It turns out farm organizations played an enormous role. You probably know that already. Understandably, these groups invest heavily in making sure their members know where the credit should go.

Except it’s hard for even the most politically active farmer to know what the cumulative effect of all these organizations is for their farm. Or, to put it another way, it’s hard to grasp how much would be lost if these farm orgs didn’t continue to be supported by farmers who take time away from farming to sit on their boards and committees.

But there’s another side too. That’s the fact that so many farms are so much stronger because their farmers have served as directors or on committees, and they’ve soaked up next-level management and business skills, plus tons of industry insights and connections.

It turns out it’s a two-way street: good for the industry, but with benefits for the farm. Does that mean you should take on a more public role, both for the sake of your industry and also for the sake of your business? For this article, Country Guide asks farm leaders why they became involved, and how their engagement with farm groups translates back to better farm management.

Bonnie den Haan

Ontario dairy producer Bonnie den Haan can’t really remember when she wasn’t involved in one rural or farm organization or another. Like many farmers, 4-H clubs are her earliest memories. After marriage and when her children were young, community groups took up much of her time too.

Her county’s dairy producer committees eventually beckoned, and soon she was serving on these and various working groups as well.

“It was very important to me that I participate,” she says. “I learned a lot from going to those meetings.”

den Haan was elected in 2017 as a board member with Dairy Farmers of Ontario to represent producers from Dufferin, Peel, Simcoe and Wellington. Last June she moved to the helm of Farm and Food Care Ontario with its mandate to build public trust in food and farming in Ontario and across Canada.

Time spent on all those other community activities and organizations prepared her for this new role, and the timing was right on the home front to take it on, with the farm’s management now shifting to their two daughters and son-in-law, she told Country Guide earlier this winter.

den Haan and her husband John, also a farm leader whose current role is chair of the Ontario 4-H Foundation, remain available as needed, but don’t need to be a dominant presence in the farm business anymore, knowing the farm is in good hands. In fact, says den Haan, that works for everyone at this juncture.

“Succession is really difficult, but when you’re sitting on top of each other it’s even more difficult,” she says. “I don’t like to watch my kids skin their knees. It’s better when you’re away from home at a meeting and you just take the calls when things go wrong, or just listen to what the problem is, instead of being there solving the problem.”

Their family is among the many thousands of farm owners who’ve long given of their time and energy to farm groups, believing these organizations are integral to the bigger picture having an impact on their farm business.

Similarly, this past winter Essex, Ont. farmer Brendan Byrne assumed the role of board chair with Grain Farmers of Ontario, the provincial commodity organization, representing 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers. His volunteering with farm organizations began when he was in his early 20s.

His father urged him to get involved, says Byrne, and he first joined their local Soil and Crop Improvement Association. Other family had been part of farm groups in the area and his father was always saying if you have an opinion, you should be at the table.

“My Dad said ‘Why not go check out some of these meetings, we’ve never had the time to do it, and that this might be the perfect time,’” he recalls.

What he liked about GFO as he got involved was that there were a variety of committees to participate in. “It allowed you to dabble your toes in the water, so to speak, to see what the organization was like.” He never went in thinking he’d become a director let alone end up as chair, but GFO fit in well with the kinds of priorities he had for the farm, too.

Meanwhile, Sussex, New Brunswick farmer Kier Miller’s engagement with farm organizations now spans more than 30 years. His first involvement was also with his provincial Soil and Crop Improvement Association. Over time, he’s also served as chair of the New Brunswick Grain Commission and a director with the Atlantic Grains Council. He’s also long been involved with the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, and last winter stepped into the role of chair of the board for the national organization formed in 1987 to advocate for the importance of soil health and soil conservation on a national scale.

“It was the soil and crop association that took me the most places,” he says. “I became a director of the local, was named secretary-treasurer of the local for quite a number of years, and was then named a provincial director. It was through that group I became involved in the Soil Council of Canada.”

It’s a few years back now, but Miller says he’s never forgotten the exhilaration of going to his first Canada-wide farm meetings.

“It was kind of inspiring for a farm boy from New Brunswick to fly to Winnipeg in the middle of the winter and walk into a downtown hotel and meet with farmers from all across the country,” he says.

The skills bonus

That enthusiasm pays off. It’s always good to be pumped. But these farmers would always find something to roll up their sleeves and get charged about. The difference with farm groups is they also grow their ability to channel their enthusiasm and make it pay off.

Like Byrne and den Haan, Miller says it’s always been good both for him and for the farm to be actively involved with farm groups.

“I now have a network of contacts right across this country,” he says. “I can run an idea by someone in Alberta, and that same idea by someone in P.E.I. and get their thoughts on whether it will work, or how to proceed. That’s what I gain the most from any organization. It’s the network of contacts throughout our industry and throughout the country.”

In Drummondville, Que., dairy farmer Julie Bissonnette is just beginning her own agricultural career and engagement with farm groups. Bissonnette is chair of her provincial young farmers organization, La FRAQ — Fédération de la relève agricole du Québec, and a director with the Canadian Young Farmers Forum (CYFF).

Provincial organizations like La FRAQ and the national group CYFF are the networks that provide opportunities for young and beginning farmers to connect, and they also provide forums for discussion and environments for mentorship.

The CYFF formed in 1997 as an affiliation of provincial and territorial young farmer organizations that include relatively new groups such as Yukon Young Farmers, formed in 2011, to Junior Farmers Association of Ontario, founded in 1914.

Bissonnette says both her provincial group and the CYFF provide a really important support for the professionalization of younger farmers, programming that supports the development of their farm management skills, and a voice in an industry where so many of them will be looked to to provide the leadership.

When you’re starting out you may not have many peers close to your age in the farm community immediately around you, so it’s important to make these connections, says Bissonnette, who first joined her provincial group at age 16 mainly to meet other younger farmers.

“At the beginning it was just to have some fun and organize activities and make sure young farmers can see each other, because we don’t always do this,” she says. She’s gone on to national involvement because of that networking, and the personal support and professional development experienced as a participant.

“It’s not just for the farm but for the person that you are,” Bissonnette says. “Networking, promotion and communication… for me, that’s the big part to be involved.”

Byrne says some may feel as though they’re starting with a bit of an empty tool box when they first get involved with any organization, but farm groups definitely help you learn and have good procedural ways to mentor new leadership. You figure out your own personal leadership style, as you acquire more skills around working with others, and make decisions with the group you get involved with.

It’s about developing relationships and learning from others, he says. You eventually find yourself doing things and accomplishing tasks you’d not have thought you’d ever do, he says. 

As his father also used to say, “the ‘you’ of five years ago wouldn’t even recognize the ‘you’ of today.” Plus, you grow skills and perspectives that become assets for the farm groups too.

Says Byrne: “Sharing those skills is kind of your obligation to everybody else out there… sharing the best in you, and learning from the best people around.” 

den Haan says time and again she’s experienced benefits from her organizational involvement on the farm. “It takes your whole farm to a new level of professionalism,” she says.

“If you can speak professionally, and articulate and crunch numbers and look at balance sheets and you have a better understanding of those things, all of those things just make your business better.”

Both she and her husband have benefited greatly from governance training they’ve had over the years, and it most certainly has made family meetings better.

“If you can take the governance and the relationship training at the board, and the respect for other board members and bring that home, and look at your family members as board members, that’s a huge step,” she says. “It makes all the difference in the world, especially to your family members.”

Work with others around board tables and in committees makes you a better communicator, too, and you acquire the skill to carefully assess and discern appropriate responses when dealing with difficult and volatile matters.

Farm groups are changing their communications styles to meet the increased demands for transparency and accountability, she says.

“I would say every organization is changing,” she says. “When you tackle an issue you have to look at all angles and dig much deeper.”

Along the way, she’s learned to be a better listener, and to hear other points of view.

“Which,” she adds, “is also very important at home.”

Which group?

Bonnie den Haan is always encouraging others to become involved and find the organizations that they’re passionate to support.

“I’m probably a bit pushy that way,” she admits.

Her advice is practical. Learn about different groups, do some research, and find out which ones have a mission and purpose that aligns with your own.

“You have to have a passion for whatever group you’re going to go into and it has to be a personal passion,
or else it’s just time commitment,”
she says. And if it’s a board role you’re contemplating, be clear about the time commitment. It’s important, too to know how much staff support is available to you, she adds.

She admits she is less inclined to press a younger farmer to be involved on a board, only because she knows how few hours there are in a day for farm owners raising young families. “That’s when you should be growing your business instead of growing an organization, but it’s great if you can balance both or have a team at home so that you can do that,” she says.

Yet, as everyone discovered during these past 12 months, it’s now possible to participate in all kinds of forums without ever leaving home.

All organizations have been challenged to keep people highly engaged online, offering interactive opportunities for that all-important networking online — and those efforts have paid off.

Groups across the country have
cut their travel budgets, but they’re also able to draw in a wider array of speakers and expertise.

And the time commitment to be involved has shrunk. They miss the face-to-face connection, of course, but not all the travelling to and fro to meetings.

After the pandemic ends, it’s expected farm meetings will be a hybrid of both physical and online. Says den Haan, “We’ve got virtual meetings down to an art, and we should carry on with that.”

Looking for a change

Forward-looking organizations are also starting to grapple with new issues, including issues like diversity on the farm.

Earlier this year, for instance, Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) hammered out a statement of values on diversity, equity and inclusion, calling for an end to systemic racism, as well as discrimination and prejudice based on disability and on sexual orientation, gender and religion.

This is a recognition that the beef sector “is not always a diverse industry, particularly at the farmer and association level,” BFO president Rob Lipsett said when releasing the statement.

“Further along our supply chain, however, there is a great amount of diversity among the people dedicated to ensuring our product makes it to the tables of consumers. Likewise, our consumers are another integral and incredibly diverse group from all walks of life. We feel it is important to be a voice, build bridges, listen, learn and support all members of our community.”

The BFO statement on its website describes the initiative as “a starting point for what needs to be a continually evolving conversation and effort, and ultimately a culture shift within the industry.”

“We have social responsibilities as business owners, and as participants in the value chain,” says BFO board member Jordan Miller, adding that forward-looking organizations don’t ignore what’s going on within the broader community.

“The organizations in this world which die out are the ones that are fighting tooth and nail for what’s always been.”

It will take some time to develop an action plan around this but this will be more than words on paper, Miller says. “The first thing we want to do is listen and admit we don’t have the answers to everything.”

The Grain Farmers of Ontario has also committed their organization to a new culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, with its 2021 Strategic Plan stating their organization “considers equality, diversity and inclusion imperative to future growth.

“The organization understands the great value in differing opinions around the table, formed from varied life experiences. That is how we will connect with new audiences, new markets and new people,” it says.

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Here are two questions we almost never ask in our Country Guide interviews. What farm organizations are you involved in? And how much emphasis do you put on participating in them?

It’s time for us to change that.

We should ask other questions too. How much effort do you put into creating an expectation that your children and grandchildren will support industry organizations?

It might seem odd in this COVID-19 year to say that more farmers should go to more farm meetings. Instead, this is just one more example of the pandemic giving us a little extra push to do something that we were feeling a mounting pressure to do anyway.

By and large, agricultural organizations have met the COVID-19 challenge. Yes, there was some grandstanding, and yes, there were some extreme demands, but the risks were real, the future uncertain, and the farm organizations did their work with extraordinary skill and sophistication.

Would the farm have survived COVID-19 without them? Well, it certainly wouldn’t have survived as well.

Clearly, our farm groups showed it’s vital they be at the ready in case of black swans, especially when the risk of black swans seems by every measure to be growing relentlessly.

But what I am thinking about today has more to do with what you might call the routine future of agriculture — the government policies, the market development, the technological and research support that farms need if our agriculture is to thrive in a way that looks at all like today’s industry.

As noted above, and as I suspect all of us have been thinking in the past couple of years, our agriculture is getting more diverse.

To a degree, you can say this is fine, because at the same time, our farms are acquiring the skills, the data and, bluntly, the power to be more independent than ever.

Except, it really is true that agriculture is a community. Maybe our farms aren’t at quite as great a risk of being bullied by powerful banks or multinationals as they used to be, but the opportunities for joint action and for growth are greater than ever.

And they will only be seen by farmers who have the vision and the quick wits that come from life on the front lines.

Increasingly, farmers also excel at knowing who they need to partner with and who they should support. (For my own part, I can’t resist saying farmers and farm groups should be doing more to support Farm Management Canada and our university ag economics departments.)

So, today is a good day to set a goal to identify two farm groups that your farm will participate in more actively this winter. Assign someone to do the research. Give them a date to report.

Make a decision. That’s what you’re good at. Then get on with it.

Are we getting it right? Let me know at tom.button@fbcpublishing.com.

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As annoying as it is, those comments underscore an increasingly important theme in Canadian agriculture: communication. It used to be enough to grow and market your crops, but that has changed dramatically over the last several years.

The impact of this is being felt in a real way — perhaps more now than in recent years.

People prefer to buy organic food, even if they can’t define what exactly the word means. Shoppers search the shelves for the container claiming to be “non-GMO” knowing little more than what the letters stand for. Actors take to the stage at awards shows denouncing an entire industry with little indication they have set foot on a dairy farm. High-ranking politicians warn of “extremists” holding protests generally denouncing an entire industry. Protestors halt railways to draw attention to a cause with little, if any, recognition of what’s in the stopped cars along the track.

Consumers make some of those decisions because they have looked into the issues. Mostly, though, they do it because it feels like the right thing to do. For all of their clout in political circles, farm organizations have struggled to combat this.

Ironically, the failure can at least in part be attributed to the agriculture industry’s inability to abandon the facts.

Farmers and the organizations representing them make decisions based on evidence, logic and science. Consumers are making decisions on feelings and emotions.

Our state of public discourse in this modern era seems to be entirely online, conducted in explosions of a few sentences at a time. People bang away on keyboards driven by the emotions in their hearts rather than the information in their heads. Discourse is fragmented, and we’re all awash in information with, for the average person, little ability to distinguish what’s news, what’s marketing, and what’s downright wrong.

Informed public debate was once sacred, the goal of political discourse and the foundation of good decision-making. No longer. Politics has devolved into elected officials speaking in platitudes, talking a lot but saying little while trying to make people feel good about their actions.

The result of this post-truth world is having the displeasure of living in an age where we have never before had the means to be this connected to one another, but are left with an ever-growing divide between us. Friends and enemies, left and right, consumer and corporation.

Feelings, not facts.

It’s all kind of sad, but at least within agriculture there is a growing recognition of this.

And there are some great ideas on how to combat it, including one from Andrew Campbell.

He spoke at Farm Credit Canada’s Ag Day celebration in Ottawa recently, sharing with the crowd of 500 people why it is important for farmers to share their side of the story.

“To the consumer, our side of the story doesn’t exist unless we tell it,” he said, suggesting to the audience everyone in the industry should make an effort to explain to anyone who will listen why they are in agriculture.

“Just go out and be real, and be honest and be transparent. Because what I found, and I know a lot of other farmers have found in the past, is that, you know, just having that kind of emotional transparency into what we do and why we do it actually goes a long way.”

It’s a good point, grounded in optimism.

The agriculture industry should be commended for sticking to the facts. But farmers need to learn how to leverage those facts and tap into emotions. Until that happens, complaints about bad communication will persist.

— D.C. Fraser writes for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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Farmers complain about poor rail movement of grains too, and we are worried about Canada’s reputation as a reliable supply of high-quality grains.

Yet we also have groups, organizations and associations on opposite sides of each of these questions, each claiming to represent the opinion of the majority of grain growers.

How can this be?

We need to ask, are the organizations that claim to represent farmers actually listening to their members? If not, who are they listening to?

Did the farm groups actually represent their grassroots membership in the debate over the privatization of the CWB? Or, more recently, were the positions of farmers and farm organizations really aligned with taking our former Plant Breeders Rights in the direction of UPOV 91?

There are other troubling questions too, such as whether these groups feel that if farmers knew as much about today’s complex issues as the groups know, we’d endorse what the groups are doing. It’s the familiar “Trust us, we know better” argument.

Worse yet, could it be that farmers really don’t know the organizations that claim to represent them? Or are farmers so divided that there is simply no consensus possible, so farm groups are free to support any position they choose, knowing there will always be some farmers they can claim to represent?

These questions led me to poll the farm groups, asking them who they represent, and what are their positions on the issues facing farmers today.

The answers won’t shock you, but it’s worth paying close attention to the nuances.

I should also explain that I began this exercise by trying to identify all the groups claiming to represent farmers. However, in Alberta where I farm, a quick check proved this would be an impossible task. The 2015 directory lists 530 agricultural associations and organizations in my province alone

Even when agricultural societies, livestock associations, and municipal districts and counties were excluded, there were still more organizations than could be covered in the pages of this magazine. So instead, I decided to pose seven questions to the agricultural organizations that I thought are probably most familiar to most farmers.

It’s arbitrary, but I selected farm groups that have a high public profile and have been mentioned in mainstream media recently.

Following are condensed answers I received from 11 farm organizations. I hope you will use them to judge not only your knowledge of these organizations but also how their positions may compare to other organizations you may belong to.

I urge all readers to get to know the organizations which claim to represent your views.

Voluntary organizations

Voluntary is the key word here, with individuals typically paying a membership fee to meet the organization’s funding needs. These groups can range from regional commodity associations to national general farm organizations. For example, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association has 450 members (97 per cent are farmers), and it describes itself as a “voluntary farm advocacy organization dedicated to developing policy solutions that strengthen the profitability and sustainability of farming and the agricultural industry as a whole.”

WCWGA seeks open and competitive markets, an efficient grain-handling and transportation system, science-based environmental and food safety policies, the elimination of production-distorting subsidies and the removal of barriers to market access.

WCWGA achievements include grain marketing freedom for Prairie farmers, modernization of Plant Breeder Rights, including the adoption of UPOV 91, elimination of KVD criteria for registration of new wheat varieties, and the expansion of the rail interswitching limit from 30 to 160 km.

National Farmers Union is a 100 per cent farmer, direct-membership organization with a goal of developing economic and social policies to maintain the family farm as the primary food-producing unit in Canada. It is funded by its membership fees and voluntary donations.

The NFU considers its most important achievement to be “our continued ability to bring together the voices of farmers of all kinds and sizes — from small CSA operations to large grain farms, organic and conventional, all across Canada…”

It also says, “The NFU succeeds by bringing its members’ views and priorities into the public discussion of agricultural issues in Canada.”

Alberta Federation of Agriculture is the province’s largest producer-funded general farm organization. Its 250 members represent nearly 1,000 farm families, and 95 per cent of the membership is from the farm. The other five per cent consists of commodity organizations, associations and non-profits.

The federation says it is dedicated to advocating, promoting and encouraging a sustainable agricultural industry with viable farm income levels; healthy rural communities with an outstanding quality of life for our families; fair marketing and trade practices; and a strong value-added industry in rural Alberta.

AFA has spearheaded the development of risk management tools for farmers and was instrumental in addressing the grain transportation crisis and pushing the federal government’s order-in-council to address the issue.

General farm organizations

Not all general farm organizations are voluntary. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have instituted two very different approaches for giving a voice to all farmers through a provincial general farm organization.

Keystone Agricultural Producers is Manitoba’s largest general farm policy organization, and it is funded by a checkoff at point of sale from roughly 4,000 producers. All members must be actively engaged in primary agricultural production.

The goal of KAP is “to ensure that primary production in Manitoba remains profitable, sustainable, and globally competitive.” Activities related to this goal have included lobbying for better rail movement of grains, removal of the education tax of farmland and buildings, working for improved producer-payment security, and easing restrictions on winter nutrient application. KAP has also promoted Manitoba agriculture through its Sharing the Harvest campaign.

Agricultural Producers of Saskatchewan is Saskatchewan’s voluntary general farm organization. It differs from other farm organizations in that its 98 members are the rural municipalities of Saskatchewan who in turn represent the nearly 18,000 agricultural producers in these RMs. There are 18 associate members who represent agricultural-related organizations. Almost all APAS funding comes from the RM membership.

“The goal of APAS is to provide a respected, unified voice that positively influences agricultural and rural communities to achieve a respected, thriving agricultural sector…” APAS has been able to obtain federal and provincial financial support for Saskatchewan farmers, and it is addressing the transportation issues.

Commodity organizations

These are legislated organizations for the purpose of increasing research, development, innovation, and market opportunities for a specific commodity. Most are funded primarily through a checkoff from the sales of that commodity, and all sellers are automatically members. However, in most cases the checkoff is refundable if you do not want to be a member.

Alberta Barley, for example, represents approximately 11,000 Alberta barley farmers who have paid the barley checkoff to Alberta Barley in one or more of the last three crop years. Its purpose is “to advance the interests of Alberta barley farmers through leadership and investment in innovation and development. Research and market development are currently Alberta Barley’s top priorities.”

Alberta Barley has applied for and received funding from government and industry. Besides research, some of this grant funding was used for developing materials for informing health professionals and dietitians about the health benefits of barley to increase demand. Alberta Barley has also created the GoBarley campaign to increase consumer demand.

Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission collects a $0.52/tonne checkoff from 24,000 wheat growers and uses this fund to grow the province’s wheat industry. “Our vision is to ensure wheat is a stable, sustainable, profitable, and internationally competitive crop; capturing the benefits for Saskatchewan farmers and the community.”

The commission focuses on three goals, including research to improve yields, quality, and agronomics; market development to increase value and marketability; and advocacy so the interests of Saskatchewan wheat growers are presented to government, industry, and the public.

Manitoba Corn Growers Association has been “designated to represent all corn producers in the province of Manitoba.” It too is funded by a refundable producer checkoff. Industry associate memberships are also available upon payment of an annual fee. There are currently 1,200 members with about 30 to 50 of these being associate members.

Some 80 per cent of the checkoff levy goes to research programs and work intended to encourage the growth of corn acres in Manitoba. This includes development of earlier corn hybrids and sound agronomic practices for growing corn in Manitoba.

Associations of associations

In many instances, provincial commodity organizations or other like-minded associations have created umbrella organizations to better represent the views of farmers and industry members or to participate in activities of interest to all groups instead of each provincial group repeating what another association is already doing.

The Canadian Canola Growers Association represents the interests of five provincial canola associations. It is the national voice of 43,000 Canadian canola growers, and it is funded through its own business operations, including acting as an administrator of the Advanced Payments Program for 45 field crop and livestock commodities.

The canola association’s primary role is to use its combined influence to enhance the profitability of Canadian canola growers. Besides the cash advance program, the CCGA is a strong advocate for a more responsive and effective rail system, and it works to increase international trade of canola products.

Cereals Canada is a new organization seeking to fill in the co-ordination and market development gaps resulting from the end of the CWB monopoly. It strives to ensure a profitable and vibrant future for all links in the grains value chain.

To do this, Cereals Canada represents 20 different organizations of producers, crop development and seed companies, and grain handlers, exporters, and processors. The organization will focus on market development, innovation, and industry leadership. The Team Canada sales teams are examples of the market development work Cereals Canada is doing.

Cereals Canada is trying to promote a common message across the value chain on issues such as grain transportation, variety registration, and the wheat classification review.

Grain Growers of Canada is another national umbrella organization of 14 grain, oilseed, and pulse groups representing more than 50,000 producers and it is funded primarily through the membership. The Grain Growers of Canada believes Canadian farmers are efficient, competitive and want to make their living from the marketplace. Therefore it focuses on maximizing the global competitiveness of Canadian farmers by influencing federal policy. It strives for research into seed, value-added processing, and the bioproducts field. Its single most important achievement has been to see the end of the single desk, for which it advocated since its formation.

This article was originally entitled “Who speaks for farmers?” in the May/June issue of Country Guide

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That’s not based on their past performance. It’s because of the scale and the solvability of the challenges ahead.

In other words, we’re at a point in history where farm organizations can make a difference, if they have good leadership.

Those who know me will know this isn’t a sentence that has always rolled easily out of my mouth.

In a way, the big farm organizations are on the wrong side of two mega-trends. There’s a political trend that says the role of government is to get out of the way. So why give your time to a political lobby?

There’s also a cultural trend affecting everything from churches and service clubs to industry organizations. It’s the trend that has so many of us willing to help with special projects, but if you’re thinking I should sign up as a member of your group, well, thanks anyway.

Both trends have made it tough for farm organizations to not only have a reliable base to build on, but also to recruit the best delegates and leaders.

Nor does it help that there is still such intense pressure for everyone who ever speaks in public about agriculture to sing from the same song sheet, note for note. A “please park your brain at the door” approach isn’t exactly the best way to encourage constructive thinkers to join.

Instead, agricultural groups could be talking about positive possibilities.

Here are three, although I can only give thumbnail descriptions. Still, you’ll know what I mean.

1. Our infrastructure of roads, railroads, bins, ports, and everything else that separates our output from its markets is in serious decline. Repairing it will likely take not only farm leadership, but farm money too.
2. Provincial and federal programs need to be recalibrated to help today’s diverse generation of young farmers become not only the world’s most competitive farmers, but also to grow more of the food that Canadians want to buy. Governments are increasingly unwilling to support the incomes of what they believe are wealthy older farmers.
3. University economic departments must be shaken up. This is a frequent bugbear of mine. If we’re to succeed in an increasingly complex business environment, where mistakes are fatally expensive, we must get the best insights and research from top brains that are focused on the problems that farmers — not government policy makers — actually face.

Of course, you’re justified in saying you don’t have time to participate. My question is: if not now, when? What would a worthwhile mixture of need and opportunity look like if it isn’t what we’re in the midst of now?

Are we getting it right? Send me an email and let me know.

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