I’m sure at some point or another most farmers have felt their voice is never heard in public policy debates. There’s a germ of truth to it, mainly because of the demographic realities. When less than two per cent of the population is a member of any particular group, they’re always going to struggle to
Editor’s Take: Lobby power
Editor’s Take: The cancer of herbicide-resistant weeds
I’m a redhead. Or at least I once was, before I started seriously going grey. Along with the inability to hide in a crowd, I also got the pale skin that makes sunscreen and a hat a critical part of my summertime coping tool box. It’s also led me to be statistically more likely to
Losing the war on weeds
Tammy Jones has been doing the math on where herbicide resistance is taking Manitoba farmers and the numbers are grim
Tammy Jones spent four hours last summer wrestling with about 300 waterhemp plants in a Manitoba field, yanking them out of the ground by the roots and carrying them to the field edge for destruction. The provincial weed specialist was trying to demonstrate the value of controlling what might seem to be small patches of
Editor’s Take: Farmers should be researchers
More years ago than I care to remember, I began my career writing about agriculture production practices in this newspaper. While I did grow up on a grain and oilseed operation, I don’t have much in the way of formal agriculture training. My early years involved a lot of learning on the job, asking what
Editor’s Take: Charting a different path for Canadian ag
The National Farmers Union used its 50th annual convention to release a major discussion paper that charts a new path for agriculture. There are a lot of details, but it makes the case that farmers have committed to a form of high-input agriculture that can be environmentally harmful and economically risky. The document’s key conclusion
Editor’s Take: The crops groups merger vote nears
Are you ready for the Manitoba Crop Alliance vote? The MCA is the name a new merger of crops groups is poised to take on if their amalgamation proposal passes votes to be held at this winter’s CropConnect conference. That meeting, slated for February 11-13 in Winnipeg, will see the annual meetings of the Manitoba
Editor’s Take: Lack of leadership on Food Safety Act leads to limbo
On June 11, 2009 Gary Doer was contemplating his pending exit from provincial politics, Barack Obama had less than six months under his belt as president of the United States and Stephen Harper was still nearly two years away from receiving his first majority mandate. In popular culture, Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor” was burning
Editor’s Take: Ignoring the rural electoral base
Just weeks after the last provincial election campaign wrapped up, it might seem too soon to talk about the next one. But in the context of discontent in Manitoba’s farm country, it’s a topic worth considering. The governing Progressive Conservatives benefited, as they typically do, from strong support in rural Manitoba. In fact, agro-Manitoba voted
Editor’s Take: Crime waves
One day, while working in downtown Winnipeg, I left my job for a dentist appointment just a few blocks away. In a rush to get there on time, I cut through a parking lot and was headed down a short alley to the next street. I was just walking along, minding my own business, when
Editor’s Take: Farmers need better financial supports
One thing the designers of farm programs at the governmental level can’t seem to wrap their heads around is the myriad of ways things can go wrong out in the countryside. They like to slot things into neat boxes and sketch out a few likely scenarios, and design the programs around them and call it
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
