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Beef asisstance and OFA report by Ross Stevenson M.P,Durham York This has been a difficult year for Ontario's farmers caught in. the cost-price squeeze brought about by record high interest rates and inflation. Some sectors -of the farm community have had their financial difficulties com- pounded, by low commodity prices. The beef industry has . perhaps been the hardest hit as the costs of production exceed the returns. Ontario's beef industry has certainly required assis- tance and during the summer the Ontario Govern- ment introduced emergency payments programs to assist the stocker and slaughter sectors. A total of $37 million was allocated for these pro- grams and to date, $28 million has been paid out. Recently, the Minister of Agriculture announced "further assistance to the beef industry- in the form of emergency payments to the province's cow-calf operators. These producers are a fundamental part of our beef industry since they supply calves to the feedlot operators. Half the calves raised to market weight in Ontario come from this source. The other fifty per cent of calves raised to market weight in this province come from the West. But since governments out there are beginning to encourage their producers to finish more calves in their home pro- vince, our own cow-calf producers may well have an even largér role to play in Ontario's beef industry. To help retain our breeding herd, therefore, the Ontario Government will pay cow-calf operators $40 per: cow provided these animals were on hand as of August 1, 1981 and provided they were bred in Ontario to produce a calf in 1981. Operators must have a minimum of five cows and be Ontario: residents to be eligible for this assistance. The deadline for applications is February 28, 1982. . It is estimated that half a miilion cows will be eligible under this program which is expected to cost $20 million. Combined with' the $37 million already committed to the slaughter and stocker sectors, Ontario has pro- vided close to $60 million this year to help our province's beef industry. While low commodity prices are a continuing con- cern for many farmers, farm credit and financing. diffi- culties have created the greatest stress this year. In response to the emergency situation which has de- veloped, the Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture set up a task force to look into the problem and bring forward proposals for our Govern- ment's consideration. A very comprehensive analysis was subsequently submitted by the task force in November and since several solutions were put forward, the Premier set up a four-man farm action committee to study the report and bring forward recommendations. Shortly before Christmas the action committee re- ported back and as a result, the Government will be introducing a $60 million program to help farmers with farm credit and financing. The action committee has suggested that the program provide three different forms of assistance and at the time of this writing, the Minister of Agriculture is giving these options very careful consideration before announcing details of our Government's plan. The recommended options 'include a'six-month bridging program, whereby the banks would defer interest for six months without any compounding. The Govern- ment would guarantee the resulting interest debt and at the end of six months, the farmer would repay it with the bank absorbing the loss in compound interest. Under the second option the Ontario Government would provide a grant that would reduce the interest on floating bank rate loans by five percentage points to a minimum of 12 per cent for a period of one year. 15 pieces of - Golden Chicken 50 "FRIDAYS SATURDAYS 'SUNDAYS (JANUARY & FEBRUARY ONLY) ET-PORT PERRY LS » 2 A CS 1 A CAE Ire Sr 1 Lat REA A A NY Er BETA SB LAs oh BAN YER ET RR A ide! Eb FOL Xd oad £4 NM AT hy a SF AR STAMESE EY AA Ph AOA AY Lh Nina LIT] doh at ALY VR RAP : Zi With the third option, a provincial guarantee of a line of operating credit would be available to a farmer who needed new credit to put in his crop, buy livestock, or cover some other operating expense. The bank would issue the line of credit at the prime rate with the Government guaran- teeing the whole amount. PORT PERRY STAR -- Wed. Janvary 6, 1982 -- 23 Those applying for the different types of assistance, would be screened by a local committee made up of a bank manager, an accoun- tant experienced in farm financing and an official of the Ontario Ministry of Agri- culture. Our Government is optim- istic the farm credit and financing assistance it is going to provide will help ease the interest rate squeeze on Ontario Farmers and. diminish the threat of bankruptcies and fore- closures. i Canada Postes Post Canada T New Postal ~ Rates started Jan. 1st, 1982. Here are some of the new postal rates that have been in effect since January 1st, 1982, for delivery of Canadian and International mail. Complete details on the new rates, including rates applicable to business mailers, are available at Post Offices. Mail for delivery within Canada First Class Letters 030g .30¢ 30-50 g .45¢ Special Delivery 1st Class Postage Plus $1.00 Certified Mail 1st, 3rd or 4th Class Postage Plus ~~ $1.00 Registered Mail 1st Class Postage Plus $1.85 Greeting Cards 050g .30¢ Third Class Items 050g .30¢ Parcels: e.g. 2kg (4.4 Ibs) Toronto to Winnipeg 1st Class $4.00 4th Class $1.75 Montreal to Quebec City 1st Class $2.45 4th Class $1.30 Telepost: 50 words $3.45 Mail for delivery to the U.S.A. Air Mail Letters and - Post Cards 0-30g .35¢ 30-509 .50¢ Greeting Cards 050g .30¢ Mail for delivery overseas Air Mail Letters and Post Cards 0-209 .60¢ 20-509 .93¢ Aerogrammes .60¢ Greeting Cards 0-209 .30¢ Until new 30¢ stamps become available, Canada Post is issuing a special stamp called the "A stamp. Canadd The "A" stamp shows no denomination, but it has a value of 30¢. It must only be used on mail posted and delivered within Canada. It must not be used on mail leaving Canada. : Correct postage can, of course, be made up by using combinations of existing stamps. «er .,.-F