Pull my finger! Phhttttgshhtht. The flatulence joke is ever popular with boys of all ages. But the sound involved is being repeated across the livestock network in the United States as beef, dairy and hog producers consider the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to impose a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, or GHG. It’s actually belching […] Read more
Opinion — page 697
Belch tax doesn’t smell too good – Editorial Notebook
Letters to the editor
No thumbs up; Why coalition; Infrastructure; Taxpayer load; Pretend money; Feed the world; Wish list No thumbs up The vehicle I drive received fairly high marks from Consumers Report but if I were to look for, say, a new half-ton four-wheel drive I think I’d have to put on the brakes. The latest Consumer Report […] Read more
Tax strategies for capital losses – Taking care of business
With the turbulent markets, many people are watching their investments fall below what they originally paid for them. What can be done to help cushion the fall? Should you sell some of your investments? These are important questions that focus on the concept of capital losses and their impact on our tax situation. A capital […] Read more
Diaries of a Global Farmer
Clothes are scattered in piles on the floor – sleeveless blouses, skirts and shorts for Africa, heavy sweaters for Europe, my books on tropical herbal medicine, Robert’s building tools – utility knife, multipurpose screwdriver, carpenter’s pencils, measuring tape. The power, gas and phone bills are paid. Our will and insurance is up to date. I […] Read more
Dragged, but not too far down
Today’s selloff in the equity markets seems to have sucked down the ag commodity markets too, but they’re making a valiant effort to regain today’s losses. Recently there’s been a fairly steady upwards progression in crop commodity prices, but today everything opened down and seemed to be threatening the upwards march. However, there seems to […] Read more
Semi-positive from the Doommeister
The equity markets have been hitting two month highs and even some of the gloomiest doommeisters have been saying (hedged) positive things about the short term outlook. Today investment guru Marc Faber reiterated his generally apocalyptic view of where the world economy’s heading – “It’s not mildly contracting, but falling off a cliff” – but […] Read more
Snarls
Nothing makes a farmer snarl more than a port strike or lockout that stops prairie grain flowing out to the world’s markets. In a few days, farmers might have something fresh to snarl about if B.C. truckers and dock workers decide to strike. Right now it looks like the dockworkers situation might not go ballistic, […] Read more
Wash day blues turn green
The humble clothesline is making a comeback. Using the original solar dryer is a political act in many urban communities, where the sight of laundry flapping in the breeze is forbidden. Fortunately, country people can do as they please on wash day without offending the neighbours. We all know it’s worthwhile buying energy efficient appliances. […] Read more
Keeping a lid on containers
More than 77 million empty pesticide containers have been removed from the countryside since CropLife Canada launched its recycling program in 1989. “It’s an incredible amount of containers we’ve taken out of rural Canada,” said Cam Davreux, CropLife’s vice-president of stewardship. Farmers return an average of five million containers a year to 1,150 collection sites. […] Read more
Psssst! got any carbon to trade?
The terms carbon sequestration and carbon trading are familiar to most farmers. But that familiarity doesn’t necessarily translate into a full understanding of exactly what they mean and how farmers can take advantage of them. “Farmers know it’s there, they know it can be a benefit, but they don’t know the details and the background,” […] Read more
