Comment & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Politics and the revenge of the food consumer

The USDA has decided to act on growing pressure and establish a voluntary program  to label food products with non-GMO content

By Sylvain Charlebois June 9, 2015

What was unthinkable a few years ago is now happening. In an unprecedented move, the United States Department of Agriculture has established a voluntary program to label food products with non-GMO content. Non-GMOs already exist in the marketplace, but none of them are sanctioned by the government. At the request of a global food company,

Beef cattle, Comment

Beef industry travelling to a different drummer this year

After an extraordinary year in which all animal industry saw higher prices, beef stands alone in the continuation of lower production

By Chris Hurt May 26, 2015

2014 was a special year for the animal production industries with record-high farm-level prices for cattle, hogs, broilers, turkeys, milk and eggs. For 2015, a surprisingly fast expansion of poultry, pork and milk production will cause lower prices for those commodities. Beef stands alone in the continuation toward lower production, but prices remain uncertain. In

Comment, Opinion

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a good deal for Canada?

The economic logic behind free trade is that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’

By Robert McGarvey May 19, 2015

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a bulwark of freedom as proponents claim, or is Canada about to be shoehorned into another free trade deal that will continue the hollowing out of our economy? It depends on your perspective. The TPP, championed by U.S. President Barack Obama as an important addition to the world’s free trade zone

Comment, Crops

Glyphosate resistance: Change now or pay later

A USDA-ERS report shows managing glyphosate resistance is more cost effective than ignoring resistance and farmers need to work together

By USDA Economic Research Service May 12, 2015

The United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service recently published the results of a study into the economics of glyphosate-resistance management on U.S. corn and soybean farms. Through surveys and computer models it determined the relative costs of ignoring the problem versus taking action to address it. The following is an excerpt from that

Comment, News

The cognitive science behind opposition to GMOs

Anti-GMO messages resonate with human intuitions about meddling with nature

By Ghent University Release May 6, 2015

A team of Belgian philosophers and plant biotechnologists has turned to cognitive science to explain why opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has become so widespread, despite positive contributions GM crops have made to sustainable agriculture. In a paper published April 10 in Trends in Plant Science, they argue that the human mind is highly

Comment, Opinion

Soil care: Will we make the right choices?

When net effects are considered, tillage can never be justified

By Don Lobb April 23, 2015

2015 is International Year of the Soil, and from April 19-25, National Soil Conservation Week brings focus to soil care in Canada. We need to consider our record through the ages as we implement soil protection now. Through the past 10,000 years, history records the successive rise and failure of great civilizations and powerful nations.

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Chicago cattle futures mixed ahead of Thanksgiving holiday

Pulse Weekly: Looking for trade deal to benefit Canadian growers

U.S. grains: CBOT soybeans firm as traders hope for more Chinese buying

Comment

Beef industry travelling to a different drummer this year

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a good deal for Canada?

Glyphosate resistance: Change now or pay later

The cognitive science behind opposition to GMOs

Soil care: Will we make the right choices?

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