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Opinion

Opinion

Do food aid and economic self-interest mix?

The recent decision to merge the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) into the new Department of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Development isn’t the first time Canada’s aid program has been profoundly changed. Five years ago, another major change occurred when Ottawa fully untied Canadian food aid. Then, as now, it was a matter of
Hogs, Opinion

Guebert: Reasons to smile over the Smithfield purchase

By
Here are 10 reasons for American farmers and ranchers to be thrilled by Shuanghui International Holding Inc.’s proposed $4.7-billion purchase of Smithfield Foods, Inc. No. 10: The U.S. gets back some of the dollars held by China. While $4.7 billion is chicken feed compared to the $1.2 trillion of U.S. debt (about 7.5 per cent
Beef cattle, Hogs, Opinion

Trouble on the trade front

The federal government has issued a long list of U.S. imports that could be targeted for retaliation if Canada’s biggest trading partner fails to comply with the WTO ruling on its country-of-origin labelling rules. That list of 40 or so items includes live cattle and pigs, meat products, corn, processed foods containing spent fowl, chocolate,
Provincial control structure on Tobacco Creek. photos: submitted
Opinion

Reflecting on the flood that didn’t happen

By
After dire predictions and many preparations on both sides of the border, citizens have started breathing a huge sigh of relief. Unless we receive very large levels of precipitation in the coming days, the threat of flooding seems to have been alleviated. Some of us are just relieved; others are asking why the forecasts were
Wheat is transferred from the train cars via a conveyor belt to the cargo ship in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canadian Grain Commission fees for inspecting outgoing cargoes will rise sharply this year.  photo: REUTERS/Ben Nelms
Opinion

A closer look at Canadian Grain Commission user fees

There is an inherent conflict of interest when a regulatory agency operates on a complete cost recovery basis

By ,
The Canada Grain Act was enacted in 1912. The last set of significant amendments was made in the early 1970s. Since then, there have been vast changes in farm operations, grain handling, marketing, exporting and the global marketplace. The time is exactly right to modernize the Canada Grain Act. The federal government passed Bill C-45,
Opinion

4-H something to celebrate

The March 14 ‘status’ on my 20-year-old daughter’s Facebook page said it all: “Got a shout out from a prof for being a very “clear and confident speaker and presenter.” Second one this year. All those years of hating 4-H speaking competitions are finally paying off!” Reading that took me back a decade to the
Opinion

Protect that investment

It’s no secret that farmland is getting pretty pricey. The latest data released by Farm Credit Canada shows the average value of farmland in Manitoba increased by 13.9 per cent during the second half of 2012. Nationally, the average value of farmland has increased at the average annual rate of 12 per cent since 2008,
Cereals, Crops, Forages, Opinion

The importance of forage research

The following contains excerpts from a letter the Canadian Forage Growers Association sent to the federal government in April. The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association represents farmers and ranchers that produce, manage and utilize Canada’s largest acreage crop (National Forage and Grassland Assessment, June 2012). Cultivated forages for pasture, feed, and seed production, account for
Beef cattle, Forages, Livestock, Opinion

Accountability or wonky accounting?

By Laura Rance

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association recently wrote to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz expressing concerns about the state of forage breeding within the federal department. (See the letter elsewhere on this page.) If the word on the street is correct, those concerns are well founded. It appears that the Brandon Research Station, the home of
Opinion

Making it right

There were lots of big numbers floating around last week about how much, or how little, farmers surrounding Lake Manitoba received in compensation following the 2011 flood. The federal government says Manitoba farmers were paid out more than $500 million through various cost-shared business risk management programs following the 2011 flooding combined with unseeded acres.

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