Farmers should farm — let someone else market

Farming is a full-time occupation which takes necessary skills. To be a full-time farmer and be successful at it, it helps if you can do your own mechanical, electrical and carpenter work, plus do your own bookkeeping and banking.

But in Newfoundland you also have to take on the marketing of your product, which means washing, grading, packaging and delivering to either wholesalers or stores.

A farmer should farm, which means growing, harvesting and storing his product. Marketing should be done by someone else. If a small farmer only has a few local outlets to sell his product, why grow more that he will not be able to sell? This is where government should come in. They should have at least three depots across this island to receive produce from farmers in bulk, and from there they should wash, grade and package this product and deliver it to where it is needed.

The farmer should be responsible for storing the produce on his/her farm and then delivering it to each depot in bulk as needed.

To keep a farmer’s delivery cost as low as possible, he/she should not have to drive more than 100 kilometres. Above and beyond that distance, he/she should be compensated a certain amount. I think a depot should be built in or around Clarenville, also around Gander or Grand Falls-windsor and one around Deer Lake or Corner Brook.

Egg farmers and dairy farmers do not have to worry about marketing their products and they are guaranteed a fair price for their products. So, why should vegetable and fruit farmers not have the same service supplied?

With a depot system, farmers would have to take a lower price for their products but would save the cost of washing and bagging and delivering, plus they can grow more because they know they will have access to markets they didn’t have before.

The consumer will have access to local produce for a longer period of time and increased food security. Plus, more of the money spent for produce will stay in Newfoundland to circulate in the economy.

It’s a win-win for all concerned.

Everett Adams Wooddale Grand Falls-windsor