THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2016
VOL. 94 | NO. 45 | $4.25
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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WWW.PRODUCER.COM
Remembrance Day |
A FARM SON STAYS SAFE
P.17
NOW HERE’S A TOUGH ROW TO HOE
GRAIN SHIPPING
HARVEST
Farm groups approve of transportation reform plans BY KAREN BRIERE
Slowing climate change
Two Alta. counties declare ag disasters
What Alberta’s plan means for the province | P. 64
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Crops in Brazeau, Lac Ste. Anne devastated by ill-timed rain, snow
REGINA BUREAU
Farm organizations last week lined up in favour of federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s plan for legislation that will include reciprocal penalties between shippers and railways. But with only a few months to develop the planned spring legislation, stakeholders are waiting to see if new measures will be in place in time for the next crop year. The proposed new bill would also require resolutions to extend interswitching regulations, which allow smaller rail carriers to use a limited amount of a competing railway’s track, and deal with the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE). Garneau announced his Transportation 2030 strategy in Montreal Nov. 3. The legislation will include a better definition of adequate service and improve access and timelines for Canada Transportation Act decisions, he said. SEE TRANSPORTATION REFORM, P. 4
EDWIN CROOK PHOTO
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BY BARB GLEN LETHBRIDGE BUREAU
Farmers in Brazeau and Lac Ste. Anne counties in central Alberta have ridden the weather rollercoaster this year, but the most recent plunge prompted municipal officials to declare states of agricultural disaster. About 30 percent of crops in the two counties have been harvested and hope is fading that they will come off the fields before winter arrives in earnest. Brazeau County Reeve Bart Guyon said the crop disaster comes on the heels of other challenges. “Most farmers have a second job and our second job in our part of the world is the oil patch, so it died in the last couple years. So that was kind of a financial wreck that hit everybody on the head. “The season started out with a
The season started out with a drought, so we were a little depressed about that. Then it started to rain so that was good, and then it started to snow, so we were depressed again. It kept raining and never stopped until it snowed. BART GUYON BRAZEAU COUNTY REEVE
drought, so we were a little depressed about that. Then it started to rain so that was good, and then it started to snow, so we were depressed again. It kept raining and never stopped until it snowed.” How much moisture was there?
“I lost count at 50 inches,” said Guyon, whose 300 acres of crop have yet to be harvested. What looked like bumper yields in spring have now turned into an insulating layer that prevents sunshine from drying out the ground so farm equipment can do its job. Guyon said the county sent letters about its disaster declaration to the provincial and federal governments. The province responded with information on crop insurance and other risk management programs. “I said, ‘well you know, that’s kind of hindsight planning. Do you think we’d have the same government if we did hindsight planning?’ “I tried to be as nice as I could, but it’s easy to think after the fact. If we could see into the future, we’d all buy insurance.” SEE AGRICULTURAL DISASTERS, P. 5
SEE OUR #HARVEST16 PHOTO CONTEST WINNER ON P.5
NOVEMBER 10, 2016 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4
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The Western Producer is published in Saskatoon by Western Producer Publications, which is owned by GVIC Communications Corp. Publisher: Shaun Jessome Publications Mail Agreement No. 40069240
A farmer harvests a flax crop on a soggy field between Dauphin and Cowan, Man., Nov. 1. |