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BEHINDTHELINESIt wasn't easy to find farmers to interview for our piece on crisis management.Talking about how you're coping through a crisis and what you're doing to get by can be uncomfortable and that's why we'd like to thank the farmers who did agree to be interviewed for this story. They were all very generous with their time and the details of their stories. Several farmers turned down our requests for an interview for this story, but all were very gracious as they did so. One farmer even suggested someone else who we could talk to. The reasons they gave were varied. One farmer approached for an interview said his story was too personal, while another felt that talking about his situation was just too emotionally draining both for himself and his family, who would have been reading about it. The last few months have certainly been a time of crisis in agriculture for many farm families involved in just about every sector. Canadian beef industry leaders are now admitting that it may be a year before the border opens with the United States. Cash crop farmers are strategizing on the best ways to reduce costs for the coming year. The final word on anti-dumping measures imposed by our biggest customer, the United States, against the Canadian pork industry is due this month, and there are so many other worries, ranging from nutrient management to deadstock issues. The farm-related rallies in Queen's Park and elsewhere this winter have drawn attention to these crises. As we go to press, it's hard to say if these efforts to make things better for farmers will bear fruit.
In our March issue, we reported that Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) workers finally carted away the carcass of a moose that their officers had killed in late fall under some strange circumstances. Local MNR officials told us that the carcass was removed because of "local concerns." However, it has come to our attention since then that the moose "moving" may also have been prompted by a letter written to Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay by Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett, who chastised officers for "letting nature take its course" and possibly attracting predators to a farm area. "The actions of ministry staff are an affront to farmers," Bonnett wrote. "There is no question that this incident has cast a chill over farmers' attitudes toward MNR and its enforcement authority."BF
ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN
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