We were supposed to receive 2 more deliveries of those beautiful small new crop potatoes this week. That was before Peak of the Market served my farmer with a cease and desist order. The farmer ignored the papers served to him at first. Then Peak of the Market lawyers showed up at his door with fines unless he stopped marketing his potato crop. This left him with the choice of harvesting the crop to give away to foodbanks, or to destroy the potato crop. The purported fine was for lot of money so my potato farmer destroyed some of his fields by tilling them up, and harvested the remainder of the crop, delivering it to a hutterite colony nearby.
So right you you are probably wondering what the FRICK is going on!! I'll bet that you all thought that Peak of the Market supported small Manitoba farmers, that is what is implied in their TV commercials. Here's the scoop.
Peak of the Market legally controls potato production in Manitoba. Until this year, farmers who did not grow potatoes for Peak of the Market were allowed to grow 4 acres of potatoes to sell on their own. This year Peak of the Market changed the rules as of July 15th. Now farmers are not allowed to grow potatoes to sell unless they have a Peak of the Market quota and sell only to Peak of the Market. This includes small gardeners who wish to sell at farmers markets, as well as farmers who wish to sell to independent grocery stores like mine. It is now illegal to grow and sell your own potatoes in Manitoba. Peak of the Market has the legal authority to fine farmers who break these rules, and the fines are high.
Because I still want to purchase potatoes from local small independant farmers, I will no longer be posting where our potatoes come from, and I will be telling neither my staff nor my customers the names of the farmers who produce them. This is to protect these growers from Peak of the Market legal action.
Here's the kicker. It is legal for these local farmers to import potatoes from BC, Alberta, Ontario, or the US for resale. But they can't legally grow their own potato crops to sell.
This action by Peak of the Market to protect their monopoly outrages me. But every action of theirs has been legal!
You should be mad too.
WRITE TO YOUR MLA, click the link below to find your MLA's contact details
http://www.manitoba.ca/legislature/members/alphabetical.html
Farmers are scared to go to the Media, we have to do it for them. Write letters to the editor.
Contact Peak of the Market to voice your outrage.
email them at Peak@PeakMarket.com
Ken Krochenski Vice President of Operations, 632-7325 extention 222 kenk@peakmarket.com
Larry Mc Intosh President and CEO 632-7325 extension 223 larry@peakmarket.com
If you are in doubt that Peak of the Market has the power to do these things, just follow this links outlining the regulations.
http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/pdf/f047-117.09.pdf
http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/potatoes/bda04s03.html
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This is insanity!!
ReplyDeleteI am speachless.
-Leiah
Sounds like a fabrication to me.
ReplyDeleteDo you have anything other than hearsay as proof?
Sputnikid...
ReplyDeleteI have in my hands a letter from Peak of the market directed to my farmer. It begins with....
We have reason to believe that you have been marketing potatoes other than to or through our board.
If these marketings are occuring in Manitoba, they are contrary to the Orders and Regulations passed under the Manitoba Vegetable Producers Marketing Plan Regulation.
The letter then goes on to request a vendor report from the farmer listing who he all sold potatoes to since July 1 2007. I will be posting the letter at my store.
Erin Crampton
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI will be covering this story on my radio program tomorrow at 4.30 on 92.9 Kick-FM.
ReplyDeleteI welcome emails from farmers about this situation.
I will also be inviting the Agriculture Minister to appear and explain why the government changed the legislation to allow this.
Please email me at talk@kick.fm
Marty Gold
CTV reports here; any chance of getting the video?
ReplyDeleteDISCLAIMER: A former comment that I wrote contained INNACURATE information. I did not talk to ANY potato farmers, and any quotes I used were ABSOLUTELY fictionalized and untrue. Please, no one refer to my previous comments, and PLEASE do not use the names of the people I posted to this blog.
ReplyDeleteI am completely to blame for this mishap, and no one else. ONCE AGAIN, the information I posted in a now deleted post, was FICTIONALIZED. Please do not use any the information on any kind of news media.
-Aaron Zeghers
Sounds to me like you are being intimidated.
ReplyDelete