan. 19-26.
Sinner advised farmers to form co-operatives that can add value to their product.
“Vertical integration has to happen from the bottom up or it will sure as hell happen from the top down,” said Sinner, who has witnessed a rapid decline in North Dakota’s farm population since 1960.
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Sinner said free trade won’t eliminate the subsidies that cause a glut of commodities such as wheat and sugar. Those subsidies protect a country’s ability to produce food, a key part of any nation’s well being.
He said the global trend in which export markets are shifting away from raw commodities toward more processed goods offers a “last ditch effort” to keep farmers on the land.
“It’ll pay the big rewards, if it’s well done.”
He said one of the first challenges is finding out whether there’s a market for the co-operative’s product. While there are niche markets, he suggested it may be wise to think big.
