Caution! Wire worms.

[furrowtickler]

Wire worms seem to be everywhere in our area, some feilds bad some not. Should have known from the seagull oragy at seeding. Thanks again to the USDA who basicaly forced Lindane out of Canada.
Partly our fault, should have used Cruser Max on the cereals.

[per]

This will be interesting for our lobby efforts no matter which side you are on. Could be a real can of worms down the road.

[wd9]

Marketing topic or personal chat room?

Twitter us the answer.

[BFW]

This is absolutely ridiculous. What this boils down to is someone thinks rural MLAs should not be allowed to vote on what is essentially a rural issue and now can't because they might sell one of the commodities in question? How then I wonder, was the MAPA passed in the first place? Clearly most people do not understand the issue here. It appears the only people really concerned ( at least by all the BS in the papers) are certain individuals collecting per diems and some of the employees of the respective organizations. If this is a tactic dreamed up by one of the affected commodity groups it only goes to demonstrate what lengths some people will go to to holp onto their little power trip. Totally unblievable. Producers best interests are really at heart here.....

[mcfarms]

I believe this ruling will be appealed because it has wide reaching connotations and the gov't can't really allow this to happen I should think but if it holds it sets a very interesting precedent in Alberta.

[furrowtickler]

Sorry wd9, wrong link, crop production I guess. I'll twitter you alright...

[ado089]

Anyone using Allias on their seed? It's for spuds but I know a few guys using it on flax.

[furrowtickler]

Hey ado, get off the marketing site, wd9 the agriville cop might get you - go to the crop production link quick!!

[farmers_son]

One way to avoid setting a precedent would be to delay third reading on Bill 43. Or just let Bill 43 die.

Hey...why not let producers decide the check off issue themselves through a plebiscite. Now that would be radical wouldn't it.

There are lots of MLAs who are not happy with Bill 43 and have not been able to speak out because of pressure from within. If I had to make a guess who raised the issue with the Ethics Commissioner it would be one or more of the MLAs.

You can read the Conflict of Interest Act (unfortunately the latest version is not online) at:

http://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/stat/rsa-2000-c-c-23/45816/rsa-2000-c-c-23.html#history

[mcfarms]

Had another thought on this yesterday, with the Tory majority now this bill can pass the rural MLAs who had the most heat to feel over it can now recuse themselves and shrug it off because they "couldn't" vote. I would have to think a certain MLA who has some pretty close ties to the ABP is breathing easier today after this suggestion.

[parsley]

Go easy furrow and be kind. Word is the poor guy's tomcat sprayed his workjacket he left lying on the step.

Makes anybody crabby. LOL Pars

[farmers_son]

That could very well be. But why not just let the sucker die. Allow Alberta Beef, Alberta Pork, Lamb and Potatoes a producer vote on the check off through a plebiscite. The Government has a graceful out here(OK not all that graceful) but they should take it.

I am hearing some rumours that the Government is starting to figure out Alberta voters are POd at a lot of what has been going on since the Provincial election. The next few days will tell...third reading on Bill 43 has been rescheduled for June 2. Better to let it die.

I was at a focus group meeting last night. Not to do about beef it was about energy transmission lines. Boy is everyone mad at this Government. I mean old time rock solid die hard Conservatives can't wait until these guys are turfed. Seems like the only ones happy with the Stelmach Government right now is the NFU and big feedlots (and aren't those strange bed fellows). Those two groups together do not represent enough votes for the Conservatives to win the next election.

[grassfarmer]

Ho,ho you're full of it today farmers_son. "Only the big feedlots and the NFU" indeed. In your dreams maybe, PC support is rock solid in red-neck Alberta. And how many NFU members do you think vote PC in Alberta anyway?

[per]

What ever happens with the bill will happen whether they step back or not. You bring another interesting point to the table fs. Not to hijack this tread but it is related. How can we find or create a "common sense" party that could gain traction in this province? Each of the alternate parties have planks in their respective platforms that kill the marriage for most small c conservatives and after all the disappointment and mad rhetoric is over they will mark their x for the conservatives. What we need is a sensible alternative that believes in less Government and understands the relationship between rights and privileges. Having said all of that on the issue at hand I still hear of lots of support for allowing the government to give us the choice of whether to pay the tax or not. The plebiscite idea was soundly rejected by the ABP until word of this bill and our MLA's are duly elected. You talk of ABP's list of members but never mention that membership is Mandatory. If stepping back and plebiscite is what happens OK but I am fine this way. By the way, I am not a big feeder nor a member of NFU.

[smcgrath76]

It is an interesting decision for sure.
Does that mean MLA's who are landowners
can't vote on the land use framework?
Or that MLA's who hold shares in oil
comanies can no longer vote on Tar
Sands, Coal bed methane or other
development?
I think that the members are duly
elected (OK maybe not always duly) to
represent their constituents with some
semblance of professionalism and common
sense. I would fully expect an MLA to
vote to their personal detriment on a
specific issue if in fact it benefited
the constituency or the province as a
whole.
This recent logic should also mean that
only rural MLAs are allowed to vote on
issues affecting Calgary and Edmonton.