CONNECT, NETWORK, CELEBRATE
MANE EVENT IS RIDING HIGH
Attendees say the Advancing Women conference is something very special » PG 2
The country’s largest horse expo expands to celebrate 10th anniversary » PG 35
Publications Mail Agreement # 40069240
V o l u m e 1 3 , n u m b e r 8 A p r i l 1 1 , 2 0 1 6
Oil companies bucking their commitments Farmers are struggling to get oil companies to pay their leases and complete reclamation work on abandoned wells
By JENNIFER BLAIR AF staff
T
here’s a wet spot originating from an oil well in Anthony Bruder’s pasture that his cows won’t drink from. “I’ve seen cows walk up to it, sniff it, and then walk a half-mile to the other end of the field to drink from the lake,” said Bruder, who farms near Twin Butte. “If the cows won’t drink out of a puddle, there’s something wrong with it.” Bruder suspects the well — drilled in the 1950s “back when technology wasn’t that great and the environment wasn’t on anybody’s mind” — is contaminated. But for many oil and gas companies struggling through Alberta’s most recent economic downturn, reclamation work isn’t in the budget. “The government has ordered the company to do the Phase 2 environmental assessment, where they’re supposed to come out and take soil samples,” said Bruder. “That was supposed to have been done by Nov. 30, 2015. And nothing has been done. We’re sitting here and waiting for the Alberta Energy Regulator to basically force the order they gave the company.”
A rising tide:
Canada leapfrogs U.S. in wheat exports It’s been decades since that last happened, but some predict our share of the global market will continue to rise
PHOTO: LAURA RANCE
see OIL } page 8 BY ALLAN DAWSON AND JENNIFER BLAIR Staff
C
anada is exporting more wheat than the U.S. for the first time in decades. After decades of playing second fiddle to its southern neighbour, the low Canadian dollar and other factors have this country’s exports edging ahead in what some industry observers consider a new trend. Last crop year, Canada exported 23.9 million tonnes of wheat, including durum, narrowly surpassing the U.S. with exports of 22.3 million tonnes, according to International Grains Council figures. Canada
is forecast to export 21.9 million tonnes of wheat in the current crop year (201516), compared to 20.5 million tonnes from the U.S. “Obviously the exchange rate matters, there’s no question about that, but I do see this as part of an ongoing trend,” said Cereals Canada president Cam Dahl. “Now, I’m not going to say this will happen all the time, but I think this is the trend. We are going to see Canada take more and more of this (world) market.” Kevin Auch, chair of the Alberta Wheat Commission, can’t say for certain if this signals the start of a new trend — but says it’s positive for Alberta’s wheat industry regardless. “It’s very positive. It shows we’ve had
some good sales,” said Auch, who farms near Carmangay. “Canadian wheat is very consistent in quality, and because of that, it’s very desirable for our buyers. We’re trying to make sure the wheat we’re growing is what the world wants.” One factor has been finding new markets for Canadian wheat, such as Bangladesh. “They are very loyal to Canadian CWRS (Canada Western Red Spring) wheat in particular and buy over a million tonnes (a year),” Dahl said. “We have markets like that, that 10 years ago we wouldn’t have thought of.”
see WHEAT EXPORTS } page 6
On its way — GM alfalfa to be grown in Canada } PAGE 3