The Milk Producer - July 2010 - (Page 54)

operative Ltd. in Kippen, Ont., a telephone and Internet service provider. “We were very fortunate to work under the capable leadership of George McLaughlin, the first OMMB chairman. He was well respected in the industry,” says Stu. “There were so many influential people back then who worked hard to get things done. They were frustrating times, but there were also a lot of successes.” Reflecting on the past Stu credits his wife of 41 years, Ruth Ann, a registered nurse, for maintaining a stable home life, while he mainly took care of the farm. They have two children, Julie, 34 and Dustin, 29. Julie, who has a PhD in rehabilitation sciences, and her husband, Jon, have two children, three-year-old Alex and one-month-old Ayla. They live in London, Ont. Dustin, who lives in Kitchener and has a bachelor of commerce degree, works for Pro Seeds as a district sales manager. After milking cows for more than 40 years, Stu retired in October 2006. “My son decided he did not want to continue farming,” he says, wiping a tear from his eye. “Farm succession is very difficult, but I respect his decision.” Still having a passion for cattle, Stu purchased a small herd of purebred Black Angus cows. He built a new 80-foot by 120-foot We-Cover steelframed structure with canvas roof and side curtains. He raises them mainly for breeding stock and the surplus is sold for custom orders. When the new barn was constructed in 2007, Stu tore down the old dairy barn with the help of his 1974 D8 Caterpillar bulldozer. He used many of the barn’s timbers and planks at his Chesley Lake cottage. “Sometimes, it’s good to hang on to a bit of history,” he says as he picks up one of the old wood planks from a pile lying in a heap in his barn. “It makes you appreciate where you’ve come from.” Taking a momentary pause to reflect on the past, Stu wonders what would have become of the industry without supply management and orderly marketing. “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to move the industry forward,” he says. “It was a difficult task, chairing the OMMB back then. They (the OMMB board) had to make some hard decisions like closing down several cheese plants. But it was necessary if we were to get things moving.” Deregulation does not necessarily translate into lower prices for consumers, and often leads to decreased farm profitability and poor rural communities, says Stu. “Supply management gave us stability and guaranteed a steady income and, as a result, many of us were able to invest with security,” says Stu. He believes more could be done to promote supply management’s benefits. “It (supply management) should be sold better to the world stage.” He also believes government should not dictate how the system should work. Rather, provincial boards should be left to run their own show, he says. “Supply management is a great system and it will continue to work if managed properly.” A different viewpoint When the Ontario Milk Marketing Board was formed processors and distributors took action I t was the dawn of a new era and Ontario’s dairy processors were not about to take a back seat. Action was needed, and fast. When five leading processor and distributor organizations amalgamated to become the Ontario Dairy Council (ODC) in 1971, it was formed for no other reason than to “counter-balance” the creation of the Ontario Milk Marketing Board (OMMB), says ODC president Tom Kane. Tensions were high. Producer and processor relations were strained, at best, says Tom. Although he started at the ODC in 1979 and became president a year later, Tom has been in the industry long enough to know, and to have heard, about the industry’s tumultuous years. “Everyone was doing their own thing (before orderly marketing). The industry was very fragmented, but then the OMMB came on board and processors felt they needed an organization to put up a strong front and The five processor and distributor organizations that amalgamated were: • The Ontario Association of Ice Cream Manufacturers,1917; • The Ontario Milk Distributors Association, 1929; • The Ontario Concentrated Milk Manufacturers Association, 1955; • The Ontario Cheese Manufacturers Association, 1955; • The Ontario Dairy Processors Council, 1955. tackle the newly formed entity,” he says. Essentially, the council let Ontario dairy processors add a strong, informed voice to the industry, says Tom. “At the time the ODC was created, the OMMB was still relatively new. While it was still undergoing a lot of debates and discussions about how it should be run, the ODC was trying to figure out what role it wanted to play in the new environment,” he says. The processing industry did not welcome the changes. Processors were concerned the OMMB was given too much power. “Processors were very reluctant and thought the scales were tipping too much in the producer’s favour. It was a new environment, and like most people, they didn’t like change,” says Tom. 54 | July 2010 | MilkPRODUCER

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