Behind the Lines - January 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Farmers complained about predation of livestock when some of Better Farming's editors still had a full head of hair more than 30 years ago. Now predation is worse than ever. Provincial statistics show that, in recent years, livestock losses have grown and farm groups have attempted to chronicle the damage to crops as well. Our story about farmers facing predation challenges and efforts to get compensation from governments (the Crown claims ownership of wildlife) begins on page 14.

An accompanying story on coyotes explains what science has revealed about these creatures in recent years and dispels some commonly held myths. That story begins on page 26.

There is another myth we would like to dispel. Agriculture has a legacy of doomed business fiascos. Some, like Ontario's Pigeon King International, spawn widespread media coverage. Of course, the quirkiness of the idea helps. Some also boast a line-up of unusual characters. The Great Jerusalem Artichoke Circus: The Buying and Selling of the Rural American Dream, for example, chronicles a strange mix of religion and zealous belief in a new crop during the 1980s.

Two decades later and closer to home, those two fundamentals loom large in the Pigeon King fiasco. Pigeon King staff spoke about the "pigeon religion," so it's no surprise that many devout Christians were drawn in.

We mention this to help dispel the offensive myth being promoted by some media that PKI investors were out "to get rich quick." We've had an opportunity to speak with large numbers of PKI investors and found that very few fit this category. Keep in mind that until Better Farming's cover story, "Faith in Arlan Galbraith, Ontario's Pigeon King," was published in December 2007, at least one Canadian chartered bank endorsed the project and no official regulatory agency had anything untoward to say about it. Even one Ontario Provincial Police officer invested personally.

Prompted by recently laid but unproven charges of fraud against PKI founder Arlan Galbraith, we revisit this subject with a story on page 30, citing Cindy and Allan Frank, an apparently prudent eastern Ontario couple who simply saw PKI as a way to make ends meet and create flexibility to meet family obligations.

As noted above, some of these failed farm business fiascos have involved interesting characters. In this issue, beginning on page 34, we chronicle the checkered career of the Franks' pigeon salesman, former PKI district sales manager Mark DeWitt, a disbarred New Brunswick lawyer. DeWitt has not been accused of any wrongdoing in association with PKI but, according to a New Brunswick court, once managed to sell an apartment building that didn't exist to an unsuspecting buyer. BF

ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN