The western producer august 4, 2016

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 2016

VOL. 94 | NO. 31 | $4.25

STRATEGIES: | After the farm DO YOU PLAN TO STAY ON THE FARM AFTER P. 13 RETIREMENT? HOW WILL THAT WORK?

SERVING WESTERN CANADIAN FARM FAMILIES SINCE 1923

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WWW.PRODUCER.COM

DOUBLE TYLENOL KIND OF DAY

GRAIN EXPORTS

Churchill port hit by new grain realities Suspension of shipments blindsides producers

Thrown off and stepped on by his bucking horse, Kendall Millar of Esser Livestock in High River, Alta., had an abrasion on the side of his head and a hoof print on his hat but walked away from the bronc riding event at the Nanton Ranch Rodeo July 23. | MIKE STURK PHOTO

AMERICAN REPORT

Suicide rate high on U.S. farms Canada does not collect data based on occupation so numbers are not available BY ROBERT ARNASON BRANDON BUREAU

Farming has one of the highest suicide rates of any job in the United States, but little is known about comparable statistics in Canada because most provinces don’t track suicides according to occupation. The Center for Disease Control in the U.S. released a report on suicide rates in early July using American

data from 2012. The study looked at 12,312 suicides from 17 states, and the authors found that jobs performed in rural regions had the highest frequency of suicide. “Rates … were highest in … farming, fishing, and forestry,” the report said, with 84.5 suicides per 100,000 persons. The job category with the second highest rate was construction and extraction, with 53.3 suicides per 100,000.

The authors said they collected and published the data on suicide rates and occupations because the information might help counsellors and medical professionals develop prevention programs for certain jobs. It would be difficult to provide strategic help for specific occupations in Canada because the relevant data doesn’t exist. SEE SUICIDE RATE PAGE 4

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The Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba should be returned to federal government control to ensure it remains open to serve the shippers and northern communities that depend on it, says the top official with the Hudson Bay Route Association. “We need ownership … that wants to do business,” said HBRA president Elden Boon.“We really feel that the port itself needs to be under national control again.” Last week, port owner OmniTrax Canada issued layoff notices to about 70 Port of Churchill employees and confirmed that the port’s grain terminal would cease operations effective Aug. 8. News of the layoffs came just days before the kickoff of the 2016-17 crop year. “It came as a complete surprise to each and every one of us,” Boon said.“Everyone was completely blindsided….” T h e t e r m i n a l’s c l o s u re h a s prompted a variety of responses. Last week, Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister suggested the pending closure was an attempt by Denver-based OmniTrax to coax more money out of the province. Pallister said Manitoba’s former NDP government agreed to a oneyear deal in 2015 that saw the Manitoba treasury subsidize OmniTrax’s Canadian operations to the tune of nearly $1 million. “The agreement that the province entered into last year was nothing more (than) a subsidy bailout done as a consequence of a threat, and now that threat is being repeated this year,” Pallister said June 28. “I want to be very, very clear that I don’t respond ever to threats.” The closure comes as prairie farmers are projected to harvest an unusually large crop this fall, possibly in the range of 65 to 75 million tonnes. Many growers have clear memories of the grain handling challenges that occurred in 2013-14, when transportation channels were plugged and grain export programs were delayed by months.

Boon acknowledged that Churchill is not a large player in terms of volumes handled. Despite a federal subsidy that pays grain shippers roughly $12 a tonne to move grain through Churchill, the port exported fewer than 200,000 tonnes of grain in 2015-16, down from about 500,000 tonnes in a normal year. Churchill accounted for less than one percent of Canada’s total grain and oilseed exports in 2015. Nonetheless, Boon said Churchill offers a valuable alternative route for growers situated along remote branch lines, where grain movement is often slowest. It also has potential to serve smaller exporters who lack port capacity in Vancouver, Prince Rupert or Thunder Bay. SEE CHURCHILL PORT, PAGE 5

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u|xhHEEJBy00001pzYv.:, AUGUST 4, 2016 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

BY BRIAN CROSS SASKATOON NEWSROOM


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