Farmer opportunity
The editorial comments in the July 3 issue of The Western Producer are correct in suggesting that farmers are who must decide if the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly is right for their farms.
The editorial is off track in the assertion that farmers must decide collectively how wheat and barley which is produced on individual farms is sold.
No other producer of goods in Canada works under that kind of restriction, and more importantly growers of wheat and barley outside of Western Canada are not so restrained.
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Farmers enrolled in crop insurance can do just as well financially when they have a horrible crop or no crop at all, compared to when they have a below average crop
The point that is avoided by the editorial comments is that prime minister Harper and (agriculture) minister Ritz are only attempting to give individual farmers the opportunity to decide as independent growers if the CWB is right for their farm. Why is that so bad?
– Albert J. Wagner,
Stony Plain, Alta.
Go Leafs!
What a difference a year makes. Avid readers of (Open Forum), might remember I compared the Toronto Maple Leafs’ chances at winning the Stanley Cup as akin to the price of wheat going to $10 per bushel.
Perhaps the sun, the moon and stars were just in perfect alignment, but lo and behold, we all know what the price of wheat did this winter.
Can anything really be beyond the realm of possibility now? You Red Wings fans better party hard this summer. Those hard-suffering Leafs fans just might be doing the celebrating next June.
If the boys in blue hoist the cup in 2009, people will be calling me Nostrodamus. Go Leafs Go!
– Les Zeller,
Golden Prairie, Sask.
A fair sum
This is my 59th year of farming. I farm only the home quarter now as most of the land is cash rented. Interestingly, if the minister of agriculture and minister for the CWB gets his way with the 120 tonne limit, I probably won’t be allowed to vote in the next CWB elections.
Anyway, I’d like to tell everyone a small story of a durum sale we made last year.
Our area around Wynyard does not grow a lot of durum and the nearby elevators are “very reluctant” to handle the few tonnes I grow year in and year out. To sell our three loads of durum we had to choose between Buffalo Plains, east of Regina, or AgPro in Saskatoon.
While in the hospital I received word AgPro would take two loads and we decided to let them go.
The sale was made in the 2007-08 CWB pool year and we received a cheque for $4,808 after all the elevator deductions and the trucking were subtracted from the two loads.
It didn’t seem like a whole lot so the last load went to a local feedlot and they paid us $6,164 at the bin.
As luck would have it, durum prices took off this crop year. We have received adjustment cheques for $10,851, $3,694, $6,795 and $7,968 with a final payment due yet this winter.
How much is the CWB, with its single desk selling and price pooling, worth to farmers? A fair sum!
– Stanley Thorsteinson,
Wynyard, Sask.
Walking boots
After being found guilty of breaking Canadian laws three times in the last 11 months, my prime minister vowed that any opposition to his plans to destroy the Canadian Wheat Board would be walked over.
And this from the prime minister, the person most responsible for safeguarding Canadian law and democracy.
Why do I call Stephen Harper dangerous? Here are the stepping stones to that conclusion:
Willfully breaking the law. For the third time in 11 months, a federal court has found that my PM and his government have willfully broken Canadian laws.
Ending the farmers’ right to free speech. In October of 2006, the PM erased the CWB’s right to speak freely to the farmers it serves. Keep in mind that any communication with farmers is paid for by farmers not taxpayers, and the CWB is controlled by farmers.
Ruling on the gag order case, federal court justice Robert T. Hughes was shocked by the government’s actions, and said in part “It is entirely clear…that the (government) directive (was) motivated principally to silencing the wheat board…”
Premeditated career assassination. It was revealed in court documents tabled on June 16 that the PM had planned the firing of Mr. Measner at least four months prior to the actual firing. The firing of Mr. Measner was a premeditated career assassination of a competent and highly respected CEO, and a firing so vitally important to my PM that it was discussed by the entire Cabinet.
Rewarding ignorance. … In federal court documents tabled in the Friends of the CWB case against the government, the government admitted that it has done absolutely no analysis of the impact on farmers of removing the single desk marketing advantage of the CWB.
Celebrating and fostering ignorance is a totalitarian tactic that most Canadians believed only occurred in Third World countries….
Farmers and all Canadians have a choice. …We can be intimidated and “walked over” by a PM who has repeatedly demonstrated that he has no respect for the law, free speech, or property rights… or we can stand up for our laws and our rights as Canadians, including the right to open and honest discussion and debate based on factual information….
– Stewart Wells,
President,
National Farmers Union,
Swift Current, Sask.
Horse slaughter
Regarding horse slaughter in Canada and Twyla Francois’ investigative documentary on CBC’s National on June 10, congratulations to Twyla Francois and her team to investigate and challenge the slaughter of horses in Canada.
We saw the documentary … with my 13-year-old daughter, Tess, who is an avid rider and starting competitor this year. We lease a 28-year-old horse and he is sound and he gives us his ultimate.
We were distraught and heartbroken to see the footage at the slaughterhouse. We as horse lovers and horse owners know what a horse is like. How can anybody be this cruel? But yes, it is all about money.
We are also very aware and have been personally involved in the pregnant mare’s urine foal situation on the farms. What about these helpless animals? How can anyone slaughter a foal?…
I purchased a PMU foal in 1996 at an auction at Carson’s auction facility in Listowel, Ont. It is a miracle story which I will not indulge in at this time.
We also know that at every horse auction, there will be the “meat guy” and beware of him. Probably a lot of people are not aware of this.
There needs to be more education in pet ownership, which includes horses. They are a life time commitment, like a child.
The cost to raise an animal, and when they get sick or injured the cost may be astronomical, considering today’s vet costs. So be aware and think ahead before you buy any type of animal.
I am saddened to see this goes on in this beautiful country. I will, all of us here, will fully support Twyla Francois’ effort in stopping the mistreatment and slaughter of horses in this country, in fact any animal in this country.
How can anyone say this video is exaggerated? I think this was the absolute way it is shown on TV.
Shame on the people that participate in the plight of these animals.
– Silvia Altvater,
Breslau, Ont.
Malt companies
Re: Open Forum, June 5 by John De Pape concerning Canadian Wheat Board influence in malt company investment.
He is right that the malt companies are not investing in new facilities in Canada because of the CWB, but not for the reason he is implying.
They are not investing here because they don’t have the freedom to deal individually with producers, with barley off the CWB the malt companies can play one producer against another and lower their input costs.
The free marketers either don’t want to remember or weren’t around in 1993 when barley went off the board for six weeks under the Conservative government and dropped $60 per tonne. Do you want a fair price for your barley or do you want to give it away?
– Bernie Von Tettenborn,
Round Hill, Alta.
