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12FEBRUARY 21, 2013 | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | THE WESTERN PRODUCEROPEN FORUMLETTERS POLICY:Letters should be less than 300words. Name, address and phonenumber must be included forverification purposes and only lettersaccepted for publication will beconfirmed with the author.Open letters should be avoided;priority will be given to letters writtenexclusively for the Producer.Editors reserve the right to reject oredit any letter for clarity, brevity,legality and good taste. Cutswill be indicated by ellipsis (…)Publication of a letter does not implyendorsement by the Producer.ManagerStrategistMarketerAccountantProblem-SolverRole ModelFarmerTWO ADS, TWO REACTIONSTo the Editor:Carmela Miller – FCC CustomerOver the last few weeks, farmersand Canadians in general have beentalking about two ads.Somewhat ironically, both werethrowbacks to simpler times, butthat’s all they have in common. Ithought one was classy and the otherclassless. One brought tears to myeyes; the other just made me smirk.When thinking of my grandchildren,one gave me a sense of pride;the other made me feel sheepish.Of course, the ultimate test of an adis whether or not it sells the productit is extolling. I may not be typical ofthe average farmer, but I can tell youthat today, I am far more inclined tobuy a Dodge truck than I am to sign aCanadian Wheat Board contract.Terry James,Vegreville, Alta.OAT MARKETING FREEDOMTo the Editor:On Feb. 14, 2010 — Valentine’s Day— I sold a tandem load of oats for$3.50 per bushel. I loaded a secondload of oats to take to town the verynext day and guess what?The price of oats dropped 10 percent.This amounted to a loss of$178.50 on the load.I have monitored the price of oatssince that time and have seen oats hit$3.50 a bu. only a few times, but I haveoften seen it go lower than $2 per bu.This is the “marketing freedom” Ihave with oats.I predict that with the “marketingfreedom” that (federal agricultureminister) Gerry Ritz has given wheatand barley farmers now, they will bebig financial losers within threeyears. But there are some winnersalready besides the private trade thatskimmed that money off my oat crop.Minister Ritz has given $300,000 oftaxpayers’ money to the “oat growersassociation” to find new markets.Didn’t he say the farmers’ responsibilityends when the grain hits theelevator’s pit?So why should taxpayers’ money begiven to some handpicked group of“marketing freedom” oats growers?Isn’t it the responsibility of oats buyersto find their own oats markets andnot the taxpayers? Doesn’t ministerRitz believe in the market?If oats were still under the CWB’ssingle desk, oats marketing researchand promotion could be done forpennies per bushel and farmerswould be in control.Previously, with the combined basketof crops, the single desk CWBcould gain efficiencies in marketingmultiple crops.Now that Ritz has killed the CWB’ssingle desk, no grain company willspend any money on market developmentwhen they can just flip thecrop after taking it from farmers.Instead,Ritz has to give taxpayers’monies to his loyal farm groups tosupposedly carry this work out.Mr. Ritz and his federal governmenthave made a financial mess out ofgrain marketing and have taken awayfarmer control, which will take yearsfor another government to straightenout.Edward Sagan,Melville, Sask.HANDS OFF HYDROTo the Editor:We understandyour business1-800-387-3232www.fcc.ca/advancing01/13-19769-04_rWhen I was a young man, I wasinvolved in a 4-H program, and livedby the organization’s motto, “Learnto Do by Doing.”What I learned from that experienceis that people make a difference.I grew up in a rural community whereour school was a community school.It was actually built by the parents ofthe children that attended thatschool.I coached and volunteered, just asmy parents had done, because I knewthat people make a difference in thelives of others. As an elected official,I’ve learned that people mattergreatly when it comes to developingpolicy that makes sense.The NDP doesn’t understand that.They are directing Manitoba Hydroto plow ahead with a $21 billionmegaproject plan gamble to buildtwo new hydro dams and a hydrotransmission line without giving thepeople of Manitoba a say in how thatproject should be structured, or if theproject is needed at all.Instead of being open, transparentand including Manitobans in thedecision process, the NDP hides factsand makes it as difficult as possiblefor Manitobans to understand theproject.Take for instance the review processesfor these projects. Accordingto Manitoba’s sustainable developmentprinciples, economic and environmentaldecision-making shouldbe integrated to create a clear pictureof whether the project makes senseor not. The Wuskwatim dam wasreviewed this way and the processworked well.For the megaproject, however, theNDP created four different reviewcommissions to study individualpieces of the project. These commissionscomplained they can’t do acomplete job without more informationand a better review process thanthe one dictated by the NDP. TheNDP refused to provide it.Many Manitoba Hydro officials and