Farmscape for April 20, 2006  (Episode 2116)

The Animal Industry Corn Users is calling on the Canadian government to provide the necessary support to ensure the survival of agriculture until long term solutions to the problems facing the industry can be found.

Earlier this week the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ended the collection of provisional countervail and antidumping duties on imported US grain corn after determining the imports do not threaten the Canadian corn industry.

The Animal Industry Corn Users, a coalition of the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Pork Council, suggests, while the problems that prompted Canadian corn growers to initiate their challenge still exist, they need to be addressed globally.

Animal Nutrition Association General Manager Kathleen Sullivan notes, while duties may seem to make sense in the short run, ultimately they only hurt all of agriculture.

Clip-Kathleen Sullivan-Animal Nutrition Association of Canada

We don't just compete in Canada.

A lot of our customers, like the pork and the cattle producers, compete in world markets and that means that we need a level playing field in Canada compared to our competitors down in the states and in other countries.

The Canadian government really needs to take a look at what is going on in world markets, what other countries are doing to support their agricultural sectors and we need to be matching that support.

That's the bottom line.

We have to have a level playing field.

If we've got other countries that are showing more support for their commodities and their agricultural groups then we basically have to do the same.

I'm not sure there's any way around that.

In the longer term we can look at bilateral trade agreements, we can look at the WTO, we can try to get a more level playing field around the world but, until that takes place, then we really do have to stand behind our agricultural groups and ensure that they've got the support that their competitors do.

Sullivan maintains the only way for agriculture to survive in Canada is if everyone cooperates.

She suggests clearly the time has come for industry to come together with government to find solutions.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.

       *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council