Overcoming Saskatchewan agriculture's growing pains. (Highlights).

While the federal and provincial governments play hot potato over the responsibility of a viable agricultural sector in Saskatchewan, farmers continue to look skyward for divine intervention. And while they'd take this intervention as a means to resolve the crisis being skillfully and politically averted by the powers that be, they'd much rather have this intervention in the form of moisture. And lots of it. Thus far, their prayers have remained unanswered.

But there's some debate as to whether their pleas have been heard at the mortal level. The federal government, the easiest lightning rod for farmers to direct their scorn upon, has been bombarded with criticism and slurs of inequality the likes of which have not been seen for some time, if ever. In its defence though, the federal agriculture department is in the process of undertaking a fundamentally different approach to the Canadian agriculture crisis in the hopes of creating a new and prosperous Canadian farm for the 21st century.

"Work was...done last year with the provinces and territories to build an integrated policy framework that can respond to the new business climate," states Hon. Lyle Vanclief, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 20002001 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Departmental Performance Report.

"This year-long effort culminated in Whitehorse in June 2001, with all 10 provinces, the territories and the federal government publicly supporting the need for a comprehensive plan to move forward. They agreed, in principle, to a new Agriculture Policy Framework - one that ensures the prosperity of the agriculture and agri-food sector by making Canada the world leader in food safety, innovation and environmentally responsible production."

The next phase of this Policy Framework Agreement has been to gather information from cross-country hearings being facilitated by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture.

One such hearing was held in Davidson in late February. Producers there were told of the government s plans to help them improve their bottom line. This intention will be achieved by helping farmers shift their focus from a production-driven model to a consumer-driven one, which will in turn reduce or eliminate the need for income stabilization programs currently in place. But the common, remaining refrain from farmers is that they need some form of subsidization to remain competitive with their American and European counterparts.

Despite the obvious differences of opinion, what is clear to everyone is that the status quo isn't working. And therefore, changes must be made. There are those who believe that these changes must be implemented by a top-down approach. Then there are those who believe that the agricultural system must be altered from its very roots.

Among the latter are Al Scholz and Rick Pender. Each of these men guides a revolutionary agricultural organization that - albeit in completely different fashions, and perhaps even philosophies - has the same objective of making farms profitable at the farmgate.

Scholz, who penned the book Don't Turn Out The Lights: Entrepreneurship in Rural Saskatchewan, heads up an organization called Saskatchewan Agrivision Corporation Inc. (SAC). This non-profit organization was established in 1999 from an agricultural subcommittee of the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of renewing and revitalizing rural Saskatchewan through community-owned, value-added enterprises.

Pender heads up Farm Corp Marketing International Ltd., a membership-driven organization that through a strategy of collective marketing, asks its members to allow Farm Corp to serve as a marketing agency on behalf of its membership. The purpose to this strategy is to affect the supply and demand principles for wheat on the world market, and hence, its price.

"What we really want to do is have farmers internationally form into one structure, especially in five regions of the world - Canada, United States, European Union, Argentina and Australia - working together as a unit to be able to tackle any project that we want" says Pender. "But the primary project that we're after right now is farmgate commodity price setters; to be able to block market wheat as one large block in the international marketplace."

To achieve this goal, Pender says that Farm Corp will need approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the farmers under contract from the five aforementioned producing regions of the world. Their target price for a bushel of wheat is $10. This will have a waterfall effect on other commodities as well, Pender says. Supply in other commodities will fall as more producers dedicate more acreage to the higher-valued wheat crop. Less supply means higher prices, and so goes the cycle.

But commodity pricing is just one component that needs addressing, says SAC's Scholz. His organization's core belief is that rural renewal and revitalization can be achieved by encouraging and fostering the rapid development of Saskatchewan's agri-value sector.

Agrivision is a coalition of farm, rural, business and university leaders who comprise virtually a who's who of the Saskatchewan agricultural and business scene. The organization was established with a mandate of accomplishing its rural revitalization strategy within a five-year window, then quietly disappearing while various rural and business leaders throughout the province took over the mantle.

"The last thing we need is another organization," explains Scholz of the five-year sunset clause for SAC, adding: "We're targeting rural business community leaders, the kind of people who take chances, are entrepreneurs, and who can make things happen. These people are visionaries who are not afraid to follow their vision even if it contradicts conventional thinking."

"The weakest link in the value-added food chain is in the post-farmgate sector," he adds. "We have huge resources aimed at production, but a very small processing sector. Farmers and rural communities cannot do it alone. We need to partner with the business sector, bankers, venture capitalists, manufacturing, transportation, construction and marketing/retail sectors in order to renew agriculture at the rural level."

Scholz recognizes that some of what he has to say may not be popular amongst the masses. But he firmly believes Agrivision's direction is right on the mark. Hence, he puts up with his critics in the interest of bettering agriculture and Saskatchewan overall.

Doing so, however, is more than just changing farming practices, he says. Rather, it's a fundamental and paradigm shift in the personal belief system of many Saskatchewan residents.

"It's an attitude thing," he says. "A lot of people in Saskatchewan, both rural and urban, see themselves as victims. The problem when you do that is you give up any sense of power or control; you believe your destiny is in the hands of others."

"I use terms like winners and whiners instead of winners and losers," he continues. "Because that's what I've heard from some of our community leaders, is that you can divide Saskatchewan communities up into winners and whiners."

"That makes people sit up and think, 'Am I a winner, or a whiner?' So it really makes the point; rather than being a winner or a loser, because a loser reflects a victim mentality, and we're trying to empower people."

Scholz says one of the factors that will empower farmers is by taking advantage of the significant opportunities in livestock. He notes that every other Canadian province and U.S. state derives 50 per cent of its farmgate revenue from livestock. Conversely Saskatchewan derives just 25 per cent of its farmgate income from livestock. "We need to double our production just to get online with everybody else," he says.

He likes what he has seen in recent years with intensive livestock operators such as Big Sky Pork, Quadra Group and Pound-Maker Agventures, companies which have been establishing large-scale hog barns and beef feedlots across the province. But he says these livestock operations are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of what Saskatchewan can accomplish.

Saskatchewan hog producers marketed 1.67 million hogs last year. Agrivision believes that Saskatchewan not only has the potential, but must triple its hog production numbers to the 5-million range annually. Saskatchewan's production accounts for just seven per cent of Canadian production, less than half of Alberta's or Manitoba's.

The prognosis is similar with the beef sector. Agrivision is encouraging a tripling of beef production before 2010 by increasing the cow herd by 50 per cent, from 1.2 million to 1.8 million. More importantly, however, is the focus on keeping the calves in the province until they are market-ready. It is in this latter capacity that a fundamental shift in the use of commodities will spur economic growth in rural Saskatchewan by providing value-added opportunities in finishing and processing capacities.

Half-way through its five-year mandate, it appears as though SAC'S hard work is beginning to pay off. "There are communities all over the province looking at hog production, increased beef, pulse processing, specialty crops and livestock, non-food manufacturing and many other opportunities," notes Scholz.

Aside from the livestock opportunities, equally important focal points Agrivision emphasizes are the potential for ethanol plants in Saskatchewan and a restructuring of the Saskatchewan Farmland Ownership Act. Each of these will play an important role in the future of Saskatchewan's agribusiness economy.

"There is no silver bullet that is going to do it," stresses Scholz. "There's no one project or one event. It's a combination of things. Ultimately we have to get away from the notion that we can produce whatever we want and then go find a market for it. We have to be more consumer-sensitive and convert the raw commodities we grow into real food products that consumers want."

CONTACT

Rick Pender

Farm corp Marketing International Ltd.

[phone]

Al Scholz

Saskatchewan Agrivision corporation Inc.

[phone]