Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Canada’s wheat yield gains compare well to world

In Manitoba from 2000 to 2012, wheat yield gains outpaced  those for canola 

By Dave Yanko May 13, 2015

There have been opinions expressed in the media claiming the rate of yield gain for wheat in Western Canada is low compared to that of the rest of the world. However, a survey of the data suggests that’s not the case. Rob Graf, a wheat breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre, says

Crops, Livestock, Opinion

Editorial: Risk management on the farm

What does the future hold for farm stabilization payments in Canada?

By Laura Rance-Unger May 11, 2015

Changes to AgriStability three years ago that were designed to limit the exposure of federal and provincial coffers appear to have been more successful than politicians and bureaucrats ever imagined. The changes implemented for 2013 reduce the potential for a payment as well as the potential size of payment. It now appears the number of

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: What’s it going to take to stop soil erosion?

Soil erosion still alive and (not) well in Manitoba

By Laura Rance-Unger May 4, 2015

You could have mistaken Co-operator reporter Lorraine Stevenson for a coal miner, coated as she was with black dirt, after she ventured out across southern Manitoba during those 70- to 90-kilometre-per-hour winds April 15. But for the modern farm equipment and steel granaries in the background, her photographs of airborne and drifting soil could have

Cereals, Opinion

Support for single desk wasn’t ‘cooked up’

And farmers won’t control  the voluntary CWB 

By Allan Dawson April 24, 2015

In the heat of debate it’s easy to forget a fact or dismiss your opponent’s argument out of hand. Perhaps that explains why Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz accused Lowe Farm farmer Dean Harder of citing a “cooked up” number when the two were sparring April 15 in Winnipeg over the privatization of CWB — the

Comment, Opinion

Soil care: Will we make the right choices?

When net effects are considered, tillage can never be justified

By Don Lobb April 23, 2015

2015 is International Year of the Soil, and from April 19-25, National Soil Conservation Week brings focus to soil care in Canada. We need to consider our record through the ages as we implement soil protection now. Through the past 10,000 years, history records the successive rise and failure of great civilizations and powerful nations.

Opinion

Editorial: Why do women in agriculture go largely unrecognized?

By Laura Rance-Unger April 20, 2015

Two realities collided in our news release inbox last week. First, we received a release from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) announcing a research project that will examine and address critical barriers to advancement that women face in the agricultural industry. “The purpose of this initiative is to engage women and stakeholders within

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: Black swan?

By John Morriss April 13, 2015

Among the many topics in the science news releases last week was one from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. “A new study pinpoints five strains of yeast capable of turning agricultural byproducts, such as straw, sawdust and corncobs, into bioethanol — a well-known alcohol-based biofuel,” the release said. We’ve seen similar news

Crops, Opinion

Unintended consequences of U.S. biofuel policy

Corn and soy for ethanol were grown on marginal land which could have emitted  as much carbon dioxide as 34 coal-fired power plants

By University of Wisconsin-Madison April 13, 2015

Clearing grasslands to make way for biofuels may seem counterproductive, but University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show in a new study that crops, including the corn and soy commonly used for biofuels, expanded onto seven million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands. The study

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: They brought in plows?

By Laura Rance-Unger April 6, 2015

When a consortium of Canadian non-government organizations funded by the Canadian government arrived in the Benishangul-Gumuz state in Western Ethiopia five years ago, their primary goal was to help smallholder farmers boost productivity and food security. They came in with “modern” farming methods. In this context, that meant oxen and plows, showing farmers how to

Beef cattle, Opinion

Is beef traceability being used to its full potential?

Other countries extend traceability right to the packaging of meat so customers can  find out what individual animal and farm it came from

By Cheryl Hazenberg March 31, 2015

As I’ve been travelling this past year, I’ve been astonished by the level of traceability in processing plants abroad. I was welcomed into two plants, on two different continents, with open arms and fantastic hospitality with the only request being I leave my camera outside. Geographically these two businesses couldn’t be further apart but their

Daily Network News

Russian grain ship believed sunk in Ukrainian drone attack found, towed to shore, TASS says

Striking JBS workers to return to Colorado plant on promise of talks

Canadian finance minister talks supply chain integrity, pork tariffs with Chinese vice premier

Opinion

Canada’s wheat yield gains compare well to world

Editorial: Risk management on the farm

Editorial: What’s it going to take to stop soil erosion?

Support for single desk wasn’t ‘cooked up’

Soil care: Will we make the right choices?

Editorial: Why do women in agriculture go largely unrecognized?

Editorial: Black swan?

Unintended consequences of U.S. biofuel policy

Editorial: They brought in plows?

Is beef traceability being used to its full potential?

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