KINDERSLEY, Sask. – Approximately 600 people piled into the rink in this western Saskatchewan town Sept. 18 to hear a series of speakers give their perspective on the cattle industry crisis.
Some panelists said they believed the border closure is due in part to Canada’s reluctance to send troops to Iraq. Others said that insulting the American president doesn’t help the situation.
Representatives from farm lending institutions were on hand to remind farmers their organizations are sympathetic and keen to help. Many speakers said they were there to send prime minister Jean Chrétien a message: “We don’t like you.”
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Event co-organizer Richard Jones said the crowd was smaller than he had anticipated, which he attributed to a sense of either complacency or despair that may be developing among beef producers.
That is why the farm implement dealer and others in the community organized the rally – to keep cattle producers as well as the public upbeat, aware and confident that the crisis will be resolved.
“We’re at the tail end of the beef rally, and maybe people are at a point where they feel that it’s all being done for them, but it isn’t. But people in the beef industry have to realize they’ve got to start helping themselves by keeping the pressure on the government,” Jones said.
“We need federal help, we need provincial help,” he said.
“But unless we really keep the pressure on, the government will just let it slide.”
Rhinehart Burgardt, a cattle producer from Kerrobert, Sask., and his son Ryan Burgardt attended the meeting to gain better insight into the bovine spongiform encephalopathy situation.
“It’s an education program,” said Rhinehart. “I don’t know how we educate our city people as to what’s going on, or on the importance of agriculture without things like this.”
The younger Burgardt felt the same way, but noted an East-West disparity.
“I think it’s important to have something like this to keep recognition on the problem,” he said. “BSE in the media has been watered down to a certain extent. But it’s hard to keep focus on something like this when it’s affecting only a couple million (people) here, when there are 20 million out there more worried about other things.”
Lynn Cornwell, past-president of the U.S. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, closed the meeting. He spoke about the importance of trade between Canada and the United States, and on the importance of changing the tone in Ottawa if Canadian producers want American sympathy.
