Behind the Lines: November 2008

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Ontario's sheep industry has long been the envy of shepherds elsewhere in North America – and in Oceania for that matter. In the past, producers elsewhere have told us that the "Toronto" market is the highest-priced in the world.

We knew that the ban on exports following the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy crisis in 2003 took a toll, but at least lamb isn't dependent upon export markets, like beef. Ontario eats twice as much lamb as it produces. So we were surprised to learn about the challenges that producers face in this seemingly profitable industry. Our story starts on page 14.

The ongoing Pigeon King International saga made an encore appearance in our October issue and generated another flurry of calls and letters; many from growers on the verge of losing their farms or life savings. As that issue was going to press, Better Farming headed to northern Ontario to see where PKI founder Arlan Galbraith had gone after pulling the plug on his ill-fated venture. To learn what we discovered on our trip and for the latest news on the investigation into the pigeon debacle visit: www.betterfarming.com

When it comes to political stripe, we tend to be a rather colourless bunch here at Better Farming, with no biases towards or against any of the political parties, major or minor. Nevertheless, we followed the scandal over then Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz's comments with great interest. Maybe that's because our own workplace is awash with satirical comments on any given day. 

It's only fair that a politician who loves a joke, tasteless or otherwise, should be the victim of a few. In the wake of the scandal, a web design company in Toronto created a website that allows viewers to "shoot down" pictures of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, floating over a backdrop of the House of Commons, with a cannon firing cold cuts. The website –  http://www.deathby1000coldcuts.info – emerged as calls for his resignation continue to grow over jokes he made during the deadly listeriosis outbreak.

Although this website satirizes the Conservative minister for appearing to take the deaths of listeriosis victims less than seriously, readers may want to throw salamis at him for another reason. That's fair enough, too.

Farmers often feel that their voice doesn't count in either Ottawa or Washington. This month, our political columnists Barry Wilson, in Ottawa, and Alan Guebert in the American Midwest, tell us otherwise. We think their comments made for good reading.  BF

Robert Irwin & Don Stoneman