Farm Gate Defense: The Story of the Canadian Farmers Survival Association

Bruce Grainger is head of Public Services at the Macdonald Library,
McGill University.

Allen Wilford is a founding member and sometime president of the Canadian Farmers Survival Association, a farm protest movement that began in Bruce and Grey counties in southwestern Ontario. The “survivalist” movement was a reaction to the economic crisis caused by high interest rates and low commodity prices, which adversely affected the beef industry, in particular. Since 1981, many financially over-extended farmers have been compelled to sell their assets or have been forced into bankruptcy. In a highly personal account Wilford, himself a farmer facing bankruptcy, chronicles many of the protest incidents in which the “survivalists” were involved. In succeeding chapters, he relates the Canadian situation to farm protest movements in the United States, Europe, and Asia, outlines a brief history of these movements in North America, discusses several issues related to the farm crisis, and presents a theory of “raw material economics” as a solution to low farm income.

The tactics employed by “survivalists” to prevent the seizure of farm assets by creditors included blockading farm laneways with vehicles and farm equipment, disrupting bankruptcy auctions by intimidation, and the clandestine removal of farm equipment and stock. These methods constitute the farm gate defense referred to in the title of this book. The immediate aim of these actions was to assist the farmer in reaching a more favourable accommodation with his creditors. Another aspect of this defense was the adroit use of the media to dramatize the plight of the farmer and to apply pressure on governments to enact legislative reforms to deal with the crisis.

Many interesting news photos are included, such as that of the masked “vigilantes” and of the author enjoying his first bowl of soup following his hunger strike in the Stratford jail. Also included is a list of individuals helpful to the survival movement, suggested readings, and “Tips on Survival”; unfortunately, there is no index.

This book is an interesting, if biased, social document that conveys a sense of the anguish caused by the current economic crisis within the farm community; but it has its shortcomings. The narrative is repetitious and disjointed and the chronology of events is often not clear. The history of farm movements is oversimplified and the explanation of “survivalist” economic theory is sketchy at best. There is also an astounding number of misspelled personal and place names. A balanced assessment of the survival movement has yet to be written.