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Agriculture

Why Are Governments Attacking Farmers?

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6 minute read

To approach the massive protests in Germany, especially for those who’ve heard very little about this massive upheaval, it might help to set up the context.

2024 is already proving to be a year of disruption and protest.  64 countries representing half of all people on the planet will be voting in national elections.  Major elections will take place not just in the United States, but in the European Union, Russia, and in the world’s most populous democracy India.

Those conversations you’ve been having with only your most trusted cohorts, where you wonder how former friends and people you admire have become ideological combatants; are taking place all around the globe. We find ourselves identifying more and more people as either “far left” or “far right”. Even though we haven’t changed the way we think, we find we’ve also been identified by others as slipping into one of these “far” groups. Our sense of community and family are suffering and may not survive.

Why is this happening?

It comes down to where we choose to get information.

If you haven’t moved away from the legacy media yet, you’re far more likely to be disturbed by the growing numbers on the “far right”.  You simply can’t understand how so many people you know have fallen victim to conspiracy theories and populist leaders who are trying to take the reigns of power.

If you have moved on to learn about the world through long form podcasts and some of the many new information platforms that have emerged, you’ll most likely be swayed by reams of information ignored by legacy media.

For tens of millions this started with the pandemic. A few months into 2020, podcasters and information sites began to notice that the average age of those dying from covid was older than normal life expectancy, that 86% of those who died were obese, that doctors around the world were successfully treating covid with cheap, repurposed drugs, and that masking, social distancing, lockdowns, and eventually covid vaccines made almost no impact on the spread of covid.

People in this camp tried to persuade those close to them that covid wasn’t as dangerous as they were lead to believe. Many conversations became emotional and annoying. One one side, raised voices of those desperate to share information.  On the other side, perfectly intelligent people, informed by legacy media who had heard none of these things. Often they were told the opposite.  A great example is how legacy media labelled one of the safest, cheapest and most effective drugs in world history (the developers won the Nobel Prize for inventing ivermectin) as ‘horse de-wormer’.

New media and long form podcasters have found the situation surrounding covid is the same for most other urgent situations.  The inflation an energy crisis, the Russian attack of Ukraine, global warming (or climate change) and open border policies have only widened the information gap.

One side sees little reason to slow the movement of millions, or to slow the printing of money by governments unconcerned about sinking much, much further into debt. For this group the most important battles in the world are the fight to reduce carbon emissions and the war against Russia.

The other side sees a self inflicted inflation and energy crisis, a refusal to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and a massive influx of immigrants beginning to cause societal upheaval.

As elections creep closer, the information gap is growing and the stakes are getting higher.

What does all this disruption and disunity have to do with massive demonstrations by German farmers?  If you are a legacy media follower there is no connection.  Legacy media outlets explain away this nation wide protest as farmers fighting against diesel fuel subsidies. By now, you should at least want to know what the podcasters and new media are reporting.  Jordan Peterson is in that camp.

Last week, the world famous Canadian podcaster spoke with German farmer Anthony Lee and journalist Eva Vlaardingerbroek.

Eva Vlaardingerbroek is a Dutch journalist and Anthony Lee has become outspoken in recent months as he followed news of farmers struggling all across Europe.  In the following videos (especially the longer one) the cause of these massive and spreading demonstrations will be explained by Eva, a new information reporter, and Anthony, a German farmer.

First a shorter video and for those with some more time their entire 100 minute long conversation.

From the YouTube channel of Jordan Peterson

A longer discussion on the ongoing farmers’ protest, the war on efficient agriculture, and net-zero goals creating excess electric vehicles while cutting off the generation of power.

This episode was recorded on January 15th, 2023

Dr. Peterson’s extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire+: https://bit.ly/3KrWbS8

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Agriculture

Ottawa may soon pass ‘supply management’ law to effectively maintain inflated dairy prices

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From the Fraser Institute

By Jerome Gessaroli

Many Canadians today face an unsettling reality. While Canada has long been known as a land of plenty, rising living costs and food insecurity are becoming increasingly common concerns. And a piece of federal legislation—which may soon become law—threatens to make the situation even worse.

According to Statistics Canada, rising prices are now “greatly affecting” nearly half of Canadians who are subsequently struggling to cover basic living costs. Even more alarming, 53 per cent are worried about feeding their families. For policymakers, few national priorities are more pressing than the ability of Canadians to feed themselves.

Between 2020 and 2023, food prices surged by 24 per cent, outpacing the overall inflation rate of 15 per cent. Over the past year, more than one million people visited Ontario food banks—a 25 per cent increase from the previous year.

Amid this crisis, a recent academic report highlighted an unforgivable waste. Since 2012, Canada’s dairy system has discarded 6.8 billion litres of milk—worth about $15 billion. This is not just mismanagement, it’s a policy failure. And inexcusably, the federal government knows how to address rising prices on key food staples but instead turns a blind eye.

Canada’s dairy sector operates under a “supply management” system that controls production through quotas and restricts imports via tariffs. Marketing boards work within this system to manage distribution and set the prices farmers receive. Together, these mechanisms effectively limit competition from both domestic and foreign producers.

This rigid regulated system suppresses competition and efficiency—both are essential for lower prices. Hardest hit are low-income Canadians as they spend a greater share of their income on essentials such as groceries. One estimate ranks Canada as having the sixth-highest milk prices worldwide.

The price gap between the United States and Canada for one litre of milk is around C$1.57. A simple calculation shows that if we could reduce the price gap by half, to $0.79, Canadians would save nearly $1.9 billion annually. And eliminating the price gap would save a family of four $360 a year. There would be further savings if the government also liberalized markets for other dairy products such as cheese, butter and yogurt. These lower costs would make a real difference for millions of Canadians.

Which brings us back to the legislation pending on Parliament Hill. Instead of addressing the high food costs, Ottawa is moving in the opposite direction. Bill C-282, sponsored by the Bloc Quebecois, has passed the House of Commons and is now before the Senate. If enacted, it would stop Canadian trade negotiators from letting other countries sell more supply-managed products in Canada as part of any future trade deal, effectively increasing protection for Canadian industries and creating another legal barrier to reform. While the governing Liberals hold ultimate responsibility for this bill, all parties to some degree support it.

Supply management is already causing trade friction. The U.S. and New Zealand have filed disputes (under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) accusing Canada of failing to meet its commitments on dairy products. If Canada is found in violation, it could face tariffs or other trade restrictions in unrelated sectors. Dairy was also a sticking point in negotiations with the United Kingdom, leading the British to suspend talks on a free trade deal. The costs of defending supply management could ripple farther than agriculture, hurting other Canadian businesses and driving up consumer costs.

Dairy farmers, of course, have invested heavily in the system, and change could be financially painful. Industry groups including the Dairy Farmers of Canada carry significant political influence, especially in Ontario and Quebec, making it politically costly for any party to propose reforms. The concerns of farmers are valid and must be addressed—but they should not stand in the way of opening up these heavily regulated agricultural sectors. With reasonable financial assistance, a gradual transition could ease the burden. After all, New Zealand, with just 5 million people, managed to deregulate its dairy sector and now exports 95 per cent of its milk to 130 countries. There’s no reason Canada could not do something similar.

Bill C-282 is a flawed piece of legislation. Supply management already hurts the most vulnerable Canadians and is the root cause of two trade disputes that threaten harm to other Canadian industries. If passed, this law will further tie the government’s hands in negotiating future free trade agreements. So, who benefits from it? Certainly not Canadians struggling with food insecurity. The government’s refusal to modernize an outdated inefficient system forces Canadians to pay more for basic food staples. If we continue down this path, the economic damage could spread to other sectors, leaving Canadians to bear an ever-increasing financial burden.

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Agriculture

2024 harvest wrap-up: Minister Sigurdson

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As the 2024 growing season comes to a close, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson issued the following statement:

“While many Albertans were enjoying beautiful fall days with above-average temperatures, farmers were working around the clock to get crops off their fields before the weather turned. I commend their continued dedication to growing quality crops, putting food on tables across the province and around the world.

“Favourable weather conditions in August and early September allowed for a rapid start to harvest, leading to quick and efficient completion.

“The final yield estimates show that while the South, North West and Peace regions were slightly above average, the yields in the Central and North East regions were below average.

“Crop quality for oats and dry peas is currently exceeding the five-year average, with a higher rate of these crops grading in the top two grade categories. In contrast, spring wheat, durum, barley and canola are all grading in the top two grades at rates lower than the five-year average.

“Crop grading is a process that determines the quality of a grain crop based on visual inspection and instrument analysis. Factors like frost damage, colour, moisture content and sprouting all impact grade and affect how the grain will perform during processing or how the end product will turn out. Alberta generally produces high-quality crops.

“Farmers faced many challenges over the last few years and, for some areas of the province, 2024 was a difficult growing season. But Alberta producers are innovative and resilient. They work constantly to meet challenges head-on and drive sustainable growth in our agricultural sector.

“Alberta farmers help feed the world, and I’m proud of the reputation for safe, high-quality agricultural products that this industry has built for itself. Thank you to our producers, and congratulations on another successful harvest!”

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