There’s a deepening need in Canada to increase oversight into competition in our economy, as evidenced by the latest food-related scandal. Canada Bread, an arm of the Mexican multinational Groupo Bimbo, just agreed to pay a $50-million settlement for its part in a bread price-fixing scheme. It was a conspiracy that ran for 14 to
Editorial: Checks and balances needed
Editor’s Take: Booms and busts
I’m just old enough to remember the farm bust of the 1980s. I was a teenager at the time, and like all good parents would, my folks tried to shield me from the worst of their worries and woes. But I grew up on a grain farm, and in that era, troubles were unavoidable all
Editor’s take: Private member’s bill reveals deep divisions in agriculture
Not long ago, the deepest division in Canadian agriculture — at least west of the Lakehead — was the Canadian Wheat Board. From protests to prison sentences for running the border with truckloads of wheat, it had enough drama to keep everyone interested. And perpetually outraged. On one side were those who favoured the monopoly
Counting the impacts of China-Australia barley deal
As normal trade flows resume, new markets will be needed
The coming resumption of China-Australia barley trade will require Canada to seek new markets. Peter Watts, managing director of the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre, noted that after China imposed 80.5 per cent tariffs on Australian barley in May 2020, Canada was a clear-cut beneficiary. “Canada saw its biggest barley export program of the past
Editor’s Take: Slipping one in
Many years ago, I saw a cartoon that caused my cynical inner journalist to chuckle. A man in a suit sat behind a massive desk, handing a paper to a lackey, saying “Take this, Henderson, and hide it from the public.” I laughed because even a wet-behind-the-ears cub reporter in the early 1990s could recognize
Eastern Prairies get good marks on soil moisture
Manitoba has seen some of the coolest, wettest conditions of the Prairies so far
Manitoba is sitting pretty for soil moisture as the growing season looms, according to one crops and weather specialist. Bruce Burnett, director of crops and weather for MarketsFarm, a division of Glacier FarmMedia, said things get drier as one looks further west in the Prairies, but Manitoba’s soil moisture is good — maybe even verging on too good. “Soil moisture
Prairie soil moisture picture growing clearer
Alberta driest; Saskatchewan variable; Manitoba mostly OK
It’s a variable soil moisture picture on the Prairies as seeding season draws nearer. The east has enough moisture — and in some cases too much. And it gets progressively drier toward the west, with portions of Alberta nearing critical condition, according to one weather watcher. Bruce Burnett, weather and markets director for the MarketsFarm
VIDEO: Manitoba Pork weighs industry issues at AGM
From public outreach to taking the fight to wild boars, on to trade and everything in between, Manitoba Pork Council had a packed agenda at its annual general meeting held today in Winnipeg. Manitoba Co-operator editor Gord Gilmour spoke with Cam Dahl, the organization’s general manager, about some of the big issues facing the sector,
Editor’s Take: Durable solutions needed for human capital crunch
When Canada has a systemic problem, all too often our national reaction is to slap a Band-Aid of some kind on it and call it a day. Nursing shortage in Manitoba? Jump on a plane and poach every available nurse from the Philippines. Doctor shortage? Hoover up every available international doctor from South Africa, India
Editor’s Take: A season of uncertainty looms
The world is once again facing a growing season in the Northern Hemisphere that’s shrouded in uncertainty. A little uncertainty is nothing new, but over the past few years, things have reached a whole new level. As you’ll read on pages 6 and 7 of this issue, few unknowns are larger than what’s going to
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
