Something we should all read.

So are these crooks gonna ram the seed royalty thing down our throats? 

I got an email the other day from the people pushing for this amalgamation, apparently someone got their email list and sent info on why people should vote against it...ha ha. Well, it was up to them to be the only source of accurate info, no dissenting opinions allowed! They got a scathing reply mail from me. Here is a C+P of that email, not sure all the links will work though:



Dear Members,



If you recently received a Seeds Canada “Vote No” message, we want you to know that this email was from some members who don’t support the proposed amalgamation and, most importantly, that this message is not endorsed by the CSGA Board of Directors.



The CSGA Board has received several requests from members about how this message, not endorsed by CSGA, was sent to CSGA members. Under Subsection 22(5) and 22(7) of the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, upon request by a member, CSGA is legally obliged, under certain circumstances and subject to specific requirements, to provide that Member with a list of CSGA members. The specific requirements include a statutory declaration to CSGA which commits the member to limit use of the membership list to: i) influencing the voting of members; ii) requesting a meeting of members, or; iii) any other matter relating to the affairs of the corporation. If another member wants this option, they should submit the required declaration form via email to seedtalk@seedgrowers.ca in order to receive the membership list. The member would then be authorized to send a message to that list, providing they abide by the restrictions in the declaration.



Regarding the accuracy of the information you receive about Seeds Canada and the proposed amalgamation, CSGA can only assure that you’re getting reliable information in Seed Synergy and CSGA communications. To ensure you’re fully informed on all aspects of the amalgamation proposal, we strongly encourage all members to read through the Seeds Canada information provided at seedgrowers.ca/seeds-canada-ratification and seedsynergy.net.



With less than two weeks remaining before voting ends, we encourage you to inform yourselves, to join the online amalgamation discussion and to vote. Please read the amalgamation package we mailed you and visit our website for the most up to date information on the amalgamation. Get involved in our virtual Town Hall meetings and/or our August 27 Special General Meeting, your last chance to vote. You can also join the online amalgamation discussion 24/7 via SeedTALK, CSGA’s members-only web platform, or simply call our office for information.



On behalf of the CSGA Board of Directors,

Definitely make it sticky.

If you're a member of the CSGA and have a ballot, definitely vote no. I've learned through sad experience that the status quo is always better than the proposed change, especially when it involves doublespeak language like how it will benefit consumers and increase choice and lower costs. It astounds me the blatant and undisguised greed of the officers and owners of companies these days.

And actually the amalgamation deadline is in January 2021 I believe. This particular vote is for CSGA members only. They are the ones that chose the date and deadline for this vote. And I suspect if those that are pushing for this amalgamation don't get what they want, will push for another vote later.

Good to hear the results! So this probably means they'll try for another vote in a couple of months?

One thing I've learned in my short life is that usually the status quo is always better than the proposed changed when it comes to this sort of thing. Usually the positive claims are almost doublespeak. Clearly there's a benefit to amalgamating all these organizations. The key question is who are the ones that benefit?

From the article:
“We firmly believe the amalgamation stood to create a global leader in seed innovation, production, processing, quality, and trade,” Hadley explains. “However, we respect the democratic process and will give these results full consideration as we discuss future direction with those Seed Synergy Partners that remain committed to a new vision for the future.”  Sounds like a few people have some grand plans for power and influence.

That old bullshit sales pitch has been around forever and I'm surprised it still works.

If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that amalgamations NEVER lower costs or benefit customers. Quite the opposite in fact!

Saw this today on New Ag Talk. Fits in with the rest of these topics. UN Agenda 2030 is a very real thing. Plant Breeders Rights is just another component of it all.

talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=950581&posts=10&start=1

The first post has a link to a document. Basically more globalist stuff centered around stopping climate change, setting sustainable development goals (SDG), making food cheap and affordable. Gender and racial equity in agriculture is another key issue, because, well, apparently it is important.

One of my favorite points I saw a few times is the need to for "influencers" to be more involved in agriculture to improve food "security" (note a new buzz word of recent years). And so agriculture needs a lot of help, policy making, goal setting, etc. These experts don't seem to focus much on this fact that they print but don't address:

Page 20...
"The economic benefits of the sector are not shared equally across the value chain. In 2018, 8 cents of
each food dollar expenditure went to farm production, while the rest of the dollar covered costs from
processing, wholesale, packaging, distribution, retail, and other value chain players.31 Farmers and
ranchers are caught in a price-cost squeeze due to low profit margins and high levels of risk, often
experiencing economic stress and significant levels of debt. "

So, apparently farmers need the heavy intervention with 8% of food costs being pinned on farmers. And if the experts do that, they can really, really address the social issues of "food security". This document also says 30% of food produced is wasted, so once again it is the agriculture sector that needs all the attention, trying to make 1/3 of all food produced more available to those who need "food security" appears to be a number too small to take on.

I only got to page 20 and had enough.

But anyone thinking all these topics flying around are just random, or that your representatives are going to act in your best interests, probably need to do some more reading.

Farm production is the 8% that they don't yet control, thus the focus and intervention into our industry.

Hard to get optimistic about the future of our business when we have a huge target placed squarely on our backs. Literally everything nowadays being pushed as "for our benefit" is something to be very concerned about.