(Via email) Emergency Fundraising Appeal from National Farmers Union President Jan Slomp!
Delegates and members at convention heard first-hand about the precarious financial situation the NFU is projecting for 2014-2015 – a deficit of more than $75,000. As usual, our members faced this challenge head-on. In less than two days, 120 delegates and visitors contributed $15,000 to defray our budget shortfall!
Careful management by the Board of Directors allowed the NFU to absorb similar or larger revenue losses in each of the last two years without reducing staff or noticeably cutting services. Staff, volunteer Board members and members across the country all worked together to provide the policy analysis, research and publications that farmers – in fact all Canadians – need in these hostile times.
Even with the emergency fundraising at convention and the Board’s careful stewardship, the NFU cannot survive a third revenue shortfall of this size without cutting staff and services to the point that we will no longer fulfill our mandate or be able to recruit or retain members.
Tip of the hat to Shawn, who’s as distraught as we all are.
Oh no! I’ll get right on this!
Maybe we can put together a Bowling for Commies event?
Distraught? Good thing I know you jest.
“…the NFU cannot survive a third revenue shortfall of this size without cutting staff and services to the point that we will no longer fulfill our mandate or be able to recruit or retain members.”
Now that would be good news if the NFU collapses. I guess too many commie farmers have left the business. 🙂
De gub’mint should step in and give these guys as much taxpayers money as they can pi** away!
Jamie, I might start one of those roadside memorials for these pore folks. Bowling for Commies is a good idea,though,haven’t handled my balls in a long time, but I’m sure a walk across Canada this Winter would get the required publicity.
So just wondering how many of these members are on commi…..er “marketing” Boards?
This is the organization over which Liberal MP Wayne Easter (PEI) was chief shepherd for many years. If he can help put young Trudeau over the top, I’m sure that he will rescue the NFU.
I like the part where they say they can’t survive. How about buying some land, and growing a crop and actually produce something of benefit for society. Unions are as useful as testicles on a cow.
Calendars that feature pictures of popular members have been great fund raisers. I’m just not sure how many would be interested in photos of scantily-clad octogenarians.
I’d gladly donate to the farmers union if only they could infect CUPE, OPSEU, CUPW and the OSSTF with whatever malady is causing the NFU to go belly up. Perhaps it was their unfortunate choice of acronym (No Fricking Use doesn’t exactly summon up a lot of confidence.)
N.F.You
Just sayin’
“a third revenue shortfall of this size without cutting staff”
Maybe its like the myth of drowning where you have to go under three times?
Seriously, you have two “shortfalls”, and don’t change anything? A three year old wouldn’t stick his finger in a socket more than twice…
NFU policy decision: http://www.nfu.ca/story/nfu-applauds-ontario-government's-application-precautionary-principle-neonicotinoid-use
Geez Jan. Maybe farmers are tryin’ to tell ya somethin’, eh?
Well, DM, since you’ve so kindly offered your services, you’re now entitled to know “the rest of the story”.
You see, in Ontario, all the farm organizations owe their existence to the huge sums that are legislatively extorted thanks to a law brought in by the NDP way back in the early 90s. It worked (and works) like this: farmers had to have “official” farmer status to qualify for various tax exemptions – most notably the municipal property tax on their acreages. To qualify as an official farmer, you had to belong to one of Ontario’s “official” farm organizations.
It was mutual back-scratching of the highest order. The farm organizations happily jumped on board the guaranteed funding ship, and in the process became irretrievably compromised – the hand that fed them was now the government hand, not their memberships. So, they became (and still are) nothing but cheerleaders and rubber-stampers for whatever rights and initiative destroying piece of legislation that Queen’s Park trundles out. It is an arrangement that everyone – presumably farmers too – are comfortable with.
But back in 2012 and 2013, they all committed some faux pas – probably not cheering loudly enough for the Liberals – and lost their “official” status along with the funding. You can read the NFU-O’s sad tale here: http://www.producer.com/2013/03/nfus-ontario-chapter-loses-provincial-check-off-funding/
However, I have every faith that the NFU is on the track to redemption. With a bit more cooing up like this – http://www.nfuontario.ca/wpr/neonicotinoid-licensing-system-encouraging-says-nfu-o/ – to the Minister of Ag, I’m certain these old wounds can be patched up and all present and future revenue shortfalls addressed via the taxpayer tree.
NFU policy decision: http://www.nfuontario.ca/wpr/2013/02/
Hey Jan. Here’s another tip. Connect the dots laddie.
Jan Slomp the tulip choker should go back and build more dykes, and high enough so commies like him can’t get out
I remember back in the 70’s in rural NE Alberta (back when we said “rapeseed”, not canola) when some of the neighbours were sporting the shiny new NFU signs at the gateposts of the driveways. Shiny white, yellow and green painted signs with the map of Canada emblazoned on a thin square of sheet metal, complete with the name of the family. Talk about wearing your NDP bona fides on your sleeve. Fast forward 40 years and these metal signs have rust stains bleeding down the faded paint and the farmer is now semi retired, sitting in the local coffee shop with his crusty socialist old codger friends, pining for the days of the Wheat Board, Grant Notley and Tommy the Commie.
What is an NFU? It sounds quite rude.
Hey, I thought dykes were born that way, not built. Sorry, couldn’t resist
From an article that appeared in The Landowner magazine a few years ago:
“A few years back I sat in a community hall while a liberated NFU gal rhymed off her long list of ports-of-call. She’d been everywhere, man, breathed the mountain air, man. WTO protestors clad as pumpkins floating through Hong Kong harbour; tea and crumpets with dairy chicks in Oz; and she’d danced the boogaloo with farm gals in Africa – she had more air miles than Adrianna Clarkson. And although she earned my admiration in the sense that all her jet-setting certainly made a strong statement about her concerns for carbon footprint awareness (and CFFO neo-sensibilities for that matter), in these days of teleconferencing, emails and information packaging, I couldn’t help but wonder if the contents of the NFU kitty might be better spent on, oh, let’s say procuring compensation for farmlands lost to governments, than global pilgrimages.”
Gee, wonder why they’re broke. Put the word national in anything, and it’s a licence to piss it all away.
Too bad I can’t short-sell these losers on the TSX. Put this poor thing out of its misery.