Dairy Farm

Tory hopeful targets supply management

Let’s get Hillary elected first, then we can worry about milk and eggs

I shouldn’t get too involved in Canadian politics until the U.S. presidential election is over. There is no doubt the race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump makes good theatre. I am glad I don’t have to make the decision as a U.S. voter. It is truly a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you don’t contest. But, in keeping […] Read more

There are three outcomes of alcoholism: jail, insanity and death. Get help for yourself or someone you love.

A sober message about sobriety

Eat, drink, be merry, but there are some times when we need to get serious

It was about 30 years ago this fall I drove a good friend to an alcohol treatment centre in Indian Head, Sask. I didn’t even know at the time he had a drinking problem. But he did and his employer did. So he went for a 28-day, dry out, get-your-head-on-straight treatment program. Pine Lodge is […] Read more


Researcher Tim McAllister says agriculture is a minimal contributor to global warming, but still needs to demonstrate it is running the safest, cleanest operation possible.

A crippled old cow and the killdeer nest

Hart Attacks: Agriculture is under scrutiny, and under public pressure to do the right thing

I remember a few years ago, one spring day, being at the farm of Brian Otto in southern Alberta and I suspect he wanted to bend my ear about how some politicians and agencies (read CWB) had their heads up their butts when it comes to grain marketing. Later we went out to a field […] Read more

Writer Lee Hart with co-operative brown trout, remembers the words “there is a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank looking like an idiot.”

A fish story, involving fish

When you're having fun, catching something is beside the point

Here’s a new idea — go fishing and actually catch something. I know it is different, but I am an outside-the-box kind of thinker. As part of my personal Canada Day celebrations I hired a fly fishing guide with a boat and did a float trip on the Bow River east of Calgary. I had […] Read more


Rocket man seeks rouging work

In the world of ag business, the dollar figures keep getting bigger and bigger

For anyone a bit reluctant to deal with large (about to get larger) multinational corporations for crop protection products, I am today launching Lee’s Hand Rouging Services — backed by years of experience, I will keep your fields weed free, without chemicals and you just have to deal with me. Of course at the rate […] Read more

Canada Bread has been complaining that since the CWB was dismantled, sourcing consistent quality of wheat has been difficult.

Canadian Wheat Board is missed

Changes to Canadian grading and specification systems causing concerns

Oh, boy… the Canadian Wheat Board may be coming back! Not likely, I am just being an alarmist, but it was interesting to read in our sister pub — the Western Seducer — where some bread manufacturers are mourning the loss of some features the CWB offered. I haven’t heard too many complaints about the […] Read more


With the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board buying 40 per cent of Viterra, Lee Hart is hoping his share of the federal pension funds will turn a large profit.

CPP needs your grain

It's good news: Viterra returns to the Canadian fold

Well I am really hoping Canadian farmers get serious about being efficient and profitable and market all those No. 1 crops through the greatest grain handling company in Canada — Viterra. Hey farmers, no more dinking around with lacklustre yields and all that needless shopping around to the “other” grain buyers. Now that my Canada […] Read more

It is hard to determine if there is a good or bad guy in this whole story. The end of the ketchup wars will come down to the taste test.

Ketchup is not just a condiment

Lee Hart’s saucy commentary on Canada’s recent ketchup brand wars

I do want to tell you about the immeasurable grief and misery our tiny band of adventurers endured last month in setting up the upper camp before our final assault on Everest, but to more important things first — what are your thoughts on the recent ketchup war in Canada? Are you in the French’s or […] Read more


This 1932 photo of the Grainews ladies softball team, can suggest everything in life can go from one extreme to another. The real challenge is to find a balance.

Fuel your tank — one way or another

Will medical marijuana be enough to ease Lee Hart's modern day stress

One mission I am on this week is to get a prescription for medical marijuana so I can better cope with this struggling economy, or maybe I am worried about the terrorist threat that comes with allowing immigrants into Canada, or, man, have you seen the price of celery lately? … I don’t even want […] Read more

Dr. Ieuan Evans says producers must continue to use good bee-safe management tools and beekeepers need to control the pest infestations in their hives and to collaborate with responsible farmers.

Facts about bees, birds are next

Something is afoot in the bee community, but is agriculture really to blame?

We’ve heard a lot about honeybees in the last couple of years, particularly concerns that some crop protection products are a leading cause for the decline in bee numbers. The finger has most recently been pointed at a chemical compound known as the neonicotinoid class of pesticide, which in the past decade or so has […] Read more