Letters to the editor

Single control

Re: your Aug. 2 edition letters by Duane Filson and Ken Ritter.

In my opinion, when a company establishes the buying price and the selling price, that company is then the buyer and seller, whether marketing directly or indirectly.

You can use all the verbiage you wish but it still boils down to single control of wheat and barley grain pricing and if that is not a monopoly, what is? This, then, makes the Canadian Wheat Board a monopoly.

A vote was taken and two-thirds of the people who cast their ballots were in favour of removing the single desk approach on barley. Now we find that the minority is trying to force the majority to succumb to their wishes. Is that democracy?

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Producers face the reality of shifting grain price expectations

Significant price shifts have occurred in various grains as compared to what was expected at the beginning of the calendar year. Crop insurance prices can be used as a base for the changes.

If the CWB is as good as they say they are, they will survive under an open market system.

Thanks to the CWB and the market reaction, I have just lost thousands of dollars on my standing barley crop for this year.

My advice to you, Mr. Ritter, is to have the CWB move forward and to market grains but not as a single desk. Your negative reaction to the inevitable will only continue to make issues worse.

– Henry Kroeker,

Calgary, Alta.

Build plants

In order for farmers to have stores to sell their production, they need to unite as a co-operative or community. In being united, many projects can be undertaken: production of cheese, butter, yogurt, processing of foods, commercial gardens, orchards, furniture, restaurants, methanol.

By not having their own marketing system and stores, farmers must accept what is offered them. This is exploitation. Farmers are at present building two meat processing plants. This is good, but only a small start in what must be done.

There are about 40 loaves of bread in one bushel of wheat and all the others such as wheat germ, cream of wheat, bran. When all is sold from that one bushel of wheat, this brings in over $60, but farmers get about $2.50 for that bushel of wheat.

My advice to young farm people is to go and work at different processing plants in order to learn all that is needed to set up plants, in sizable towns, hiring all farm people. Business management is a must.

Farmers are building two processing plants in Alberta, which is a step in right direction. Much more needs to be done, as farm people are industrious.

– Guy Talbourdet,

Saint Paul, Alta.

Belle’s home

The dust has now settled with my faithful combine harvester Prairie Belle finding a new home at Quill Lake, Sask.

Many of you reading this will remember how popular the Massey Ferguson 760s and 860s were back in the 1970s and ’80s when new, with many still earning their keep today. The custom cutter outfits back then ran fleets of them from Texas to Canada as I have witnessed on television documentaries.

It is a great shame that MF could not continue building combines in Canada under their own banner. I would expect if that had been, we would have some superior engineered combines today with unmatched productivity.

Prairie Belle was given to the Big Quill Canadian Foodgrains Bank operation at the request of Mike Humenny, operations co-ordinator. She still operates well at over 7,000 engine hours and should be an asset at harvest time especially when local farmers may be stretched in difficult harvests to arrive when the crops are ready.

Prairie Belle knows all about difficult harvests, fighting mud with dual wheels, the beating of rocks to the stone trap and harvesting snow-covered swaths to minus 15 C. I estimate she has harvested near 35,000 tonnes in her life since 1981 or filled 380 hopper car equivalents or between three and a half to four full train loads to port – a wonderful tribute to Massey Ferguson.

– Nick Parsons,

Farmington, B.C.

Sitting ducks

The pro open market forces have vowed the Canadian Wheat Board must be dumped no matter the consequences; it is only a matter of time.

They seem to be oblivious to the fact that at the same time the grain companies are in a rush uniting and consolidating, cutting out competition to be in a position to buy at the lowest price possible in the event the single desk marketing authority of the CWB is removed.

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out this is not in the best interests of the growers of barley and wheat. Without the CWB making the sales, thousands of farmers trying to make their own individual sales will be like sitting ducks.

(Former federal agriculture) minister (Chuck) Strahl must know this. Yet in spite of the warnings, the good advice and all the criticism he got, there was no way to stop him. It did not seem to matter whether what he was doing was legal or not. He was so obsessed.

When Madame Justice Dolores Hansen ruled the federal government’s order-in-council cannot end the CWB’s single desk marketing authority over western Canadian barley destined for export or domestic human consumption, she also exposed the greatest government scandal of our times.

I scratch my head in disbelief. What is happening to our democratic process and why the obsession? If we can no longer trust our ministers or our government, there is something really wrong with this picture.

We producers are wasting our time and money, confusing the market and putting ourselves into a precarious position by allowing this domination by politicians and the grain trade to go on.

We must have an enquiry commission delve into this obsession to find out who is behind it and for what reason. When the dust falls and the air is cleared, a worthwhile lesson will have been learned and the democratic process will prevail.

– Wm. J. Shwaluk,

Shoal Lake, Man.

Keeping honest

As an 82-year-old survivor, I could care less how barley is marketed, open market or single desk.

I do care, however, how the federal government handled this issue.

I would like to commend Justice Dolores Hansen for keeping our prime minister and our agriculture minister honest.

As citizens of this country, we are expected to obey the laws and rules of this country. Is it too much to expect the same from our leaders?

– Cliff Wunder,

Sheho, Sask.

It is time

It would seem appropriate to say that it is time to settle the Canadian Wheat Board issue one way or the other. But obviously, there is only one way that it will be totally settled and that is when the wheat board is gone.

We might as well accept the fact that as long as we have the board, we will have controversy.

One thing is very clear to me. That is that the federal government should have enough respect for the justice system to accept the ruling of Judge Dolores Hansen and allow the board to operate for this crop year without interference.

Prime minister (Stephen) Harper used these words this week as well. Farmers will get marketing choice “one way or the other whether the wheat board likes it or not.”

That statement kind of sends a shiver down one’s spine, doesn’t it? Mr. Harper, if you want to put barley and wheat on the open market, there is a very clear process to use. Maybe you haven’t heard how it needs to be done.

First, you need to confer with the board of directors of the CWB on changes that you advocate, with the board and farm groups deciding on the wording and voting parameters of a meaningful and binding plebiscite.

The questions need to be clear and direct. Basically, the wording needs to be: Do you want wheat/export barley and barley for human consumption to be sold through the single desk of the CWB or through an open market?”

The percentage of voters required to retain the single desk needs to be clear. There probably needs to be 60 percent support of a marketing board for it to function properly.

If there is a clear indication that farmers want an open market through this type of plebiscite I very much doubt that Parliament would stand in the way of the change. It doesn’t really sound that complicated. …

– Bill Dobson,

President,

Wild Rose Agricultural Producers,

Paradise Valley, Alta.

Barley choice

I realized after the vote on removal of barley from the Canadian Wheat Board how important freedom of choice is to the Alberta government.

The Alberta Barley Commission helped fund the anti-wheat board association but did not fund the pro-wheat board association.

The checkoff for the Alberta Barley Commission was imposed without a vote. In order to get the checkoff back, I have to jump through hoops, fill out the request for refund, send copies of the receipts and do this within a certain time period.

The barley commission has become a political group and their mandate was never to use producer money for lawsuits against the wheat board or support anti-wheat board producers.

I would like to notify the buyer of my barley that I do not want the checkoff deducted and should not have to request a refund.

The only reason the checkoff is automatic is that they are hoping producers just don’t get the request for a refund done on time.

The checkoff is negative billing, which I do not believe is legal.

– Robert Kampen,

Lougheed, Alta.

Break-ins

For some years, farm home residents in Manitoba have been subject to invasions, intruders and potential danger.

The RCMP are at a loss to effectively combat this phenomenon. Detachments have been reduced to a few personnel and it is not possible to do in-depth investigation of individual break-in occurrences.

In desperation I appeal to citizens to write to the Honourable Stockwell Day, minister of public safety, requesting emergency action to restore the tranquility, trust and safety of rural Manitoba by increasing the number of RCMP in the rural communities.

Farm neighbours are organizing for self-protection. We have endured home invasions and the theft of our possessions. Now we appeal for the support of public opinion. This is a serious situation. We ourselves have had five break-ins and suffered damage and loss.

Our farm has been settled since 1878 and for the first 100 years or more, there was no loss of possessions. Now the abandonment of the law threatens our way of life.

I urgently request that the RCMP be increased to the extent that the police can fulfill their responsibilities adequately….

– William A. Dempsey,

Carberry, Man.

Trade deals

I have been taking notice of two initiatives. The first initiative, the Security and Prosperity Partnership, first came to my attention when (former) prime minister Paul Martin met at the Bush ranch a number of years ago with president (George W.) Bush and the Mexican president. The second initiative is the Trade Investment Labor Mobility Agreement.

TILMA is an interprovincial agreement which supposedly has the purpose of making inter-provincial trade much smoother. The Calvert government in Saskatchewan has been resisting the pressures put on it to have Saskatchewan also join TILMA. …

The ominous aspect of TILMA is it takes more and more decision making power away from elected government people and places the running of the country in the hands of a few unelected people who do not necessarily represent the province’s best interests.

I understand that …(the Saskatchewan Party has) now reversed their position somewhat and joined the NDP in opposing the proposed TILMA initiative.

I am concerned that this conservative change of heart is temporary and if elected, … they will be tricked into signing the deal when they think they have successfully negotiated the bad policies out of an agreement.

The state of SPP is much more disheartening. SPP proposes to unify Mexico, the United States and Canada into one block. Even though the boundaries will still remain, the running of the country will be less and less by elected politicians and more and more by the elite few unelected people who control SPP.

SPP is a traitorous sellout of the sovereignty of Canada. The Conservative government is very secretive about the plans and is undemocratically trying to bring it about. It seems clear who the real masters are in the Conservative party and they are not the average Canadian.

It appears that only the NDP, Green Party and Canadian Action Party with Connie Fogal are opposing this initiative.

I wish to say thank-you to the handful of activists who have been instrumental in stopping TILMA by bringing to public attention the real story behind the spin. … These activists go beyond the call of duty in fighting to preserve what is good in our country.