Not GM; Audit who?; Costs & contracts; Global warming; Seed hassle; Expensive food; Land ownership; Anderson file; Big footprint; Save the track; Simply slaves?; Auto bailout; Tax loopholes; Nuclear questions;
Not GM
I would like to correct an error in your March 12 article, “GM could boost cellulose ethanol.”
It was recently announced that Performance Plants’ cellulosic ethanol program will produce new industrial hemp varieties that are optimized for conversion to cellulosic ethanol.
However, the hemp plants will not be genetically modified. Instead, the company will use modern analytical tools to identify top performing plants for inclusion in a hemp breeding and variety development program.
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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.
– Kevin Gellatly, Ph.D.,
Vice President Alliances,
Performance Plants Inc.,
Kingston, Ont.
Audit who?
(Federal agriculture minister Gerry) Ritz wants to send the auditor general after the Canadian Wheat Board because he says Canadian farmers are concerned about the operations of the board.
Canadian farmers are also concerned about farm support programs that continually fail to deliver – programs that are convoluted and complicated, fail to get the money to where it is needed and that have shut out an entire sector, the cattle industry.
Mr. Ritz, you should ask the auditor general to look into the department that you are responsible for. Unfortunately for farmers, the optics on that one would just be all wrong.
– David Finnson,
Arborg, Man.
Costs & contracts
If there are any farmers including corporate out there that are still convinced that multidesk selling is still the way to go, then there are still farmers with their heads in the sand.
We have six or seven more private companies circling the globe in search and promotion of market instead of one. Each administration must cost millions to run. Would you guess who pays for these extravagances?
Contracts were broken when the supply of oats and barley became over abundant. I can’t break any contract with a grain company, chemical, fertilizer or banking institution. How do these worldly contracts get broken?
Not only do purchasers break contracts but the customer turns around and buys the same product for a lesser price – from whom? Is it the same supplier or the opposition? So much for multidesk selling. After all a little cheating and degrading in business is fair play.
Who do you think pays for all this hanky panky? I can’t find or (exchange) information with my neighbours. Firstly, they are too busy to socialize, and secondly, in socializing I might find out that things aren’t as rosy and bright as the paint on the new equipment.
The grain commission announced great savings that should eventually filter down to the farmers. One saving was eliminating some admission or permission form and the other saving was just as generous. How are the excessive costs of grain companies filtering down to the farmer? Is anyone out there banking their credits? I don’t think so.
A year or so ago there was pressure on farmers to buy fertilizer, chemical, seed, storage, tractors, combines, etc. as early as a year in advance of anticipated need, as there was going to be a shortage because of demand.
Well the only thing there’s a shortage of is money….
– E. O. Oystreck,
Yorkton, Sask.
Global warming
Record breaking cold temperatures across the Prairies. Where is the global warming? What a joke.
Severe weather has and always will happen. Severe weather is not the result of global warming as we are being told. The climate changes all the time. The weather runs in cycles extreme cold or warm.
Records show that it was warmer 1,000 years ago than now. We are in a global cooling now since 1999. We have had cold winters before. December 1951 was -50 and in the 1960s I have seen – 60.
The federal government talks about stopping climate change, but this would require control over the ever-changing orbit of the earth around the sun.
Lack of understanding of climate change, the power of nature and overconfidence in the ability of science leads to this kind of arrogance. They forget that nature is always in control. Abnormal weather is normal.
The general pattern of weather in Canada is controlled by north/south waves in the jet stream. The shape of the waves and where they cross the Rocky Mountains sets the pattern from the west to east.
Al Gore said the arctic ice is melting fast, and that the world may only last 23 years. Everything is in its natural realm of ice melting and freezing and climate change is natural.
Man-made carbon emissions are about five percent of the total and the rest are from natural sources such as volcanoes, dying vegetation and animals.
We are being told to cut back on emissions. Some people are changing their light bulbs, they say to save the environment, but when they are driving down the highways at speeds of 130 km-h, they are not the least bit concerned about the environment. Air travel will increase by 40 percent in the years to come.
Do you have to take that flight to the (other) side of the world if you are worried about the pollution? Your share of the pollution on a trip as such is like driving your car 17,000 kilometres.
We can’t stop driving our cars. We need to go to work. We as farmers have to transport our grain now for miles, as our elevators are all gone.
Global warming and climate change (are the) worst scandal in history. Kyoto: garbage in, garbage out.
– Arnold Helgeson,
Southey, Sask.
Seed hassle
I went to North Battleford for the Scott research report meeting. One of the things I learned was that they have identified a gene that they have bred into the wheat to make it midge resistant.
They are concerned because they only have one gene for midge resistance so all lots of seed will be six percent nonresistant wheat and they feel that will keep the midge from mutating and developing resistance.
You may keep your own seed but you must get your seed inspected and maintain six percent nonresistant wheat. To get the seed you must sign a stewardship agreement that if you don’t comply with all the regulations, they can fine you $100 per acre.
No one in their own sane mind would sign this thing. Having the stewardship agreement is worse than having the midge.
I am a simple dirt farmer but I can see some glaring faults with the thinking that got us to here.
First they want six percent nonresistant wheat so the midge will not mutate.
Well, if the gene is successful and all the midge die, how does a dead midge mutate? This is nothing but a ripe cherry for the seed growers.
Then this $100 per acre fine they can impose upon you if you don’t comply with their regulations. Who granted somebody the power to impose a fine?
I am sure the funding for this research was contributed to by every producer by taking it off our final payment or our taxes.
Here we have another case of “you buy the seed, you pay for the seed but you don’t own the seed.”
I don’t like this game. Someone, somewhere is creating an overhead bureaucracy with people policing the fields and checking your seed. The farmers are being treated like half-witted lowly serfs.
Keep your midge resistant wheat, I don’t need the hassle.
– Victor Hult,
Waseca, Sask.
Expensive food
Regarding “$1 billion spent on local wares at farmers’ markets,” (WP, March 5.)
With the latest craze, the 100-mile diet, it’s no surprise that shopping at farmers’ markets has increased. It does surprise me that vendors think electronic payment will entice more young people to shop there.
As a college student, I shop where my dollar stretches the furthest. The availability of electronic payment is not enough to persuade me to change my shopping habits.
Some current prices of items at the Strathcona Farmers’ Market and the Real Canadian Superstore are as follows: carrots, $2.13 per pound versus $1.25 per lb.; green cabbage, $1 per lb. versus 57 cents per lb.; potatoes, $1.20 per lb. versus 59 cents per lb.; a frozen chicken, $3.90 per lb. versus $1.90 per lb., respectively.
Buying from local growers may reduce my carbon footprint, but I use twice as much fuel to travel to the nearest farmers’ market and then make an additional trip to purchase items that aren’t available there.
Shopping at farmers’ markets is not for everyone. Someday I would like to reduce my impact on the environment, support local farmers, and eat fresh food, but not until I can afford to pay the extra price.
– Megan Hunka,
Edmonton, Alta.
Land ownership
Farm speculation is not reassuring. In the article “Financial guru sees farmland as safe investment,” (WP, March 12,) commodities fund expert Jim Rogers “reassures” us that farmland will provide good returns to investors for the next decade.
“If you want to buy real estate, buy farms.” His investment fund is buying up farms in Western Canada and Brazil. But aren’t we all suffering right now from the collapse of a global real estate speculation bubble?
Should we really feel reassured that hedge fund managers are using blind investors’ money to buy up farmland in order to cash in on farm profits while they look rosy?
He admits that they will “probably sell it in future when it is worth more.” I’d hazard a guess that the land won’t fall back into the hands of family farmers.
In Western Canada, more and larger corporate farms can only be to the detriment of rural communities and the remaining smaller family farms which have to compete with their huge economies of scale.
In Brazil, the speculative expansion of cropping into pastureland zones is mostly driven by biofuel demand, which is sustainably questionable and prone to governments’ policy changes. What will world grain prices look like if the bubble bursts?
It is good news that representatives of the financial industry believe that farming may be due a profitable few years.
However, given their current abysmal record for sustainable and responsible management, we would be better served by farm commodity and land prices that are not destabilized by this type of “here today, gone tomorrow” investment.
Farmland should be owned and controlled by farmers, not speculators.
– Ken Irving,
Harris, Sask.
Anderson file
To no one’s surprise, David Anderson, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands, has launched another attack on the Canadian Wheat Board.
Only a few years ago, Anderson made accusations against the CWB in the House of Commons relating to CWB marketing – accusations that he was afraid to repeat outside the House because he knew he would be sued. …
The CWB, with its price pooling, government guarantees and single-desk selling, was created to minimize the huge risks that are involved in marketing the very large volumes of grain grown in Western Canada.
Anderson and his anti-CWB friends have worked very hard to expose farmers and the CWB to more and more of that marketing risk and they have succeeded in forcing the CWB to produce marketing options which inherently carry higher risk.
This higher marketing risk has created the need for a contingency fund, and now Anderson is complaining about the use of that self-insurance fund to protect farmers and mitigate the risk.
With the extreme market volatility last year, some grain companies went broke, while others incurred massive debts due to the inability to place timely hedges on grain sales and increased fuel costs.
Two of the largest grain companies in the world, Cargill and Bunge, complained publicly that the Chicago Board of Trade futures trading system was “broken,” and even they called for massive reforms to the so-called free-market.
Rather than work on the real problems of grain marketing, Anderson is still stuck in the rut of using potentially libelous statements to misrepresent the CWB’s marketing system. …
We are just incredibly fortunate that the elected farmers are in charge of the CWB.
– Stewart Wells,
President, National Farmers Union,
Swift Current, Sask.
Big footprint
I read the article “Rural Albertans seek better mail service” in the Producer’s Feb. 19 issue.
Are you kidding me? Canada Post, has common sense gone out the window?
Canada Post is willing to deliver mail for these rural residents to out of the way hamlets, but not to the farm communities where these people do their business.
I guess the meaning of less of a carbon footprint has been lost on Canada Post and their representatives.
– Laura Bland,
Salmon Arm, B.C.
Save the track
Canadian National Railway plans to abandon that portion of track between Oyen, near the Saskatchewan border, and Lyalta, east of Calgary. Why should this not be allowed?
All levels of government should get involved in the discussion regarding the changing rail service as outlined by the status of the CN Three-Year Rail Network Plan …. While the federal government has taken responsibility for economic regulation in the rail sector, it can delegate some of the responsibility to the provincial government.
It is important to note that a large portion of the proposed rail service discontinuation lies within the Special Areas. … The Alberta government administers Special Areas. …
Page 88 of the Feb. 19 edition of The Western Producer states, “Two or three intermodal trains a day used to move on the line between Saskatoon and Calgary but CN has now routed that traffic through Edmonton.
(It quoted) CN spokesperson Kelli Svendsen: “We have no traffic currently wanting to move on this line and no prospect of any orders.”…
It is time that all levels of government, including that agency of the federal government known as the Canadian Transportation Agency, understand the techniques of CN to allow the company to apply for discontinuation of rail lines in five steps.
First, call something a branch line. Second, deem it is grain dependent. Third, place it on a list indicating it intends to stop serving. Fourth, give notice of discontinuation of service. Five, discontinue service.
What can the CTA do?…
In the case of line 47 between Oyen and Lyalta, the first thing to note is the line is not a branch line: it is a main line between Saskatoon and Calgary.
The line was only given the appearance of a grain dependent line when intermodal trails were recently routed through Edmonton. While level of service is an issue on the line, the onus is entirely upon CN to provide an acceptable level of service to the customers.
I urge the CTA to rule against closing that portion of CN line 47 between Oyen and Lyalta and order service to be improved.
I urge all levels of government to ensure that rail companies provide an efficient and cost effective mode of transportation.
Rail transportation is easier on our roads. Rail transportation is more fuel-efficient than other methods of transportation. Properly maintained rail transportation is better on the environment.
Rails are what united our nation. It is incumbent upon all levels of government to ensure that the investment in railroads by our ancestors is protected and accessible by Canadians to facilitate business and commerce within our nation and internationally.
– Elizabeth M. Roberts,
Oyen, Alta.
Simply slaves?
A few days ago I was listening to a popular talk radio show… The host was deep into a rant about the need for Canada to find its own version of Barack Obama.
It occurred to me that in fact Canada already has one. The shell was fired over the bow a long time ago. Actually, it was a harpoon, which buried itself in the proverbial big tail of the whale and Canada hasn’t even bothered to wiggle yet.
Forget about Toyota, Honda, and Nissan and the sniveling from the Canadian Auto workers about buying domestic automobiles to keep the money flowing in our country.
Don’t they realize that The Big Three are American companies? Haven’t they noticed the gigantic Wal-Marts, Home Depots, the thousands of McDonalds, or even their beloved Bass Pro Shops? The list of American retailers sucking money out of the pockets of Canadians could fill this page and several more.
We have been sold out by Ottawa, boys and girls. And it happened long ago. …
Leadership. We have none. This fall and winter has proven that without doubt. With a global crisis looming, our crew stood by and watched the harpoon sink in deeper still …
We stand by and watch our health care deteriorate daily. I thought they told us our health care was the best in the world? Why then, are people paying cash for MRIs in Buffalo and mothers driving to Great Falls, Montana, to give birth to their babies? …
We should be standing up together, uniting as a country and demanding accountability from our government.
Year after year, we allow our tax dollars to be squandered while our infrastructure and public services weaken….
How can we face our neighbours to the south and utter the words “strong and free” when we are slaves to the American greenback? …
Let us demand responsibility from our members of Parliament. Let us demand fiscal responsibility from our democratically elected members of Parliament. Let us put a stop to the sell out, take back control of our natural resources. Let us expect beneficial results for our millions of annual tax dollars …
This country that I love is very close to being swallowed by the whale. Ottawa is selling us out and our American neighbours are buying. Are you ready to give up the 49th parallel?
Next winter I won’t need to worry about putting up the woodpile. Border crossing should be easy. I can bask in the sunshine of our New South and embrace Barack Obama as my own.
Canadians may be generous in spirit, but we shouldn’t let it represent a weakness in character.
– H. W. Tuttle,
Longview, Alta.
Auto bailout
Well here we are, months into 2009 and we still see people with their hands out. Yes, the big three auto makers are at the doors of Ottawa, wanting billions of dollars to save their factories.
If the industry wants to gain this money, what will we get in return? In 1987, I bought a Chrysler New Yorker with a 440-V8 engine in it. I got over 28 miles to the gallon.
A few years later, Datsun came out with a line that all got over 40 miles per gallon. If we look at the cars being advertised today, most brag that they are getting 28 miles to the gallon. Big deal. I believe that the industry has gone backwards instead of forwards.
If the taxpayers of Canada are bailing out the big three, then let’s get some cars and trucks that have power and mileage. Let’s get some hybrid cars and trucks that are salable all over North America and abroad. Let’s corner the electric car market. Let’s make the cars and trucks that will sell in the future and not dinosaurs that will die.
Refit and redefine your factories like Lee Iacocca did with Chrysler in the 1980s. This man brought out the first K car, the first mini van and led to the three-quarter tons with diesels in them. He had vision and drive. He dealt with the unions, creditors and suppliers, promising a better line of autos that would surpass the competition.
As Canadians, we have seen over the last few years, the big price difference between the U.S. price and Canada’s. Why?
In most cases, some of these cars and trucks are built in Canada or have Canadian parts in them. Some who have travelled many miles into the U.S. to purchase a car saved $10,000 or more in comparison to Canada prices.
My question to the big three is this: why the difference? Freight is not a large factor and I believe preparing the car at the dealership would be the same.
Before we write the big cheque, let’s see what we will really get for our dollars. Will we save hundreds of jobs in Ontario? Will we lead the industry in Canada with a new and improved product? Will we see fair pricing in Canada?
If the answer is yes, then OK but if the answer is no, then sorry big three. Go look for other work.
– Bob Thomas,
Regina Beach, Sask.
Tax loopholes
For many years I have been writing letters to the editor about the need for Ottawa to close the loopholes that enable very wealthy Canadians to avoid paying their fair share of tax by using tax havens.
Recently, I’ve learned that the giant Swiss bank UBS (formerly United Bank of Switzerland) has agreed to pay the United States government $780 million in fines for a secret tax evasion scheme similar to one that operates in Canada.
Wealthy Canadian and American bank depositors are encouraged to hide their fortunes from tax collectors.
According to an article in the Feb. 19 issue of the Globe and Mail by Greg McArthur, Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the United States and who was Brian Mulroney’s former minister of finance, has worked for UBS, and has turned down repeated requests for interviews on this subject because “it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to comment.”
It is my view that, as representatives of ordinary Canadians, members of Parliament should be raising the question of tax avoidance and possibly evasion in the House of Commons.
It is, after all, ordinary Canadians like myself who have to pay more tax when the very rich can get away without paying their share.
– William Dascavich,
Edmonton, Alta.
Nuclear questions
It is time all political factions came forward with their plans and fantasies regarding Bruce Power and the nuclear power plant proposal.
We, the public, are waiting for some word from you folks, not some political hobble babble. Or are you just hiding till Bruce Power has purchased property in our province with no option of backing down or out of this proposed plant or should I say plants?
So far we have only received a pretty “how great” pamphlet from Bruce Power related to this proposal with no answers as to how many years it will operate nor any environmentally unfriendly possibilities that may be entailed if an accident or spill occurs ….
Will there be any daily environmentally unfriendly emissions let out onto our soil, into our water systems, into the air?
How much property would one plant require? How much potable water per day will one plant require, understanding that the water used will not likely be returned into the water system after use without additives?
We need to have a public referendum before this or any other project should go any farther.
Why not invest in solar and wind generation systems (that) will not pollute or harm the very substances that are required to sustain a healthy environment and respect the air, food and water needed to sustain life…?
It is my understanding that only 400 environmentally friendly wind powered generators would produce nearly an equivalent power as the proposed Bruce Power plant. Would that be a bad thing?
Add solar panels and we reserve a much safer environmentally source of power, not to mention the jobs and services produced and created for our future offspring while not fearing an ecological disaster ….
I am not willing to see your children nor mine face an unstable environmentally unhealthy possibility of further contamination of our resources needed to sustain life.
Let’s work at cleaning up our Earth to become a safe habitat for future generations to enjoy.
– Ron Cox,
Lloydminster, Sask.
