Letters
To Farm & Country
An issue of great concern to grape growers, grower/processors
and the
industry in general needs urgent action.
Steve Kocsis
VQA grape gripe
Under the guise of setting up national wine standards to
facilitate entry
into the European Union market, Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA)
Ontario and
Canada (recently formed) has enacted a set of regulations that
has given
them enormous powers for supply monopoly and restrictive trade
practices.
These regulations are on the verge of being made into provincial
and
federal law to the detriment of many stakeholders in the
industry.
By trademarking Icewine and contractually demanding that
grower/processors
sell only to VQA member wineries, the VQA and member wineries
have created
a captive supply and a monopoly on the production and designation
of a
generic product that has been on the global market for hundreds
of years.
This year VQA member wineries have unilaterally canceled
contracts and
reduced the price of 38 Brix Vidal Icewine juice from $27 per
litre to
$13.50 per litre while having the stated intention of not
reducing the
price of the end product. The net result is a money grab
exceeding $4
million based on last year's 300,000 litres of Ontario
production.
A large portion of that money would have gone to growers to
finance the
maintenance and upgrading of vineyards and equipment, and
retiring
accumulated debts from a decade of financially difficult times.
The
wineries are sapping the strength of the industry's foundation.
Under current conditions, VQA member wineries are using their
government
granted monopoly to extort grape supplies from growers who had
traditionally supplied these same grapes to high-quality
wine-producing
cottage wineries in Ontario.
In my personal case, Vincor/Inniskillin in July of 1998
unilaterally
canceled a 3,000 litre contract, even though I have been
supplying them
with quality icewine juice for the past three years. They were
prepared to
reinstate the contract, albeit at half price, only if I was
willing to stop
supplying two small wineries and two medium-sized wineries. Some
of these
wineries have been receiving my grapes for the past 12 years. One
of the
wineries used exclusively my grapes for the production of the
wine judged
at the 1997 Toronto Wine and Cheese Show to be the best white
wine produced
in Canada. A non-VQA winery to which I sell grapes has the
distinction of
producing from these grapes one of the only two Canadian wines
selected to
be in the Vintages Classics catalogue.
This sort of blackmail can only be contemplated because of the
VQA powers
to prevent me from finding alternate markets for icewine juice.
The VQA
regulations prohibit me from selling to Ontario wineries that
specialize in
premium wines far exceeding VQA standards. I am also prohibited
from
selling to out-of-province or export markets or the home
winemaking market.
To redress the inequities of this situation I envisage the
following
possible solutions:
- Immediately suspend all government funding to VQA Canada and
Ontario VQA
and put on hold enacting their regulations and trademarks into
law until a
satisfactory balance of power and interests is re-established in
the
industry.
With their grandfathered retail outlets they promote imported
cheap wine
at the expense of the Ontario grape and wine industry. Now they
want to
seize the prestige of our flagship wine and squeeze small
independent
Ontario growers and wineries out of the bounty of our own hard
work and
harvest.
- Ensure that the grower/ processor sector has equal and
proportional
representation at the discussion and negotiating table.
Currently, neither
the VQA nor the Wine Council or the Ontario Grape Growers
Marketing Board
(OGGMB) represents our interests. Either the VQA opens up its
membership to
grower/processors with full and equal representation, or the
OGGMB expands
its mandate to set regulations and negotiate price and terms and
conditions
of supply of pressed grapes to wineries.
- A third alternative would be for government to grant similar
Farm
Products Marketing Board powers to a new entity comprised of
grower/processors, who then would have sole authority to regulate
production and sale of pressed grape juice from Ontario
vineyards.
- Embark on a boycott campaign to let consumers know that the
idyllic
scenes of grapes maturing in verdant vineyards under glorious
sunshine with
happy little farmers smiling at their bushels of ripe clusters is
a sham
image promoted by VQA-member and -sanctioned corporate predators
out to
control the Ontario grape and wine industry.
Please lend your support, voice and suggestions to this issue
before it is
too late.
Beamsville
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Nuisance and odour cited in tax break case
BY ROBERT IRWIN
It's not every day you see a lawyer announcing his tax break to all and sundry in a press release. It's just one more battle in the ongoing war between Ridgetown lawyer Douglas Desmond and the area rural residents he represents, and the Great Lakes Pig Company Ltd.But the tax break could have consequences for producers all over the province if rural residents start demanding property tax rollbacks for the nuisance value of area livestock operations.
Desmond outlined in the release how he won two property tax rollbacks of 10 per cent, one of which was for his own property, and one of 15 per cent through the Appeal Review Board because of the proximity of the properties to Great Lakes' Chatham-Kent hog production facility.
James Edmunds, regional assessment commissioner, municipality of Chatham-Kent and Lambton county, finds it "odd" that someone would send out a press release on this type of decision. He estimates "there'd be 100,000 property tax appeals in any given year, and in 1998 they're expecting 600,000 under the new current value assessment."
Edmunds predicts the decision will spark an increase in the number of appeals for odour problems, which could affect industry in urban areas as well as agriculture. He says the assessment commission, an arm of the ministry of finance, will probably request the ARB chair review the oral decision and order a rehearing.
He discounts the likelihood of an appeal to the divisional court, available only on grounds of legal error.
Mike Toombs, manager of land use planning at OMAFRA, believes "there are certainly implications for the taxation system across the province. These decisions are seen to be precedent setting."
He says the outcome "would support not creating more residences in the countryside near farms" and calculates that revenue from the hog operation would easily offset the three tax reductions.
Will Nap, chairman of Ontario Pork, which last year ran a promotion touting pork producers as good neighbours, argues "the country is where agriculture happens. For a review board to think that property has been devalued is quite unique."
Nap says the situation undermines the provincial government's recently passed right to farm legislation. Information provided to him indicates the farm involved is "a fairly neat operation" and complies with minimum distance setback requirements.
Mike Debrouwer, a co-owner of Great Lakes Pig Company Ltd., had no comment.
Desmond says on a calm day his house gets the smell from Great Lakes' 500-sow barn, while neighbours John and Janet McCredie, who are further away, are almost constantly affected by the prevailing winds.
Desmond won an $83.25 tax break for himself, $63.04 for Albert and Joan Hitchcock and $204.82 for Janet McCredie. He describes the case as "pro bono work," meaning he didn't bill for it.
He estimates his preparation time for the case at about 100 hours, time he would normally bill at $150 per hour, he says. He estimates property owners who hire a lawyer to handle a similar appeal would pay at least $5,000 plus disbursements.
Because municipalities have to involve a number of employees to defend an appeal, their costs for the process are far higher, Desmond suggests. He wants to send a message to municipalities that whatever they gain in taxes from "the intensive livestock industry" will be lost when taxes on neighbouring homes are reduced.
He says municipalities "have to confront the problems that are associated with [the livestock industry] because the province doesn't seem to be doing it."
In Ontario, which recently moved to a property tax system based on assessed value, property tax appeals are supposed to be based on the properties' market value.
Desmond says it's difficult to prove a devaluation of land values because there are relatively few sales of country homes to base an appraisal on.
But he did find one example to support his case involving a North Carolina hog farm study and a DeWitt county (Ill.) tax appeal. In May, Iowa resident Richard Lanning succeeded in getting Humboldt county's board of review to reduce the assessed value of his ranch-style house from $71,455 to $46,133. Lanning, one of four property owners who have won rollbacks in Humboldt this year, cited odour, flies and concerns about pollution.
The Iowa Farm Bureau is considering legal action against Osceola county for reducing taxes "without evidence" on 12 homes adjacent to hog farms. The Farm Bureau contends hog farms boost land values by strengthening local grain demand.
Nap says the pork board views Desmond's case as "an isolated
incident done
to make a point" and won't be taking any immediate action. "If
other
residents pick up on this and it spreads, we may do something,"
he
ventures.
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Reacting to the market
The gardening boom forced the Egos to adjust the focus
of their fruit and vegetable business
BY CHRISTINA SELBY
When spring arrives at the Coldwater-area farm of the Ego family, they're run off their feet keeping up with their booming garden centre business. That doesn't leave much time for the fruits and vegetables that used to be the mainstay of the farm."It's hard when the money's coming in from the garden centre to take the time out to plant," says Kristin, 25-year old daughter of farm founders Laury and Lorraine. Generally, the greenhouse and the fruit and vegetable businesses complement each other, but not when it comes to planting, she says.
The Ego family grows tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, beans, peas, pumpkins, strawberries and raspberries. But the structures built to give the tomatoes a head start have grown to 16,000 square feet of greenhouse and changed the focus of their business. Bedding plants, herbs and fresh-cut gladioli now account for the majority of their income.
Of their 100 acres, 50 of which are rented, 70 are devoted to fruit and vegetable production. Kristin thinks the Simcoe county family operation is probably at the upper limit of what it can grow. The biggest input is labour, she says. Everything is picked by hand, which means they're probably getting a higher yield per acre, but it has to be done every day. In August, for example, corn, tomatoes and cucumbers are picked each morning.
Kristin admits their growing and harvesting methods wouldn't be cost effective on a large acreage, but it suits the Ego operation. "Your insurance is being diversified," she says, not relying on just one crop to carry the season.
The Egos' retail store is located near the resort area of Horseshoe Valley. One room with a roll-up door has grown to 1,000 square feet. Their other retail outlets are stalls at the weekly Orillia and Gravenhurst markets.
Kristin, who runs the stalls, believes in giving consumers information to make an educated purchase. Each of the five varieties of sweet corn the Egos grow has a sign describing characteristics and serving suggestions. She says extra touches like that keep customers coming back, though freshness is the biggest selling point: "We can't beat the big supermarkets on price," but people buying Ego produce know it was picked that day.
Her father, Laury, started growing vegetables in 1975 and is amazed at the shifts in the business since then. He says they put in pick-your-own strawberries "out of habit" this year, but people don't come out for bushels anymore. Now it's just smaller pails for daily use. The big preserving days are over.
And those who want to put up pickles will have a tougher time this year. Cucumbers are so early Laury figures when the kids go back to school and people have time for pickling, they'll all be gone.
Keeping up with market demand means cutting back in some areas and growing in others. The strawberries are down to eight acres from 12 last year. The Egos are thinking about specializing in one or two varieties of sweet corn rather than their current five.
The growth in the gardening industry is an off-shoot of the "nesting instinct," says Lorraine. People are staying home and paying more attention to their surroundings.
If customers bring in photographs and a scale drawing of their garden, the Egos will provide general plant and layout suggestions. A retired Ministry of Natural Resources employee works in the greenhouse part-time, and "he can answer all the questions" about plant diseases and infestations, says Kristin. They'll also do baskets and planters to order and refill them annually.
Next year, there'll be a demonstration garden behind the greenhouses, allowing the Egos to trial new varieties and give customers a preview of possible plant combinations. Since the farm is on the border between zones four and five, ensuring plants are hardy enough for both areas ensures customer satisfaction.
The biggest advantage of having the retail operation and market
stalls on
top of the production end is having customers tell you exactly
what they
want, says Kristin. "We can react quickly to market demand."
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