Letters
To Farm & Country
Still weighing in
In the debate over soil weight that's thrived in your pages recently, I'd say Mr. Beauchamp is closer to the real figures. In our business, landscaping, we move soil often. This is our reality:One inch of soil over one acre represents approximately 3,615 cubic feet. Excavation will swell the volume by about one-third to 4,800 cubic feet, or 178 cubic yards. We estimate about one ton per cubic yard, so that volume will weigh about 178 tons or 356,000 pounds. So 356,000 pounds divided by 3,615 cubic feet gives you a figure of 98.5 pounds per cubic foot. Compare that to two million pounds divided by 3,615 cubic feet, which equals 553 pounds per cubic foot or 7.5 tons per cubic yard.
The reality is that soil doesn't weigh 553 pounds per cubic foot, not in the lab or the field, no matter which way you look at it.
Markus Knecht
Knecht Landscape Ltd.,
Brampton
Juicy tale
Re: Consumers say no to eco-friendly juice (Dec. 7). We have a very busy certified organic farm market that attracts customers from across southern Ontario. There is no large-volume organic apple juice supplier other than distributors bringing in cases from the U.S.Perhaps if the Allen group went the total step of having certified organic juices their venture would join organic dairy products, vegetables, eggs, grains and the like as a success story.
Allen's premium price differed little from certified organic prices. Additionally, I suspect such labelling/marketing adjectives as "natural," "environmentally friendly" and "ecological" are no longer effective.
Our customers are educated enough to look for the "certified organic" seal. Most of them are aware of the long list of standards that must be met in order to be certified.
Cathy McGregor-Smith
St. Thomas
CFA says...
In December, federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief announced a disaster program to relieve financial difficulties in the farm sector. The announcement came after considerable pressure was brought to bear on the federal cabinet and other members of Parliament by farmers across the country. The political leadership shown by the minister made the difference - but the time for leadership did not end with the funding announcement.Today, farmers still have little detail about how the program will be managed or how and when it will be delivered. The federal and provincial bureaucracies seem more concerned about turf warfare than farmers' welfare. The money needs to be in the farmers' hands, not the governments.
Farmers must make sure federal and provincial governments understand the immediate need for funds. Decisions must be made quickly, as farmers in financial distress are making decisions on a daily basis and need the right information on which to base those decisions.
If you want the disaster program to pay out before summer, call your MP, your MPP or MLA, and call your minister of agriculture today.
Jack Wilkinson
President, CFA
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UNEARTHED
Notes from All Over
Bare, berries and dromedaries
The UK's Tesco supermarket chain is considering a proposal from a
Hastings
nudist group to open its aisles to shoppers in the buff. Health
and safety
issues related to nude shoppers browsing the fresh produce
section has led
Tesco's head office to recommend pre-packaging, reports the
National Post.
Hastings' store manager Mark Gabriel says he's "open minded about
it. I
would be there myself and I expect my wife would come down as
well" to the
after-regular-hours shopping sessions. Tesco staff wouldn't have
to disrobe
unless they wanted to, and they'd be paid time-and-a-half.
Gabriel notes
shoppers might find venturing into the -18 to
-21C frozen food department bracing. A Tesco spokesmen said the
company is
"waiting for health and safety to give it the all clear" before
making a
decision.
The more than 200,000 camels roaming Australia's desert regions
have
sparked entrepreneurs' imaginations. "There is a market for the
meat and
all byproducts as well as dairy product, particularly in Asia,"
Central
Australian Camel Industry Association president Peter Seidel told
Agence
France-Presse. The animals were introduced to Australia in the
mid-1800s by
early pioneers and largely abandoned when automobiles became
popular in the
20th century. Currently, two Aussie supermarket chains stock the
lean meat,
oil from the hump is being used in soaps and creams marketed
under the
Jamal (Arabic for camel) label, and some 65 outfits offer camel
rides in
the desert - US$6 for a 10-minute sojourn. The Middle East's
lucrative
camel-racing circuit could also be tapped, said the report.
Though the
heavy-draft Australian breed isn't suitable for racing, the
country's
husbandry experts are much sought after for their skills in
establishing AI
breeding programs. "Many of our best camel vets already work in
the Middle
East," noted Seidel.
One Saskatchewan farmer will think twice before he uses his
cellular phone
again while driving. A call he made last January could wind up
costing him
$342,000, says the National Post.
Kevin Willms of Hepburn was distracted by his phone conversation
when the
trailer of his hay truck was hit by a train at a marked crossing,
according
to the lawsuit filed by CN Rail, which is looking to recover the
cost of
the two locomotives and six freights cars derailed in the
accident, as well
as lost freight and track repair costs.
Willms was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries
following the
accident, and charged with driving without due care and
attention,
resulting in a $200 fine. Mid-January, he'd yet to file a
statement of
defence to the CN suit.
Wallpaper magazine, chronicler of lifestyle for young, rich (or
wannabe)
conspicuous consumers, reports pumpkin oil is on the way back.
Combined
with balsamic vinegar and drizzled over vegetables and seasoned
beef,
Cinderella's favourite veg is all the rage at trendy Vienna
restaurants.
The Jan./Feb. 1999 issue also highlights the throwback labelling
on Maresi
Milk's fat, regular and skinny long-life glass bottles (below).
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