Visitors to the 103-year-old Royal Manitoba Winter Fair could learn all about how seed grows – but the annual competition recognizing farmers’ ability to select good seed is no longer a part of the annual event. In the face of declining entries in recent years, show organizers decided to end the seed show this year,
Declining Entries End Royal Seed Show
Be Bold, Not Balanced
B y most accounts, the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council’s 2010 annual meeting was well attended, full of new members and democratically run. Those are all signs of a healthy organization – at least on the surface. So why the hard feelings? A former director went home bitter after the nominating committee did not renew her
Optical Illusions
It’s pretty easy to get people all fired up these days. Just announce you’re going to rewrite the national anthem. Or axe the wheat board. Or publicly sanction a Crown corporation in the business of lending money to farmers for sending its employees on all-expense-paid trips to Disney World. Farm Credit Canada was in the
The Wedge Effect
If recent reports are any indication, a growing number of consumers want to feel good about the food they eat – even if it means paying more for it. For example, a recent Context Marketing survey of consumers in the San Francisco Bay area found that 70 per cent of the respondents said they would
Looming Phosphorus Shortages Require Change
Farmers have found an ally in a new report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), which says the responsibility for better phosphorus management cannot be carried by agriculture alone. The report shifts the focus from phosphorus as a noxious nutrient that must be regulated to prevent it from damaging the environment, to phosphorus
Options Abound For Improving Phosphorus Management
“The underlying problem leading to food waste stems in part from consumer behaviours supported by an economic system built to produce more than we need.” Anew report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development outlines several avenues that could be explored to improve phosphorus management: Another case for local food networks: “Cycling phosphorus exported in
Are You Rational?
Ever wonder why those herbicide ads portray weeds as the silent killer of your yields? Or why farmers cling to the bin keys while markets are rising, only to sweep them clean and race for town after the peak has passed? Or why some farmers will do just about anything to avoid paying taxes –
Just Plain Common Sense
When governments come forward with programs to help those in need, in this case farmers, we’d like to believe they are developed with the best of intentions. But it seems those good intentions are routinely smothered in what could only be called games bureaucracies play in the name of protecting the public purse. We don’t
Pork, The Food Of Love
Holy simmering succotash! Could pork be the new Viagra? Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez made international headlines recently when she suggested putting pork on your fork leads to more than yummy in your tummy. “I’ve just been told something I didn’t know; that eating pork improves your sex life … I’d say it’s a lot nicer
Being Good Neighbours
H ow are you? Try counting sometime how often in a day you exchange that greeting with family, friends, colleagues and neighbours. And then think about how often you listen – really listen – to the answer. If Gerry Friesen is right, and we suspect he is, there’s more than a few of us living