by SUSAN MANN
Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited is giving Ontario Goat $20,000 to fund the organization’s advocacy and educational work in Ontario.
Ontario Goat president Anton Slingerland says they yet haven’t decided what specific projects will get funding. But advocacy projects relate to both farmers and consumers and could, for example, include promotion of proper goat care, developing proper growth strategies in the goat industry along with promotion of goat-milk products to consumers.
Slingerland says the organization wasn’t expecting the funding from Gay Lea Foods. In the fall of 2014 the farmer-owed co-op bought Hewitt’s Dairy located in Hagersville, a main broker and a processor of goat milk in Ontario.
In a joint Ontario Goat/Gay Lea Foods/Hewitt’s Dairy press release, Gay Lea corporate secretary and director of member relations Ove Hansen says Gay Lea Foods recognizes the importance of Ontario Goat and the need for a strong producer organization advocating on behalf of all goat producers.
Slingerland says the funding was “a great and total surprise. It’s actually really nice they’re willing to stand behind the organization (Ontario Goat) as a necessary thing.”
In the May 13 release, Ontario Goat executive director Jennifer Haley says the additional funding will enable Ontario Goat to expand its advocacy and educational role within Ontario’s growing goat industry. The funding from Gay Lea will also contribute towards the stability of the organization’s foundation.
By email she says the money will “help support the priorities of the organization” and will be earmarked for current and future projects focused on producer education and industry communications.
Headquartered in Mississauga, Gay Lea Foods began as a dairy processing co-op in 1958 and is now Ontario’s largest dairy co-op with more than 1,200 members and 12 production and distribution centres across Ontario and Quebec. BF
Comments
One has to wonder how this company/co-op could ever survive under and with the corruption of supply management ?
Not easy but it does. Ethically.
Strange thing is well managed processors in Canada have higher profitability than in the US and most countries.
Some expanded internationally financed by Cdn profits. Others lost a lot of money and retreated to Canada again.
Price stability and low transaction costs really helps profits.
It's only natural that because of the growth limitations imposed by supply management's:
(1) rip off prices imposed at the farm gate
(2) inability to increase sales via exports
that dairy processors appear to enjoy higher profitability in Canada than elsewhere. However, price stability means nothing if you can't grow because of statutory limitations such as those imposed by supply management.
In addition, the above poster is conveniently ignoring most, if not all, of the componentry of the cost/volume/profit equation, particularly the point about how increased volume helps lower prices for, and increase purchases by consumers, a point always deliberately ignored by supply management supporters.
In particular, supply management supporters always ignore the obvious point that if supply management didn't charge such exorbitant prices at the farm gate as well as effectively thwart exports, processors would be able to make just as much total net income, but would be providing more product to consumers at less money because their fixed costs would be met by more units of production.
The notion that price stability and low transaction costs provide more benefit to Canadian dairy processors than the ability to use price to increase sales domestically and internationally and be able to do so at economies of scale which promote, rather than deter efficiencies is just another load of self-serving "everything for us, nothing for anyone else" codswallop from supply management supporters.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
The Canadian dairy processing sector is like a 67-year-old farmer with nobody in the next generation to take over - therefore, there's no need to expand, there's little need to be buying bigger machinery and there isn't the need to put money back into the business to make it more efficient but the objective is, instead, to maximize cash flow (dividends).
The Canadian dairy processing sector is facing exactly the same situation - thanks to supply management there is no possibility of growth in either the domestic or export market so there is no absolutely no need to continually plow money back into the business to prepare for growth, or even to improve efficiency.
Therefore, while price stability and supposedly low transaction costs are proclaimed by supply management supporters to be a good thing, they are a "kiss-of-death" for any business when they come as part of a package which includes no possibility of growth, a truth supply management supporters studiously ignore.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Neo-con economic theory must always be evangelized as though it is always correct ignoring all real world evidence and the complete lack of functioning international dairy markets, blah, blah, blah......
And here I thought denial was a river in Egypt.
LMAO
It's been an undeniable economic truth for almost 200 years that tariff-based systems, such as supply management, are net-negative for jobs and economic activity, and ALL of the real world evidence backs it up.
Only an evangelist or supply management supporter would ignore the fact that supply management pits farmers against consumers and farmers against each other.
What is it about screwing consumers and other farmers do supply management supporters refuse to accept as truth?
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Not sure what all the blubbering about supply management has to do with this story or the goat industry as there is none in the sector.....
Aren't you tired of complaining about supply management? Maybe its time to move on.....
(1) Only in Canada would the dairy industry blame the "crimes" committed by other countries in an attempt to absolve the Canadian dairy industry of the far-greater "crimes" they commit against Canadian consumers, other Canadian farmers and the far-larger export oriented sector of the Canadian economy.
(2) Only in Canada are there dairy policies which are net-negative for jobs and economic activity.
(3) Only in Canada are there dairy policies which deliberately screw consumers, particularly the poorest consumers.
(4) Only in Canada are there dairy policies which deliberately pit farmers against each other.
Instead of making bad puns about rivers in Egypt, supply management supporters need to face the truth that the words "denial" and "supply management support" are virtually interchangeable.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
I thought this was about an opportunity for dairy that is free market based! Maybe Gaylea has seen the light.
D. Lyons
Caledon
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