National Farmers Union hopes for organization accreditation and ag minister meeting

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is advocating for accreditation to strengthen their advocacy and better represent farms in Canada.

The NFU is an organization that advocates for policies and income security for farmers. Gaining accreditation or certification gives a union a right to negotiate terms and conditions of employment, according to the Canada Industrial Relations Board website. The other accredited union is Keystone Agriculture Producers (KAP).

“Many farm voices are being lost when they’re funnelled through one majority organization,” said Kate Storey, a member of the NFU Manitoba, noting that agriculture policies are geared towards big farms. “It leaves [some] farmers out in the cold.”

Storey said that’s because many of the policies are geared towards bigger producers and export-focused farmers, which are important, but the niche farms who sell at local farmers markets aren’t represented enough.

“There isn’t just one kind of farm anymore — and maybe there never was,” said Storey, noting the NFU has been advocating for their accreditation since the 1980s.

The NFU is hoping to get a meeting with the minister of agriculture to plead their case.

Storey said if they are given accreditation, the first thing would be to advocate against the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada cuts, and speak with KAP to find common ground.

Jenn Pfenning, NFU President, said she’s optimistic about the future of farming despite the cuts, but the government needs to listen.

“If that is the path we continue on, the future looks pretty bleak for Canada. We will become beholden, more and more beholden to the rest of the world to feed ourselves,” said Pfenning, an Ontario farmer. “It cannot be an either we defend ourselves militarily or we feed ourselves one. Without the other (it) doesn’t work. Every army throughout history had to feed itself. This country has to be able to feed itself more, not less.”

This comes just after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a plan to spend $35 billion for defence.

Pfenning said if the government doesn’t listen they’re ready to plan the next steps: “rallies, protests, and civil disobedience.”