I read the most horrifying thing today. I call it a “thing” because to call it what I
want to call it would be crossing lines I would rather not cross. For the sake of clarity, let us call it a “sentence.” This sentence was the first in an opinion
column written by Mr. Mark Bonokoski of the Edmonton Sun. It appeared in today’s paper (August 30, 2018).
I am not familiar with Mr. Bonoski’s work, as I do not read
his column on a regular basis. The only
reason I read it today is because I couldn’t find my copy of the Alberta
Farmer, and I needed something to occupy me during my coffee break. The large headline, “Dairy Dilemma,” caught
my attention.
The following is the first sentence of an article written by
someone who is either highly ignorant, or writing with such sarcasm that what
he actually wants to say is obscured:
“If Justin Trudeau wants to finally be seen wearing his big
boy pants, and not be seen through the lens of Donald Trump as being inherently
“weak,” he will kill the supply management scheme that has dairy farmers
unconcerned about ever having to downgrade their Cadillacs.”
By the time I got through that much of the article I was
boiling mad. The author went on to
complain about artificially high milk prices that are produced by supply
management. I won’t waste my time trying
to counter that argument. Farmer Tim and
Creekside Dairy on Facebook both do a far better job of explaining why supply
management is key to keeping both supply and price stable, and how it allows
farmers to get a fair and reasonable price for their product.
I’m not going to throw a bunch of statistics or anecdotes at
you to illustrate the dire straits dairy farmers in other nations face because
they don’t have or have dismantled a supply management system. You can learn about that for yourselves.
Today, I want to tell you the three reasons why that
sentence matters to me.
1. Mr. Bonokoski just attacked my friends
without reason.
I have several friends and acquaintances who are dairy
farmers, both in my home county, and from other Canadian provinces, east and
west. These people are decent,
hardworking folks. They do not provoke
fights. They are not mobsters or “toughs”
in some “dairy cartel.” They sacrifice
their time, money, health, social lives, and even family time to produce
nutritious milk for consumers. They are
not schemers. They are not ridiculously
wealthy. They are not heroes. They are ordinary people, who work hard to
support their families and communities.
Mr. Bonokoski, how dare you attack them?
With news of rising farmer suicides across the country, and
indeed the world, due to the insane amounts of stress we encounter, would our
government put an additional burden on my friends in the dairy industry? Will my friends be the next to crumble under
the stress of consistently producing milk at a loss and requiring government
subsidies to stay afloat? Is it so wrong
for my friends to want to be paid fairly?
Is it wrong for me to want my friends to do well in their chosen fields?
2. My home county is directly affected by a
supply-managed dairy system.
In my first semester of agricultural school, I was required
to take a class that gave us a general overview of Canadian agriculture. I remember almost nothing from that class,
but I do remember that on the day we looked at the Alberta dairy industry I
learned that my county, the County of Barrhead, is home to one of the major
dairy centers in the province. I always
knew we had dairy farmers around, but I didn’t know we had so many of them!
Why does that matter?
I’ll tell you why. I live in an
area that has an economy based on agriculture.
Like it or not, when the farmers suffer, we all suffer. Between wet springs that delayed planting,
wet autumns that hindered harvest, and hailstorms in between, the past few
years have been bad for the crop farmers.
This year, a drought and lack of feed are making things difficult for
the beef farmers. And now our dairy
farmers are watching in horror as our neighbours to the south demand the
dismantling of the one thing that ensures they get paid fairly.
Is it selfish of me to want my home county to do well economically? Probably.
But I’m not writing this post as a moral or informative piece. I’m telling you why that sentence made me
angry and this selfish reality is one reason.
3. Dairy farmers don’t drive Cadillacs.
I’m sure there are a few dairy farmers out there who have a
Cadillac. Everyone saves to be able to
have a little something nice. Some people
like nice cars and there is nothing inherently wrong with owning a
Cadillac. That said, I personally do not
know of any dairy farmer who drives a Cadillac (or anything remotely
close). Mr. Bonokoski is perpetuating
the lie that dairy farmers are some big fat cats who are only in it for the
profit, as if dismantling the supply management system would immediately cut
the price of milk in half and put those uppity so-and-so’s in their place.
That is not the case. Just like all farmers, dairy farmers work hard
for everything they have. All they ask,
all any of us in a production industry ask, is to be paid fairly for the
product we produce. Supply management
allows dairy and poultry farmers the ridiculous extravagance of being paid fairly. Other producers are not always so fortunate.
Mr. Bonokoski, I know we need a reasonable trade deal with
the United States, but is it really necessary to take away the luxury of a fair
paycheck from any portion of the population, no matter how small?
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| Do dairy farmers care? I think they do. https://picryl.com/media/more-milk-for-victory-a-filmstrip-prepared-by-the-fsa-farm-security-administration-16 |
