A4 Friday, January 3, 2020 - The Times
APAS reflects on 2019 as a ‘perfect storm’ for farmers Submitted by Todd Lewis, President of the APAS Agricultural Producers Association of Sask. If ever there was a time when we needed a strong voice to stand up for our industry, it was this past year. 2019 was a difficult year for farmers and ranchers in this province. The APAS worked hard at being Saskatchewan’s agricultural voice at many venues and tables across Canada. In 2020, we’ll dig deep to keep learning about the issues raised by our membership, have productive discussions and offer constructive solutions to problems facing Saskatchewan producers. Saskatchewan farmers faced weather problems in 2019 and many other issues besides. China closed its borders to Canadian canola, pork and beef imports. The carbon tax began to affect producers’ bottom lines, especially those who were drying grain. Crop pricing and grading has become unpredictable. We had yet another rail service disruption. Farm income is down 45 per cent from two years ago and we are seeing the results in the economy. Just talk to the farm machinery dealers; sales have collapsed on many types of equipment.
Producers using grain dryers were particularly hard hit in 2019 by the added cost of the carbon tax. It is both frustrating and ironic that one of the most easily recognizable adaptations to climate change – grain drying – has been targeted by the carbon tax. Without this valuable tool and innovation, many more millions of acres would be left out in Saskatchewan’s fields this winter and tens of millions of bushels of harvestable crops would be at risk of spoilage or prove unsellable due to tough and damp conditions. In 2020, APAS will continue to work towards carbon tax exemptions for essential farm activities such as grain drying and transportation. Business risk management programming is ineffective to mitigate the current problems. We are experiencing an almost perfect storm of problems in our international trade environment. The well-documented trade disruptions between Canada and our major trading partners in India, China, Italy and Saudi Arabia have had a negative impact on the price we receive for our products. At the same time, our input prices are being artificially supported upwards by US
farm policy that is transferring billions of dollars to the American farm sector to mitigate income issues caused by US trade wars. Saskatchewan pro ducers require a better backstop from both the provincial and federal governments to address the current income shortfalls being experienced by many Saskatchewan producers. APAS will continue to offer up ideas to make current programs more relevant as well as designing new programs to help producers get past our current trade problems. The results of the federal election make for an interesting lobbying environment at the federal level. We will continue to talk to all political parties at all levels of government. It is our job to talk about farm policies to the people that form government as well as the opposition. APAS is well situated to lobby a minority government. We are recognized and trusted as being nonpartisan and look forward to working with Saskatchewan MPs as well as all federal parties to improve policies for Saskatchewan producers. In 2019, APAS retained 98 per cent of participating RMs and welcomed nine more transitional members, for a total of 137 RMs.
The Gravelbourg Post Office was built between 1929 and 1930. The twostorey brick building detailed with Tyndall stone was designed in the Modern Classical style. Photo by Dan Archer
Automotive care important during the winter months By Dan Archer During the winters, cars are taxed whenever the cold weather strikes, especially when drivers aren’t able to tuck their vehicles inside warm garages overnight. Len Hanson of Bumper to Bumper in Assiniboia offered some useful advice for car owners to keep their cars running whenever the mercury plunges in freezing temperatures. “Check the batteries,” Hanson advised. “See what the proper cranking amps are.” Cranking amps are the numbers of amperes a lead-acid battery at 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) can deliver for 30 seconds. During tests, batteries should maintain at least 1.2 volts per cell (7.2 volts for a 12-volt battery). The cranking amps determine how much available power there is when starting the vehicle in most climates. A multimeter can be used
to check the battery’s voltage, current and resistance when the motor’s cranked. “Check the block heater,” Hanson further suggested. “The plug ins should show a little spark.” Vehicles should be plugged in overnight, giving the engine a better chance to start in cold weather. Canadians take block heaters for granted, but they aren’t a common feature in vehicles in other countries. Block heaters are usually found in car engines, but they’ve also been used in aircraft systems. A typical block heater is simply an electrical heating element embedded in the engine block. To see if the block heater is working, unplug the block heater’s cord then pull it out and away from the vehicle. Set a multimeter to the ohms setting, touch one probe to each of the prongs on the block heater plug then read the resistance. According to Hansen,
newer cars don’t have to be plugged in for temperatures above -20 Celsius. Older cars should be plugged in at -15 or below. “Some of the newer cars don’t have a place for a block heater,” Hanson added. If this is the case, Hanson advised the owners of newer cars without bock heaters to buy stick-on oil pan heaters. A pan heater will keep the oil from gelling. Vehicles start easier with oil pan heaters and there’s less internal wear and tear. Hansen also recommended interior car warmers as an added convenience during the winter starts. These devices are mounted on the floor and underneath the car’s instrument panel – a mounting bracket is often included. Car warmers will keep the interior warm and the windows frost free, so there’s no need to scrape the ice off the windows during freezing January mornings.
Len Hanson of Bumper to Bumper in Assiniboia offered some useful advice for car owners to keep their cars running whenever the mercury plunges in freezing temperatures. Photo by Dan Archer