The early days of the carnival ride that is the Trump presidency have already exceeded even the most jaded expectations. In less than two weeks, he’s unleashed a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and proclamations that have ranged from the mundane to the downright terrifying. From pulling the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to
Editorial: Beggar thy neighbour
Weber says Trump the wild card
The maverick president will be a market mover, like it or not
Commodity analyst Larry Weber says he’s changed his morning routine recently. In the years he’s been in the business of analyzing grain markets, the first thing he always checked every morning was the news wires, looking for world events that could make a difference in markets. “Now I’m checking Twitter to see what Donald Trump
Editorial: Moving on
What happens when a farm family is no longer a farm family? This is a question I’ve been mulling lately, after talking with a couple of people I know whose families have decided now is the time to sell up. It’s a reality for many of us, or will be soon enough. Just a walk
Editorial: Show time
By the time this issue of the Manitoba Co-operator is off to the printer, I will, like many others in the sector, be headed to Brandon for Ag Days. Like most other attendees I’ll enjoy the opportunity to see the latest and greatest in agriculture technology and catching up with old friends and business associates
Editorial: Butt out
Recently Manitoba’s Bothwell Cheese announced it had received Project GMO certification for one of its product lines. Boiled down, it means the cheese in question is made from milk that comes from cows fed non-GMO feed. The move came, the company explained at the time, as a result of consumers asking for such a product.
Editorial: A farm Christmas
There’s something about the phrase “Christmas at the farm” that still captures the imagination. I see it every time I tell someone our holiday plans. They get a nostalgic look in their eyes even though some have never experienced it. It seems like everyone has a picture of what that would look and feel like
Editorial: Where have all the good times gone?
Lately, it’s seemed like one story after another about a record or near-record harvest has passed across my desk. In November, the USDA upped their estimate of an already-record 2016-17 crop. The agency said soybeans would come in at 4.269 billion bushels and corn at 15.057 billion bushels. Market watchers, already expecting a big crop,
Cheese maker chases non-GMO specialty market
It’s a case of giving consumers what they want, rather than creating a differentiation as a marketing ploy, says Bothwell
A Manitoba cheese maker will become the first in Canada to produce a verified non-GMO product. Bothwell Cheese has been awarded the voluntary label by the Non-GMO Project, a U.S.-based non-profit, for a new cheddar product line due out in 2017. Mike Raftis, Bothwell’s vice-president of marketing, sales and communications, says the move comes in
Editorial: A shaky foundation
It’s often said employees are the bedrock of any business. Without them wheels don’t turn, work isn’t done, products aren’t created and customers aren’t served. If that really is so, and there’s a small library of management manuals to back that claim, agriculture in Canada is in real trouble. A joint study from the Conference
Farm Women’s Conference sees upsurge
Young farm women are showing more interest in the organization which pleases longtime members
What a difference a decade can make. Ten years ago, as the Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference celebrated its 20th anniversary, many of the organizers were wondering quietly if it might be time to consider wrapping things up. Attendance had been falling, the membership was, like in many farm-based groups of the time, aging, and the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
