lone cow photo by Bill Anderson

Singed by a firestorm of opposition from local community groups and a retiring alderman, Ranchers Beef may move the proposed northeast Calgary slaughterhouse just across the road. more

Not so far afield: Wreck-reation in K Country
john kolk photo courtesy of John Kolk

I grew up believing that I had a right to travel, hike and hunt in the forestry reserve directly west of our farm. We cut Christmas trees most Decembers, cut out corral rails, fished, snowmobiled and had the occasional party. more

Swift Current Residents Mobilize to Protect Watershead
frogs photo courtesy of Partners for the Saskatchewan River Basin

A confluence of concerns brought farmers, cottage owners and representatives of two levels of government together to try to improve the quality of water in the Saskatchewan River Basin. more

So You Want to Be a Cowboy Poet
cowboy photo by Bill Anderson

Even if you aren’t living the life of a cowboy, that doesn’t mean you can’t be a cowboy poet. more

Can Bears and People Live Together?
autumn in banff photo courtesy of Mary Beatty

The opportunity for public comment on the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway between Castle Junction and the British Columbia border closed August 31. Some town folk fear the discussion on the fencing question also closed. more

Other stories in the October 2004 issue:

- Couple Pioneers Urban Farming from Saskatoon, SK
- Coalbed Methane: The West’s Newest Neighbour
- Crossing the 49th: A View from the American West
- Who is Suing Whom?

Prairie Peaks News is an independent, subscriber funded, non-profit newspaper. Help us grow by subscribing today!

They call it: Super. Natural. B.C. But is the wilderness itself an endangered species?

Critics fear the familiar image of a pristine mountain wilderness with clear rushing rivers, majestic wild critters and spectacular, unsullied snow slopes that British Columbia beams to the world may soon exist only on your TV screen.

Plight of the Pintail Duck

photo courtesy of Ducks Unlimited

Dr. Karla Guyn hasn t always been as fond of pintail ducks as she is now. She learned to love the prairie waterfowl during three summers she spent working at a waterfowl research centre in Manitoba while doing her undergraduate degree.

Capitalist With a Soft Spot for Wildlife

photo courtesy of Roy Smitshoek

They call it: Super. Natural. B.C. But is the wilderness itself an endangered species?

Critics fear the familiar image of a pristine mountain wilderness with clear rushing rivers, majestic wild critters and spectacular, unsullied snow slopes that British Columbia beams to the world may soon exist only on your TV screen.

Toronto Heavy Burden for a Prairie Girl
Saskatchewan is home. I am a prairie girl. But, how does the prairie girl reconcile living in Toronto?

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Yangın söndürme sistemleri, yangın söndürme tüpü

Devletimiz sahip olması gerekirken yurtdışından kiraladığı “yangın söndürme” için kullanılan helikopterlerin sözleşmesinin bitmesiymiş. Koskoca bir devlete kiralamak yakışırmı ya özellikle orman varlıgımız bu kadar tehlike altındayken.

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“The ice, it’s much, much harder here,” Miguel Ringoet, a sculptor from Belgium, told the Peace Country Sun.

According to Ringoet, sculpting in ice has balance. “You can work it to very extreme limits before it breaks, especially when it s so hard like it is here. And when it s finished it s completely transparent. It s just magical.”

Excerpts from: Peace Country Sun

Alberta

Vote for Your Favourite Quarter
Albertans are invited to vote for their favorite quarter design to commemorate the province’s 2005 centennial. The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled four designs: an oil rig and cowboy with Rocky Mountains in the background; an oil derrick with cattle grazing nearby; a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in front of a mountain scene; and a montage featuring the prairie grasslands, the rolling foothills and the mountains.

Vote at www.mint.ca

Excerpts from: The Cochrane Times

Saskatchewan

Wolf Population Thriving
Prince Albert National Park is both one of Saskatchewan’s holiday hot spots and one of the few remaining national parks in Canada to support a healthy wolf population.

A ground-breaking study by University of Saskatchewan wildlife biologist, Erin Urton, found the park’s wolf population is thriving, primarily because they are living in a diverse and healthy park ecosystem that is surrounded by forest and other genetically independent groups of wolves.

Urton estimates there are between 2,000 and 3,000 wolves in Saskatchewan, living exclusively in the forested north.

Excerpts from: The Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Manitoba

Cougar Resurgence?
Two dead female cougars near Riding Mountain National Park have provincial biologists hoping for a resurgence of the endangered species within the province. Cougars haven’t been seen in Manitoba since the 1970s.

Bill Watkins, a biologist with the Provincial Biodiversity Conservation section of the province’s wildlife and ecosystem protection branch, told the Winnipeg Free Press that the two animals suggest there may be a breeding population of cougars in Manitoba – something wildlife experts thought would never happen again.

Excerpts from: The Winnipeg Free Press

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Prairie Peaks News is an independent, subscriber funded, non-profit print magazine.

photo courtesy and copyright of Ducks Unlimited Canada/Brian Wolitski

Take a Detour Through a Prairie Paradise
- Opinion by Wendy Lawrence
Saskatchewan holds a secret that often eludes travelers who insist on cutting through the “boring” landscape via the Trans-Canada Highway. A few short kilometres off the main highway, the prairie province reveals a stunning beauty and variety of landscape and wildlife that make it a paradise for nature enthusiasts.

To truly appreciate Saskatchewan, you must get out of the cities. About half-way up the province, the prairies of southern Saskatchewan give way to forest and the Canadian shield. North of Prince Albert is pristine Prince Albert National Park, home for many years to the famous Canadian naturalist “Grey Owl”. The park preserves samples of boreal forest, prairie grasslands and aspen parkland. Hiking, fishing, cycling, cross-country skiing, canoeing, nature viewing and golfing are a few of the activities available to the visitor. In summer, canoeists and hikers make the 30 kilometre trip to the site of Grey Owl’s cabin. Further north along Highway 2 is beautiful Lac LaRonge and spectacular forests, lakes, rivers and streams just waiting for hikers, canoeists, cross country skiers, birders, hunters and fishermen.

The Trans-Canada Highway snakes across southern Saskatchewan. From Moosomin on the Manitoba border, onward to Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Maple Creek and then across the Alberta border towards Medicine Hat. This stretch of road goes directly through the heart of the prairie grasslands.

Most travelers see only the vast expanse of flat prairie. They should stop to absorb the spectacular oranges, pinks and reds of the prairie sunrises and sunsets, the green and yellow grain fields silhouetted against a clear blue sky, and the black clouds running across an otherwise clear blue sky just before a prairie thunderstorm.

Think about the meadowlarks singing from a fence post or the geese calling to each other as they blacken the skies on their twice-yearly migration. Sadly, many people do not detour and learn more about the treasures off the main highways.

Just north of the Trans-Canada highway is the Qu’Appelle Valley, stretching from Whitewood to Katepwa to Fort Qu’Appelle, to Regina then to Lumsden, Craven and Last Mountain Lake. The valley – which is about 2.5 kilometre wide and on average 120 metres deep – was carved by glacial meltwater that flowed from Alberta and Saskatchewan into Glacial Lake Agassiz in neighbouring Manitoba about 10,000 – 12,000 years ago.

Legend has it the valley got its name from a young Indian brave canoeing home from a hunting trip one evening when he thought he heard someone calling his name. “Who calls?” he asked aloud. There was no reply. “Qu’appelle?” he tried again, this time in French. A reply came from the hills on the other side of the placid, moonlit lake: “Qu’appelle?” It was his echo.

On his return home the following night, he discovered the maiden he was to marry had died suddenly the previous evening. With her dying breath, she called out his name.

According to Saskatchewan place-name expert Bill Barry’s People Places, Indians of the region told Metis trader Harmon in 1804 they often heard what they believed to be a voice crying out to them as they travelled the valley. “Ka-tewet?” – “who calls?” or “qui appelle?” – was their response, in Cree, English and French.

The late Mohawk Canadian poet E. Pauline Johnson romanticized the story in her poem The Legend of the Qu’Appelle Valley. In part:

I am the one who heard the spirit voice,
Of which the paleface settlers love to tell;
From whose strange story they have made their choice
Of naming this fair valley the “Qu’Appelle.”

Today, the Qu’Appelle Valley is one of southern Saskatchewan s most popular playgrounds. Katepwa, Mission, Echo and Pasqua Lakes are fed by the meandering Qu’Appelle River and aquifers beneath them. Fishing, boating, skiing and sailing are popular summer activities, and the valley is considered one of the best hang-gliding locales between Ontario and the Rockies. The trails along the valley give the hiker an excellent view of the plants and wildlife in the area.

Continuing west along the Trans-Canada Highway to Regina, brings the traveler to Wascana Creek and the beautiful park around the Saskatchewan Legislature grounds, part of the Qu’Appelle Valley.

From Regina the valley extends north and west to Lumsden on Highway 11 then up Highway 20 past Craven and along Last Mountain Lake. Last Mountain Lake is approximately 100 kilometres long and is the host lake for many provincial and regional parks.

Approximately 20 kilometres west of Bulyea on Highway 220 is Rowan’s Ravine Provincial Park, which has excellent camping facilities. Boating, fishing and just plain relaxing in the beautiful Saskatchewan summer with its long twilights will make your trip along the eastern short of Last Mountain Lake memorable.

At the far north end of Last Mountain Lake is a 15,000-hectare bird sanctuary, created in 1887 and recognized as the first Federal Bird Sanctuary Reserve in North America.

More recently, the Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area has been designated a wetland of national importance. Its good habitats and strategic locations in the heart of the central flyway of North America make it an important migratory stopover for hundreds of thousands of birds traveling across the Great Plains of North America, between their northern breeding grounds and their southern wintering grounds. More than 280 different species of birds, some traveling through as many as 25 different countries, have been observed at Last Mountain Lake.

In the fall, hundreds of birds lifting almost in unison from the water is an awesome sight. Walking trails in the bird sanctuary give a visitor the opportunity to enter the marsh and observe the birds in their natural habitat.

Last Mountain Lake is home to numerous wildlife species, including white-tailed deer, badger, coyote, fox, and three species of ground squirrel. A number of rare and endangered species have also been seen, including the Peregrine Falcon, Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Hawk and Whooping Crane.

The beauty of the Qu’Appelle Valley is only one of Saskatchewan’s secrets. Also noteworthy is Greenwater Lake Provincial Park, located in a beautiful aspen forest; Cypress Hill Provincial Park, located south of Maple Creek.

For information about Saskatchewan, visit: www.sasktourism.com.
For more information about Rowan’s Ravine Provincial Park and other Saskatchewan Provincial Parks, visit: www.saskparks.net.
For more information about Prince Albert National Park, visit: www.parkscanada.gc.ca/albert

Put a Tranny in Your Toilet, and Save the Earth
- humour by Daryl Makk

Conserve water, go green, save the planet. We have all heard the message that we must be more environmentally friendly. Many of us want to, but don’t know how.

In the interest of finding solutions, I booked a trip to Australia because it is easier to do research in a warm climate. I was sure that going somewhere with little fresh water and a hot climate would make me use my car less. And I was right. I have not had to fill up my car nor idle it to warm up the engine since I am already being more environmentally friendly.

Water is one of the necessities of life, yet, quite often we waste water on silly things. Take plants for example. Vegetable gardens and fruit trees are huge consumers of the precious liquid and a good reason for the invention of steak. A better use of water is to filter it, add the right ingredients and improve it. We call this beer. As any male can tell you, this is the nectar of the gods. Luckily, Australia has its fair share.

The problem with beer is you just rent it. Your body uses the nutrients in beer to help you build one big abdominal muscle. Abs come in two types, six packs and kegs. After that, the rest has to be disposed of. What method did we come up with? A toilet that uses several litres of perfectly good water to flush it. Mathematically, most people can see the problem with this. If we keep using our precious water to dispose of a few drops of body waste, soon we will have no water left for beer (pronounced bee-eah by the Aussies, by the way).

No wonder the environmentalists are in an uproar. Fear not, our friends have a solution down under.

Aussies love their cars as much as we do. Ingeniously, they have applied some of the mechanical principles of an automobile to their plumbing. They have put a two-speed option on their dunnies. When visiting the loo, you have the option of two levels of flushes. (You might be interested to learn that loo is an Aussie name for toilet that means: the Aussie named Lou that installed it. They spell it differently for his privacy I believe.)

Lou gave them the half flush, for things like beer visits, or the full flush, which I call the overdrive dunny gear, for bigger jobs, such as the steak that goes with beer. Now, you can select the right amount of water needed.

The best part is, unlike their cars, they drive their dunny from the same side as we do. There is no need getting used to controls being all backwards. All you need to decide is, “Is this a first or second-gear flush?”

The other way that Aussies help with the environment is with drive-thru liquor stores. Saving all that wear and tear on parking the car, walking in and then restarting the car and having to re-cool it in the blistering hot sun. That uses a lot of fuel, which is bad for the environment.

The clever blokes have made covered, carport drive-thru liquor stores. Now they can rest coolly in the shade while someone loads up the beer. Imagine the eco-pleasure of knowing you can rest easy and have helped save the environment, yet still be fat, lazy and drink beer! Coupled with the two-speed dunny back at the flat (that is another Aussie term that means “place to keep your dunny”) you can be as green as ever.

One of Australians’ favorite pastimes is a game called Cricket. Imagine lawn bowling crossed with baseball and you can get a hint of what the game is about. The odd thing is, the game can take days to play. Being a season ticket holder may require you to quit your job because the innings stretch into weeks. This is a clever way the Aussies cut down on commuter traffic, as many people are still in the bleachers, watching and not creating annoying rush hour traffic.

One would think such a long game would be boring, but – luckily – beer companies sponsor many of the matches. This ensures that the eco-friendly liquid is available at the game to keep the fans occupied. This also guarantees the two-speed dunny effect is always present to save water.

I think we can learn a few things from the Aussies to save our corner of the planet. The two-speed dunny should be brought in without delay and a beer sponsored sport should be invented to rival cricket. We could take curling and merge it with cross-country skiing. We can call it curlski (or some other government sanctioned name). That way, as the game went into extra ends (or innings, or two-fours, or whatever we call them) one of the players could zip down to a ski-thru vendor and pick up more beer, thus completing the environmental cycle.

Who would have thought saving the planet could be so easy and fun? Don’t thank me, thank the Australians.

Daryl Makk is a stand-up comic/actor/writer/thinker.

Daryl’s website is www.darylmakk.com

Likely Prairie Peaks News and reporter Grady Semmens received a bit of flack regarding what was supposed to be a shining example of environmental legacy at Dead Man’s Flats (Prairie Peaks News, Dec. – Jan. 2005). The fact is that this G-8 Legacy Project at Dead Man’s Flats will accomplish only a fraction of its potential because the federal, provincial and local governments refused to co-operate to help wildlife cross the Trans-Canada Highway. In spite of the indignation expressed by MD Reeve Paul Ryan (Canmore Leader, Dec. 15, 2004), most of the responsibility for this fiasco rests with the MD of Bighorn council.

Council received more than ample testimony from a long list of professionals and private citizens warning about significant problems with BHB Canmore’s proposal to build a residential and industrial complex at Dead Man’s Flats. The proposal squeezes wildlife into unacceptably narrow spaces. Revegetation of the wildlife corridor itself would take years, leaving wildlife vulnerable in the meantime. Additional hamlet residents likely would claim the wildlife corridor as their personal playground, putting themselves and their children at risk and frightening wildlife away. And the measures suggested by the developer to mitigate environmental impact were laughable and roundly criticized by wildlife professionals.

The only supporters for the project were the developers and their paid consultants. Independent consultants and provincial wildlife experts panned the proposal and its faulty environmental assessment, citing a number of shortcomings. A consultant hired by the MD in September posed no less than seven pages of questions, criticisms and concerns. His and other professional concerns were all but ignored by the MD council in their approval of bylaws to grease the skids for BHB’s development.

These concerns were not lost on Bighorn ratepayers and other citizens testifying at the MD’s two public hearings. I cannot recall a single public witness who supported the project. Even the MD administration argued that more residences and fewer industrial lots likely meant higher costs and fewer financial benefits for the MD. But councillors countered that some decade-old handshake obligated them to “honour” a secret deal with the BHB developers. So they save one approved the project.

In spite of strong public opposition and overwhelming scientific evidence, Bow Valley elected officials have permitted one more nail in the coffin of Bow Valley wildlife.

Unfortunately, there have been far too many others. In November 2004, officials confirmed what citizens and biologists have known for more than a decade: that the ill-placed Peaks of Grassi development is an abysmal ecological failure (see Canmore Leader, Dec., 8, 2004). How many more approvals of lousy projects will we see over the next decade? How many more can the Bow Valley’s wildlife tolerate? How many more lame excuses will follow?

- Jim Pissot, Executive Director, Defenders of Wildlife Canada

Blunderpass Article Disturbing

The article “Blunderpass Could be a Wasteful Legacy” (Prairie Peaks News, Dec. Jan. 2005) is extremely disturbing, given its lack of editorial control. Where in the article is there evidence of your reporter having discussions with the MD of Bighorn or the other levels of government?

You won’t find any evidence, because the discussions never took place. Author Grady Semmens did not contact nor attempt to discuss the MD’s position on the underpass, the lands controlled by BHB Canmore, nor any other facet of the so-called controversy. This questionable piece of reporting presents only one side of the story, and fails to meet with the acceptable standards of responsible journalism.

Your report fails to note the following:
1. The BHB proposal has been significantly down-sized throughout a 15-year planning process. It has gone from a 275-acre tourist resort project, down to a 35-acre residential and light industrial subdivision.
2. The project has been measured against the Bow Corridor Ecosystem Advisory Group guidelines for development, and, with few exceptions, has met those guidelines. It is extremely important to note that the light industrial component of the project, in particular, meets with a certain level of acceptance in the guidelines, which finds those uses to be the least prohibitive to wildlife.
3. The lands are not “forested municipal reserve lands.” Rather, they have been zoned and designated for development, since the MD was incorporated back in 1989. In fact, a considerable portion of the lands aren’t virgin grounds. There was a former nuisance grounds in close proximity to the underpass opening, and the MD’s lagoon site is also located in the area.
4. The lands are not wildlife corridor lands; they are wildlife habitat patch lands. Note that, out of the original 275 acres, 240 remain for this habitat. Even where there is development, there are substantial travel routes available, and several river crossing points have been located well away from the remaining lands, so it is doubtful wildlife will be significantly affected.
5. Your writer notes a shooting range on the south side of the tunnel. Perhaps he should have queried Dr. Bruce Lesson on this; he indicated the shooting range is a benefit, not detriment, to the wildlife. Lesson says the shooting range creates a “sanctuary” for wildlife, a feeding and resting area enjoyed by many animals traversing the area.

We hope future articles present better balance and focus, for the sake of your readers and the sake of your publication’s credibility.

- Paul Ryan, Reeve MD of Bighorn

Alberta Elk Ranchers True Conservationists

The price of diversity and uniqueness can be high when it is charged by the uninformed, sporting false accusation and conclusions. Your December/January edition featured an article about elk farming that speaks loudly to the questionable motivations of at least some so called “conservation” groups and their obvious agenda to end elk and deer farming. Ignorance should have no place in a public forum where people expect to obtain a balanced story.

Farmers are this country’s true conservationists. They live off the land and depend on it, and environmental conservation ensures their livelihood for today and for generations to come. Elk farmers are no exception; conserving habitat and wetlands is a natural part of what we do because elk thrive on the farm in a natural habitat.

Do those who would have us believe their objective is to protect animals actually expect Albertans to believe that elk farmers, who have enormous financial and moral investments in their animals and infrastructure, would negotiate and agree to import policies that would endanger either their investment or that of the wildlife in Alberta? What ridiculous conjecture. Firstly, Health Canada has stated that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has never been transmitted to humans and testing is recommended as only a precautionary procedure. Secondly, elk farms are the most highly regulated livestock industry in existence, with annual third party animal inventory audits, mandatory disease surveillance and on farm inspections (to name a few) are a way of life in our industry.

Elk farmers in Alberta have tested more than 15,500 farmed elk for CWD since 1996, with only just more than 600 wild elk in Alberta tested over the same time period. Saskatchewan’s farmed elk surveillance numbers are similar. Elk farmers are serious about disease surveillance.

CWD has been found in the wild in Saskatchewan and in a couple of cases, within 30 km of the Alberta border. Who is maintaining a border vigil for “wild animal” movement?

Scientists state that the incubation period for CWD is less than 30 months. Alberta’s import protocols require that animals must be from farms with a minimum of three years of surveillance. The imported animal(s) then must be under surveillance and movement restrictions for a total of five years once on the farm in Alberta. Sealed trailers transport the animals into Alberta where government officials remove the seal. This is all obvious evidence of a responsible industry.

So, have we finally set the record straight? Elk farmers in Alberta love their animals, they admire all types of wildlife (their love and respect for wildlife is the motivation for many elk farmers) and have a great respect for the environment. We accept all the responsibilities and rewards that go with being stewards of our land and our animals. Please take the time to learn all sides of an issue so you can make informed decisions and not be unduly influenced by the whims of ill-motivated groups and individuals with hidden agendas.

- Glenda Elkow, Chair, Alberta Elk Commission

Farmers Will Miss Old SaskPool

A couple of recent news stories suggested there is general cheering greeting recent announcements out of Regina that Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SaskPool or just the “Pool” as it has been known in Saskatchewan) is going to finally pass control of its governance structure from the hands of the farmers who founded the organization into the hands of the investors. Unlike the writers of those articles, and perhaps the investors whose views they appear to represent, I greeted the announcement with resignation and sadness.

I was on the Pool’s executive team during the ’80s, just prior to its run of significant acquisitions, and have watched the organization since then. I have expected a similar announcement and perhaps more, or worse, depending on your point of view, since the Pool fell on hard times in the late 90s. It terminated a CEO who had expanded their operations substantially and appointed a CEO who came out of a U.S. agricultural multi-business.

I recall discussing this development with former Saskatchewan colleagues and, despite acknowledging that, after the acquisition fervor, retrenchment was required, we shared the view that the organization was being set up for sale to a large multinational agribusinesses.

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was established in 1924 by a group of farmers and their supporters who were seeking to provide farmers in that province with a greater degree of control over their economic lives. Initially, the Pool was focused on providing an alternative to what were called the “line companies,” private grain handlers who essentially controlled the marketing of Saskatchewan product. From small beginnings, the Pool evolved into a major agribusiness conglomerate.

SaskPool was once the largest, and arguably the most successful, agricultural co-operative in Canada. The grain side alone handled 60 per cent of the grain moving out of the prairies and that was supplemented by flour milling, manufacturing of bakery mixes, selling retail farm supplies, livestock, and publishing the farm newspaper the Western Producer. Despite its size, we knew even then the organization was so tied to the prairie harvest that, to attain stable revenues, the nature of the business would need to change.

In the late 1980s, we missed an opportunity to merge with Manitoba Pool Elevators and Alberta Wheat Pool probably the last opportunity to save these traditional grain-handling co-operatives. As we have subsequently seen, the Manitoba and Alberta pools subsequently merged, forming Agricore and then merged again with United Grain Growers to form Agricore United.

Although each of these three organizations (Alberta Pool, Manitoba Pool and UGG) was originally a traditional co-operative, first UGG then the new organization moved to create a hybrid governance structure, as SaskPool did eventually. These moves opened ownership to non-producers and resulted in the election of non-farmer directors to the boards, diminishing the first principle on which the organizations were founded producer ownership and control.

Around 1994, SaskPool went through a leadership change and then embarked more heavily on the acquisition trail, picking up additional companies and business lines, albeit agriculture related. It was this change in leadership and ultimately corporate direction that I believe led to what, in retrospect, was an over-extension of the company’s resources.

As with many organizations that chose such a path, the chickens came home to roost, and the company found itself in severe financial difficulties in the late 1990s. In 2000, the Pool appointed a new CEO from outside the organization and, more importantly, from outside the co-operative sector.

For me, this appointment signaled a break with the past and ultimately the demise of the co-operative way of doing business. The organization began to pare back, shedding employees and businesses as it struggled with its finances and investor expectations. While no one could argue the problem didn’t need to be fixed, one might question whether it needed to be fixed in the traditional corporate model or whether the organization could have adhered to its founders’ principles.

Today, gleeful media commentary praise the organization for finally coming to its senses and moving to give true control to the non-producer shareholders and their pending majority on the board of directors. For me, this is a reason for sadness and concern. There is no question the board management made mistakes, and, in that, they are as culpable as the leaders of the other significant businesses that have found themselves in financial straits over the past 10 or 15 years.

But, we are set to lose another institution that was born to represent and protect the member owners’ economic and agricultural policy interests. This is the reason we should be concerned.

There is no question that farmers are a resilient bunch, and they will undoubtedly find a way to continue to influence policy and agricultural economics at both the federal and provincial level. But the demise of the prairie grain co-ops leaves a major hole in their defence.

I will not join the cheering for the SaskPool changes.

David Wartman is a Calgary-based management consultant and former Director of Human Resources for the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool

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