The Milk Producer - July 2010 - (Page 4)

EDITOR’SNOTES By Bill Dimmick A truly special issue Insight into where we have been provides understanding of where we are going T his issue marks my 21st anniversary as editor of The Milk Producer. I took the helm of what was then the monthly publication of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board (OMMB) in June 1989, after more than 11 years at another farm publication where one of my duties was providing the dairy industry coverage. My personal introduction to supply management occurred in October 1977 as news editor of Farm and Country, a fine publication that unfortunately ceased publishing about a decade ago. Since I was to be covering dairy, my new boss, editor and publisher John Phillips, gave me a succinct explanation of how supply management worked. The industry figured out how much milk it needed to fill the market, he explained. Each farmer received a share of that market in the form of a quota. Milk produced to fill the quota earned each farmer a guaranteed return based on production costs, management and investment. It sounded fair and made complete sense to me. With my limited knowledge, I went off to interview the then OMMB chairman, the late Ken McKinnon, at his farm near Port Elgin, Ont. Over the 32-plus years since I chatted with Ken, I have considered myself a writer or an editor. Having been part of this special issue, however, I now feel like a bit of a historian, too. When writing about our industry’s ongoing developments, I’ve regularly tried to include THE MILK PRODUCER is published monthly by Dairy Farmers of Ontario 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario, L5N 2L8 EDITOR: Bill Dimmick ASSISTANT EDITOR: Sharon Laidlaw Co-ordinated by Communications and Planning Division, Bill Mitchell, Assistant Director. Change of address notices should be sent to: THE MILK PRODUCER 6780 Campobello Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 2L8. Subscription rates: $25.20 for one year, $46.20 for two years and $63.00 for three years in background information that would put issues into perspective. In a sense, that is what we have provided with this special issue. Instead of a few paragraphs summarizing some background, we have packaged a series of articles about events and the people who helped shape the development of Canada’s unique and widely envied supply management marketing system. We have provided insight into where the industry has come from to give you a better understanding of where we are going. Welcome Alberta readers With this issue, we welcome Alberta’s dairy farm families as regular readers. We are now widely read in nine provinces, and have some regular Quebec readers as well. While you’ll find our special section is Ontariocentric, similar stories could be told about the industry across Canada. David Murray is vice-chair Sports teams sometimes look ahead to the next big game instead of focusing on the one they are playing. Something like that happened to me last month. I suffered a brain cramp while working on two issues at once, and misidentified David Murray, Dairy Farmers of Ontario vice-chair. Second vicechair is Ian Harrop. My apologies to both. Opinions expressed herein are those of the author and/or editor and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or policies of Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Publication of advertisements does not constitute endorsement or approval by The Milk Producer or Dairy Farmers of Ontario of products or services advertised. The Milk Producer welcomes letters to the editor about magazine content. Phone: (905) 821-8970 Fax: (905) 821-3160 bdimmick@milk.org slaidlaw@milk.org Website: Go to publications at www.milk.org E-mail: Canada (includes GST), $36 per year in the U.S., $36 per year overseas. Single copy: $2.50. Make cheques payable to Dairy Farmers of Ontario. Canada Post Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 40063866. Return postage guaranteed. Circulation: 10,000. ISSN 0030-3038. Printed in Canada. NATIONAL MARKETING MANAGER James Fitzgerald, 154 Jean Street, RR 5, Stratford Ontario N5A 6S6 Toll-free advertisers only: 1-888-460-6212 Phone (519) 393-5292 /Fax (519) 393-5293 E-mail: milkjim47@quadro.net 4 | July 2010 | MilkPRODUCER http://www.milk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - July 2010

The Milk Producer - July 2010
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair’s Message
Diary Update
DFO
National Policy
DFC Promotion
Thrill of the Grill
Farm Finance
Foundation for Our Future
Agriculture Minister’s Message
General Manger’s Message
Overview
Then and Now:
Notable Quotes:
Grant Smith
Gordon Coukell
Peter Oosterhoff
Vera Mitchell
Bill Simpson
Lew Dunk
Albert Gauthier
Gary Marshall
Stuart Steckle
Tom Kane
Pat McManus
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New’N’Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - July 2010