Letters
to AB
Pick
of the month.
Was it fair?
AB: My name is Wayne Haley, I am 57 years old, and I've been
farming for 29 years. My wife, Marilyn, and I run a 60-80 cow-calf
operation in South Rawdon, N.S.
I am writing in reference to the article "Debt never looked
so good" in the January issue of Atlantic Beef. I have read
this article many times and have some comments about the fairness
of what took place. The comments are as follows:
1. I do believe that all
Nova Scotia farmers had a right to apply for the Ruminant Loan
Support program. I do question why some farms applied for a second
loan under the same program, and I don't think it is fair that
these farmers get both loans wrote off.
2. When I read about some
farmers getting a "wink-wink" and a "nod-nod,"
this really concerned me. I would hate to think that some people
knew this loan would be written off and took advantage of it.
I don't want to believe this of our agriculture industry. We,
as farmers, need each other to get through these hard times.
3. Third, and most important,
I think the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers and our Minister of
Agriculture at the time, Brooke Taylor, were not thinking too
clearly.
The Nova Scotia Cattle
Producers lobbied the government to provide grants to write down
loans. That was a big mistake because in doing so, they were
lobbying for only 10 percent of Nova Scotia farms. What about
the other 90 percent? They have a responsibility to lobby for
all registered farmers. Just because some farmers didn't take
out a loan doesn't mean they didn't need and deserve the help
too. If money was made available to the farmers, it should have
gone to all registered farmers, not just 10 percent of them!
As I read the article it really saddened me to feel the great
rift these actions have caused between our beef producers. This
is shameful.
I would like to think this is a one-time situation and that
our new Agriculture Minister and the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers
will always work in fairness to all farmers. Our forefathers
always worked hard to better themselves and their fellow farmers.
We have a responsibility to do so too.
Wayne and Marilyn Haley
South Rawdon, N.S.
Article "divisive"
AB: I want to set the record straight in regards to the article
written in the Early Spring 2009 edition of Atlantic Beef. I
talked to the reporter who researched and wrote the divisive
article, "Debt never looked so good," and was impressed
by how little she knew of the program she was asking me about
and the facts surrounding it.
She was seeking to expose wrong-doing and favoritism in the
implementation of the Nova Scotia Beef Loan program of 2005,
and although she was determined to believe something was wrong,
the truth is that the only thing to expose was a program that
gave assistance to the beef industry in an unfair manner.
As a big beneficiary of this program, it seems that myself and
others have become targets of a campaign to prove wrong-doing.
I did speak out as this program was being announced, (saying)
it wasn't fair, even though I could see that my defense of those
who criticized me may have cost my farm a lot of money.
Although the write-off of the loans was not fair to those who
chose not to borrow, the $200 per head loan that was available
was done fairly, and in actual fact I could have and should have
borrowed more, as I often had more cattle at several times during
the two and a half years I had the money borrowed.
What that loan did was to enable me to buy as many cattle as
I had in years past, which kept me as a buyer at the auction,
boosting local prices, and most likely helping to maintain the
value of the calves of those who complained.
The latest program in the spring of 2008 was capped per farm
in reaction to those who complained about the previous loan program.
This latest decision cost me $60,000-$70,000.
I did not say or ever think, to quote the writer, that I am
"looking forward to a time when there are fewer hobby or
lifestyle farmers in the industry." These are the very people
whose calves I rely on to stay in business. This is a stupid
thing to write and appears to be a way to create a "bad
guy" for the reporter's story.
What I did say is that with 40 cows the gross sales of a farm
(assuming that a good job is being done on such a farm) would
only be $20,000 to $30,000, which is hardly a living, especially
after factoring in expenses of at least that much. I hope the
article written by Joanne MacPherson hasn't hurt anyone's feelings
because the way I was represented offended me as well.
I have always been a stalwart supporter of the rural Nova Scotia
way of life and the decisions I have made in my life both personally
and in my business reflect that commitment.
Joe Cooper
Great Village, N.S.
Waiting for answers
AB: Throughout the month of December I interviewed producers,
buyers, lenders, and government trying to figure out what was
going on in the beef industry and, in particular, with the Ruminant
Loan program that resulted in tax payers writing down loans to
retire farmers while helping a few expand.
After the article appeared in Atlantic Beef in January, I started
getting phone calls from cow-calf operators wanting to know if
I had heard anything more. Was something going to be done? Were
those who didn't get the grant going to get some help?
There was no feedback that I am aware of coming from the Nova
Scotia Cattle Producers (NSCP). But I did hear they sent out
a questionnaire to producers called the "Nova Scotia Beef
Industry Strategy Feedback Questionnaire," and the deadline
to reply was midnight on Jan. 15. That didn't go over well here
in Cumberland County with the questionnaire arriving on the 13th,
and I hear other parts of the province didn't even get it in
time to respond. Why the haste and why put more pressure on the
producers?
When I emailed that question to the NSCP there was no reply,
but I did hear through the grapevine the deadline was extended
by one week. Evidently, this news was not disseminated to the
membership, with the exception of those who phoned the office
to say they needed more time.
Haste is certainly required for farmers who are at the breaking
point, wondering where to turn. The government is calling for
expediency too, reminding the NSCP that the Nappan Experimental
farm is still on the chopping block.
Back to this "Feedback Questionnaire," one producer
brought over his copy and asked if I could decipher it for him.
This was difficult. The document is long-winded. Considered response
could take hours.
Nearly a decade ago the Maritime Certified Organic Growers put
out a paper written by Roger Henry, P.Ag. (Professional Agrologist),
called "Organic Beef & Organic Pasture-Fed Beef."
(To view this paper, follow the Organic Beef link at www.AtlanticFarmer.com.)
Citing pasture trials conducted at Nappan, Henry outlined the
benefits in raising pasture-fed beef. These included healthier,
disease-resistant cattle, sustainable land use, higher-quality
and health-friendly meat, lower production costs, consumer support
for organic farming methods, and an estimated profit of $2,000
gross per cow.
Imagine: fewer barns, less machinery to finance, no fertilizers
to buy, smaller vet bills. The reliance on fossil fuels, chemicals,
and medications would be greatly reduced. It would be a new economy
all right one completely foreign to the models the beef
industry is currently based on.
And that is why Henry's paper, which in my opinion should be
recycled and renamed the "Nova Scotia Beef Industry Strategy,"
will remain just another government-funded feel-good gesture.
Joanne MacPherson
Wallace Bay, N.S.
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