Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Editorial: Just print your food and eat it?

By Laura Rance-Unger July 27, 2015

Those of us who still garden have a rather quaint view of food and technology. We plant seeds, help them grow, harvest and eat (cooking optional). Meat or other sources of protein are a bit of an afterthought compared to the taste of those first seasonal bites of melt-in-your mouth potatoes, beans, beets and carrots.

Comment, Crops, Opinion

Who should own land in Saskatchewan?

The answer lies in whether you consider it a financial investment or social capital

By Johnson-shoyama Graduate School Of Public Policy July 27, 2015

The following is an abbreviated version of a discussion paper prepared by Annette A. Desmarais, Darrin Qualman, André Magnan, and Nettie Wiebe: In December 2013, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) purchased approximately 115,000 acres of farmland from an investment company, Assiniboia Capital LP., for $128 million. This was the single largest sale of

Livestock, Opinion

Outright repeal of COOL defies consumer sentiment

It was how the meat-packing industry applied the law that caused the negative effects on imports

By Daryll E. Ray, Harwood D. Schaffer July 21, 2015

The fate of the U.S. COOL (country-of-origin labelling) program for beef, pork, and poultry hangs in the balance as Congress goes on its Independence Day recess. Given the May 18, 2015 WTO (World Trade Organization) ruling against COOL, the threat of $3 billion in retaliatory tariffs being imposed on U.S. products by Canada and Mexico,

Doug Wray is among several Alberta cattle producers experimenting with adding a variety of forages to feed his cattle. The mix adds important nutrients to the cattle’s diet, but also increases the diversity on the land.

Forages, Opinion

Editorial: Increasing your farming options

By Laura Rance-Unger July 20, 2015

Even in June, you could feel a drought in the making as we tramped across the bone-dry paddocks of Doug Wray’s ranch north of Calgary. Far from the lush, succulent feel of the pastures here in Manitoba, the grasses there rustled and crunched underfoot. Conditions haven’t improved — in fact, the situation out west has

To help prevent obesity, the dietary committee recommends shifting the focus from total fat intake to adoption of a healthier food-based dietary pattern.

Comment, Opinion

Dietary guidelines shouldn’t place limits on total fat intake

Limits have no basis in science and contribute to bad consumer choices

By Tufts University July 15, 2015

In a Viewpoint published June 24 in the Journal of the Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and Boston Children’s Hospital call on the federal government to drop restrictions on total fat consumption in the forthcoming 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Co-authors Dariush Mozaffarian, MD,

Comment, Opinion

Brace for more commodity volatility due to China

China’s real estate bubble is deflating as the economy slows

By Hendrik Brakel July 14, 2015

When someone asks where commodity prices are headed, they’re really asking: what’s the outlook for China? Last year, China consumed more coal than the rest of the world combined and imported 70 per cent of the world’s seaborne iron ore. In 2012, China accounted for half of the global growth in oil demand. It’s a

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: The green world’s breadbasket?

By Laura Rance-Unger July 13, 2015

Jeff Rubin, the former chief economist for CIBC World Markets turned bestselling author, knows all about adaptation. His first book, Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller grabbed international attention with predictions that world oil prices would climb to more than $200 a barrel by 2012, forcing a rethink of almost

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: Agri-resilience is farmers’ best defence for managing risk

By Laura Rance-Unger July 6, 2015

No one understands risk preparedness and management better than an insurance company. The iconic insurance giant Lloyd’s laid out a stark scenario recently in a report about the potential for weather-related disasters to undermine the entire global food system. The 327-year-old insurance firm says it wouldn’t take much — just three catastrophic weather events hitting

Opinion

Editorial: Canada’s GHG stance tarnishes our brand

By John Morriss June 29, 2015

Things aren’t going too well in the international trade agreement department. At the World Trade Organization (WTO) round, which has been dragging along since 1991, it’s come to the point where the director general is actually being honest about its prospects. “Taking an overview of all of these consultations it is hard to see a

Cereals, Comment, Opinion

Desire for grain price control drives G3 port plans

More port capacity will allow grain companies to widen their margins

By Jan Slomp June 24, 2015

G3 has announced it may build a new grain terminal at the West Lynn terminal on the North Shore of Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. G3 is the joint venture of U.S.-based multinational grain company, Bunge Ltd., and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC), owned by the Saudi government. It was given the assets of

Daily Network News

Chinese pig farmers test fermented feeds as Beijing weans sector off U.S. soy

Deere settles U.S. right-to-repair lawsuit with $99 million fund, repair commitments

Klassen: Negative margins weigh on Western feeder cattle market