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The Acton Press Wednesday Dae 7 1977 PRESIDENT of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Peter Hannam calls on corn producers to get together and form a corn marketing board Mr Hannam spoke at the Halton Federations annual banquet Tariff rules unfair for Ontario farmers Charging that current tariff and trade regulations arc strangulating the agriculture industry the president of the Ontario Federation of culture told the branch the role of the tion Is to convince govern farmers mean business Speaking last week at the annual banquet of the Halton Federation of Agriculture Peter Hannam called on farmers to have a unified voice on issues concerning them Five per cent of Canadians are farmers Mr Hannam said In the past farmers spoke with divided tongues he said with indi vidual commodity groups lobbying separately When you get the support of people In the community other than farmers then you get some action The most effective action the government could take would be to find markets for the foods produced he said Identifying the main problem as the inequity in trade and tariff policies he said the priority of OFA is to expose Inequities the farmers are facing We re not asking for a closed border he said We recognize we re a trading nation As thesltuation now stands farmers are losing domestic markets and not getting world markets according to the OFA president Citing peach sales which fell from per cent in Canada years ago to the present 17 per cent Mr asked What industry is going to go next Tariffs on Imported peaches are as low as one- quarter cent a pound while the tariff on Canadian export peaches Is 16 to per cent of the value of the product he said Other produce which faces unfair trade and tariff policies are chicken cheese and beef Mr said While Canadian chicken producers arc forced to use expensive raising methods to meet stringent health for their chickens pounds of chicken are allowed to be imported from the U without meeting the health requirement The inequities cant be explained by common sense Mr commented British cheese markets were lost when England Joined the Common Market and export to the US is limited he went on Even at the resulting high price Cana dian cheese sells for In the U people are buying it he reported At four to five dollars a pound someones making a profit on the cheese and it not the farmer Many Toronto restaurants buy S beef because the tariff is only three cents per pound he commented The US on the other hand has a 10 per cent tariff on boxed beef which works out to about 30 cents a pound Ontario has a tremendous potential to produce food year after year long after re newable resources are depicted Mr said But to make Its point to government the federation is going to have to put its in economic terms such as the number of jobs lost or gained and the effect on the balance of payments he said Agriculture hall of fame Agriculture and Food Mm ister Bill Newman has an that a meeting was held recently to discuss the possibility of establishing an Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Fifty invited delegates representing agricultural organizations in the province attended the meeting and gave a very favorable re action to the concept The proposed location for the Ontario Hall of Fame Is the Ontario Agricultural Museum near Milton In making the announce ment Mr Newman said The objective of the Agricul tural Hall of Frame will be to give formal recognition to the many men and women who have by example and deed paved the way for the extra ordinary developments that have been made In tlon In production in marketing in education and all other phases of our Indus try Directors scholarship winners listed By Henry J Stanley United Church basement was filled with members of the Federation of Agriculture for their annual banquet and meeting on Thursday Dec l Chairman Bob Merry told of the many accomplishments of the Federation during the year especially in the area of land use planning opposition to garbage dumps and hydro In prime agricultural areas providing scholarships and representing the voice of agriculture in whenever and wherever possible Recipients of Federation Scholarships were Doug of Georgetown a student in the Diploma Course at the University of Guelph and Carolyn Bird of Georgetown first year student in the Degree Course of the University of Directors elected for 1078 are Keith Anderson Harold Norman Bird Tom Foster Murray Harris Claude Inglls Richard Harold Lawrence Art Colin Marshall Bob Merry Harold Middle- brook Bruce McClurc Fred Nurse Harold Patterson Jim Ed Richard Sovereign Gerhard and Joe Wind oiler The director from to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Is Gerhard Treviranus Georgetown He replaces Tom Foster Campbellvillc who served as Director for the past several years Form marketing board corn producers advised Peter president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture told farmers the provincial group is calling on com producers to organize a corn marketing board Speaking at the Federation of Agriculture banquet Mr said com producers were the last in the farm produce industry without an organization to speak for them Corn Is a a year Industry be said More corn is produced than can be used in Ontario and even more can be produced creating a need for sales to other provinces and countries But Mr Hannam was quick to point out the pro posed organization would not buy or sell corn nor would It have control on the amount produced He said It would be strictly a negotiating body A principal function of such a negotiating board would be to act as spokesman for corn growers Other functions the board might undertake are to negotiate and administer advance payments negotiate stabilization plans for corn negotiate corn handling and drying charges act as watch dog of payments for premium grades of corn supply marketing and trade infor mation and promote export opportunities Mr Hannam told the group If the proposal Is to move any further corn producers will have to petition for it Canadians spend less If every fanner In Canada over the past to years had taken no profits consumers would have saved only 20 cents a day less than a cup of coffee according to Peter president of the Ontario Federation of Agricul ture off there commented Mr GIGANTIC TOY SALE SATURDAY DECEMBER 10 ONLY UP TO 33 HAS BEEN TAKEN OFF REGULAR PRICES We can produce the food and we can do It cheaply Speaking at the annual ban quet of the Halton Federation of Agriculture Mr Hannam said Canadians today spend less on food than people of other countries and less than they did In past years LIMITED QUANTITIES SHOP EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT ONTARIO STREET SOUTH MILTON Open Monday thru Saturday pm