LEARN FROM HISTORY
Western Canadian agriculture is in a precarious position now. The loss of the pools, the Crow rate and the wheat board have destroyed the only protection small farmers had. All aspects of farming are controlled by the major corporations, both the fertilizers and the chemicals.
Therefore, it is necessary for small producers to return to organic production, as they did prior to the Second World War.
All governments favour agri-business to the detriment of the small family farm. The world needs food, and the western hemisphere supplies a major part of it.
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The Pan-Canadian Action Plan on African swine fever has been developed to avoid the worst case scenario — a total loss ofmarket access.
Other parts of the world that purchase the food we produce do not want genetically modified food. This puts us in a position of having to try to avoid that production.
When governments cater to the needs of agri-business, they jeopardize the small producer. Even though all advertising is geared to mass production, it is still the small producers who will feed the world.
To market our produce, we need to return to what we learned during the 1930s, and that is co-operation. By forming co-ops that were financed by the members, we managed to survive until the war caused shortages, and they needed our food, which brought prosperity.
We co-operated to supply the goods we needed and to market our produce. That is the lesson of history.
Jean H. Sloan,
Lloydminster, Sask.
DESTROYING FARM PROGRAMS
During my appearance before the House of Commons agriculture committee on Feb. 5, a Conservative MP made a failed attempt to discredit me by quoting, out of context, a line from my 2009 outgoing speech as National Farmers Union president.
I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to think that Conservative MPs are sitting up late at night reading old NFU documents.
If they would read and understand more NFU papers, the Conservative MPs wouldn’t be destroying Canada’s world-class ag research centres, or gutting AgriStability and biasing the program against low-cost producers, or confiscating the farmers’ wheat board assets without compensation, or undermining the Canadian Grain Commission, or selling community pastures and placing gag orders on pasture managers, or killing the tree farm at Indian Head, which has provided trees for virtually every farm in the West and contributed to the management and preservation of millions of acres of the last native prairie grasslands in Canada, or touting corporate vertical integration over hog farmers, or refusing a costing review of the railways, or cutting the farmer co-funded AgriInvest program by 33 percent, or — and the list goes on.
Stewart Wells,
Swift Current, Sask.
PRIVATE PROFITS
A few days ago, some newspapers in Saskatchewan displayed the following headline: “In future liquor stores will be private.”
It follows that the profits from liquor sales will also be private.
On Feb. 21, 2009, the Regina Leader-Post reported the profits from liquor sales at that time were $173 million per year.
With an increasing population, I expect profits could now be near $200 million per year.
What a missed opportunity. My guess would be Saskatchewan could go some distance down the road to eliminating those degrading food banks with the $200 million.
Could it be premier (Brad) Wall would rather see a few unionized liquor store employees lose their jobs? Unionized employees are a pet peeve for premier Wall.
It is not too late to do the right thing rather than stuffing those millions into the pockets of those that are doing well as it is.
Henry Neufeld,
Waldeck, Sask.
RULINGS CONCERNING
The recent decision by the Supreme Court, dismissing the farmers’ application to have their case heard, leaves many questions unanswered.
Contrary to agriculture minister Gerry Ritz’s statements, the case was not about “the right of western Canadian grain farmers to make their own business decisions.”
Rather, it was about whether or not the government has to follow the laws of the land.
This case was asking about several things, but firstly, does the government have to follow the law when a judge rules against them?
Previously, governments abided by the court’s rulings and did not proceed with pushing through legislation, but instead they filed an appeal if they thought the rulings were wrong.
This current government not only carried through with the legislation contrary to the ruling but also appealed the ruling at the same time, a total disregard to the court’s decision.
This case was also about farmers having the right to vote on the type of marketing structure they wanted, irrespective of the government’s ideology, since this right was enshrined in legislation.
Finally, this case was about the minister of agriculture’s integrity. Before the federal election, he stated he was not prepared to move arbitrarily and that farmers believe in democracy and so did he. After the election, that promise disappeared: a great bait and switch tactic.
With the Supreme Court dismissal of the farmers’ case, they have left more questions unanswered. They have left Canadians with the impression that this government does not have to follow the law.
Rob Cowan,
Swan River, Man.
CLEAR BLUE SKIES
Re: Letter to Editor by Lynn Link, Feb. 14 WP, Burning alternative.
Whoa up there, good buddy. What brought on this outburst in the middle of February on stubble burning?
Come back next fall and you will see that there is virtually no stubble burning anymore in southern Manitoba and, for the little that there is, there is no objectionable smoke.
We have had choppers on our combines for all of the 43 years we’ve been farming in the Red River Valley, as have all of my neighbours.
Choppers have greatly improved over the years. The fine-cut ones, which many farmers now use, do a great job.
In addition, many farmers now use heavy harrows, which do a fantastic job of pulverizing even the standing stubble.
All farmers today appreciate the nutrient value and fibre value of straw. There are exceptional cases, however, where there may be no alternative but to either burn or not seed a crop.
Our Manitoba government highly regulates on a day-by-day and location-by-location basis when stubble burning can take place. There are stiff fines for violators. Our local RCMP has no problem spotting an illegal burn.
So, please come back next fall and enjoy the clear, blue, beautiful, smoke-free Manitoba skies.
Bill Craddock,
Winnipeg, Man.
PURE FOOD BEST
Re: Sean Pratt’s article Nutritional overload could have negative outcomes: study, Feb. 7 WP.
Our bodies do not know what to do with all these foreign oils that are refined and unnatural such as corn, canola, safflower, sunflower etc. and all margarines. So it’s stored as fat or gathers in our organs, causing problems.
These unnatural products are showing up in many foods where they shouldn’t be and it seems soy products and corn are in nearly everything — a cheap filler that’s causing health problems.
Eat as naturally as possible and read all labels. Butter, cream, olive oil and unrefined oils such as coconut are healthy and our bodies can process them. If you can find a source of real cream and homemade butter, so much the better.
Past generations were not obese and filling prescriptions because they ate pure food not refined and adulterated with GMOs.
Elaine Sloan,
Busby, Alta.
