Warren Upham: A man to know

We have known at least since the 19th century that we live in the bottom of an ancient lake bed here in the Red River basin. So how did this knowledge come about? Speculation about an ancient lake likely existed from early on. American Indians would have noticed the lines of deposits of earth, stone

Our history: February 1954

Our Feb. 18, 1954 issue contained some advertisements for seed dressing that would raise a few eyebrows today, including this one for products containing mercury and lindane. Another advertisement for Tritisan seed treatment did not mention the active ingredient, but the claims of being “non-poisonous” and “gloves and goggles not necessary” may have been questionable.


Letters, Jan. 31

Promise to consult abandoned Regarding the Jan. 24 article “Supreme Court hammers another nail into wheat board’s coffin,” I think for the most part farmers will acknowledge the court’s decision, not to hear the appeal case, and continue on with their normal, everyday lives and challenges. But every once in a while they will be

Beef packing and Manitoba

Calvin Vaags was up front in saying the decision to host a “media” event Jan. 26 at the Plains Processors facility near Carman was about credibility. After three years of planning, lining up finances and preparation, he wanted people to see for themselves that the earth has started to move to make way for the


A penny a plant?

Back in the days when being a farm kid spelled work and a penny was still worth five Mojos at the local store, Grandpa had us all out there one hot, July afternoon hand roguing his seed oats for a penny a plant. If some agronomists are correct, it’s looking like farm kids of the



Have U.S. corn farmers lost their edge?

For the first time on record, U.S. farmers have fallen out of the top two-yielding corn and soybean producers in the world after drought conditions dented production of both crops. The USDA says 2012-13 corn yields in Argentina and Canada will both top the 123.4 bushels an acre averaged in the U.S., while soybean growers



Editorial cartoons

Several readers took exception to the editorial cartoon we published in the Dec. 20 issue. For those of you who missed it, it portrays a father asking his little girl “how was school today?” as she walks in the door. “No casualties,” she replies. This seemingly innocent exchange takes on a grotesque significance in the

Letters, Jan. 10, 2013

Letters We welcome readers’ comments on issues that have been covered in the Manitoba Co-operator. In most cases we cannot accept “open” letters or copies of letters which have been sent to several publications. Letters are subject to editing for length or taste. We suggest a maximum of about 300 words. Please forward letters to


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