The Rural Voice, 1999-09, Page 81Agrilaw
had such an expectation, there is
no evidence that their mother
accepted the improvements in
circumstances in which she knew,
or reasonably ought to have
known, of her sons' expectations.
The plaintiffs failed to show that
their mother was aware they were
not making her a gift of the barn
and the other improvements. Her
sons, who paid no rent for the
farm, in using the farm buildings
and equipment for their benefit,
had a moral obligation to replace
buildings and equipment that they
had 'worn out', or which had
become obsolete. For all of the
above reasons, it is my opinion
that it was not the legitimate
expectation of the parties that (the
mother) would compensate (the
sons) for the improvements they
made to her farm. Furthermore, it
is not evident that (the mother's)
retention of the benefits she
received from her sons would be
unjust or unfair in the
circumstances of this appeal."
The spectre of family members
feuding about their respective
entitlement to the family farm can be
avoided. Through proper estate
planning and contractual
arrangements, families themselves
can decide on an equitable
recognition of the respective
contributions of family members
without the risk of retroactive
assessment by the courts.0
Agrilaw is a syndicated column
produced by the full service London
law firm of Cohen Highley Vogel and
Dawson. Paul C. Vogel, a partner in
the firm, practices in the area of
commercial litigation and
environmental law. Agrilaw is
intended to provide information to
farmers on subjects of interest and
importance. The opinions expressed
are not intended as legal advice.
Before acting on any information
contained in Agrilaw, readers should
obtain legal advice with respect to
their own particular circumstances.
AgriTech
eharvest links to 1,000s of sites
By Janice Becker
Remember the old joke "You
can't get there from here".
Well, with eharvest.com you can
get there and just about anywhere
else connected, even remotely, to
agriculture.
The site is set up in a straight -for-
ward manner with the basic format
carried through each connecting Zink.
Information connected to on their
site always includes news and update
information, career, classified and
chat forum sections as well as market
listings for commodities and live-
stock trading.
While surfing the chat forum Zink,
more aptly called a message board, I
found the information interesting and
was amazed at how connected this
world has become.
Users of the message board can
easily add a topic of their own or fur-
nish comments for an ongoing line of
chat. (Let's see how many responses
I get on my topic.)
I hooked into one with i2 respons-
es which simply asked "How are
your crops doing?"
I perused the most recent replies
and read comments from Cincinnati
and Oklahoma, both asking for rain.
A London -area resident said the
crops were quite good while a
Saskatchewan farmer said things
were good after the spring rains but
they could use more now.
As I scanned the remarks, com-
ments from West Virginia and
Lafayette were read and to my sur-
prise (though I really shouldn't be),
someone from Victoria, Australia had
left a message. Even in Australia,
they need more rain this year.
Though this section was definitely
fun, it could also be very useful for
farmers to get a variety of opinions
on any topic.
Another very useful component of
eharvest is the search engine capabili-
ty. Unlike other sites which offer
access to their search engine only
from the home page, eharvest's is
carried through to the pork, seed or
equipment pages, with quick links
specific to that area of interest.
For those who want to keep up-to-
date on seminars and events related
to agriculture, eharvest not only has a
link up front to Canada's Outdoor
Farm Show in Woodstock. but a cal-
endar of events for the next several
months.
Known for his radio and television
work, Kevin Stewart hosts a Virtual
Farm Show on-line. Though a
realvideo player is needed. it can be
downloaded free.
The buying and selling of almost
any product is made easier through
the site as there is an extensive listing
of classified ads'
If you are looking for the antique
tractor to add to a collections or want
to unload a herd of cattle, contacts
can be made.
Another element which can be
advantageous to both the casual visi-
tor like myself as well as the avid fol-
lower is the free subscription to their
email newsletter.
I no longer have to visit the web-
site if I want an current listing of
recent connections. An email comes
to me regularly with the latest addi-
tions and feature sites. According to
the newest report. eharvest has 4.830
links with more to be found by using
the search engine.
Highlights from news articles are
also forwarded through email.
If you would rather hold paper in
your hand while scanning for inter-
esting websites, eharvest produces a
glossy magazine to which you can
subscribe on-line. This is how I first
became aware of the site when I
picked it up at a conference. The lay-
out is clean and clear with easy -to -
find topics.
An abundance of information is
definitely the most important aspect
of this site. If you can think of a topic
you want more information on, there
is undoubtedly a connection through
eharvest.
Try it out and let me know what
interesting information or site you
were able to track down.
Please contact me with feedback.
input or suggestions for future topics.
at becker@wcl.on.ca
Janice Becker is a computer enthusi-
ast and journalist living near Walton.
ON.
SEPTEMBER 1999 77