THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2016
VOL. 94 | NO. 23 | $4.25
SNEAK PEEK |
SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923
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TECH ON DISPLAY AT FARM PROGRESS SHOW
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WWW.PRODUCER.COM
GM FOODS
CONSUMER OPINIONS
Why farmers should care what consumers think Building strong trust with consumers is critical to the success of modern farming BY BARB GLEN LETHBRIDGE BUREAU
OTTAWA — Cherilyn Nagel, a grain farmer and agricultural advocate from Mossbank, Sask., used to dismiss consumer concerns about farming practices. She thought earning public trust was unimportant and there was no value in providing credible information about farming to Canadians. Farmers had other things to think about, Nagel told those at the May 31-June 1 Public Trust Summit.
“Farmers are too damn busy to care about what Joe Consumer thinks about what we farm and how we farm it,” she said to an audience temporarily stunned into silence. “We’re growing food and we’re adopting challenging new technologies that take innovation to an unimaginable level. Farmers are under enormous pressure to maintain our operations, diversify our farms and even more pressure to maintain these farms that are three, four and five generations. SEE FARMERS SHOULD CARE, PAGE 4
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Turkey’s GM intolerance could halt lentil trade BY SEAN PRATT SASKATOON NEWSROOM
CESME, Turkey — The two largest buyers of Canadian lentils in Turkey say there is significant risk that trade will come to a grinding halt if a looming issue is not quickly resolved. Turkey has zero tolerance for shipments contaminated with unapproved genetically modified crops. T h e i m p o r t e r s s a y Tu r k i s h authorities could easily reject a red lentil shipment for containing GM canola dust, and that would be the beginning of the end of $375 million in annual trade with Canada’s second largest lentil customer. Abdullah Ozdemir, general manager of the Arbel Group, a subsidiary of AGT Food and Ingredients and Turkey’s largest importer of Canadian lentils, said the strict policy poses significant risk to importers and exporters. “This is now a headache in Turkey. The ministry of agriculture is making problems,” he said through an interpreter. SEE GM INTOLERANCE, PAGE 5
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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
JUNE 9, 2016 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Box 2500, Stn. Main, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 2C4