Concerns Remain Unanswered
Producer Car Shippers of Canada Inc. (PCSC) represents producers who shipped 12,840 producer cars in the 2010-11 crop year, which was the second-highest number in recent years.
PCSC was formed to raise concerns producers had in moving their grain to market. We have a concern now, in that PCSC has been ignored by the federal government with regards to the elimination of the single desk and the move to an open market.
One would have thought the PCSC would have more at stake in these changes than the canola growers association or the pulse growers association, which shipped virtually no producer cars last year.
In a letter to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in August, we raised our concerns and to date he or his office have not even acknowledged receiving our letter. It was our understanding that all correspondence to a government MP would be at least acknowledged.
We at PCSC are disappointed with the office of the federal agriculture minister which has chosen to ignore us and the issues we have raised.
Tim Coulter
President Producer Car Shippers of Canada Inc.
Briercrest, Sask.
Head Catch Comment Clarified
Regarding Good chute design could save your life (Sept. 12) my comment that head catchers are becoming less common refers to V-restrainers, not head catches. V-restrainers have basically been eliminated due to safety issues when the animals go down in the chute, including possible death due to choking.
Reference to head catches becoming less common is incorrect. This referred to shoulder catches which are new to cattle chutes. The animal is restrained at the head along with at the shoulder, allowing access to the animal s neck for injections and better restraint of the animal.
Comment that shoulder catches were good for one-person operations, was in reference to self-catching head gates. These head catches allow the person to stand behind the animal s shoulder to get it to move forward. Often animals do not want to move forward when they see someone standing at the head gate. When only one person is working animals this allows for them to move back, the animal to move forward and the head catch to close on its own. These type of head catches though can be difficult with horned cattle.
Paragraph 12 make sure any protruding bars are at chest level should read Make sure any bars or handles are located in areas that handlers will not run into them or be hit by them. Bars at chest level are very dangerous also.
Jennifer Woods
Blackie
Keep What s Tried And True
I ve been readingAlberta Farmerand that farmers are told they cannot survive in an open market. That is a fact. I was a young woman when there was no Canadian Wheat Board and believe me, it wasn t funny.
I can remember my dad was offered 19 cents a bushel. How could any farmer live on that? This was in the years before the last war. The CWB has stabilized the market for farmers. I can t believe the young people don t understand that. If you don t have a stabilized market, it will be $2 a bushel this week and 98 cents next week.
We do need the Canadian Wheat Board. In this case, what s tried and true is what we need.
Eda Satre
Winfield
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