Basic HTML Version
Winter
2014
grainswest.com
13
STAN SWIATEK HAS ALWAYS BEEN
a fan of green—for years he successfully
grew 10,000 cucumbers in his Airdrie-ar-
ea greenhouses each week. At his peak,
he was fetching $24 per dozen cucum-
bers, but luck and the vagaries of the
marketplace have caused prices to fall in
recent years. Swiatek needed to reassess
his livelihood. Now, he’s trying to move
on by becoming a licensed medical mari-
juana grower.
“The more I did research, there was
a whole world I was unaware of,” said
Swiatek, who’s currently in the applica-
tion process to grow medical marijuana
through Health Canada.
Swiatek, who doesn’t puff, decided
the switch could prove lucrative since
there are nearly 40,000 licensed smokers
across Canada, many of whom suffer
from chronic illnesses including multiple
sclerosis or cancer.
Last June, Health Canada passed a law
to change the country’s medical marijuana
rules. By Oct. 1, 2013, no more permits were
being issued to grow your own marijuana
plants. And, as of April 1,2014, users will
only be able to legally purchase marijuana
from licensed growers by providing a med-
ical note, effectively morphing marijuana
growers into pharmacists distributing
prescription drugs.
One of the chief reasons the regulations
were re-written was that Health Canada saw
that the old system was open to abuse by
medical marijuana users.
If Swiatek’s application to grow and
distribute marijuana is successful, he may
soon find himself in select company (by
mid December 2013, only three people in
the country had licences to grow marijuana,
with about 285 in the application queue).
“It’s very intense for security and record
keeping to become a commercial grower,”
said Swiatek. “It’s extremely regulated, un-
like what lots of people think.”
POT LUCk
However, that’s not
stopping apprehensive
neighbours from expressing
concern. About a dozen people showed
up to Rocky View County’s Nov. 26, 2013,
council meeting to express concern, said
Councillor Lois Habberfield.
“Their main concerns were security,
protection of properties and property
devaluation,” she said. “They feel if they
go to sell their property that it would
diminish the value. Who would want to
buy next to one of these?”
As it stands, the County doesn’t have
an official policy regarding medical
marijuana and growing facilities, but is
now working to have a policy in place
during the first quarter of 2014, Habber-
field said.
For Swiatek, it’s about his bottom line
and location.
“It’s a big margin and this environment
is ideal for growing it,” he said.
ALREADY HAILED AS ONE OF THE BEST
agriculture apps in recent memory, the award-win-
ning Mix Tank 3.0 recently introduced its Mix
Sheets update, a feature that records tank and field
size as well as usage rates and spray volume. Once
the app calculates inputs, it’s a few more taps on
your smartphone and you’re sharing results with
others in no time. In addition, Mix Sheets can
calculate rates per acre, field and load.
“Every year, we solicit input from applicators,”
said James Reiss, co-developer of Mix Tank. “The
feedback we get is that it’s great to share recipes, but what they really
wanted was some record of what they’ve done, including use rates.”
The update took about a year to create and now works to achieve
“entire records for spraying” and not just simple “recipe building.”
What will 4.0 have in store for us?
We’re not sure, but development has already begun. Mix Tank is
a free app available through Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
THE PRAIRIE PROVINCES’ AGRICULTURE MINISTERS,
along with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Minister Gerry
Ritz, attended the North American Meat Association’s Outlook
Conference in November 2013 to reaffirm their disapproval of
Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). As the U.S. re-examines
its national farm bill, Ritz has said now would be a good time to
amend COOL regulations, which have been widely decried by
Canadian politicians, as well as beef and pork producers.
Ritz has made it clear Canada will seek all options to resolve
the dispute, including retaliation. Alberta Agriculture and
Rural Development Minister Verlyn Olson took a moment to
tweet during the conference,
“Retaliation isn’t Canadian
but we also play hockey & once in a while you have to
get elbows up.”
Canada is currently appealing COOL through the World
Trade Organization. Retaliatory levies will only be enacted if
the WTO authorizes Canada to take such action.
Here’sTHe
BeeF
Mix TankUpdate