Eggs

When you first look at the situation between Nova Scotia Egg Producers and farmer Aaron Hiltz it looks like the classic big guy versus the little guy. However, as I look at it closer and closer I had an unsettling feeling that something different was going on. It looks like the Nova Scotia Egg Producers are staring down the double barrelled shotgun called bureaucracy aimed at their own feet.

Aaron Hiltz has been getting a lot of press for his innovative farming methods; he keeps cattle and chickens together. This is a simple strategy with profound results. The chickens improve the quality of the farm by spreading around the manure. They are also a great selection for “locavores” with an appetite for change in agricultural practices.

The Nova Scotia Egg Producers want to charge him their standard fees for having as many chickens running around as he does. This seems logical, especially considering that their mandate as a marketing and regulatory board is to control the supply of eggs. The problem is that if they go through with the fee of $250,000 they could bring an end to Aaron’s egg farming days.

Aaron’s chickens will be scattered like their feed across Nova Scotia or placed on dinner plates. Farmer Hiltz will have to find other work and his farm may remain unused. As the farm house creaks with its age and the fences collapse from being forgotten this incident may go down as a lesson to plucky young innovative farmers.

Rules are made to be enforced; fees are in place to keep the status quo. If you have a great new idea that can change the face of agriculture and ultimately people’s diets than you’ll have to find a farm somewhere else in Canada. If not, you’ll find yourself with a saddled with debt by a regulatory board that you thought was supposed to help you succeed.