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NEWS
MAY 26, 2011 | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | THE WESTERN PRODUCER
FIRE | SLAVE LAKE, ALTA.
POLITICS | NEW TRADE MINISTER
Cattle survive as fire races through yard
New trade minister has supply management background
Slave Lake ravaged | Hotlines set up for producers who need to get past roadblocks to feed cattle BY MARY MACARTHUR CAMROSE BUREAU
When Trevor Lebsack surveys the burned remains of his barn and cattle yard, he doesn’t know how his cattle survived the fire that swept across Slave Lake, burning one-third of the northern Alberta town. The barn is burned, fence posts destroyed, the outbuilding is gone and all that’s left of machinery are black skeletons. Amazingly all 150 head of his cattle and horses survived. “The good Lord protected us and all of them. They are all fine and accounted for,” said Lebsack of his 100 cows
and newborn calves and bulls. “When I go back there and see the gates bowed out where the cattle were trying to get out…” said Lebsack, pausing to regain his composure. “It’s the one time you want your gates and chains to fail and they didn’t.” Instead, the terrified cattle and their calves had to wait in the corrals for the connecting barn to burn so they could escape the fire. “I can just image their stress. Fortunately, our pens were big enough. They had to wait for the barn to go down and finish burning.” Lebsack is the largest cattle producer in the area. He bought his farm,
four kilometres east of Slave Lake, in 2007, where he raises Black and Red Angus cattle. As far as he knows, all the livestock in the area managed to survive the fire that quickly spread through Slave Lake May 15. Lebsack’s family was evacuated from the area May 14 when water bombers started dropping fire retardant to put out wildfires surrounding the town. Slave Lake burned the following day. He wasn’t allowed to return to his property until May 16 to set up temporary watering troughs and fences for the livestock. Friends and family returned later and most of the cattle
were trucked to a friend’s pasture at Smith. A group of 27 heifers, with access to grass and a dugout, was left behind. “I go back every day to check on them and check things out,” he said. Lebsack’s house was not burned and the power was restored to the farmyard almost a week after the fire. The Alberta government has set up a livestock hotline for producers like Lebsack who need to get past the roadblocks to tend to animals on their farm. So far five producers have registered with the livestock information line and are allowed back to their property to care for their livestock. access=subscriber section=news,none,none
EAGER TO GET IT INTO THE GROUND
Blaine Patrick, left, and Sean Patrick load wheat from a truck into their air seeder on a field near LaGlace, Alta., May 11. Seeding in the Peace country is well underway. | RANDY VANDERVEEN PHOTO
FEDERAL POLITICS | AGRICULTURE MINISTER
NFU gives Ritz’s return as ag minister thumbs down The re-appointment of Gerry Ritz as federal agriculture minister brought mainly positive reviews from Canadian farm leaders. The praise crossed sectoral lines from export-oriented cattle and grain industry leaders to supply management. It stopped at the National Farmers Union. President Terry Boehm said Ritz in a majority Conservative government will lead to weaker farmer-supportive institutions such as the Canadian Wheat Board and the Canadian Grain Commission and likely introduction of more genetically modified crop varieties into Canada in the name of innovation. He also predicted undermining of supply management protections.
TERRY BOEHM NATIONAL FARMERS UNION
“I struggle to see anything positive here,” Boehm said. “I hope the minister will commit to undertake cost benefit and economic harm analysis before policies are introduced rather than just ideology. I guess that is as positive as I can get.” The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Grain Growers of Canada and supply management agencies issued statements applauding Ritz’s
reappointment and commending his willingness to work with them. “We look forward to this opportunity to continue to work with the minister and his team at (Agriculture Canada) to advance our shared longterm vision of a strong, profitable supply-managed and consumerresponsive dairy sector in Canada,” said Dairy Farmers of Canada president Jacques Laforge. He noted Ritz’s strong support for supply management and its tariff protections. On the other side of the trade divide was praise from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “Minister Ritz worked tirelessly to improve market access for Canadian cattle, beef and other agricultural exports and we appreciate his
efforts,” CCA president Travis Toews said in a statement. Grain lobby groups opposed to the wheat board monopoly cheered Ritz’s return as the minister who will fulfill their dreams of eliminating the board’s monopoly powers. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said the CFA welcomes Ritz’s re-appointment. “We believe his experience and relationship with the CFA will ensure we work together in developing a strong and effective suite of agricultural policies and programs.” However, the CFA also said it expects the re-elected Conservative government to make policy decisions that Ritz has indicated he will not do. access=subscriber section=news,none,none
CAFTA not worried about rookie minister from ‘chicken constituency’ STORIES BY BARRY WILSON OTTAWA BUREAU
The first time members of the free trade-promoting Canadian AgriFood Trade Alliance met British Columbia Conservative MP Ed Fast, he reminded them that he represents Abbotsford, B.C. The message was clear: it is a Fraser Valley riding that is home to a significant number of dairy, poultry and egg farmers who depend on supply management protections. “I didn’t get the sense that he himself felt any particular philosophical affinity to either supply management or free trade,” CAFTA executive director Kathleen Sullivan said. “He was just pointing out his role as an MP.” The Abbotsford lawyer is also Canada’s new trade minister at a time when the Conservative government is promoting free trade deals as a key part of its economic strategy. It also has vowed to protect supply management. Fast, first elected to Parliament in 2006, has no obvious history of involvement in trade issues and is one of the rookie ministers appointed by prime minister Stephen Harper in preparation for the first majority Conservative government in almost 20 years. He was chair of the Commons justice and human rights committee. Sullivan said CAFTA members will meet with Fast to make sure he understands that much of Canadian agriculture depends on exports. However, she said the appointment of a minister from a “chicken constituency” may help make the trade debate less divisive in Canada. “I don’t think anybody believes the government is going to dismantle supply management in the next four years so I’m not sure having someone from a chicken constituency matters much one way or the other when it comes to the government agenda,” she said. “And perhaps his presence will have a calming influence on supply management groups who may feel that he’s less likely to impose his own philosophical views.” Supply management farmers definitely took note. “Mr. Fast understands the importance of supply management to Canada’s economy and in job creation,” Egg Farmers of Canada president Peter Clarke said in a statement. Chicken Farmers of Canada general manager Mike Dungate said he has met Fast at several events. “He always came to our events, he always wanted to learn about agriculture and so he had a good appreciation of what we do in our industry,” said Dungate. access=subscriber section=news,none,none