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THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | JANUARY 5, 2012
TALES OF THE TAPE
POLITICS | RURAL VOTES
Rural voice shrinks in new House
Don’t call it scotch. This is Canada, and this is Canadian whisky, single malt. PATRICK EVANS DISTILLERY OWNER
with Nicolson’s expertise. “We don’t know what it will taste like on the end, but we have Mister Mike,” he said. “What entices me is obtaining extreme flavours from one cereal. It’s a strange and peculiar thing.” Evans is an enthusiastic “learn-asI- d o - i t ” b u s i n e s s m a n a n d i s unbowed by the million-plus price tag for the site’s formidable Douglas fir building with a copper roof. “We could have stuck this business in a warehouse, but we’re farming for the future,” he said. “It would be funny to replace the roof before my whisky is done.” The structure is already a popular site for tours, weddings and events. The whisky doesn’t yet have a name. Evans has a few years to dream up a suitable name and hopes to see other distilleries take root. “Agriculture is diminishing on the island,” he said. “Our climate isn’t indicative for grapes, but we can grow some nice barley in unique tastes and styles. One island-based whisky distillery is interesting and cool. “Ten distilleries would be an industry, and 20 would make the island a total destination.”
ARTISAN DISTILLERIES Shelter Point Distillery is the latest in a string of new Canadian artisan distillers and the country’s second single malt whisky distillery: • In 1990, Canada’s inaugural single malt whisky, Glen Breton Rare, went into production at New Brunswick’s Glenora Distillery and was released in 2000. • In Vernon, B.C., Okanagan Spirits owner Frank Dieter distils local pears into award-winning poire Williams eau de vie. • Victoria Gin, made in Victoria, is fused with wild gathered botanicals. • In southern Ontario, John Hall uses corn, rye and barley in his newly released Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve Whisky.
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House of Commons realigned | More urban ridings added to equalize House representation BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
Official measurer Gary Schurlemer, left, and assistant Bruce Anderson measure a set of antlers at the Rimbey, Alta., Fish and Game Association’s annual measuring of antlers Dec. 17. The association’s member hunters bring in their antlers to win prizes and gain bragging rights. The results will be announced at the association’s annual meeting, scheduled for March 10. | F. SCOTTY AITKEN PHOTO AGRONOMICS | RESEARCH
Protein inhibits growth of wheat pest A protein from the snowdrop plant may hinder Hessian fly’s nutritional mechanism BY JOHN B. PLUCK SASKATOON NEWSROOM
A recent study to discover new resistance to Hessian fly infestations in wheat is paying dividends. Researchers at the University of Purdue found that the snowdrop lectin, a protein originating from the snowdrop plant, reduces Hessian fly growth. “The Hessian fly continues to overcome native genes for resistance in wheat,” said Richard Shukle, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The primary way the insect is controlled is through genetic resistance,” he said. “(It) is controlled by a single dominant gene in wheat.” Shukle said researchers identify potentially resistant genes from oth-
er plant species by examining their proteins. “For years, people have been trying to develop … (a feeding assay) with the Hessian fly larvae,” he said. A feeding assay is a method of testing the effectiveness of toxins derived from plant proteins to fight against crop pest infestation. Shukle used snowdrop lectin in his Hessian fly feeding assay. He allowed Hessian fly larvae to infest wheat seedlings that were treated with the snowdrop lectin and found the lectin caused lar vae growth to be reduced. He believes this occurred because it damaged the insect’s internal nutritional mechanism. Shukle said Hessian fly larvae can irreversibly damage a wheat plant after feeding on it for four days.
It will stunt a plant’s growth to such an extent that it will never be able to produce wheat, he added. “(Ideally), we are looking for a toxin that would … kill larvae prior to that critical four days,” he said. “The snowdrop lectin (will not) do that, but it may prevent them from completing their development.” The lectin can also be used with other toxins, which can target the nervous system of the larvae. Shukle believes snowdrop lectin has the potential to provide longlasting resistance if combined with natural wheat genes or genetic material transferred from other plant species. The study examined nine lectins, also know as antinutrient proteins, which are known to possess digestive disruption properties. access=subscriber a ccess=subscriber se section=news,none,none ction=news,none,none
Alberta and British Columbia will each have six more MPs to send to Parliament when Canadians next vote for a federal government in 2015. Ontario will have 15 additional MPs and Quebec three. The Fair Representation Act, which adds new seats to the three provinces where population growth is greatest, was proclaimed into law Dec. 16, the same night the bill to end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly became law. Quebec’s three seats were added to make sure the province’s parliamentary representation does not fall below its percentage of the Canadian population. The new Parliament of 338 MPs still leaves British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario under-represented in representation-by-population but better represented than before the change. “For far too long, Ontarians, British Columbians and Albertans have been seriously and unfairly under-represented in the House of Commons,” Edmonton Conservative MP and junior minister for democratic reform Tim Uppal said in a statement. The result will not be pure equality, but “every single Canadian will move closer to representation by population.” The enlarged House of Commons is a mixed blessing for rural Canada. Rural areas will still be over-represented compared to urban areas, but with 30 new MPs from urban or suburban ridings added, the relative rural influence in Parliament will diminish. During committee hearings on the bill, some witnesses complained that rural Canada continues to have too much influence because the current formula for seat redistribution does not allow any province to lose seats.