THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015
VOL. 93 | NO. 44 | $4.25
UPS ITS HARVEST BOUNTY | STATSCAN YIELD PREDICTION P6
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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THINGS LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS NEED TO KNOW
Farmers talk about what’s it’s like to work with new corporate sustainability rules | P. 72 The United Nations lists cancer risks posed by processed and red meat: what’s the real threat? | P. 3 How to keep avian flu from gaining a foothold in your poultry barn | P. 29 Winter watering: sheep can get water from snow, but keep a close watch on them | P. 73 New feed rations are recommended for modern livestock | P. 74
THE TPP TRADE DEAL: SEE THE EDITORIAL ON P. 10; HEDGE ROW COLUMN ON P. 7 ELECTION 2015
Will the West be singing the blues? Experts speculate on farm policy drafted for a Conservative farm base by a Liberal government BY KAREN BRIERE REGINA BUREAU
Prairie farmers are on the outside looking in after sticking with the Conservatives in last week’s election. However, the effects of that in terms of policy and the ability for farm issues to gain the ear of the future government have yet to be seen. Many farm leaders said they have cultivated good relationships with Liberal MPs and anticipate those will continue as the party takes power. Ralph Goodale, the lone Liberal MP in Saskatchewan, said he and all other MPs have a duty to their regions and will represent farmer interests. “Whenever there’s a break point in voting patterns like that, it is a
concern, and you need to treat that seriously,” he said. “Obviously, you need to pay attention to those areas where for some reason the voters didn’t respond in the same way.” The Conservatives maintained their stronghold on the Prairies, winning 44 seats compared to the Liberals’ 12 and the NDP’s six. Manitoba elected seven Liberal MPs, all in Winnipeg. In Alberta, voters chose Liberals in two Calgary and two Edmonton ridings. The Calgary ridings are the first to go Liberal in that city since 1968. Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams said the populist thread of tradition and values still resonates with prairie voters. “Policies like legalizing marijuana, even some of (outgoing prime
m i n i s t e r S t e p h e n ) Ha r p e r ’s response to terrorism or cultural practices and so forth, because those are less familiar and something they’re less likely to have had positive exposure to, wouldn’t have been the sort of thing that would turn them off Harper the way they did in other regions,” she said. However, she said the Conservative popular vote shrank even in traditional areas as the Liberals gained. More critically, the NDP support plummeted. Goodale said the Liberal popular vote in Saskatchewan, for example, tripled from barely eight percent in 2011 to 23.9 percent Oct. 19. Still, gaining the farm vote will take some work, and Williams said it might never happen.
There were three million brand new voters in the election, many of them motivated because they wanted change and most of them in urban areas. Prime minister designate Justin Trudeau became the representation of that change and pushed his party from third place to first. “He doesn’t have any rural seats in the prairie provinces; there is a constituency he hasn’t reached,” she said. “I’m not sure how he’s going to do it. It’s pretty difficult to increase or make inroads in new areas once you’re in power.” However, his pledge to appoint a cabinet that is balanced regionally and by gender could help, she said. SEE SINGING THE BLUES, PAGE 4
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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv%:% OCTOBER 29, 2015 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4 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
This calf was weaned and taken out to pasture on a frosty, foggy morning near Frog Lake, Alta., on Oct. 25. | ROBYN WHEAT PHOTO