The Milk Producer - July 2010 - (Page 50)

Story and Photo By Carlie Oreskovich Board messenger Long nights, countless phone calls and unruly meetings mark OMMB’s early days nyone who knew Gary Marshall when he was a field representative for the Ontario Milk Marketing Board (OMMB) might not recognize him today. When he retired 13 years ago, after working in field services for 29 years, he marked it by growing a beard, and he has not shaved it off since. There was a time, though, when he might have welcomed wearing a disguise. That was when the OMMB, forerunner to Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), was being established and he had just started out as a fieldman in Oxford County. “They used to have pretty wild meetings,” he says. “There was a lot of yelling, frustration and name calling, but this area was pretty peaceful. No fist fights like some other areas.” Early in his career, his job was to “explain the basic rules and regulations as they pertained to (the producer) and how he (the producer) could use them to his best advantage.” It was up to fieldmen like Gary to explain the new rules for quotas and specific board policies, noting everyone felt vulnerable. What it meant for him personally was spending a lot of late nights on the road. “There were some nights I was wondering what the heck I was doing. Getting home at one or two in the morning with the windshield wipers freezing over and then having to get out at seven a.m. the next day.” Faced with confusing regulations and uncertainty, some producers were outright hostile and the OMMB’s director of production at 50 | July 2010 | MilkPRODUCER A As a fieldman, Gary Marshall helped producers understand the system. times needed a police guard after threats had been made against him, Gary recalls. “I told them I’m just a messenger. I’m working for you.” That led some producers to suggest he’s “only got a lunch bucket invested in the job.” Such remarks bothered Gary because he always felt he was a part of the industry, working for dairy farmers. He knew about the industry personally and stood behind the system. Before he applied for the job, he thought the marketing board “would be good for the farmer and it was the way of the future to join together.” In 1971 he found himself working “really hard” as a number of changes were taking place. “And it didn’t matter if it was Saturday or Sunday, the phone was ringing and people were coming to the door when it was con-

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

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