Work together
I was encouraged by farmers being unanimous in opposing Roundup Ready wheat (WP, April 3.)
There’s also some information on added costs and complications. This is some consequence of the world system trying to run agriculture its own way, ignoring supreme wisdom.
This system is blinded by desperation, greed, ignorance and a sense of lack (of control), having tried to dominate and control for too long. Now it’s rightly eating its own fruit. We can see that too much power in too few hands leads to corruption.
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Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
I’m not against anyone. I am for righteousness and truth dominating in the hearts of as many people as possible. Then wise choices will be made for a future of hope, prosperity, health, freedom and happiness. Everyone in agriculture, especially young farmers, can benefit from this.
Let’s start with absolute, unchanging truth. The earth was founded by principles of wisdom, immutable laws, which are always going to work, established for our benefit and well being. Perfect knowledge, reason and logic were used.
We’ve been given everything needed to produce nutritious food. It is an awesome privilege to learn how to work in harmony with nature. Let’s make agriculture policies that do this, taking into consideration what we know about biology, ecology, chemistry and physics.
There cannot be successful industry, benefitting all people at the same time, any other way.
In the midst of this blizzard of controversy and deception may there be insight, wise thoughtfulness, discernment, prudence and discretion used. May farmers work together and come to understand true knowledge.
May they learn to improve their soil by building up humus levels to grow healthier crops, better able to resist all stresses, reducing the need for expensive herbicides, fungicides and pesticides.
– Gerry Hoeppner,
Morden, Man.
COOL law
I’m writing because of the controversies over the country-of-origin labelling law.
At first glance, I know that many cattlemen are thinking that this is a great tool to help them market their beef. But unfortunately, the way the law is written, it will end up costing them a great deal.
We have a group of cattlemen in Oregon that were very forward thinking and developed Oregon Country Beef. This beef is sold as a specialty product as the cattle are free from additives.
The Oregon Country Beef has had a great deal of success in marketing their product and each year their sales increase. This is an example of how the beef producers can make a lot of money and have their “branded beef.”
By using regulation, you are limiting the great minds that we find in entrepreneurs all over America.
Too many industries are over-regulated. Most of the time, less government is better.
Having been raised on a cattle and wheat ranch, I firmly believe that the American food producer can do a lot toward marketing their products, without the mandatory COOL law. This mandatory law will end up costing the local rancher big bucks.
– Kit Kamo,
Beef Northwest Feeders, LLC,
Nyssa, Oregon
Get going
Re: Healthy medicare system faces challenges, by Rob Brown, April 17.
Thank you, Rev. Brown, for your timely and informative article on a very important issue – public medicare in Canada.
Yes, there are challenges to our public medicare system, especially here in Alberta where the provincial government is on the fast track to privatization of health care.
For example (public-private partnerships), we have a health tax (called a premium by the government), they are ignoring the Romanow Commission report, except to distort it, the provincial health minister is disagreeing with the Canadian Medical Association as to a Canadian health-care system, and they must have forgotten about the Social Union Framework Agreement (1999) because the Alberta government is also rejecting a very important component of health-care reform – the Health Council of Canada to which the first ministers agreed to in early February 2003.
In a recent newspaper article, the Alberta health minister, Mr. (Gary) Marr, said that “he didn’t think anyone in Medicine Hat, Alta. really much cares about the MRI scan rate in Fredericton, N.B.” Think about that.
I think that we must have a national health system with equal and fair access for all Canadians and accountable to all Canadians and it must be not for profit.
Commissioner Romanow is right when he says “health care is, at the end of the day, a moral enterprise, involving all of us with our obligations to ourselves and to each other and to the community. It is a moral enterprise and not a business venture and we should organize it on that basis.”
So, you can see we all have yet a lot of work to do to keep our single-payer publicly administered health-care system based on Canadian values. Let’s get going.
– Jacquie Christenson,
Sedgewick, Alta.
Agonizing death
We come from a farming background and it has always troubled me that the use of strychnine causes such a painful death.
No one would allow this to happen to a pet. Wild animals feel pain too and deserve a better fate.
Is there no one who can tell us how to control such pests as gophers without such an agonizing death?
– George and Barb Smith,
Delta, B.C.
Manitoba ethanol
I am writing in response to recent concerns raised regarding expanding ethanol production in Manitoba.
The vast majority of farmers support ethanol as a value-added initiative in Manitoba because it will provide a local market for their wheat, high protein feed for their livestock and diversify the rural economy.
Ethanol enjoys the support of the Manitoba agricultural producers, feed companies and livestock producers.
A recent study commissioned by Natural Resources Canada (available at www.manitobaenergy.com) demonstrates that ethanol produced from Manitoba wheat has a positive net energy balance of 44 percent.
In other words, after all the energy is tallied up that goes into producing ethanol – from seed in the ground to ethanol in the tank – there is 44 percent more energy created.
These results are confirmed by study after study in both the United States and Canada. Any theory suggesting otherwise contradicts the vast weight of scientific evidence. Furthermore, we expect these numbers to increase even further as various in-plant energy efficiency improvements such as in drying and in the production of feedstock (e.g. higher yielding varieties) continue to come on line.
This same study also reveals that ethanol has a positive impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study indicates that Manitoba-made ethanol, blended at 10 percent, would cut greenhouse gas emissions by five percent compared to 100 percent gasoline. …
Concerns with the use of fresh water and energy consumption in ethanol production are based on outdated information and ignore the fact that ethanol production processes have improved significantly over the last 20 years.
Not only are energy requirements down substantially, but an 80 million litre modern plant is expected to use less water than the existing Manitoba plant one-eighth that size.
Ethanol production also enjoys the support of the American NFU (National Farmers Union) and NFU locals from across the United States – organizations that have had experience with ethanol and have seen the benefits for their farmer members including increased grain prices, reduced transportation costs, availability of high protein livestock feed and increased property taxes.
This is why farmers support increased ethanol production and why our government is pursing the industry. …
– Tim Sale,
Minister of Energy, Science and Technology,
Winnipeg, Man.
Life of farmers
There are two types of occupational dream: farmers and those who wish they were.
Last fall the price of grain gained some resemblance of fair pay. What has happened since? The price, purchase and lease of equipment has gone up. The price of repair has become a greater burden to the needy.
There is very little equipment left or manufactured that a farmer can repair on his own. Very often the equipment must be returned to the dealer or workshop for repair. …
The farmer must worry about the cost of seed and availability, the cost of inputs, the weather, the marketing legal boundaries and legalities in application of inputs, genetic modification, organic, zero till, continuous cropping, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, crows, wildlife like beavers, coyotes, gophers, magpies, mice, legalities of contracts, warranties and repayment.
Then there’s the scenario at the end of the farmer’s career. The farm auction sale – the income and GST people are checking investments and returns with open hands. The auction mart has the cash in hand, which the farmer ends up counting his change.
Do you by now need a holiday? If you know the right people, you may get a place at the care home.
There is another kind of reprieve possible. Many stress centres are being provided for gambling addicts to recuperate. I suggest that every farmer apply at the earliest convenience as there may be a waiting list.
There is a lot of usable machinery being sold at auction sales. Pride, ego, and financing prevent many from buying hand-me-downs. If you don’t have disposable cash you have to use the banks and dealer offers of financing. Auction marts, like everything else, are squeezing the small entrepreneur out. One of these days an auction mart will desire instant financing on site.
How many other industries can describe similar difficulties?
– E. O. Oystreck,
Yorkton, Sask.
Gopher theory
With regard to the photograph published on page 10 of the April 10 Western Producer, showing a Richardson’s ground squirrel (aka gopher) chasing a rabbit, we can surmise more about what the ground squirrel is doing.
From the date of the event (April 4) and the partial snow cover, we can deduce the time to be the annual mating season.
From the fact that the ground squirrel has wounds on its left cheek and right forearm, we can deduce it is a male who has already been in fights with other males for the privilege of mating with females.
So, the “gopher” in the photograph likely views the rabbit as a potential competitor, not for seed in a grain bin, but for female mates. Most male Richardson’s ground squirrels only survive for one mating season, so they do their utmost to drive off rivals in order to ensure that they can mate with several females.
The ground squirrel in the photograph is just overly keen about identifying his mating competitors.
– Dr. Gail R. Michener,
Professor, Department of
Biological Sciences,
University of Lethbridge,
Lethbridge, Alta.
Whose government?
(Saskatchewan) MLA Brad Wall, along with Yogi Huyghebaert, Lyle Stewart and Jason Dearborn, have done an excellent job of keeping the Saskatchewan electorate informed of the various financial boondoggles committed by the provincial government (Spudco, mega bingo, foreign investment ventures by crown corporations, etc.)
However, in his quest for a fiscally responsible government, Wall has missed several biggies. Being a loyal Saskatchewanian, I feel it my duty to assist him by mentioning those boondoggles he has missed.
Giga Text, the computerized French language translation service that cost Saskatchewan taxpayers $5.5 million. Then the $1.5 million loss in golf simulator Joytec, and to this day, questions remain unanswered about the $2.2 million Saskatchewan Economic Development Corp. lost in White City’s Rendamax GP Industries where company president Ben Kuzmicz, a long-time PC supporter, resigned his appointment on the Sedco board just days before the Sedco loan to Rendamax was approved.
Between 1982 and 1991, Sedco, the province’s former lender of last resort, lost $115 million of taxpayers’ money. Among the biggest losses: Impact Packaging Systems, a $17.2 million loss in Wall’s own Swift Current constituency; Intercontinental Packers, a $16.8 million loss; Federated Co-operatives, a $15 million loss; Flexicoil, a $10 million loss; and Westank Willock, a $7.4 million loss.
All taxpayers money flushed down the drain by the government of the day – the same government that drove this province multi-billion dollars into debt during its years of power.
Oops, that was your government under Grant Devine, wasn’t it, Mr. Wall?
– Joyce Neufeld,
Waldeck, Sask.
Pull together
Now that the United States Commerce Department has put an additional duty on Canadian spring wheat and durum (8.15 percent and 6.12 percent), it may be time for those opposed to Canadian Wheat Board marketing to reassess their thinking.
The Americans have stepped up to the plate nine times trying to get (the) North American Free Trade Agreement to rule against the CWB and nine times they have struck out. Now it’s happening again and if the tenth attempt is successful, Canadian grain producers could see a total embargo on grain entering the States.
Forget about taking a few truck loads across the border, instead think about a $47 million loss in sales per year.
If this happens, Canada will need to find additional markets overseas. It appears now that Canadian production is about to rebound and markets will be of prime importance.
The CWB has an enviable track record of marketing our grain. It looks as though we may need its expertise more than ever if the border is closed to us.
I ask all growers of export grain to set aside personal gain and old grudges for the good of the whole. The Americans make no bones about their intent to dismantle the board (I wonder why?), but now, more than ever before, we need a strong marketing tool such as we already have in place.
For once in our history, let’s pull together on this serious challenge to our market and our method of marketing.
– R. J. Thomson,
Alsask, Sask.
