Manitoba Co-operator

Conference a great forum for young agriculturalists

Some of us on the verge of retirement wonder at times who will be taking over the reins of leadership of agricultural organizations, agricultural academia, the government agricultural bureaucracy and the industry in general. It’s a real concern, as never-ending production efficiencies mean fewer and fewer people needed to produce more food. In addition, agriculture

The drones are coming to a sky near you

Most folks have heard about the use of drones for military purposes, but there is a much better future for these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), as they are officially called, in the world of agriculture. A number of universities and research agencies are already busily investigating their use mainly for crop surveillance of diseases and






Critical CWB Activity May Be Its Most Important

Another Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) director election is upon us and it seems a bit quiet so far. Considering the acrimonious position of the Conservative government on the CWB and its past meddling in its affairs, one almost expects some more political mischief from them sooner or later. On the other hand if they do

Do We Really Need More Farmers And Ranchers?

Most producers, particularly those trying to get a crop into the ground last spring, would have noticed junketeering federal politicians and their entourage on a fact-finding tour in Alberta. That group would be the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, not to be confused with the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and

ALMA Supports BSE-Testing Study

“This idea arose from a meeting between ALMA, APRI and PrioNet Canada to determine what prion-related issues were facing the livestock industry.” A proposal for a study that has been a long time coming is being initiated by a consortium made up of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), the Alberta Prion Research Institute


Alberta Decision Has National Repercussions

It would seem that the Minister in his quest to rein in the ABP may have opened a whole new can of problems. Arecent decision by Alberta Minister of Agriculture George Groeneveld to introduce a refundable cattle checkoff is going to affect the cattle and beef industry both nationally and even internationally. The decision, which