We must remember importance of export markets
I think it would be good to remind your readers that 90 per cent of Canadian farmers operate outside of the supply management marketing system.
I know that because I was one of them. I produced grain and oilseed crops on the prairies. World markets can be fickle, but overall I did OK. We rely heavily on trade agreements with other countries to export our agricultural products and unfortunately supply management has become a major sticking point to reaching these agreements.
I don’t blame those farmers under supply management for fighting for it, as it supplies a level of certainty that the other 90 per cent of farmers can only dream of. As important as supplying our domestic market is we must also remember the importance of our agricultural exports to the health of our national economy.
Donald Morden
Cowichan Bay
