Canadian farm publications — or Canadian farmers for that matter — don’t often heap well wishes on U.S. farm groups. While there are often shared interests there are also, all too often, bones of contention. From country-of-origin labelling (COOL) to dairy quotas, Canadian agriculture frequently finds itself under withering not-so-friendly fire from our southern neighbours.
Editor’s Take: The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Editor’s Take: A full plate for returning ag minister
There’s little doubt that Ralph Eichler enjoyed the agriculture portfolio the last time he led it. From 2016 to 2019, Eichler was a fixture at agriculture events throughout the province. He clearly relished the role and felt it was an important one within the provincial government; it was an industry he was proud to represent.
Eichler returns to ag
Former agriculture minister will fill role again after recent cabinet shuffle
A familiar face is once again taking the helm at Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. Ralph Eichler, who was provincial agriculture minister from 2016-19, returns to the portfolio in a cabinet shuffle after a term as minister of economic development and training. Blaine Pedersen, who held the role from 2019, is retiring from cabinet and
Editor’s Take: What comes down must (eventually) go up
It was the fall of 1981. Pierre Elliot Trudeau was once again in Sussex Drive after the brief prime ministership of Joe Clark. Ronald Reagan was just settling into the White House. And down the road, at the U.S. Federal Reserve, legendary central banker Paul Volcker was targeting inflation with high interest rates. From the
Editor’s Take: True leadership on display in Morden
Over the past few decades, there’s been a decided decline in leadership throughout the political spectrum. Leadership once meant exactly that — leading. These days however, it’s come to mean watching public opinion polls and blowing with the wind, or triangulating amongst special-interest groups. In both cases, the goal appears to be power for the
Editor’s Take: A few bad apples
Years back, I sat in a first-year university economics class where the guest lecturer insisted that the concept of a ‘labour shortage’ didn’t really exist in a market economy. You had, he explained, a few different options, including two major ones. You could invest in technology that improved productivity. Or you could sweeten your offer
Editor’s Take: The court of public opinion
It could be a case of be careful what you wish for. In recent days, many in the Manitoba agriculture sector have been lauding the passage of two pieces of provincial legislation intended to protect farm operations. There’s the enhanced trespassing laws that remove the requirement to confront trespassers and limit liability if a trespasser
Editor’s Take: Crop protection under fire
It’s shaping up to be a tough year on the crop-protection front. I don’t mean pests, diseases and weeds. For any producer, those are perennial challenges that will wax and wane with weather and pest pressure. I speak instead of the regulatory and legal fronts, where as you will read in our May 27 issue,
Editor’s Take: Auto insurance in Manitoba is a red tape road
Every spring it seems like it’s Autopac season here in Manitoba. There’s a perpetual lineup at the local agencies as classic cars, motorcycles, recreation vehicles and farm trucks hit the road again for another year. It makes no sense whatsoever that we’re all required to attend, in person, at an office of an insurance broker,
Editor’s Take: Rain and high prices
A now-retired farmer friend says he defines a happy coincidence as when high prices and a big crop happen at the same time. But he also ruefully admits it would probably just as well be described as a ‘bloody miracle.’ He farmed more than 50 years and, during a recent text exchange, conceded that, “I
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