Farmers will see little of rise in food bill

ONTARIO WILL HAVE AN election in 2018, and you’ll hear many campaign promises about saving taxpayers money, and how governments are going to help citizens deal with the rising cost of getting by.

At some point, the focus will fall on the price of food, as it always does.

Unfortunately, the ensuing discussions will be accompanied by very little perspective, such as how little of our disposable income is spent on food, and how a mere pittance of our food dollar finds its way to the people who produce the food.

At some level, farmers will be implicated, made to look like they are moneyhungry villains. And that’s just not true.

They are indeed business people. But if all they wanted was money, they’d choose another line of work.

For example, look at where farmers stand in light of the annual food price forecast by the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University.

This forecast predicts food prices will rise 1 to 3 per cent in 2018.

At the cash register, that’s a little less than $350 a year, on an annual food bill that will grow to almost

$12,000.

And there’s no question $12,000 is a lot of money, especially to people who are scraping by. But let’s put it in perspective. According to the forecast, about $200 of the anticipated $350 increase can be attributed to consumers eating out more, and opting for prepared food. That’s where they’re putting their food dollars.

Farmers will get a small bit of that $200. But mostly, it will stay with restaurants and other outlets that prepare food. Meals out have to be prepared and served by someone. That costs money, particularly in a province where minimum wage is on the rise.

So if the remainder of the rise in food prices (about $150, based on the food price forecast) must be shared among the entire food chain, that doesn’t leave much to go around.

Politicians need to take note of this reality when they make policies and create standards that affect rural Ontario … because they also affect farmers.

Now, I’d be among the first to say we need impeccable and irreproachable standards – not only for our own sake, but to maintain and grow export markets, a provincial imperative. It’s become clear that well-oiled export-seeking bureaucracies are using our environmental standards as a point of distinction compared to our competitors, and rightly so. The clean, green, pristine image abroad of Ontario and Canada could hardly be a better selling point.

But a prosperous economy depends on an equally prosperous agri-food sector. Research is showing us producers are under tremendous pressure in the face of a more demanding public, and that it’s a major factor in mental illness problems on the farm. It’s a real issue, and producers need help to meet the growing demands being put on them.

From everything I’ve read, part of the pressure is coming from the public’s lack of understanding of agriculture. Many producers feel vilified. Current efforts to connect agriculture with urban Canada are inadequate, relegated to too few people with huge mandates and miniscule budgets. And there’s no prediction anywhere that 2018 will see a meaningful bump in the commitment to connect rural and urban Ontario.

And finally, the food price forecast says consumers are likely to take a harder look at animal welfare in 2018, prompted in part by global efforts to reduce antibiotic use throughout society.

This certainly adds to the overall uncertainty consumers feel about what goes on behind the farm gate – and what they can be led to believe is the truth.