Fell through crack; No blame for rats; Cookie flop; Fiscal managers?; CWB branding; Rats and gophers; Red Tories
Fell through crack
“This Conservative government puts farmers first in every decision we make,” said our (federal) agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, in a letter to the editor in The Western Producer dated Sept. 3.
This comment by our ag minister should be the way a government reacts to all decisions that concern agriculture in Canada. But a letter that I received from Mr. Ritz says something very different.
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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.
When the cost of production program was introduced, I tried to apply for it as a new beginning farmer by using my 2005 and 2006 net sales. 2005 was my first year of actually farming.
But because I had bought some cows in December 2004, they deemed me a farmer in 2004, so they used my 2000-04 tax years, although I had never farmed in these years.
Not only was I ineligible for the COP payment but I didn’t qualify for the first kickstart money under the new Agri-Invest program. My 2004 year was also used to lower my margin for the AgriStability program. So, my decision to buy a few bred cows in December 2004, in preparing to start farming in 2005, has cost me money under three different programs.
All my appeals through the proper channels including the ag minister has been for nothing.
The first part of the letter from the minister pats themselves on their back for introducing $1 billion to start these programs. To me, that was like rubbing salt on a cut because my cost of production in 2005 and 2006 was the same as everyone else’s, yet I received nothing….
He then stated “the concerns you have raised in your letter have been noted and will be considered in the development of any future farm income assistance programs.” That indicates that (he) acknowledges that I fell through a crack in the programs that (he) will address in the future but (he) chose to leave me buried in the crack.
It is truly sad that our elected politicians, who should be setting policy and direction to ensure fairness for all farmers, spend so much time slinging mud at each other instead of working together to make sure young farmers have a future in agriculture.
– Michael Draper,
Lenore, Man.
No blame for rats
For some time now I have listened to the rumours regarding the rat infestation at my highway commercial land development east of Swift Current, formerly Lang’s Feedlot.
I have let the rumours slide as I have better things to keep busy at than chase rumours, but lately it has become disturbing and needs to be addressed.
In spring 2008 there were parties interested in purchasing the feedlot facility and opening another livestock operation. …
After in-depth review I decided it was best for my community and all involved to cut my losses and demolish the facility. Any entrepreneur will understand the heartache I went through as I watched my investment and 15-year dream get pushed into a pile and burned to make way for future expansion.
It was not just the investment but the hours of work spent in growing trees, cutting grass and the huge upkeep in cleanliness ensuring the site was not an eyesore over the years.
Contrary to some peoples’ belief, the site was never abandoned. Along with continual upkeep, there was always some kind of activity at the feedlot at all times. Consistently there were cats at the lot and our best friends, a family of weasels, that lived in the back area, both of which are still there.
We also put out poison on a regular basis. In the three years prior to our city’s problem, only one rat was seen and it was dead….
Let me share a few facts: 1. During demolition in summer 2008, all grass was cut, every board, every cement pad, all old grain feeders, every water bowl, every machine and unfortunately 90 percent of the beautiful big trees were either burned or hauled away. During this process not one rat was seen at this location.
2. All of the salvage was lined up and piled at the rear of the lot and disposed of by way of auction in late fall 2008. The auction drew a huge crowd and during the sale and removal of acquisitions not one single sighting of a rat was reported.
3. The property was subdivided and the front area and workshop leased out for the winter and all winter not one rat was seen.
4. After the sale in October the winter weather moved in and the project was put on hold.
5. In April 2009, additional tenants moved in and the construction process resumed with the building of a grid road and the transplanting and levelling of dirt. And through this entire spring activity not one rat has been seen.
So now I have to wonder, from the summer of 2008 to the spring of 2009, some seven months, where did these so-called lot rats live and why were there no sightings in the late summer and fall when there would be a massive herd looking for new homes before winter?
The answer is very clear There never were any rats at the lot.
I wish to advise all who are spreading these lies and rumours that they are just that and I am prepared to seek legal action against anyone who is found defaming my character or business activity.
– Ed Lang,
Swift Current, Sask.
Cookie flop
Most recipes you publish are quite good and worth a try.
However, Greg’s smore cookies (WP, July 30) were a complete flop, in my opinion.
Fifty-six years of reputation as a good cook would be out the window if I served those.
– Shirley Armstrong,
Bassano, Alta.
Fiscal managers?
Gordon Campbell, a Conservative in Liberal clothing, has put British Columbia in a financial free-fall.
Grant Devine, a Conservative, left Saskatchewan on the edge of bankruptcy.
Mike Harris, a Conservative, left Ontario in terrible financial shape.
George Bush, a neo-conservative Republican, has left the United States in financial ruin.
And now Stephen Harper, an Alliance Conservative, is leading Canada down the same path.
Where do people get the idea that Conservatives are fiscally responsible managers?
– Frank Orosz,
Creston, B.C.
CWB branding
Unfortunately, Gertrude Sawatzky was misinformed about the CWB’s branding and advertising efforts (Open Forum, Sept. 3).
The advertising budget is spent on ensuring prairie farmers are aware of and informed about the Canadian Wheat Board programs and services they can use – everything from notifying farmers of upcoming producer payment options deadlines to promoting the annual variety survey to raising awareness about initiatives such as the wheat storage program.
In addition to advertising, the CWB has $1 million designated exclusively to branding, which is used to support and leverage the reputation of western Canadian grain in the international marketplace and to Canadian customers.
This is not about CWB self-image, it’s about promoting a product to customers.
It’s also an investment that is overwhelmingly supported by grain producers. In our 2009 producer survey, 94 percent of farmers supported branding and promoting western Canadian wheat in foreign markets and 89 percent supported these activities aimed at Canadian consumers.
To put that expense into perspective, it is what the CWB budgets for its branding and promotion efforts in total across the 70 markets we sell to internationally.
We get more bang for our branding dollar by partnering with our customers to target messages at consumers about the high quality of the prairie grains they use.
I’d also challenge Ms. Sawatzky’s assertion that farmers have no control over how this money is spent. Farmers are in charge of the CWB. They sit as a majority of our board of directors, elected by their fellow producers. They insist on our farmer-first culture, which is incorporated into all aspects of internal performance evaluation and promoted to our staff on a constant basis.
– David Burrows,
Vice President,
Corporate Communications and Government Relations,
Canadian Wheat Board,
Winnipeg, Man.
Rats and gophers
No doubt by now everyone has heard of the rat problem in Swift Current, Sask….
The rat infestation in Swift Current is minimal compared to the problems that gophers have created in southwestern Saskatchewan. Tens of thousands of acres were razed before the environmental experts allowed the use of strychnine that had been banned by the Chrétien Liberal administration in 1993.
I’m amazed that we’re willing to send our children and grandchildren to fight a war in Afghanistan that has, to date, caused (as of Sept. 9, 129) Canadian deaths, not to mention an even greater number of physical and mental injuries.
We justify our involvement that the war will reduce the threat of terrorism. Yet we panic over the fact that a few hawks, cats and dogs may die while ingesting a carcass laced with strychnine.
Keep in mind that strychnine, when mixed with the proper bait and applied by a professional, can be effective poison against rats.
The Higher Power gave us intelligence. Should we not have the right to use that intelligence to create effective controls against the pestilence that threatens our well being?
Better yet, maybe we need to control our environmental extremists, and the rats and gophers will disappear on their own.
– John Hamon,
Gravelbourg, Sask.
Red Tories
We in agriculture stimulated the economy and created $40 billion in great debt load since we renounced subsidies and tariffs 20 years ago. The government has created a $50 billion debt load stimulating the economy since the recession and seems to want more stimuli.
When we renounced protectionism, we moved to the left big time. What is free trade?
Free trade is trade conducted without restrictions, protective tariffs, customs duties, etc. In other words, without any consideration as to where products or the impact these products have on the markets in which they are sold.
Karl Marx was the father of modern communism and this is what he said on the subject: “The protective system in these days is conservative, while the free trade system works destructively.
“It breaks up old nationalities and carries antagonism of the proletariat and bourgeois to the uttermost point. In a word, the free trade system hastens the social revolution. In this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, I am in favour of free trade.”
Could this be a major reason why modern Tories are called red Tories?
– Ralph Dawson,
Elmworth, Alta.
