Tuesday, May 31, 2011

HST is good for Farmers

Now that we have had the time to try out the HST system, I have to admit that I like it. I am not a big fan of taxation but can see some definite advantages for farmers and small businesses. Now that the government has sweetened the pot by promising a reduction of 2% in the provincial portion, there is even more to consider before voting in the referendum.
Before HST, farmers had to deal with two tax agencies. All farmers who had farm tax status which allows for a property tax reduction, were declared "bona fide" farmers by the provincial government. These farmers could have a PST exemption on certain farm inputs, and this exemption was usually declared at the point of purchase. Quite simple, but you had to either have your farm card on you, or have your farm business and farm number on file with the seller. Some farmers would also be federally registered, with business numbers that would allow them to file GST. Since food products are tax exempt and no PST or GST is charged to the buyer, the end result would be a benefit to the farmer who would file the Input Tax Credits and receive a refund from the federal government. The list of allowable input items was different for each agency, with the federal government allowing a greater number of tax exempt items.
After HST replaced the GST-PST system, the whole procedure was streamlined with the farmer able to claim input tax credits on more items. For farmers who are enrolled in both provincial and federal systems the HST system is better. For small farmers who are not enrolled federally and do not claim the input tax credits, the PST exemption at point of sale was lost. Farmers who are not enrolled in HST would need to do so in order to benefit from the changed tax structure.
For small businesses, before HST the provincial PST system required collected and collectable provincial taxes from sales to be in government hands each month, three weeks after the end of the month. The government didn't care if you couldn't collect from all your customers by that time. Businesses would register with suppliers so that they could be exempted from the PST on their inputs. Not everything would be charged PST - some sales items like services, trucking, most food, etc. were not charged PST. PST was at 7% in BC for the last several years. GST has been reduced from 7, to 6, and finally to 5% over the last few years.
The new HST system is just like the GST system, except now the PST is added on so the HST is 12%, and will be reduced over time to 10% due to the increased efficiencies in collecting the tax.
What some people don't appreciate is that most small businesses collect taxes from their customers and hand the taxes over to the government. Small business works for the government in this way, and although it sounds simple when stated like that, it involves collecting taxes for the government, filling out paperwork, filing the paperwork on time, dealing with audits, and keeping up with the rules and regulations. For businesses that charge both PST and GST, the HST system is more streamlined.
For businesses that are service oriented and have not charged PST in the past, the change to HST has an immediate impact on both the customer and the business with an increase in prices to the end user. I can see that one downside for local farmers will be to those who sell directly to restaurants. The restaurants will still have the benefit of major inputs (food) that do not have any HST attached. However, the restaurants will also have the downside of charging HST on meals and may see business reduced or margins slimmed, and may try to have farmers drop their prices, or may bypass local food suppliers altogether and go with a cheaper source of food.
As farmers, we are also consumers, so there is that part of the puzzle to ponder. The months we have had the HST in operation has given us an idea of its impact on our daily lives. . The government website and the easy to read report have been helpful to me, and I recommend everyone to give it a look and decide for yourself.

Check out http://www.hstinbc.ca/media/Its_Your_Decision_GSTPSTHST.pdf

Monday, May 30, 2011

Vancouver Island Sheep Producers and Shearer Receive Certificate of Merit at Canadian Cooperative Wool Grower's AGM

This year the AGM for the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers was held in Abbotsford BC. Among the producers across Canada recognized for their efforts, two sets of producers from BC, both from Vancouver Island, received Certificates of Merit. Wayne and Mary Schaad from Black Creek and John and Lorraine Buchanan from Metchosin were the Certificate of Merit winners from BC and both used Pieter DeMooy from Central Saanich as their shearer. .

Due to organized marketing and the emphasis being placed on producing a quality product by members of the Co-op, a great interest is being shown in Canadian Wool by both commercial and individual buyers. Now there is recognition paid to wool growers who take extra pride in their wool, and through extra efforts offer a much improved product for market.

These growers also exemplify the co-operative spirit and contribute by making their system of marketing operate more efficiently, to the benefit of all wool growers across Canada.

In order that these men and women be known for their efforts and so some standard will exist in commercial wool production, as it does in so many ways with lamb production a Certificate of Merit is awarded to the top wool shippers of Canada for the current wool season. These growers will also be recognized at our annual meeting as well as in the next issue of the Canadian Wool Growers Magazine.

These awards will be made to those growers who best support the co-operative method of marketing wool through their knowledge and efforts at producing wool which goes far to promote Canadian wool to buyers. The selection will be made by a panel of judges representing the shearing, warehousing, grading, selling and buying aspects of wool. Consideration will be given to volume, breeding, care of the fleece, proper preparation and shipment to the Co-op. Factors such as geographic location will be considered as well to allow for unavoidable variations in such things as climate.

No grower will be penalized for offsorts that have been separated, identified and shipped to the co-op as such.

It is our intention that this award will grow in prestige and stature as the symbol of excellence in commercial wool production. - Canadian Co-Operative Wool Growers

(Both of the BC Producers are also BC Sheep Federation members. Congratulations!! BJG)

Trapper Hired by Municipality Kills Bowen Island Wolf-dog

The wolf-dog that had terrorized Bowen Island residents since December was killed with a single shot by a professional trapper on May 26^th. Al Starkey (AKA “Trapper Al”), a 72 year old Maple Ridge trapper, was hired by the Bowen Island Municipality after attempts to trap or tranquilize the wolf-dog failed. Several pets, livestock and deer had been killed over the past several months. Residents had been cautioned to take extra care, and had kept children and pets indoors.

Bowen Island does not permit the discharge of firearms, so a special permit was required. Trapper Al selected a farm where the most recent kill had occurred as the site to bait the animal. The morning after his arrival he had sighted and killed it.

In February long time sheep producer Ted Akerman of Salt Spring Island also shot a wolf dog that had killed a dozen of his sheep. He waited in the dark for the wolf-dog to return at first light, quickly sighting and killing it. Salt Spring does allow for the discharge of firearms and according to the the Livestock Act a person may kill a dog if the person finds the dog running at large, and attacking or viciously pursuing livestock.

According to the Livestock Act, the Act and the regulations prevail if there is a conflict between the Act or the regulations and a municipal bylaw. It is not known if the livestock producers were aware that according to the Act they could have shot the wolf-dog themselves.

It is also interesting that on Bowen Island dogs do not have to be licenced, and livestock producers are not compensated for their losses if a dog is not identified. Without a licence, it would be pretty hard to identify the dog unless the owner came forward. This is in contrast to Salt Spring and many other jurisdictions whereby dogs are required to be licenced, and the livestock producers are compensated – sometimes only partially and poorly - by the municipality or regional district if the dog is not identified. In 2003 the Protection of Livestock Act which collected dog licence fees and compensated livestock producers was repealed, and the licencing and compensation was left to the municipalities. The right to shoot a dog chasing and attacking livestock was placed into the Livestock Act. The BC Sheep Federation has begun a scan of bylaws in a variety of jurisdictions regarding compensation for losses due to dog attacks and will be sending a report to the Minister of Agriculture when the report is completed.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Mark Zuckerberg's new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally...) - Postcards

Mark Zuckerberg's new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally...) - Postcards

Click on the link above to read about the founder of Facebook and his newest challenge: slaughtering the animals himself that provide meat for him to eat. He had posted this new challenge on his private Facebook page, and soon word got out. He explained that each year he learns something new and this year it was about learning where his food came from and appreciating it more. He learned about sustainable agriculture, became more aware of the food he ate and decided in the course of it all that he should participate as well. Most of his meals are now vegetarian and if he does eat meat, he slaughters it himself. I am not clear if he just kills it and has someone else "dress" it (pluck, skin, clean, etc which is really the harder and messier part) or does it all, but in any case it is a huge step for someone to take. I agree with the concept and know that it makes you appreciate food more. In the old days when families were more spiritual and religious, each meal began with thanks for the food we eat. It really meant something, especially to generations who remember food shortages, grew their own food, or came from farms.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

NATIONAL POST: TRAPPER KILLS BOWEN ISLAND WOLF-DOG!!!!!!

National Post: Trapper kills Bowen Island wolf-dog

Tristin Hopper May 26, 2011 – 2:37 PM ET

This morning, the Bowen Island wolf hybrid was killed by a hired trapper at 6:30 am local time.
Since arriving on the B.C. island last December, the elusive animal has killed dozens of cats, dogs, sheep, geese and left Bowen Island forests strewn with deer carcasses.
“We’re relieved,” said Chris Buchanan, the island’s bylaw services supervisor.
Attempts to trap or tranquilize the animal had failed, prompting Bowen Island officials to hire a professional trapper from the Lower Mainland.
The trapper arrived on the island at 11:30 on Wednesday, and quickly took up position at a sheep farm where the animal has previously struck. At 6:30, he sighted the animal and killed it with a single shot to the head. Residents in a nearby house did not even hear the shot.
The animal’s body was removed from the island by the trapper and will be disposed of by incineration.
The municipality has refused to release the trapper’s name, saying he wishes to remain anonymous. “People in his industry aren’t the Oprahs of the world, shall we say,” said Mr. Buchanan."
published in the National Post, written by Tristin Hopper

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Abbotsford News - Farm manor house crackdown urged

Wolf Dog of Bowen Island in the local and national press - killing spree escalates

Bowen Island Undercurrent - Wolf hybrid kills sheep, attacks Charley the pig

The next article mentions Ted Akerman on Salt Spring who killed a wolf-dog that killed several of his sheep, as well as the current situation of the wolf-dog on Bowen that has been killing pets and livestock for months..

National Post - Hunting the Wolf Dog of Bowen Island

Saturday, May 21, 2011

HST Helps BC Farmers Reduce Costs

Now that we have had the time to try out the HST system, I have to admit that I like it. I am not a big fan of taxation but can see some definite advantages for farmers and small businesses.

Before HST, farmers had to deal with two tax agencies. All farmers who had farm tax status which allows for a property tax reduction, were declared "bona fide" farmers by the provincial government. These farmers could have a PST exemption on certain farm inputs, and this exemption was usually declared at the point of purchase Quite simple, but you had to either have your farm card on you, or have your farm business and farm number on file with the seller. Some farmers would also be federally registered, with business numbers that would allow them to file GST. Since food products are tax exempt and no PST or GST is charged to the buyer, the end result would be a benefit to the farmer who would file the Input Tax Credits and receive a refund from the federal government. The list of allowable input items was different for each agency, with the federal government allowing a greater number of tax exempt items.

After HST, the whole procedure was greatly simplified and the farmer is able to claim input tax credits on more items. Much, much, better.

For small businesses, before HST there were two agencies to deal with. The provincial PST system required collected and collectable provincial taxes from sales to be in government hands each month, three weeks after the end of the month. The government didn't care if you couldn't collect from all your customers by that time - they wanted their cut, and if you were late or short, watch out. Businesses would register with suppliers so that they could be exempted from the PST on their inputs. Not everything would be charged PST - some sales items like services, trucking, most food, etc. were not charged PST. PST was at 7% in BC for the last several years.

The federal government created GST several years ago - I think it was actually meant to be temporary - and the filing periods varied with the size of the business. The GST system allowed for input tax credits to be claimed so that you could reduce the amount of taxes paid to the government. Everything had the GST attached to it. GST had been going down - from 7, to 6, and then 5%.

Actually, the new HST system is just like the GST system, except now the PST is added on so the HST is 12%. If the efficiencies to government are as big as government claims, they should be reducing the provincial portion of the HST just like the GST was reduced.

As someone who deals with some bookeeping, I see an advantage to the small business. Having one agency to deal with saves time and reduces one headache. I know that for businesses that did not previously have to charge PST it can reduce net sales. People may eat out less, not appreciate the apparent increased trucking costs, or cost to sell their house, or other services affected. Hopefully these wrinkles will smooth out.

What some people don't appreciate is that small businesses collect taxes from their customers and hand the taxes over to the government. Small business works for the government in this way, and although it sounds simple when stated like that, it involves getting the customers to pay on time so that you can pay the government, filling out paperwork, filing the paperwork on time, dealing with audits, and keeping up with the rules and regulations. For businesses that charge both PST and GST, the HST system is much better.

I can see that one downside for local farmers will be to those who sell directly to restaurants. The restaurants will still have the benefit of major inputs (food) that do not have any HST attached. However, the restaurants will also have the downside of charging HST on meal, and may try to have farmers drop their prices, or may bypass local food suppliers altogether and go with a cheaper source of food.

As farmers, we are also consumers, so there is that part of the puzzle to ponder. The months we have had the HST in operation has given us an idea of its impact on our daily lives. For me, I don't spend a lot on junk food or restaurant meals. The government website and the easy to read report have been helpful to me, and I recommend everyone to give it a look and decide for yourself.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Can urban farms feed people affordably and provide jobs - Can they be sustainable?

Are urban farms going to do enough - that is, feed people affordably? It can be a struggle.
Video Produced by Daniel Guillemette, Michelle Ha, and Grant Burns.in the Thunderbird (UBC news April 2010)

"Urban farms struggle to provide low-cost food

in East Vancouver is part of a larger project to provide locally grown food in . However, it is finding it hard to grow produce at a cost that is affordable to the people in the area.
The farm is only able to offer only six jobs to Downtown Eastside residents, and none of its first harvest will be made available to the neighbourhood. Instead, it is planning to sell its crop to high-end restaurants in order to pay the bills."

It isn't just urban farms, either. Some small farms are intensively growing food which ends up going to high end restaurants and resorts, feeding tourists who crave experiencing all that their tourist destination has to offer - and leaving the locals choosing between fresh, high-end and high-priced local fare from a farm stand or farmers market, and affordable, trucked in yet good quality produce from the grocery store.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Signs of Spring on the Farm - Lambs, grass, lilacs and the Census?

The signs of spring on our farm are new lambs, growing grass, blooming lilacs and this year, the Census of Agriculture which arrived in the mail May 3rd. The mandatory census of agriculture occurs every five years, providing the only fully comprehensive picture of all aspects of Canada’s agriculture. Although May is a busy time for farmers, this census is conducted at the same time as the Census of Population, right after the income tax deadline, so that there is a complete picture of the human side of farming, and so that the process will be streamlined and money saved in its administration. The forms used to be taken door to door, but are now mailed out to known farmers. If they are delivered by an agent, it is to a mail box or left at the gate in a plastic bag and not to the doorstep for reasons of biosecurity.

A few years ago staff from Statistics Canada met with several representatives of farm sectors to determine how the census could be improved, and what questions should be dropped, saved and added. Originally they had planned to drop the questions on computer use because they assumed everyone had computers. After receiving input from various farm organizations, Stats Canada decided to add a question as to the availability of high speed internet. Rural high speed internet was also an election issue, since the reduction in support and extension for farmers has government leaning towards having farmers get their information from the internet. Those farmers who only have dial up, or no computer at all, are thought to have a distinct disadvantage.

Another question that is new to this census is a request for the business number of the farm. This is part of a feasibility study to see if financial data can be taken directly from annual tax filings in the future. The financial questions on the agriculture census are currently the most time consuming.

If you farm, and haven’t received a census of agriculture form, contact Statistics Canada so that you can be counted. It is really important to collect accurate information so that we know how many changes have happened since the last census in 2006. The census measures the amount of land used for various crops, the number, species and ages of livestock and poultry, types of farm practices, and financial information. The data are used by statisticians, economists, farm organizations, planners, and researchers to understand our farm economy better. The information is critical to determine payments to provinces for agricultural programs and support, and in tracking historical changes in agriculture in Canada over time.

Besides keeping statistics on our lives and livelihoods, the government also keeps track of weather over time and the data indicate one of the cooler and wetter springs on record. The average temperature for February through April was 30% cooler and the rainfall 30% greater than last year. Even without consulting with Environment Canada, the lilacs were telling us that time to plant would be delayed.

Each spring, right at Mother’s Day, fragrant purple lilac blossoms mark the warm days of spring. Mother’s Day has come and gone, and the purple lilac blooms are still small, tight and developing. The common purple lilac, a European flowering shrub typical of homesteads across Canada, has long been a biological weather instrument subject to control by the accumulation of heat units. The lilac has proven to be such a good phenological indicator species that for years data on lilac life stages were collected by departments of agriculture and horticultural associations around the world. When the lilac is just leafing out, it is time to sow cool season vegetables. When blooming, it is time to plant warm season vegetables. When the blooms are finished, it is time to plant squash and cucumber. The time to start cutting hay? About a month after the lilac starts blooming. So as the blooms are delayed, and the cool rains fall, we work on the agriculture census form and wait for more signs of spring.

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Happy 100th Birthday, Parks Canada!

This month marks the 100th birthday of Parks Canada, the world’s first national parks service. Canada has 42 national parks and national park reserves located in 28 of 39 regions covering over 300,000 square kilometers. The national park system of Canada is a reflection of our nation, beginning as an economic development project in Banff in 1885 after the railroad opened up the beauty of the country for all Canadians to see. The Act in 1887 described the park as “a public park and pleasure ground for the benefit, advantage and enjoyment of the people of Canada.” The natural beauty of the area was to be preserved as a scenic jewel, before ecological values were even imagined.

The park system was formalized in 1911 as the Dominion Parks Branch. The wide open spaces of the nation became populated over time, and the government found it necessary to expropriate private land, sometimes whole communities, to clear the way for more parks. Following a public enquiry in 1980, the Act was revised so that the practice of expropriation was prohibited. Negotiations and public consultations became part of the process, and out of these consultations came the emphasis on environmental protection and conservation of ecological values. Parks Canada has evolved with the goal to have a national park or national park reserve in each of 39 ecological regions of Canada.

Recent national park acquisitions and management plans have taken care to include First Nations so that lands that have aboriginal claim can be part of the Parks Canada system. These park lands, designated as Park Reserves, were made possible by a 1976 amendment to the National Parks Act that required Parks Canada to negotiate agreements with First Nations who have unresolved land claims to the area.

We are also celebrating the 8th anniversary of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (GINPR), one of several park reserves established and managed through consultation with First Nations. The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve represents the Strait of Georgia Lowlands natural region, protecting approximately 26 square km in 29 sites on 15 islands including 30 islets and reefs, with special attention to the endangered Garry oak ecosystem. Visitors are welcome, and are reminded to keep dogs on a leash, to not feed the wildlife and stay on the designated trails. As part of the celebrations, Parks Canada is hosting a Centennial Geocache Challenge – the first 100 visitors to complete the cache will receive a limited edition centennial geocoin.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Is Spring Here Yet?

It has been a cold, wet spring and you really notice it if you are outside every day. According to Environment Canada's Saturna Island weather station, April was the coldest and wettest in the last ten years. We were lambing at the time and relying on grass to get the ewes a good start with their lambs. Grass growth was a bit slower because of the weather, but our drained fields did a bit better. We kept feeding hay with some grain until the ewes weren't interested anymore. They really prefer grass. We have almost finished lambing but had a great crop of lambs - the most sets of triplets ever with five.

This morning I was up early to check everyone before the eagles and ravens get to the newborns. Talk about loud!! Geese honking, turkeys gobbling, lambs calling to moms, moms calling to baby lambs, birds chattering and chirping. It was cool, but calm and clear and looks like it is going to be a fine day.

Speaking of geese, the golf course on Pender was sprinkled with pairs of geese at 5:30 this morning. The course is at the end of the valley, down the road from the farm. Once the golf course crew arrive, the geese will disperse and end up on our fields, competing with the sheep for grass.

Tomatosphere!!

We were planting all of our old seeds, and had a beat up package from an old home school project from my two oldest sons. The seeds were from nine years ago, when they participated in Tomatosphere, a project linking space and agriculture and kids. The seeds, although old, sprouted and are growing into some strange shapes so I connected with the Tomatosphere folks this morning by email to see if my nine year old Isaac could participate.
Tomatosphere is sponsored by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Space Agency, Heinz Canada Ltd, HeinzSeed, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Stokes Seeds and the University of Guelph.
From their website:

"Over the past nine years, Tomatosphere has evolved into a regular component of the curriculum for more than 12 400 classrooms in Canada and the United States. The Tomatosphere Project Team will continue offering this stellar learning opportunity for at least 2011 through 2014.

Seeds for 2011 have been subjected to a simulated space environment at the University of Guelph. This simulation is outlined in the Teacher's Guide – Seed Treatment for 2011. The "storyline" behind this simulation will provide teachers with an excellent introduction to the program for 2011.

The basic experiment of Tomatosphere will remain for the next year – a 'blind test' in which you and your students will not know the treatment of the seeds until completion of the germination process and submission of results. Students will learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the germination rates of the seeds. They may also report on the growth and development of their plants... and may be inspired to pursue further education in science and technology.
Watching these seeds grow will encourage classroom dialogue about the elements of life support requirements for space missions - food, water, oxygen and the need to consume carbon dioxide exhaled by crewmembers. Traveling to and from Mars - the closest planet to Earth - could take almost three years. It's imperative to know how to grow food for the journey there, the stay on Mars and the return journey. The results from your science experiments will help Canadian scientists to understand some of the issues related to long-term space travel.
Mariner on the planet Mars

Optional units are also available for grade 6 and 9, dealing with weather, nutrition and life on Mars.
Tomatoes are practical and valuable plants for space applications. They provide wholesome nourishment, as well as purified water through evaporation from their leaves. Today's students are the plant specialists, space scientists and Mars explorers of the future! The technical support staff and even the astronauts for future space travel may be in your classroom today! You and your students will not be disappointed in being part of a REAL science project that involves them in providing assistance for future space travel."

The partners in Tomatosphere have developed new optional units for teachers and students - new components that are science-related but also linked to other areas in the curriculum:

Grades 3-4: How to Feed a Martian - a unit with a nutrition focus for astronauts' trips to the Red Planet
Grade 6: Surviving on the Red Planet - Recycling breathable air
Grades 7-8: The Martian environment - a weather station on Mars
Grades 9-10: The Energy to Survive - nutritional requirements for long duration missions

Monday, May 9, 2011

Signs of the Times - End to an indirect farm subsidy

One of the first things that Prime Minister Harper will probably implement in his new government is an end to the approximately $2 per vote subsidy. This subsidy is intended to give a more equal footing to all political parties. It enables a budget for election campaign materials and expenses regardless of how poor or rich the party is. It allows for the purchase of materials such as signs, which are often collected and saved in anticipation of another election. Some have been eagerly re-purposed after the election for another use entirely. A popular use for the wire-framed plastic bag signs is as a frame for floating remay covers. A clever use for the vote subsidy, amounting to an indirect farm subsidy for some. Sometimes the user asks permission - sometimes they are eagerly collected before the weary election team has time to get them. And don't even think about taking them before election day or you may be subject to a hefty $1,000 fine or 3 months in jail, or both. In any case, once the party coffers are depleted when the subsidy is no more, no doubt greater efforts will be made to discourage pilfering of the signs so that they can be used again in the next election

Friday, May 6, 2011

Can the Earth Feed a Population of 9 Billion People?

TEDxManhattan - Ian Cheney - Truck Farm

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Teafarm – Cowichan Valley

Washington Post Live: The Future of Food | Washington Post Live

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

RMR: Cloneco

RMR: A Message Regarding Food Safety

BC 4-H Food For Thought 2010

Export Marketing Plan for Highbush Blueberries

Projects Assist BC Cattle Ranchers

BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

In Brazil: Paying to Let the Trees Stand (from the New York Times, 2009)

NY Times: In Brazil, paying to let the trees stand

August 22, 2009

By Degrees

In Brazil, Paying Farmers to Let the Trees Stand

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

QUERENCIA, Brazil — José Marcolini, a farmer here, has a permit from the Brazilian government to raze 12,500 acres of rain forest this year to create highly profitable new soy fields.
But he says he is struggling with his conscience. A Brazilian environmental group is offering him a yearly cash payment to leave his forest standing to help combat climate change.
Mr. Marcolini says he cares about the environment. But he also has a family to feed, and he is dubious that the group’s initial offer in the negotiation — $12 per acre, per year — is enough for him to accept.
“For me to resist the pressure, surrounded by soybeans, I’ll have to be paid — a lot,” said Mr. Marcolini, 53, noting that cleared farmland here in the state of Mato Grosso sells for up to $1,300 an acre.
Mato Grosso means thick forests, and the name was once apt. But today, this Brazilian state is a global epicenter of deforestation. Driven by profits derived from fertile soil, the region’s dense forests have been aggressively cleared over the past decade, and Mato Grasso is now Brazil’s leading producer of soy, corn and cattle, exported across the globe by multinational companies.
Deforestation, a critical contributor to climate change, effectively accounts for 20 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions and 70 percent of the emissions in Brazil. Halting new deforestation, experts say, is as powerful a way to combat warming as closing the world’s coal plants.
But until now, there has been no financial reward for keeping forest standing. Which is why a growing number of scientists, politicians and environmentalists argue that cash payments — like that offered to Mr. Marcolini — are the only way to end tropical forest destruction and provide a game-changing strategy in efforts to limit global warming.
Unlike high-tech solutions like capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide or making “green” fuel from algae, preserving a forest yields a strikingly simple environmental payback: a landowner reduces his property’s emissions to zero.
Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, said that deforestation “absolutely” needed to be addressed by a new international climate agreement being negotiated this year. “But people cut down trees because there is an economic rationale for doing it, and you need to provide them with a financial alternative,” he said.
Both the most recent draft of the agreement and the climate bill passed by the House in late June in the United States include plans for rich countries and companies to pay the poor to preserve their forests.
The payment strategies may include direct payments to landowners to keep forests standing, as well as indirect subsidies, like higher prices for beef and soy that are produced without resorting to clear-cutting. Deforestation creates carbon emissions through fires and machinery that are used to fell trees, and it also destroys the plant life that helps absorb carbon dioxide emissions from cars and factories around the globe.
But getting the cash incentives right is a complex and uncharted business. In much of the developing world, including here, deforestation has been tied to economic progress. Pedro Alves Guimarães, 73, a weathered man sitting at the edge of the region’s River of the Dead, came to Mato Grosso in 1964 in search of free land, pushing into the jungle until he found a site and built a hut as a base for raising cattle. While he regrets the loss of the forest, he has welcomed amenities like the school built a few years ago that his grandchildren attend, or the electricity put in last year that allowed him to buy his first freezer.
Also, environmental groups caution that, designed poorly, programs to pay for forest preservation could merely serve as a cash cow for the very people who are destroying them. For example, one proposed version of the new United Nations plan would allow plantations of trees, like palms grown for palm oil, to count as forest, even though tree plantations do not have nearly the carbon absorption potential of genuine forest and are far less diverse in plant and animal life.
“There is the capacity to get a very perverse outcome,” said Sean Cadman, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society of Australia.
Global as well as local economic forces are driving deforestation — Brazil and Indonesia lead the world in the extent of their rain forests lost each year. The forests are felled to help feed the world’s growing population and meet its growing appetite for meat. Much of Brazil’s soy is bought by American-based companies like Cargill or Archer Daniels Midland and used to feed cows as far away as Europe and China. In Indonesia, rain forests are felled to plant palms for the palm oil, which is a component of biofuels.
Brazil has tried to balance development and conservation.
Last year, with a grant from Norway that could bring the country $1 billion, it created an Amazon Fund to help communities maintain their forest. National laws stipulate that 80 percent of every tract in the upper Amazon — and 50 percent in more developed regions — must remain forested, but it is a vast territory with little law enforcement. Soy exporters officially have a moratorium on using product from newly deforested land.
Here in Mato Grasso, 700 square miles of rain forest was stripped in the last five months of 2007 alone, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, which tracks vanishing forests.
“With so much money to be made, there are no laws that will keep forest standing,” John Carter, a rancher who settled here 15 years ago, said as he flew his Cessna over the denuded land one day this summer.
Until very recently, developing the Amazon was the priority, and some settlers feel betrayed by the new stigma surrounding deforestation. Much as in the 19th-century American West, the Brazilian government encouraged settlement through homesteaders’ benefits like cheap land and housing subsidies, many of which still exist today.
“It was revolting and sad when the world said that deforestation was bad — we were told to come here and that we had to tear it down,” said Mato Grosso’s secretary of agriculture, Neldo Egon Weirich, 56, who moved here in 1978 and noted that to be eligible for loans to buy tractors and seed, a farmer had to clear 80 percent of his land.
He is proud to have turned Mato Grosso from a malarial zone into an agricultural powerhouse. “Mato Grosso is under a microscope — we know we have to do something,” Mr. Weirich said. “But we can’t just stop production.”
Even today, settlers around the globe are buying or claiming cheap “useless” forest and transforming it into farmland.
Clearing away the trees is often the best way to declare and ensure ownership. Land that Mr. Carter has intentionally left forested for its environmental benefit has been intermittently overtaken by squatters — a common problem here. In parts of Southeast Asia, early experiments in paying landowners for preserving forest have been hampered because it is often unclear who owns, or controls, property.
There are various ideas about how to rein in deforestation.
Mr. Carter has started a landowners’ environmental group, called Aliança da Terra, whose members agree to have their properties surveyed for good environmental practices and their forests tracked by satellite by scientists at the Amazon Institute for Environmental Research (IPAM), ensuring that they are not cultivating newly cleared land. Mr. Carter is currently negotiating with companies like McDonalds to purchase only from farms that have been certified.
The United Nations program, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation or REDD, will reward countries that preserve forests with carbon credits that can be sold and turned into cash for forest owners through the global carbon market. The United Nations already gives such credits for cleaning factories and planting trees. Carbon credits are bought by companies or countries that have exceeded their emissions limits, as a way to balance their emissions budget.
Daniel Nepstad, a scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, has mapped out large areas of the Amazon “pixel by pixel” to determine the land value if it was converted to raise cattle or grow soy, to help determine how much landowners should be paid to conserve forest. Most experts feel that landowners will accept lower prices as they realize the benefits of saving forest, like conserving water and burnishing their image with buyers.
Mr. Weirich, the agriculture secretary, said he was skeptical about that. But he, too, senses that there may for the first time be money in forest preservation and has recently decided to be certified by Aliança da Terra.
“We want to adopt practices that will put us ahead in the market,” he said.
The initial offer Mr. Marcolini has from the environmental group is perhaps not enough to save the forest here. But, he said, if his land was in a more remote part of the Amazon, with less farming potential, “I’d take that offer and run with it.”

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Canadian Election Outcome for Agriculture

The excitement of the federal election behind us, we have to wonder what the impact will be on agriculture in Canada. With a majority government, the Conservatives will be able to meet their goals with apparent ease – which does not bode well for the Canadian Wheat Board, or maybe even supply management. Although the government has maintained its support for supply management through the world trade negotiations, many wonder how long that will last. There have been attempts by the Conservatives to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board in the past and with a majority government it is generally thought that this will become a reality. Opponents to this argue that the farmer-led board and the farmer members should be deciding the fate of the CWB. The Conservative emphasis on trade and markets will benefit Canada's farmers who export their products and those farmers who appreciate the businesslike certainty of a Conservative majority. The scrapping of the long gun registry was an election promise that was made to rural farmers and ranchers who maintain that guns are important to predator control, and the Conservatives argue the registry was too expensive to justify.

With an NDP opposition, supported by the few Liberals and Bloc who were elected, and the lone Green MP from home, there will be a voice for food security for our nation, the importance of local and regional food economies, and a merging of agricultural needs with the health and environmental needs of Canadians. Hopefully this voice will be unified, strong and convincing so that the Conservative government will move forward in a positive direction.

The real work will be done by those members of parliament who focus on the agriculture portfolio. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz held onto his seat with a large majority in western Saskatchewan. However, the federal minister of state for agriculture, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, lost in his Quebec riding to the NDP. Minister Ritz's two parliamentary secretaries from Ontario, Pierre Lemieux and David Anderson, were both re-elected. Anderson has been secretary on the Canadian Wheat Board file since 2006.

Now the official opposition, the NDP will again have Alex Atamanenko in Ottawa as MP for BC Southern Interior and the NDP critic on agriculture. Atamanenko acknowledges that his job will be more prominent but also more difficult. He wants to see a Canadian food strategy become a reality – something he has worked on for the last two years. He is also dedicated to ensuring that more genetically modified organisms are not introduced and that cattle producers are helped. Atamanenko had introduced a private members bill that did not pass – Bill C-474, that was an amendment to the seed regulations ‘to require that an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered (GE) seeds are permitted.’ Atamanenko's deputy agriculture critic, Ontario MP Malcolm Allen was re-elected, along with Winnipeg MP and CWB critic Pat Martin.

The Liberal's agriculture critic since 2006 and former parliamentary secretary for agriculture, Wayne Easter, won in a tight race in Prince Edward Island. Ralph Goodale, former agriculture minister and the only Liberal in Saskatchewan was re-elected.

The Bloc Quebecois agriculture critic Andre Bellavance was re-elected in a very tight race, one of four Bloc members to hold onto their seats.

The Agriculture Committee itself is essentially intact with Ontario Conservative farmer and rancher Larry Miller returning as committee chairman. Nova Scotia Liberal Mark Ayking and Quebec Bloc Bellavance return as the two committee co-chairs. Along with Atamanenko, Easter and Lemieux there are other returning members including Conservatives Randy Hoback, Bev Shipley, Brian Storseth, Blake Richards and Liberal's Frank Valeriote. Bloc member France Bonsant lost his riding to a NDP challenger and will not return.

How agriculture is affected with a Conservative majority is somewhat predictable. A generation ago one out of every three people were associated with farming, now it is closer to one in every fifty people – giving farmers less of a voice. And agriculture in Canada is so varied – with major export markets and vital local markets. We can cross our fingers and hope things turn out - as the saying goes, the proof will be in the pudding.