Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

A powerful engine for growth

By Laura Rance-Unger April 26, 2013

Researchers have discovered an environmentally sustainable instrument that could increase world food production by 30 per cent, but they’ve been having a tough time getting it commercialized. Is it a plant with a novel trait, or a new herbicide perhaps, bogged down by excessive regulations or those silly activists? Or maybe it’s a new type

Crops, Opinion

Dandelions versus pesticides on the playground

By Andy Pelletier April 26, 2013

Many, if not all, of the province’s school divisions plan to conduct “pesticide control” on school property to control dandelions and other unsightly weeds. I have a problem with this for several reasons. Firstly, when did unsightly plants become a problem within schoolgrounds that require poisons to eradicate? And to whom are they unsightly, the

Cereals, Crops, International news, Opinion

The crisis deepens in the West Australian wheat lands

By Roger Crook April 26, 2013

One economist says that if rural Australia were a member country of the euro zone,  international financial markets would be refusing to finance the sector

The closer West Australian farmers get to seeding time, which is any time after the end of April, the more intense the debate becomes whether the eastern Wheat Belt will ever be the same again. Now there are reports of farmers abandoning their land and walking off. Enough is enough for some. The old men

Crops, Opinion

Agricultural innovation in plant biotechnology necessary

By Lorne Hepworth April 26, 2013

Innovation is key to keeping Canada’s agricultural sector strong and science-based regulatory systems ensure that such innovations are safe for human health and the environment. Innovations derived through modern plant breeding help farmers, are good for the environment and they deliver tangible benefits to consumers by way of lower food costs. Agricultural innovation, including plant

Hogs, Opinion

Time for a change

By Laura Rance-Unger April 18, 2013

If you were trying to find someone to promote your cause to the general public, it’s not likely that you’d choose someone with the nickname “Dr. Evil” and had a reputation as a high-priced lobbyist fighting in favour of smoking, junk food consumption and drinking and driving. But that’s who the Manitoba Pork Council hired

Cereals, Crops, Opinion

Who has Ritz’s ear?

By Allan Dawson April 18, 2013

Some in the industry wonder whether they are wasting their time discussing how to improve Canada’s wheat registration system. Recent history shows that while Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz offers to consult with all of the industry, he only listens to a few. “Ritz listens to the Wheat Growers and Grain Growers of Canada more than

Crops, Oilseeds, Opinion, Our History

Our History: Canola was a ‘calculated’ risk

By J.k. Daun April 18, 2013

It was about three dozen years ago that my friends and colleagues at the then Rapeseed Association of Canada invited me over to discuss the specifications and definition for a new crop. When I arrived, Al Earl, the executive director of the association told me that the board had decided to name the new double-zero-type

International news, Opinion

Thank you for 30 years!

By Jim Cornelius April 18, 2013

April 13, 2013 marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). Throughout this year, we wish to celebrate and thank the many people and organizations that have created, built and supported the CFGB over the years — the early visionaries, the practical people who worked out the mechanics, the many farmers

Cereals, Crops, Opinion

The need for speed

By Laura Rance-Unger April 11, 2013

When the Harper government gutted Canada’s environmental review legislation as part of the 2012 omnibus budget, the public was told it was because the process was inefficient, slow and standing in the way of economic development. But as researchers at the University of Toronto noted, federal officials “provided no evidence apart from the testimony of

Opinion

Letters, April 11, 2013

April 11, 2013

One super farm group needed? Danny Penner has been advocating for one “super” farm group to speak with one voice. That idea has been around for as long as there have been farmers. It’s easy to feel disassociated with the groups that are left, such as the commodity groups and the astroturf wheat-barley growers, Grain

Daily Network News

Moroccan fertilizer maker OCP expects output to drop 30 per cent in Q2, sources say

Feed Grain Weekly: Demand rises despite war uncertainty

How farmers can manage stress, anxiety during spring seeding