I would like to respond to a column by Kevin Hursh in theWestern Produceron Sept. 29.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kevin, I know him personally and have had the opportunity to work with him on a number of occasions. I was a little disappointed that he felt the need to target a certain cultural demographic to make a point.
The sentence in the article on Hutterite land acquisitions serves no purpose, other than to perpetuate a stereotype.
Hutterites, along with the rest of mainstream society that has roots in agriculture, will always be in the market for land. Primary agriculture is still the best fit to the Hutterite social structure. They have not as yet found another occupation that provides them with the same comfort level, in terms of preservation of cultural integrity and long-term sustainability.
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In 2010, Saskatchewan recognized 525 families with a Century Family Farm Award. Since 1981, over 4,500 families have been so honoured.
The Hutterites came to Alberta around 1918 and to Saskatchewan in the mid-1950s, so we still have some way to go in terms of hanging onto our land.
Hutterite land ownership should not be compared to the black hole of urbanization where thousands of acres are paved over every year, forever lost to food production. In a lot of cases, the land acquired by the Hutterites becomes more productive, due to cutting-edge technology and farming practices.
I know Kevin had no intention of disrespecting a culture, but that’s the trouble with journalistic license. Sometimes it can be taken the wrong way.
Joe Kleinsasser,Rosetown, Sask.
