Keith Dryden

The white coats A handful of yellow-brown canola seeds represents a masterpiece in modern plant biotechnology. It has been so altered from its rapeseed ancestor that there is no comparison. However, an equally important change has occurred in how this seed is prepared for use as vegetable oil for human consumption or meal for livestock […] Read more

Costly calculation When one wanders through the grave markers of a former battlefield such as Gallipoli one can’t help but wonder what kind of world we would have had if these masses of bright young men buried there had been allowed to live out their lives. Farmers, community leaders, professional men, family men, sports heroes, […] Read more

We’re millionaires When we were youngsters on the farm we used to dream big dreams about being millionaires some day. In October this dream was finally realized for me. On a visit to Turkey I took $50 American to a bank and was given 4,544,000 Turkish lira. That country is struggling with inflation at 80 […] Read more

Travel incentives The suppliers of credit cards have climbed aboard the frequent flyer program and are offering travel points if you charge everything you buy. I suppose this is one way to encourage us all to keep the economy on the move. We buy goods and create employment for folks in the business arena. Then […] Read more

Testing the limits Governments are like two-year-old grandchildren, always testing the limits of adult patience to see how much they can get away with. Your taxes are being raised because we have to pay off the horrendous deficit. (I wonder what Grandma will do if I pull the pots out of the cupboard?) Your old […] Read more

Recycling Recycling has become a passion and many households have boxes to collect tin cans, bottles, newsprint and cardboard. Some urban municipalities make it easy by providing pickup for bottles and cans.The rest of us haul them to central depots. New industrial plants are being built to convert used paper, cans and bottles into something […] Read more

A recent Western Producer pointed to our growing concern about how grid roads can be maintained when pounded by ever-increasing grain tonnages hauled in huge semi-trailers. I started my grain transportation career behind a friendly pair of equines called Rufus and Phyllis, moving to market 55 bushels of wheat at a time in a green […] Read more

Riding the crest The federal government is engaged in changing Canada’s Latin motto. This will be somewhat costly, particularly as the new words have to be added to crests on all federal buildings. Apparently someone decided that our “A Mari Usque Ad Mare,” (From Sea to Sea) really didn’t say much. “Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam” (They […] Read more

Whilst tying a tie prior to attending the christening of my grandson the thought occurred to me that the tie is indeed a ridiculous piece of apparel. It doesn’t contain sufficient fabric to make a legal bikini and yet it costs as much as a bus ticket to Regina. The person who patented its design […] Read more

Healthful exercise A young woman, arms swinging vigorously, just jogged past our house. She does this nearly every day about the same time and she seems to enjoy the experience. She is always accompanied by a dog which trots obediently beside her, smiling in his dogged fashion. If she wants to run, he’ll run but […] Read more