And now for the Commodities Report. The dry summer has increased feed costs to ranchers throughout the Prairies and elsewhere. As a result many of them have been selling off their herds and flocks producing a temporary reduction in prices at the market level. However experts predict that the rebound will produce a critical shortage in meat products early next year. In particular bacon will be in extremely short supply, both due to the loss of supply and the increase in demand from new products on the market including bacon muffins, increasing inclusion of bacon in fast food sandwiches, and even bacon sundaes.
{My Take On It: Expect hoarding, panic, and bedlam as the worldwide bacon crisis settles in and pushes Syria, the election, financial crises, and the discovery of life on Mars off of the front pages.}
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/09/25/bacon-shortage-pigs.html
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cheddar_bacon_muffins.php

In other news due to the higher prices in Canada, smugglers are turning to smuggling cheese across the border from the US. Several pizza shops in the Niagara, Ontario area that were contacted by the CBC said that they had been approached by the mozzarella mafia offering to sell them US made cheese at much less that the normal Canadian price. Several Niagara Police Officers have been indicted or are under investigation for being provolone pirates. The government is promising to eradicate cheese smuggling down to the last roquefort rebel and double gloucester don. Unclear is how this might impact our bringing Tilimook cheese across for our own use. We don’t want Marsha to become the Lantzville Limburger Luciano.
{My Take On It: A few months ago I wrote about how US Customs were cracking down on dangerous items crossing the border from Canada, such as Kinder Eggs. This is Canada’s tit-for-tat retaliation. Soon the US will start blocking Canadian bow ties, then Canada will block US typewriter ribbons. Then Canada will block American harmonicas and the US will block Canadian saxophone reeds. When will the madness stop?}
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/09/21/niagara-police-cheese-smuggling-allegations.html

The candy situation in this part of Canada had improved. Butterfingers, Baby Ruth, and Sixlets were recently spotted in the area which is a good sign. Whether this is a seasonal migration or a long term change in the candy ecosystem in this area is not clear at this point. Only time will tell.
{MyTake On It: I’ll take candy over bacon any day.}

This week the Union of British Columbia Municipalities voted to support one of British Columbia’s largest crops. The motion called for the decriminalization of marijuana and taxing it to fund municipal and provincial services. This move mirrors similar calls from doctors groups, former Attorney’s General and others as well as similar initiatives in Colorado and Washington states and existing laws in a large number of other states. The initiatives are however unlikely to change government policy on either side of the border.
{My Take On It: The UBCM is an organization of Mayors from around the Province. There was little opposition to the measure. They see the problems with the current policy and would love to have the extra cash for schools and health care. The most impassioned (if quite tongue in cheek) argument against decriminalization came from one Mayor who asked the delegates to think about all of those people who make a living from the current system. Think of all the police officers, judges, prison guards, parole officers, unemployment councillors and EMT technicians who would have much less to do if marijuana were treated like alcohol. Funny stuff.}
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/09/26/bc-ubcm-marijuana-resolution.html

In other news, this week it hit 40F on a couple of mornings. No big deal, I didn’t even bother to wear a coat to work. But I saw several cars in people’s driveways with block heaters plugged in. Then when I got to work someone had started the company van and left it idling in front of the building to warm it up before setting out on the days errands. These people have no concept of “cold”. I mean, I lived in the prairies. We know cold.  We’d warm the car, maybe a minute but only if it was below zero. Most of our cars didn’t even have a block heater and on the last one that did it almost never got used. Back there it gets cold. Here they have no idea what cold is. And that’s just fine with us.

Canadian Culture of the week:
A Soft Place to Land by Kathleen Edwards
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vV1J3cQnj0

Doug & Marsha

PIX: Fall at Sebastian Beach