Editorial: Bonanza bind

Over 100 years ago there was a land rush on the northern plains of North America. The arrival of railways suddenly opened vast tracts of land to settlement and agriculture. The world responded with a flood of humanity. These days we think of the romantic image of homesteading families from all corners of the world,

Editorial: Pre-competitive advantage

The idea of collaboration — and even mergers — among farm commodity groups has begun to find traction lately. The latest round came at the annual CropConnect conference, which brings together a number of the smaller commodity organizations at a single event where they conduct their annual general meetings. That event demonstrates the merits of


Editorial: Biofuels fight

[Updated March 2, 2017]: What would a world with another five billion bushels of corn on the market look like? I am willing to bet that the grain growers among our readership just felt a small blood pressure spike at the very thought, anticipating dramatically lower crop prices. That figure represents the portion of the

Editorial: Playing with trains

With spring just around the corner, it’s becoming clear a big wreck in grain shipping is unlikely this winter. Despite a 76-million-tonne crop to move, big blizzards and those infamous periods of frigid winter temperatures, the system has held together. Mark Hemmes of grain monitor firm Quorum said in a recent article in the Co-operator


Editorial: Mutual respect

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard someone from this industry lament that consumers just don’t understand them. They don’t realize that agriculture produces some of the safest and most readily available food in human history, these ‘agvocates’ state, all on low margins, and at high risk. From their positions of comfort in

Editorial: Beggar thy neighbour

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: 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

The 40th edition of Ag Days kicked off in Brandon on Jan.17.

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: Di ‘verse’ ity 2017

The Co-operator’s in good hands, and I don’t mind crediting That the staff is still doing a great job of reporting and editing But while kids these days can tweet fairly tersely They just don’t have what it takes to match two words versely So when it came to performing the annual requirement To review