Derek Brewin believes if Canadian farm subsidies were eliminated, over time, farmers’ net incomes would eventually be about the same as they have been. So why not scrap the subsidies? Brewin, an agr icul tural economist at the University of Manitoba, chuckles when asked. The tough part, he says, would be the transition. “They (farmers)
Are Canadian Farm Subsidies Necessary?
Organic Farmers Want More Crops Covered By Crop Insurance
Organic farmers want the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation to add nitrogen-fixing and cover crops to the list of crops eligible for crop insurance in Manitoba. That’s the message the Manitoba Organic Alliance (MOA) took to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) board of directors and crop insurance officials during a meeting Feb. 15. “They said
Cellulosic Ethanol Another Income Stream For Corn Farmers
Cellulosic ethanol production using corn stover as the feedstock is going commercial, but over the short term it won’t make any more grain corn available for human or livestock use, according to Kyle Althoff. It will however, provide additional returns to farmers in the form of stover payments and potential agronomic benefits. “We don’t see
Poor CP Service Blasted By WGEA
CP Rail’s grain-shipping service has never been worse in living memory, according to the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), prompting it to renew calls for federal legislation to improve it. “We expected the upcoming release of the Rail Service Report to result in improved service by the railways in an attempt to counter the serious
How Much Wheat Have You Priced?
Delivering wheat to the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) isn’t the same as pricing it, even if the wheat is just going into the pool. And until grain is priced its value can go up or down. That’s why about a year ago the CWB introduced a price calculator farmers can access on the CWB’s website
FMA Addresses Free-Rider Problem
Membership has its privileges that’s why the Farmers of North America (FNA) has made changes to how it shares benefits so its members get more and free riders less. “The fact of the matter is prices drop just when there are (FNA) members in a community and prices will often be disciplined,” Bob Friesen, CEO
CN Boss Calls For Collaboration Instead Of Regulation
CN Rail’s president and CEO Claude Monglace says he has Prime Minister Stephen Harper on side with his view that improving grain shipping requires collaboration not regulation. “Sincerely, we need to move away from the regulatory stance that is dominating the grain-handling system,” Mongeau said Feb. 17 during a speech to the Winnipeg Chamber of
Goss’s Wilt Firmly Established In Manitoba
The corn disease Goss’s Wilt is established in Manitoba and farmers will have to learn to manage it, says Wilt Billing, Pioneer Hi-Bred’s area agronomist for Manitoba. “Once a field has the disease, it has the disease,” Billing told farmers during the Manitoba Special Crops Symposium Feb. 10 in Winnipeg. “It’s not going away.” Yield
Bt Corn Refuge Recommendations Could Get Easier
The long-tern effectiveness of Bt corn in protecting crops from destructive insects hinges on preventing the bugs from developing resistance to Bt, a built-in insecticide. To avoid resistance farmers must plant the proper refugia of non-Bt corn with their Bt crop. And that’s going to get easier to do, John Gavloski, an extension entomologist with
CWB Earned $5.2 Billion In 2009-10
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) earned $5.2 billion in gross revenues in 2009-10 on the sale of 21 million tonnes of wheat, durum and barley, resulting in returns to western Canadian farmers of $4.6 billion. Farmer returns were down from the previous two crop years, according to the CWB’s annual report released Feb. 18, but