Feel free to copy and paste the below form letters. They are intended for those who share our sentiments as to the recent Peak of the Market controversy, but who have writers block. Feel free to add your own sentiments, change the letters to better suit your views, or just copy and paste them into your own email system to send off to the intended recipients.
We recommend sending 3 letters. One to the Minister of Agriculture Rosann Wowchuck whose office may be a able to apply pressure to change the current legislation. One to your MLA for the same purpose. One to Peak of the market to express your concern in this issue.
If you are feeling particularly activist, we also recommend that you send letters to both the Conservative party of Manitoba, as well as the new NDP candidates running for election.
Hugh McFadyen hugh.mcfadyen@leg.gov.mb.ca
pcmanitoba@pcmanitoba.com
NDP Candidates to contact
Steve Ashton steve.ashton@leg.gov.mb.ca
Gregory Sellinger greg.selinger@leg.gov.mb.ca
Andrew Swan andrew.swan@leg.gov.mb.ca
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Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your Blog to the Farmers wives at the Carman Curves. Many are, or have been Potato Farmers and have asked for copies of your Blog for their Husbands to read. Jaws are dropping when they hear what is happening...
I have also dropped off a copy to the local paper for the R.M. Dufferin.
Its not 'just a Potato' its a Monopoly that can raise costs as much as Mr. POTM says on C.T.V., "Its about keeping costs down"
Do you think people are really that stupid?
Just ask MTS who now have to drop their price by 40% to stay with the new competition!
Deb Vandekerkhove
Erin,
ReplyDeletePeople were asking me about the article in the paper at the Main Street Farmers' Market on Friday. I was also talking to folks at the Harvest Moon Festival about it this past weekend. Is it only potatoes? or is it all root crops...beets, parsnips, carrots, etc? One person thought Peak had the monopoly on all root veggies.
Also, does Peak interfere with Simplot and McCain? I thought that these multi-national companies had contracts directly with their potato growers. I didn't think Peak was a middle entity there.
ANSWER
Peak of the Market doesn’t control potatoes grown under contract for processors (registered processors like mc.cain), or for seed. However if a grower is growing potatoes for seed, he is not allowed to sell his potatoes that are too large for seed as table potatoes, because that market is controlled by Peak. Lots of seed potato growers have gotten into legal fights with Peak over this, and millions of pounds of potatoes have gone to waste because of it.
Peak technically controls storable root crops including carrots and storable onions. Things like beets and rutabaga I’m a little fuzzy on as they are storable root crops but peak doesn’t really mention them.