G8 Promises A $20-Billion Chance To Beat Odds On Hunger

Last week’s promise by the world’s wealthiest nations to spend $20 billion on impoverished farmers represents a chance to tackle chronic hunger, but leaders face daunting odds to make the pledge count. The back-to-basics three-year commitment by G8 governments to aid small farmers in Africa and parts of Asia – sparked in part by riots

Policy Shifts Can Be Penny-Wise But Dollar Foolish

The 1996 Farm Bill’s elimination of the grain storage program, coupled with the elimination of an acreage management program, increased the cost to taxpayers for farm programs by an average of $5.7 billion a year. During the debate over the 1996 Farm Bill, the proponents for eliminating a government stock program argued that the traditional


Seeing The Future

“I subscribe to the view that we’ll see more shortages and better prices more often in the years to come.” To which view of the future of the grain business do you subscribe? View No. 1: the growing world population and increasing prosperity will lead to a long-term uptrend in agricultural prices. View No. 2:

Under The Cottonwoods –A Town Celebrates Its Own

We had agreed to meet downtown, under the towering cottonwoods. I arrived early, intending to relax and catch up on some reading. Little did I know I’d find myself in the middle of a celebration; a boisterous commercial one at that. Being a bit of a hermit, it surprised me – how drawn I was


Agricultural Energy Expansion Must-Haves

The expanding renewable energy sector offers incredible opportunities for Manitoba producers. What we need now are the right policy tools and information on diversifying into new agricultural-based energy solutions such as biomass, wind power, and renewable fuels. Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) recently updated a policy paper regarding agricultural energy, which outlines our vision for the

Misplaced Nostalgia

JOHN MORRISS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR In contrast to their parents and grandparents who lived through two World Wars, Canadian baby boomers have lived a charmed life, though not one without some trauma. Practising nuclear-bomb evacuation drills to our school’s mud-floored crawl space during the Cuban Missile Crisis had a certain psychological effect, especially considering that there



Dairy’s Sour Times

Maybe this is what Willie and Waylon were thinking when they warned American “mommas” to not let their “babies to grow up to be cowboys.” Anyone with a dairy cow this year will lose, on average, $70 per month feeding and milking it; more if the cow is also packin’ debt. That means, in the


Improving Wheat’s Profitability

Monsanto was back in the news last week with its announcement that it is re-entering the wheat-breeding business with the purchase of a Montana-based company that specializes in germplasm. The objective is to develop genetically modified wheats that have better drought tolerance, improved nitrogen efficiency and ultimately higher yields. Monsanto’s competitors, Syngenta AG, BASF and



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