Without a clear definition of farmer and a clear target for farm policies, support programs will continue to be aimed at a fictitious average rather than farmers trying to make a living from the land
by BARRY WILSON
In 1988, Federal Court judge Barry Strayer ruled that Simmental cattle producer Peter Connell of Oxford Station, ON, was not really a full time farmer.
It meant that he could not write off all farm losses from his cattle operation near Ottawa against his off-farm income. And it was a court decision that led the finance department to change the rule about who was a real farmer eligible to write off losses.