List of ag myths is worth analysis - WP editorial

WESTERN Canadian farmers are nothing if not efficient. They have to be to survive in an economy that puts them in the squeeze of static or dropping commodity prices and more expensive inputs.

They’re in a fight to be competitive in the domestic and international marketplace. That task doesn’t seem to be getting much easier despite government efforts, promises and the effects of international trade agreements.

The National Farmers Union has thus tapped into some bedrock emotional issues with its latest report, The Farm Crisis, Bigger Farms and the Myths of Competition and Efficiency. Officially released Nov. 20, the report lists nine “myths” associated with Canadian agriculture and government policy.

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Its analysis, albeit briefly presented, is bound to strike a chord with many who make their living from this massive and yet flawed system we call agriculture.

Specific to efficiency, the NFU report notes farmers today receive roughly the same prices for grain, oilseeds, hogs and cattle as they did in 1975.

“Farmers’ ability to continue producing without a price increase for 25 years – despite rising prices for fuel, fertilizer and other inputs – suggests a high degree of efficiency,” says the report. Supporting data for that assertion includes Statistics Canada figures showing agriculture had greater productivity increases from 1973 to 1996 than any other industry sector.

So, farmers are efficient, they know they are efficient and government data supports that knowledge. Where’s the problem? It’s in government policy and public attitude, says the NFU.

Greater efficiency is often cited in policy documents as part of the solution to agriculture’s perennial financial crises. Farmers have responded by becoming more efficient, yet financial problems remain.

Government policy is also rife with advice that farmers become more competitive to improve their bottom lines. And most farmers would say they are competitive insofar as domestic and international trade policies allow.

Yet, as the NFU report points out, farmers have little company in the push toward greater competition. Farm equipment dealerships, chemical companies, hog and cattle packing plants are shrinking in number through mergers and acquisitions. There is less competition all the time within the industries on which farmers must rely.

These are the same industries that seem to be taking a greater share of the profit from agricultural production while farmers’ share is relatively static.

NFU officials said last week that they don’t expect their latest report to change agricultural policy. They’re realists about the enormity of that task.

However, they do want it to provide a basis for critical debate on the status of Canadian farming. To do that, farmers will have to read it. And they should.