(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Comment: Protecting our farms for the long term

Farmers are supporting farmers to improve business risk management in the face of climate change

A recent opinion piece in the Manitoba Co-operator references the Business Risk Management Task Force report that Farmers for Climate Solutions released almost a year ago (“NFU stance on BRM programs mystifying,” Feb. 16).  The article makes a number of claims that are not correct and require clarification. I am a farmer who has been

farmland for sale

Comment: Growing farmland inequality in Prairies a problem for all Canadians

Farmers are uneasy about the ballooning acres of investor-owned farmland, and they’re right to be

Real estate is a hot topic in Canada. Most Canadians are acutely aware of how home prices and rents have skyrocketed in the last 15 years or so. In large cities, investor ownership of condos and houses has attracted enough attention that the federal government was prompted to crack down on foreign buyers. Since 2014,


A growing number of scientists are now studying animals and plants found in our own backyards, reflecting a realization that cities are important ecosystems.

Opinion: City life

Plant and animal species that adapt quickly to city life are more likely to survive

It’s five o’clock on a summer morning in Winnipeg. Our research team is unloading a series of small traps from the trunk of our car, which is parked on a residential road. Using a stick, we slather peanut butter from a huge jar into each trap as bait and quietly sneak into the yards we’ve

We need to provide our input while policies are being drafted, because reacting after the election is called or after the policy platforms are published is too late.

Comment: The election hasn’t been called but the campaign has begun

Farmers should be meeting with candidates now to ensure their views are heard

Sometime before Oct. 24, Manitobans will go to the polls to elect the next provincial government. While we don’t know the election date, the campaign has already begun, or at least, it should have begun for farmers if we want to see agriculture’s needs reflected in the parties’ policies. The political parties are getting prepared


Gene editing can literally rewrite DNA.

Comment: Genetic frontiers pushed back

What is gene editing and how could it shape our future?

It is the most exciting time in genetics since the discovery of DNA in 1953. This is mainly due to scientific breakthroughs including the ability to change DNA through a process called gene editing. The potential for this technology is truly astonishing, from treating genetic diseases to modifying food crops. One company even professes to

Today’s farms are bigger, more resourceful, and more efficient.

Comment: Farmland prices continue to go up… and up

Farmland is getting expensive, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing

We all know what’s happening to real estate these days. Everything got more expensive in a hurry, fueled by rock-bottom interest rates. But farming has also been impacted by lower interest rates and investors looking for safety and better yields. The increase in farmland value in Canada has been nothing short of spectacular. The value


The NFU “calling for change” that would disadvantage farmers is strange.

Comment: NFU stance on business risk management programs mystifying

Why would a farm group dedicated to farmers support a report undermining farmers?

POLICY Why would a farm group dedicated to farmers support a report undermining farmers?

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has a long and proud history of supporting the pillars of Canadian farm policy. The NFU has over the years supported good public policy such as crop insurance, the Crow Rate, orderly marketing, supply management, the Canadian Wheat Board, public plant breeding, and the PFRA, which included the tree nursery

After seven-plus years in office, it’s time to assess the degree to which Trudeau’s rhetoric has been matched with action.

Comment: Is Canada back on the world stage — or irrelevant?

A great nature is a shadow of its former self, despite claims by our leadership

“Canada is back,” Justin Trudeau proclaimed triumphantly just after being elected prime minister in 2015. The insinuation was that his predecessor, Stephen Harper, had withdrawn Canada from its traditional role in the world and the Liberals would restore our rightful place of leadership in the global firmament. After seven-plus years in office, it’s time to


Comment: Canada can fix its milk dumping problem

Comment: Canada can fix its milk dumping problem

A recent viral video has given the nation’s dairy sector a public relations black eye

A video of an exasperated Canadian dairy farmer, Jerry Huigen, went viral last week. For probably the first time in Canadian history, a Canadian dairy farmer was filmed while discarding milk on his own farm. That video has now been viewed by almost 3 million people. It shocked many Canadians, who were wondering why this

Global food systems currently do not prevent malnutrition.

Comment: How science and innovation can strengthen global food systems

From 3-D printed food to the cultivation of ‘orphan’ crops, there are clearly identified goals

Food systems, from production to consumption, are complex in nature and require co-ordinated efforts at different levels. Food systems are the public policy decisions, the national and global supply chains and the public or private individuals and groups that influence what we eat. Unfortunately, current global food systems are not sustainable. One in nine people