BRANDON – Alliances are crucial if farmers want to stay alive in today’s harsh economic climate.
That was the theme of a conference held here called Building Alliances for Recapturing Wealth on the Canadian Prairies.
But Stuart Laidlaw, a writer with the Toronto Star newspaper, said farmers must be careful who they make alliances with.
Becoming allied with consumers is critical. Becoming allied with corporate interests is dangerous.
“Grocery shoppers can be pretty skeptical about marketing messages put out by the large corporations,” Laidlaw said.
“That’s why big companies try to include farmers where they can in their marketing strategies. But rather than lift the esteem of these companies, farmers risk seeing their own esteem lowered by such close association with the companies.”
Laidlaw said winning the consumer’s heart will be critical for farmers, because city dwellers are going to become more concerned about the food they eat.
That means farmers need to be able to supply information to consumers about everything they do, and be willing to listen to and take seriously what consumers say.
