Comment & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Amazon and the slow death of the traditional grocery store

The Amazon effect means consumers will have greater choice and convenience – from their homes

By Sylvain Charlebois December 5, 2017

The bricks-and-mortar food retailing model is losing its lustre in Canada. The signs are everywhere. Loblaws is the latest grocer to commit to home delivery. Starting in December, Canada’s leading food retailer has an ambitious plan to deliver food for a fee from coast to coast. The company has spent millions to make many of

Preparing the bill at a restaurant to be taken to a table

Comment, Opinion, Other

The pursuit of convenience

Food costs are falling but many Canadians are paying as much or more than ever

By Sylvain Charlebois November 7, 2017

Food inflation continues to be an illusion in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, food prices have dropped once again over the last month, by almost one per cent. Food prices are below the general inflation rate, just as they have been for most of the year to date. The food distribution landscape is much more

Comment, Other

Social media shouldn’t be a battleground

Here are some tips for keeping online conversations constructive

By Kari Barbic October 24, 2017

Keeping a discussion on social media constructive can be a real challenge, especially when the other side goes negative, or even hostile. But nobody wins in an online shouting match. So how do we advocate and educate on controversial issues without getting drowned out by the noise? 1. Find your common ground. This may be

Comment, Opinion, Other

Comment: A failure to communicate

The federal government is long on rhetoric and short on meaningful detail in its tax proposals

By Terry Youzwa October 17, 2017

Too often the discussion of tax reform is boiling down to partisan debate. But this question is so much larger, and is fundamentally a right or wrong issue. The last time a tax reform of this magnitude was implemented it was the early ’70s. It took about six years of consultation and about two years

Comment, Opinion, Other

Comment: The loudest voices against tax reform are not neutral

Almost absent in the debate about proposed Canadian changes are any voices defending  the idea of tax fairness

By Michael Wolfson October 16, 2017

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s proposals for tightening tax breaks associated with private companies is generating several kinds of response on social media and in mainstream media. The most evident is an impressive deluge of evidence-free rhetoric claiming that the proposals are an attack on everything from the middle class to maternity leave for female

Comment

Weeding out what is missing

Ontario’s approach to marijuana distribution is full of unknowns and ambiguity

By Sylvain Charlebois September 26, 2017

Ontario has become the first province to define how it intends to sell non-medicinal marijuana to the public. Around 150 stores across the province will open and will be operated by a division of the province’s liquor board, the LCBO. Marijuana won’t be sold alongside wine or liquor, but in separate, independent stores, as was

Comment, Opinion

Farmers’ focus must shift from yields to soil health

But looking after the land doesn’t have to result in a ‘yield penalty’

By Laura Rance-Unger September 25, 2017

A funny thing happens whenever talk turns to how to make farming more sustainable. As various options for improving how agriculture treats the natural environment are discussed, someone inevitably brings up the “yield penalty” farmers and society would pay. That penalty is seen as the gap between conventional methods using tillage and high rates of

Comment, Dairy cattle, Poultry

Protect supply management

Dairy and poultry products are subsidized in some way or another the world over

By Ed Fast August 28, 2017

With negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) presently underway, it is appropriate for Canadians to ask: Whither supply management? Supply management ensures that producers receive a reasonable return on their investment, and that consumers have access to a steady supply of safe and healthy dairy, chicken, turkey and egg products, at

Comment, Crops

Two simple spray tips can make or break Canadian crops

Before spraying your in-crop application, ‘keep it clean’ with these best practices

By Cam Dahl, Gordon Bacon, Jim Everson August 22, 2017

Farmers have a lot on their plates as they head into the spraying season. The Canola Council of Canada, Cereals Canada and Pulse Canada are reminding growers of best practices that can have a major impact on marketing grain. Proper pesticide use is a critical factor in growing export-quality grain. As a world leader in

Beef cattle, Comment

NAFTA a boon for U.S. cattlemen

By U.S. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association August 21, 2017

A July 26 press release by the U.S. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Kendal Frazier today testified on Capitol Hill in support of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and warned Congress against using the treaty’s renegotiation to resurrect failed policies like mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL). “Quite frankly, it

Daily Network News

Feds pause update on food from cloned livestock

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end limit down

AAFC makes few changes to November S/D report

Comment

Amazon and the slow death of the traditional grocery store

Comment: A failure to communicate

Weeding out what is missing

Farmers’ focus must shift from yields to soil health

Protect supply management

Two simple spray tips can make or break Canadian crops

NAFTA a boon for U.S. cattlemen

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