Farmer opinion is mixed over a Manitoba government proposal that would require every producer in the province to join a general farm group.
On the positive side are the province’s hog producers, who feel the proposal will create a system that is more equitable for all farmers.
“The pork council fully supports the mandatory checkoff,” said Karl Kynoch, president of the Manitoba Pork Council.
“We feel that there are farm organizations (like the Keystone Agricultural Producers) that are doing a lot of good work on behalf of all the producers, (but) you get some producers that are getting the benefits but are not paying for it.”
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Earlier this month the Manitoba government tested the political waters, announcing it was considering a check-off system similar to Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Farmers in those provinces must belong to a farm group, but producers are allowed to select which organization they will join. In Manitoba, KAP is the only general farm group registered in the province, which means another group, such as the National Farmers Union, would have to acquire provincial standing to provide producers with a choice.
As of Jan. 1, 2009, KAP had 4,824 individual members out of the approximately 19,000 farms in Manitoba, according to the 2006 census.
While the requirement is still only a proposal at this point, Kynoch said farmers have and will continue to benefit from a voice such as KAP.
“For example, KAP works on fuel taxes and a lot of stuff that governments can implement for farmers,” he said.
“And if you really check into it, they (KAP) have saved farmers a lot of money in the long run.”
However, not all groups agree with a mandatory checkoff.
The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association (MCPA) says it is concerned because farmers might opt out of commodity groups if they’re forced to join a general farm lobby.
“There has to be a level playing field and one group can’t have an advantage over another,” MCPA president Joe Bouchard told the Winnipeg Free Press.
The MCPA is funded by a $2 per head checkoff on cattle sold in Manitoba.
Last fall the MCPA board decided it would no longer be a commodity group member in KAP, in part because of inadequate representation on KAP’s executive committee.
Other groups refused comment or did not return calls by deadline.
Ernie Sirski, a producer near Dauphin, said he has a problem with the idea of a required checkoff.
“I believe in farm organizations and I support several of them, but I prefer to do it on a basis where it’s my choice to do it.”
Sirski has heard the argument that a mandatory checkoff would eliminate free riders who benefit without paying, but he still has reservations.
“I understand the reasoning … but I just don’t like anything that is mandatory.”
