Rachel Lagacé from CTV news came over to interview me today. After our interview was done she continued her sleuthing, chatting with the province and Larry M. from Peak of the Market regarding this issue. Once the sleuthing was done, she let my farmer know what she had found out, who then passed on the info to me...
According to 'the province' (I don't know which governmental agency she is referring to here) Peak of the Market never allowed a 4 acre maximum for farmers to market their own potatoes. The 4 acres referred to in the Peak documents simply was there to classify those growers as 'small growers'. But they should still have, by law, been marketing their potatoes through Peak. This 'change' in their document taking away the 4 acres was in fact not a change at all, just a clarification of the law.
Also according to Peak, my farmer could just become a licenced producer to legally sell his potatoes. I will have to look much more into this, but it is my understanding that to become a licenced producer you have to purchase quota from Peak. Quota is not readily available, and the category of immature potatoes does not exist. Peak of the Market also charges farmers a 'marketing fee' on all product sold through them.
What do I personally think about this???
1. I think that the Peak document was purposely written in a convoluted manner. If the agency who enforces the regulations of a document also gets to write those regulations, it is to their advantage to include a lot of grey areas, giving them more power.
2. As far as I am aware, Peak of the Market does not handle new crop 'immature' local potatoes. I have been informed by a few farmers that Peak does not sell quota in this category. These are the potatoes that I would like to buy. Peak does not sell them, but Manitoba farmers are prevented from legally growing and selling them to me.
3. If Peak of the Market began to handle new crop 'immature' local potatoes, I would still prefer to buy them directly from a grower who I know picked them 2 hours prior to their delivery. I believe that I should have this market choice. I believe that my customers should have this choice.
4. I don't like that farmers are scared of Peak of the Market. I have heard many stories from farmers about wasted product, threats of lawsuits, and general tomfoolery in regards to Peak, yet none are willing to speak to the media for fear of retribution.
Do your own research and make up your own mind about this issue. But if you feel as I do, that local potato farmers should not be forced to market their crops through Peak, please write to your MLA AND to our Agricultural Minister Roseann Wowchuck
Her email address is minagr@leg.gov.mb.ca
Phone number 945-3722
http://www.gov.mb.ca/minister/minagr.html
And when next summer our local new crop potatoes are not up to their usual standards....you won't have to ask me why.
Posts
Has the Manitoba provincial government actually given Peak the power to dictate who has the right to grow and sell spuds? Or did the Government enact this legislation? Either way, there's something seriously wrong with a "system" that resembles Stalin's Russia. What concerns me most, though, is that a majority of the population is relatively indifferent to the issue.
ReplyDeleteI will not (knowingly) make a Peak purchase of any product marketed by these "Agents of the Law".
A Luckless Pedrestrian.
Further to what I have already stated re: not purchasing anything that has Peak's name on it. I encourage like minded citizens to do the same. Make contacts at any of the Farmers Markets for your vegetables. They are still selling spuds - much to Peak's chagrin.
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? Corn? Onions? Garlic?