I recently attended a conference for beef farmers, in Grey County. A lovely little spot called Elmwood that’s north of Hanover. Elmwood boasts very nice community centre and served up some fabulous horseradish with lunch. The conference was what had expected, extolling beef farmers to farm more efficiently, to obey all the rules and regulations that are regulating farmers to bankruptcy and to find a spot in the “local” food market.

The most refreshing part of the day was the gentleman from Quebec who stated that he didn’t know why beef farmers in Ontario continue to farm with no support from our Provincial Government.

The attitude towards farmers in Quebec, and a number of other provinces, is diametrically different to that of Ontario. In these provinces farmers are treated with respect and are considered a valuable, no, an integral part of the province’s populace. In Ontario, farmers are considered welfare bums with their hands out, again.

And not just by this government, by so many previous governments. It’s simply not possible to recall when farmers were valued in this province.

But, here’s the irony of the situation. These days it seems the most popular person to be in the food system is the “local farmer”.

Local food is trendy, the provincial government spent a lot of money on their “Buy Ontario” campaign. However, the farmer is not the only person in the “local” food chain from the farm to your fork. Most products aren’t made to eat directly out of the field. Even vegetables and apples, items that we typically eat raw and straight from the farm, must be washed and sorted before your local farmer will sell them. We also need to have local butchers, bakers, local grocers and most importantly, a community that supports them in all their efforts.

Our society, and communities, need to see farming as a dignified and profitable profession again, a profession that can support it’s members. This will result in a demand for good farmers and respect for the profession, not seeing it as a hobby that some people with “real” full-time jobs, dabble in. There should be more government programs to encourage new farmers to get started, especially with the incredible cash outlay that’s required. We need training, and more and diverse, educational opportunities. But we also need similar opportunities for small-scale butchers, bakers and other types of processors that would use and rely on locally produced products.

Grocery stores are more than just food retailers, they are the place where you meet friends and catch up. Local ownership of a grocery store is absolutely necessary. A locally owned grocery store is more likely to purchase from a local farmer than an impersonal, profit driven, corporate store. This in turn requires that we teach our young people entrepreneurship in addition to community pride and loyalty, so that we can have more local grocers and food producers.

Rural development receives little attention and even less funding. For local food to expand, Provincial and Federal governments need to give respect and resources to rural communities and their residents.

We need an involved community of customers who believe in what the local farmer, and other members of the local food chain, are doing. These customers need to support the local food chain producers. Growing local food is viable goal, but it only comes from a caring, personal community and if it then offers genuine opportunities for other careers in the local food chain, everyone wins.

H. Foster Orangeville