APRIL 2005

Live Canadian cattle might not get across the U.S. border until next year, farm leaders predict. The best future for cattlemen is in the boxed beef market to the United States and Mexico.

OFAC photo

 LEAD STORY 

• Wait 'til next year
  Beef farmers are likely facing a wait of 12 more months before the United States can again decide to open its border to live Canadian cattle under 30 months.
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EDITORIALS 

• Cut the crap
  Farmers Forum supports the Ontario Federation of Agriculture in efforts to change legislation in support of farmers. Farmers Forum also supports the Lanark Landowners Association in efforts to change legislation in support of farmers.
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OPINION 

• Enjoy the moment, plan for the future
  In January, when Ontario GFOs and commodity organizations met to set the agenda for an intense "one message" lobby, it looked like a daunting task.
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 ARTICLES 

• Farmer faces two charges for dumping dead cow on Liberal MP's driveway
  Prescott County dairy farmer Pierre Etter, 49, is facing charges of mischief and improper disposal of deadstock after he drove a tractor two kilometers from his house with a dead Holstein in the raised bucket and dumped it on a driveway at the home of Liberal MP Don Boudria.
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• Boudria votes against farming every time 
  Glengarry Prescott-Russell Liberal MP Don Boudria consistently votes against farmers in the House of Commons and complained: "Why am I a target when I have always fought for agricultural interests?"
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• Is U.S. lying about BSE?
  The head veterinarian for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has implied what everyone has believed: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is lying about testing cattle. 
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• Prepare for farm tax revolt                                 Dan Harkin wants farmers to withhold property taxes until farmers get what they want. Governments need to know there are consequences when they don't  listen, said Harkin, a Winchester crop farmer.                                      Go to story

• Grain and oil seed producers get half Ontario's 25,000 grain and oil seed producers were looking for a $300 million cash infusion from governments.                                                                        Go to story

• 'Mouthy' past president of OFA supports LLA activism

• The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Lanark Landowners Association should work together, said former OFA president Gordon Hill, who headed the farm lobby 35 years ago when the farming community suffered a similar devastating income crisis.                                   Go to story

Stories for our subscribers:

• Country folk more likely to be fat than city dwellers -  Canadians living outside metropolitan regions have a significantly higher risk of being overweight and obese.

• Your barn can kill you - A 30-year-old Lancaster man who suffered from asthma died in a corn field during harvest. 

• Big farms to pay up to $60,000 to comply with Nutrient Act - It will cost $43 million to $72 million for most of Ontario's 1,200 largest farms to comply with the Nutrient Mangement Act in 2005, reports the George Morris centre, an agri-food think tank.

• Kawartha Lakes abattoirs exonerated - Great North Premium Foods had its license provisionally suspended after a steer got loose from a pen and had to be terminated. The abattoir has been cleared of intentionally breaking the law.

• One voice or good-bye OFA, petition says - Crop farmer Dan Harkin started a petition to press for one farm lobby and collected 300 signatures in three weeks, he said.

• Farm fatalities in 2004 - There were 17 Ontario farm fatalities last year and, as usual, men are almost always the victims and tractors are the most dangerous piece of equipment.

• A1 Unit at EBI looks toward bright future - The bottom line at Eastern Breeders Inc. might not be as rosy as the executive would like to see, but the genetic program portends a very bright future.

• Best beef markets still U.S. and Mexico - Slaughtering cattle at home is the best way to open new markets for beef farmers and our best markets are still the United States and Mexico....

• Landowners' Associations are growing fast - The two-year-old Lanark Landowners Association is growing fast, with a total membership to landowner associations at 6,050, as new associations pop up across the province.

• Your favourite columnists:  - Agronomist John Madill, Agronomist Paul Sullivan and Veterinarian Dr. Robert Tremblay.

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  THEY SAID IT:       
"These are boards that our parents built. Don't trash the organizations you have because in the absence of that you've got nothing."

—  Geri Kamenz, OFA vice president, responding to criticism of farm lobby and commodity groups.

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  FARM FACTS:
What Ontario crop farmers wanted from the federal and Ontario governments.......$300 million

Annual subsidy required for grains and oil seed sector to remain viable, say Ontario Soybean Growers.............$200 million

Number of farm fatalities in Ontario last year................17