Not just anyone should be able to jump behind the wheel of a semi-trailer and go rolling along a public road. After all, these rigs can carry staggering amounts of weight — for example, a Super-B can carry 42 tonnes of grain in a single load. To put that into perspective, it’s the equivalent of
Editor’s Take: Truck licensing snafu needs fixing
Editor’s Take: Canada’s farm labour gap needs holistic solution
Farm labour, or rather the shortage of it, is getting much attention lately. In recent weeks, there’s been a pilot program announced to provide temporary foreign workers (TFWs) with a path to permanent residency. There’s also been a study that suggests farms are going high tech, automating and mechanizing at an even faster rate —
Editor’s Take: Canada at a crossroads
According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada remains either a leader or laggard in the realm of support for its agriculture sector, depending on how one approaches the problem. A free market idealist who favours letting the invisible hand sort it all out might think less support to producers is a
Adapting to changing times
As the Manitoba Co-operator moves into the future we plan to reflect the changing faces of Manitoba farms
The Manitoba Co-operator has seen a lot of change since its inception in 1925. Through the Great Depression, Second World War, the postwar boom, the farm boom of the 1970s and the bust of the 1980s and 1990s, it has evolved right alongside its readership. It chronicled the end of summerfallow, the evolution of zero
Editor’s Take: Fair’s fair
An old friend lives in Winnipeg along a major thoroughfare that’s slated for expansion at some yet-to-be-determined future date. He and his wife have lived there for nearly 20 years, and the word of the planned roadwork came down shortly after they bought the house. They’ve been told, in no uncertain terms, that once the
Editorial: Interests aligned?
Canada’s major grain companies — through their industry voice the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) — have come out swinging against a discussion paper that puts analytical testing on the table (see Allan Dawson’s front-page story). The Canadian Grain Commission has been reviewing whether falling number and tests for the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) would serve
Editorial: Pulling it together
It’s been a long road towards merger for Manitoba commodity groups. Over the past three years groups have opted in and out of the process and at times it’s seemed like little or nothing was happening. But in truth that’s just been the long, slow process of trying to bring independent entities together into one
Editorial: A fine balance
Where does one individual’s rights end, and another’s begin? One famous definition runs like this: “The right to swing my arms in any direction ends where your nose begins.” It’s a straightforward common-sense approach that attempts to balance individual liberty with the rights of others. However, it’s also a very simplistic black-or-white view. The reality
Editorial: Brand name
As the writing began to appear on the wall for the Canadian Wheat Board, many wondered what would become of Brand Canada. The nation has long enjoyed a global reputation as a producer of high-quality milling wheat. Canada has been a dominant player in this lofty quality grouping since the legendary Red Fife and Marquis
Editorial: Back to normal
A farmer who’s been around the block can’t be blamed for watching the current economic and political situation with growing nervousness. Anyone who was associated with a Prairie farm during the 1980s and ’90s has no choice but to remember those painful lost years, especially in the crops sector. Income dried up, losses mounted and
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
