Back on the ranch, each 4-H calf had its own pen inside the barn, the better to track feed intake and prevent the steers from running off precious poundage. There weren’t any fancy watering mechanisms, so the calves were led outside to the water trough twice daily.
Time slowed to a crawl while calf and kid stood at nether ends of a rope, the kid hunkered down into the parka against snow and windchill, waiting for that blessed calf to test the wind, sniff every fence post, gaze at the horizon and ponder the murky future before finally, finally, taking a drink.
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Meanwhile the school bus was approaching or the sound of trickling water was tickling the human call of nature. Was there a way to speed up the process, or to make that steer drink before it was good and ready? No.
I was reminded of this, in a metaphorical sense, when The Western Producer received the results of a recent survey done by CV Marketing Research Inc. Of almost 900 western Canadian farmers queried, 25 percent said they had heard of the agricultural policy framework. The APF is the federal government’s five-year farm plan, which this newspaper has been reporting upon for the better part of a year.
Among the 25 percent who knew about it, opinions were two to one against the plan as it is now structured. On April 1, this plan is slated to be implemented. That means farmers and ranchers with little knowledge of the program, and even less buy-in, will have to work with it. Looks like they might be in for some surprises.
The survey noted respondents’ comments about the APF. This opportunity spread to remarks about federal government attitudes and programs in general.
The result is a dense compilation of comments that illustrate farmers’ disillusionment and distrust of the federal government, coupled with lack of confidence in that government’s ability to devise, or even want to devise, a program that works for agricultural producers.
Information on the APF is out there. If you’ve read this far into the Producer, you’ve probably already come across a story that mentions it. And there are many other sources of information.
Has disillusionment with federal programs led farmers to remain detached from the whole APF process?
It seems so. Unfortunately, it may mean they’ll be the ones pondering a murky future and wondering where and when they can get a drink.
