Farmers, speakers and exhibitors at Manitoba Ag Days 2026 were again talking trade uncertainty and tariffs, but this year’s tone felt more proactive.
Op/Ed
OPINION: Ag Days 2026 moved talk from trade anxiety to tactics
Farmers, speakers and exhibitors at Manitoba Ag Days 2026 were again talking trade uncertainty, but this year’s tone felt more proactive
Spoken questions are what make it an interview
Recently, I was exchanging emails with the media email account at a government agency, hoping to reach a source for a feature story about how agriculture lobbyists can frame the sector’s needs when meeting with politicians and bureaucrats and be heard. That interview fell through for a reason I’ve become all too familiar with as
Canadian government got it wrong on public plant breeding
Nation building should deem agriculture essential, not a casualty
Cuts to Agriculture and AgriFood Canada will undermine Canadian agricultural productivity, says National Farmers’ Union member Dean Harder.
Farm equipment market unlikely to pick up
Sales have been slow and an unreliable U.S. administration makes trade certainty impossible
North America’s farm machinery sales have been slow and uncertain thanks to tariffs and trade disruption. There’s not a lot of hope for change in 2026.
Agriculture, including the pork sector, has monsters to slay in 2026
Tariffs, disruption and a CUSMA review; Uncertainty is weighing against what should be positive signals for the pork sector
Tariffs, trade protectionism and disruption; Uncertainty is weighing against what should be positive signals for Manitoba’s pork sector.
Government silence loud on AAFC cuts
Fiscal responsibility should mean owning the responsibility for fiscal decisions
Canada’s federal government trumpets fiscal responsibility; their silence on a day of massive Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada cuts was baffling at best.
Pragmatism prevails for farmers in Canada-China trade talks
Canola tariff reductions and a more even-keeled trade tone with China a positive for Canadian farmers, despite risk of irritating a volatile U.S.
Canada’s trade concessions from China is a good news story for Canadian farmers, even if the U.S. Trump administration may not like it.
Bug farming has a scaling problem
Insect farms hoped to tap into protein markets, particularly for animal feed, but around the world companies have hit financial difficulties in 2025
Why hasn’t bug farming scaled despite huge investment and subsidies? A look at the technical, cost and market realities behind its struggle.
The poetic epic of Manitoba farming 2025
Former Manitoba Co-operator editor John Morriss returns for his yearly poetic sum up of the farming year and look ahead into 2026
Former Manitoba Co-operator editor John Morriss returns for his yearly poetic sum up of the farming year and look ahead into 2026.
The new spin on farm legacy
Farmers are starting to think differently about the future. What does this mean for the next generation and farm succession planning?
Farmers are starting to think differently about the future of their farms in Western Canada. What does this mean for the next generation and farm succession planing?
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
