The Western Producer takes a weekly look at some of the stories that made headlines in issues of the paper from 75, 50, 25 and 10 years ago.
75 years ago: March 27, 1941
The federal government introduced a bill that would provide $35 million in bonuses to encourage farmers to summerfallow fields instead of planting crops. Ottawa’s new wheat policy included plans to cap wheat deliveries for 1941-42 at 230 million bushels.
Saskatchewan was amending its Limitations of Civil Rights Act and Crop Payments Act so that producers who farmed under crop sharing agreements could keep enough crop to pay operating costs and provide enough seed for the following year before paying a creditor or other party of the lease agreement. Changes were intended to protect farmers’ standard of living.
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Worrisome drop in grain prices
Prices had been softening for most of the previous month, but heading into the Labour Day long weekend, the price drops were startling.
50 years ago: March 24, 1966
The Saskatchewan legislature defeated a resolution calling for the nationalization of Canadian Pacific Railway. Twenty-eight Liberals and one Progressive Conservative voted against the resolution, while 23 CCF MLAs supported it.
The prairie provinces were being urged to financially support the construction of an agricultural pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal. J.H. Hare, project director for the pavilion, was asking each government to contribute $90,000 to build a 250-seat auditorium for the pavilion. The Canadian Wheat Board, wheat pools, grain companies and flour and feed mills had already contributed $160,000.
25 years ago: March 28, 1991
A major criticism of the new Gross Revenue Insurance Plan was that it was open to abuse, but one farm leader had a simple solution. “One of the easiest ways is to set up an 800 number and let farmers be their own policemen,” said Owen McAuley, an executive member of Keystone Agricultural Producers in Manitoba.
Canada and the United States agreed to drop millions of dollars in tariffs on oilseeds and oilseed products. American duties on canola oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed and flaxseed would be halved July 1 and eliminated Jan. 1, while Canadian duties would also fall.
March 23, 2006
An unofficial consumer survey on the streets of New York City by Winnipeg reporter Ed White didn’t find a high canola profile. In one high-end grocery store, White found more than 150 types of olive oil, while two labels of canola oil were tucked away on a back shelf. The grocery manager had a simple explanation: “Because we are a gourmet market.”
Provincial agriculture ministers appeared to have persuaded federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl to keep the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program. The Conservatives had promised during the election to scrap the unpopular program.
