When it comes to farm labour, the sector is guilty of shooting itself in the foot. It’s long been one of the industry’s stated goals to attract talent and grow the workforce, yet at the same time, it’s dragged its feet on every front when it comes to actually making itself a more attractive employer.
Editor’s Take: A self-inflicted wound
VIDEO: Editor’s Take: Off the rails
We live in an era of the primacy of markets. In particular, regulation of markets has been deemed as undesirable, a long-term trend that began with neo-conservatism in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But Canadians are increasingly being hit in the face with examples where greater regulation is becoming a necessary evil. From price-fixing
Shippers call for essential designation for railways
In a world of uncertainty, grain companies say labour peace necessary
The recent railway labour disruption at Canadian Pacific Railways starkly underlines the transportation-related vulnerability of Canada’s agriculture sector, industry watchers say. An online seminar organized by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) heard March 28 that fertilizer shipments in and out of the country are balanced on a knife edge, and Canada’s global reputation as
Editorial: The world of unknowns
A few years back, the world made a lot of fun of the late Donald Rumsfeld, formerly the defence secretary in the George W. Bush administration, over his comments about the war in Iraq. His statement, albeit delivered in tortured syntax that fired up the emerging mockery machine was, essentially: There are things we know.
Current market picture hangs in the balance
It’s an even murkier picture than usual this spring for farmers
Market analyst Bruce Burnett says he’s officially in uncharted territory. As director of weather and crops information for MarketsFarm (a division of Glacier FarmMedia) and an experienced market analyst, he’s used to seeing the effect of war on grain markets. But this time, things are different, as Ukraine and Russia square off in what is
Rail lockout compounds grain transport woes
A labour dispute was the last thing an already-stressed grain handling system needed
CP’s latest labour dispute is over — but the metaphorical wreckage is going to linger on the tracks for a while. Canadian Pacific Railway and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference agreed March 22 to settle a labour dispute that began March 20, when the railway locked its workers out over a dispute on pensions, pay
Editor’s Take: On rent-seeking
If you’ve already read Allan Dawson’s story featured on the front page of our Mar. 10 issue of the Co-operator, there’s a fairly high likelihood you’re feeling a bit sour. In it he details the work done by agricultural economist Ryan Cardwell on the topic of ‘rent-seeking’ behaviour generally, and how farmers are particularly good
Editor’s Take: Winds of war
As I write this editorial Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, is under attack by Russian troops, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin attempts to assert a new world order… one that happens to look a lot like the old world order. The former KGB agent-turned politician and head of the crony-capitalism oligarchy that replaced the Soviet Union
Editor’s Take: Managing short supply
Early on in the pandemic I recall standing in line in the cold outside Costco, waiting for my turn to get into the store. As I waited, more or less patiently, I noticed several hastily made signs on printer paper that lined the crowd control fences — or perhaps ‘human corral’ might be a more
Editor’s Take: The countdown on the next farm policy review begins
The next national agricultural policy framework will take effect April 1, 2023. That gives the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers just over a year to make the new rules that will govern countless aspects of your business’s financial life. That’s not much time to get them right. One of the biggest bones of contention
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