The newly elected Pallister government wasted little time putting its stamp on government in this province. Almost as fast as you can say Ralph Eichler, the provincial department responsible for agriculture got a new name this month: Manitoba Department of Agriculture (MDA). It has a nice simple ring to it. But it also reflects a
Editorial: What’s in a name?
Editorial: Free enterprise?
We all know there is one breed that produces the best beef. But ask a group of ranchers which breed that is, and you’ll get a whole bunch of different answers. They will also differ on “best” management practices, such as when to calve or what to feed, based on what works best on their
Editorial: A call for collaboration
A team of scientists in the United Kingdom and Bangladesh has taken an unusual step in their bid to get ahead of a deadly cereal fungus that has recently surfaced in Bangladesh. They have posted raw genetic data for the wheat blast pathogen on a new website — wheatblast.net. And they are inviting others to
Editorial: Balancing wheat research
No Prairie farmer worth his or her salt would admit to not being good at growing wheat. Farmers have been growing wheat in these parts for more than 200 years and they’ve earned quite a reputation for themselves selling it to the world. But a former senior federal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Editorial: The trouble with science: it changes
Growing up on the farm in the 1960s, two events caused a dramatic shift in the family’s eating habits. First, the cow died. She was replaced with skim milk powder, which scientifically speaking, offered similar nutrition, was less expensive, stored better and was much more convenient than maintaining a cow and milking two times a
Editorial: Hold the angry phone calls
At a time when governments are dealing with ballooning deficits, the Canadian Grain Commission is dealing with the opposite — a whopping surplus. As that surplus was accumulated on the basis of service fees, which are ultimately paid by farmers, many will consider that a problem. But there are a few things to consider before
Editorial: The upside of losing
It would appear that agri-industry is losing its two-decade-long battle to prevent labels on foods produced from genetically modified crops. This despite the millions upon millions of dollars poured into aggressive anti-labelling campaigns during state referendums on the issue. It has been a fascinating development to watch. Even as the pro-labellers successfully convinced legislators in
Editorial: CETA is on track for 2017. Now what?
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union is on track for implementation in 2017, a full decade since leaders first began discussions. So now what? Last week, the Co-operator began a three-part series on CETA, assembled by a team of reporters from the Glacier FarmMedia network of publications. The series
Editorial: Easy to say, not easy to do
Most would agree that the so-called revenue cap on Canada’s two national railways is an imperfect solution to a complicated problem. Officially called the Maximum Revenue Entitlement (MRE), it was implemented as part of a major reform of grain transportation policy by Justice Willard Estey in 2000. It was an alternative to his proposal to
Editorial: Long wait, more rhetoric
A long-awaited report by the panel reviewing the Canadian Transportation Act will disappoint those in the grains sector looking for more accountability in the system that moves their crop to market. The report “Pathways: Connecting Canada’s Transportation System to the World” is the result of an accelerated review of the federal legislation. The scheduled review
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