We Canadians cannot control our ducks.

Mallards next on the U.S. no-fly list

Hart Attacks: We Canadians cannot control our ducks, and what they carry with them

With a Twitter-happy president south of the border, I predict it is just a matter of time before Canada — and migrating Canadian ducks specifically — receives nasty tweets for pooping out weed seeds on U.S. farms. That would almost be a joke except that President Trump appears to be such an unpredictable character, with […] Read more

The federal carbon tax is already working!

The federal carbon tax is already working!

Hart Attacks: It's a miracle. I haven't been feeling any global warming on the Prairies this January


I don’t know what the country is whining about. Alberta’s Climate Change Leadership program (I love that label), also known as a carbon tax, IS WORKING! As I pointed out to my inner circle in an earlier Facebook post, January 2017 is already much colder than it was in late December 2016, so just having […] Read more


The pros and cons of a head transplant

Hart Attacks: I have my doubts about whether or not this old brain can do a new body justice

As the New Year kicks off, I have been giving some thought to getting my name on the head transplant waiting list — I just have to decide whether I want to be a donor or a recipient. Yes, that’s the new boundary that medical technology dares to be pushing as an Italian neurosurgeon Sergio […] Read more

Remembering farm “pool” perils

Hart Attacks: You no sooner move away from a place and they start making changes

It was just 45 short years ago I left the farm in Ontario. I drove by the old house on a recent visit to the East to discover the new owners — a young farm family — had installed an aboveground pool. Man, a pool would have been great during those hot humid, eastern Ontario […] Read more


Why not a closed-for-business wall?

The Canada-EU trade deal (nearly) crumbles, leaving seven years of negotiation in its wake

I think if Prime Minister Trudeau had any gumption at all he would build a wall to keep Americans and Belgians out of Canada. If they don’t like our trade deals we’ll just keep our scenery, oil and hockey players to ourselves. With this issue of Grainews being published on U.S. election day, I am […] Read more

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

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

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