Opinion
Editorial Cartoon – for Jun. 11, 2009
Cattle Experts Say It Will Get Better
Cattle industry experts are in general agreement that the long-term outlook is bright for the beef industry. However, the short term remains troubled. A substantial list of long-term positives were listed by presenters at the recent Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual meeting in Moose Jaw. Pork, poultry and beef supplies are all dropping in North
The Great Land Grab
After the cold, wet and now frosty spring we’re experiencing, if foreign buyers came along and approached the federal government about buying up farmland on the Canadian Prairies, there’s a few farmers who’d be inclined to say, “Take it. Please.” That’s not likely to happen, at least not in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, because of legislation
Farm Groups Should Know The Risks Of Easy Credit
A letter to the editor of Ontario Farmer newspaper by Stephen Thompson of Clinton, Ontario. Iam amazed and at the same time completely horrified by the number of farm groups congratulating federal Ag Minister Gerry Ritz for promising to make it easier for Canadian farmers to get access to credit. It would appear that neither
Province Must Research Waste Water System
The province wants to change the way sewage disposal is managed in rural areas, and new regulations are going to have a significant impact on many people – including farmers. If you are not connected to community waste water treatment infrastructure and you rely on a disposal field, sewage ejector system, or holding tank, you
Rushing Madly Off In All Directions
When mad cow disease hit Western Canada in May, 2003, farmers got a lesson in basic economics. The lesson wasn’t so much that prices went down in Canada. Take away the market for something like 50 per cent of the cattle produced in Canada, and prices will take a gut-wrenching tumble. That was a given.
A Rural Champion
A few years back, as the list of rural responsibilities assigned to one cabinet minister in a particular federal government grew longer than could be comfortably stated without pausing to breathe, reporters took to unofficially referring to him as the “minister for everything in between the big cities.” In some ways, it was symbolic of
editorial cartoon – for Jun. 4, 2009
Take Free Trade — Please
When the international trade portion of your resume is as thin as the new U. S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s, it’s likely you’d stress personal ideals over professional accomplishments when talking about your new job. Kirk did just that in a May 22 speech to the U. S. Meat Export Federation. As Barack Obama’s trade
An Open Letter To The Prime Minister And All Federal Leaders
Canada’s independent ranchers and farmers – the backbone of our cattle and beef sectors – are receiving some of the lowest prices they’ve seen since the Great Depression. Adjusted for inflation, prices today are half of price averages from the 1970s, and ’80s. Today’s Depressionechoing prices are bankrupting long-standing cattle producers and forcing farm families