PESTICIDE NETWORK
To the Editor:
In response to “Pesticide ban position questioned” (article by Robert Arnason, WP Feb. 16) and “Support wise use of chemicals rather than imposing bans” (WP Editorial, Feb. 16).
Pesticides are technology’s answer to poor soil and crop health. The reasons for pest infestations are not due to a lack of pesticides in the environment. Weeds grow in specific soil conditions, favourable to the species. Disease and insects return to the nutrient cycle unhealthy plants that are nutritionally unfit for human consumption.
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Technology allows producers to salvage unhealthy, nutritionally deficient crops, delivering full stomachs but malnourished bodies.
Producers can only do as good of a job as the information they are given and the economic constraints placed upon them under a cheap food policy. Learning to farm without pesticides will be no harder than learning all the pesticides’ names.
However, the economic return will not be as immediate. Pesticides may or may not directly cause cancer, but they are involved in the network of malnutrition that increases susceptibility.
DOG INSURANCE
To the Editor:
After reading all about good dogs for sheep and goat farmers, it appears that some people want it all….
With predators in this country at an all-time high, we have to look at all forms of predator control.
After having a herd of 1,500 or more goats, I have gradually come to realize the value of a good guard dog. I just couldn’t go hunting every day. I raised the Great Pyrenees since there were lots of breeders around.
At record prices for goats and lambs, a $150 or $200 dog is the best investment a farmer could ever have.
Coyotes are getting smarter and will come to your property in midday while you are in town having coffee at Tim Hortons. They will also pack up … and suck out your friendly Border Collie or wonderful Black Lab pet. Ask my neighbours, when their dog is half eaten by morning.
When it comes to feeding your dogs, I have bought very little dog food. I try to save all the baby goats that have died in the sack or others and freeze them in warm weather.
If you do not have enough dogs, the dogs you have will be worn out and the coyotes will have a party.
When all is said and done, if one dog will save you one market lamb or a $300 colt, it has paid for itself more than once. They will also guard against other pests such as raccoons and skunks, and guard your home when you are not there.
I would recommend that you keep your gates closed towards roads as some dogs may wander and get into vehicle traffic after watching a coyote walking down the road.
So to all livestock producers, don’t be cheap — get some dogs….
AUSTRALIANS NOT HAPPY
To the Editor:
(Agriculture) minister (Gerry) Ritz says Australian farmers are happy their wheat board is gone. To support this he claims Australian wheat production “reached record levels last year.”
Minister Ritz must be appealing to the village idiots with this argument. Last year a record long drought ended and Australia actually got rain for a change. That is why production is up.
Ritz also quotes an Australian politician that farmers are happy without their wheat board. We all know politicians almost never admit to a mistake. The Australian media has been full of stories of farmers complaining about mysteriously lower grades, shipping problems, lower prices and discrimination by the big companies.
The Australian farmers who have not been pushed out by the big corporations are surely not happy with the end of their wheat board, and no doubt part of the problem comes from something Ritz boasted about: there are now 26 exporters and 60 pools all taking farmers’ money for their dubious services.
We already see the same things happening here in Canada with the CIBC saying Viterra will increase its profits over 40 percent once the Canadian Wheat Board is gone and foreign hedge funds investing in CP Rail in anticipation that freight rates will increase between 25 and 40 percent.
There is no doubt this makes some people like minister Ritz happy, but fewer and fewer farmers will share in his gloating.
REDUCING RISK
To the Editor:
Re: Pesticide ban position questioned by Robert Arnason (Feb. 16 WP).
The Canadian Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer and helping those who are diagnosed with the disease. The society’s only motivation in advocating for a ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides is our continuing and strong commitment to the health of Canadians.
It is important to distinguish that our call for a ban applies only to cosmetic pesticides that are used primarily to improve the appearance of green spaces by controlling unwanted weeds and plants. The society recognizes that the issue is much more complex in agricultural applications and in ensuring public health and safety.
Our position on cosmetic use of pesticides is supported by a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that some substances used in pesticides may increase the risk of developing cancer. While the evidence linking pesticides and cancer is not definitive, it is suggestive and growing.
Our position also takes into account the precautionary principle that states, when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.
Since cosmetic use of pesticides is purely for decorative purposes, and research suggests that it may cause harm, a ban on cosmetic pesticides supports the society’s effort to protect the health of Canadians and reduce their risk of cancer, which is at the heart of all we do.
DROUGHT TIME
To the Editor:
Surprise, surprise. After reading your Drought Watch, page 5 in Feb. 16 WP, that was the least that could be stated.
Almost anyone residing here on the Prairies will tell the pencil pushing experts that the weather is most certainly like a pendulum. It always swings from too hot to too cold and from too wet to too dry. After having the dry 1980s, erratic ’90s, we had above average wet years for the last greater part of a decade. It all ended in a crescendo in 2010.
Do you think that two millimetres is a lot of rain? Well, on my farm in 2010, I recorded an average of two mm water equivalent per day for the year. For the first half of 2011, we were averaging 0.8 mm per day.
Water catchment sites were disappearing, which was odd because of the previous wet year. We were in a drought. July was somewhat wet, which aided the yearly moisture upward. By year’s end we had received a shade over 0.9 mm per day. On my farm since Aug. 1 we have averaged 0.56 mm.
If this were summer crop growing season, we would have been “fried off” before our mid-January snow. We have been in a drought for 12 months.
All farmers are betting people. Why else would they put all the inputs in the ground for a possible “feast or famine.” Right now, I’d bet we’re into a long haul drought to bring the average back. Some remember the ’30s. Heard yesterday a neighbour’s well went dry.
Pencil pushers are now saying drought. Took a while.
Pandamonium
To the Editor:
Suddenly I’m 60. The thought of my pension hit me square between the eyes. Next, I hear my pension may be delayed or shrunk because the pension program is broke.
At the same time, Canada is going to rent Chinese pandas for 10 years. Trading pandas for pensions doesn’t work. I figure it’s going to cost Canada $10 to $12 million to watch the pandas play. Talk about pandemonium.
The Canadian government better think long and hard at clawing back my pension. They could get bit. Maybe MPs should look at their own pension plans as well as the (prime minister) expenses if they need to trim fat.
Surely the resources of this great nation can look after its senior citizens that have worked for 40 to 50 years.…
Recently, we all have witnessed what happens to political parties that blindly ignore the wishes of the electorate.
