Remove blinders
Recently, due to a family situation, one decided to opt out of the farm and buy a house in town. The other was forced to finance the farm to facilitate the move. Both were through government agencies.
To buy a house in town, anyone through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. can get a loan at 3.2 percent interest today. Take note that a house is a non-productive item that only gets older every year and definitely has a terminal lifespan. The avenue of repayment completely rests with the owner being able to hold down a job in which the debt can be retired.
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The other side chooses to stay on the farm and in order to help finance part of the house and separation arrangement, uses Farm Credit Canada to do his arrangements. The best rate is at least one percent higher.
Now a farm, even if the owner chooses off-farm employment, is a revenue-producing collateral that is fully capable of meeting the repayment obligation that is agreed to by FCC.
Both entities are instruments of government policy, so I question the discrepancy of the one percent difference in rates. I am not about to suggest that FCC should go out and borrow money at subsidized rates to finance farmers that want to build huge empires, but when it comes to smaller farmers who are genuine and need to be part of the community and the risk factor at near nil, I think the rural guy gets the short end of the stick.
My suspicion is that urban voters outnumber rural ones and politicians tend to cuddle up to ones more apt to re-elect them.
To see that fairness and equity within all society is properly addressed, our ministers and representatives need to take off their blinders once in a while and right the apparent wrongs.
– Harry Beskorovayny,
Gronlid, Sask.
Empty calories
In response to “Can’t build peace on empty stomachs” (Editorial, Sept. 24):
What good is a genetically modified crop to a sustenance producer who must surrender his licence grown harvest to a biotech company? GM crops only benefit the companies that distribute them.
GM crops are the ingredients of the calorie dense, nutritionless processed foods we consume today. Any GM or conventional plant can’t create nutritious food from unbalanced, nutrient deficient, unhealthy soil.
While it is important to develop plants for specific environments, the foundation of animal and plant health starts with the soil.
Addressing soil health and returning nutrients from the urban areas will far exceed any benefit the biotech community will deliver to the poor.
It will not be long before it is recommended to take nutritional supplements to correct our food’s deficiencies. …
– Garrett Osborn,
Big Beaver, Sask.
