Op/Ed & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Operating in a comparatively more theatrical political environment than Canada, U.S. President Joe Biden is tasked with convincing producers he does not plan on banning hamburgers.

Opinion: U.S., Canada have same challenge in selling green policies to producers

Farmers aren’t typically core constituents of Liberals or Democrats

By D.C. Fraser May 17, 2021

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are fighting the same fight in trying to get farmers on board with ambitious climate plans. Industry groups and associations in both countries will say already efforts are being made to reduce emissions, but critics say otherwise. The U.S. administration’s new, unprecedented dedication to fighting climate change

Editorial, Op/Ed

Editor’s Take: Rain and high prices

By Gord Gilmour May 13, 2021

A now-retired farmer friend says he defines a happy coincidence as when high prices and a big crop happen at the same time. But he also ruefully admits it would probably just as well be described as a ‘bloody miracle.’ He farmed more than 50 years and, during a recent text exchange, conceded that, “I

Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: Tiny nanotechnologies are poised to have a huge impact on agriculture

Tiny particles are going to be part of a big wave in the future of farming

By M Cynthia Goh May 12, 2021

Science is about big ideas that change the world. But sometimes, big impacts come from the tiniest of objects. Nanotechnology might sound like science fiction, but it represents technologies that have been developed for decades. Nanotechnological approaches have found real-world applications in a wide range of areas, from composite materials in textiles to agriculture. Agriculture

Comment, Op/Ed, Other

Comment: In praise of processed foods

A new study shows there’s no clear-cut consensus on what ‘processed’ means

By Sylvain Charlebois May 10, 2021

Processed foods exist so we can save time, money, and energy. It has made our food systems more efficient over the years. It is all about convenience. In recent years though, the health attributes of processed foods have increasingly come under scrutiny for a variety of biased and unbiased reasons. Many reports by professional and

Editorial, Op/Ed

Editor’s Take: Coming and going

Farmers and the grain trade may have many common interests, but they are not perfectly aligned

By Gord Gilmour May 6, 2021

What’s the right amount of oversight in Canada’s grain quality assurance system? That’s the fundamental question at the heart of an ongoing review of the Canadian Grain Commission and Canada Grain Act. As our Allan Dawson reports, many in the grain trade want to see the regulatory burden lighten. The Western Grain Elevator Association, which

Editorial, Op/Ed, Other

Guest Editorial: Carbon questions loom

By John Greig April 29, 2021

The march to some sort of agricultural carbon economy is on and it’s integral that we get it right if we go down this road. Policy can’t be driven by politics and ideology. Unfortunately, the science of carbon sequestration continues to be fuzzy, which leaves open the opportunity for opinion to guide the policy. There

Letters, Op/Ed

Letters: Cold War with China costs Prairie farmers

By David Gehl April 28, 2021

According to a recently released report from the Canola Council of Canada, worsened relations with China since the December 2018 arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou have cost Prairie farmers $1 billion or more. During the period March 6, 2019 to July 31, 2020 the losses to Canadian canola growers are estimated at from $681

A total of 46 per cent of Canadians, almost half, consider the cost of housing to be the largest obstacle to food affordability.

Comment, Op/Ed, Other

Comment: Food affordability. The perfect economic storm

The cost of housing is now the biggest contributor to food unaffordability in Canada

By Sylvain Charlebois April 27, 2021

The two necessities in life are food and shelter. It looks like both are getting much more expensive these days. For a few years now, the cost of food has been the most important food affordability barrier. Not anymore. The cost of housing is now seen by Canadians as the most significant barrier. A recent

Scott Moe contends carbon stored by the Saskatchewan producers “should be recognized going back decades.”

Op/Ed, Opinion, Other

Opinion: Scott Moe’s carbon credit stance unsalable

Emitters won’t recognize — or pay for — carbon sequestered decades ago

By D.C. Fraser April 27, 2021

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe continuing to believe farmers should be credited for decades-old actions demonstrates his overall reluctance to recognize the significance of climate change. Beaten by the Supreme Court of Canada, Moe is now in the unenviable position of having to develop and introduce a carbon pricing policy. Most of his constituents don’t want

Letters, Op/Ed

Letters: Carbon credits a bogus solution

By A. Ross McMillan April 26, 2021

I have always had great respect for Laura Rance’s understanding and support for agriculture and rural life in Manitoba. That is until I read her editorial in the Feb. 25 issue of the Manitoba Co-operator, where I was appalled to see her endorsement of Maple Leaf Foods buying bogus carbon credits from American farmers so

Daily Network News

New strategies needed for Canadian agriculture to stand out in global trade

Feed Grains Weekly: Cash prices for wheat, barley largely flat

The Canadian GMO mustard wars: Dijon vs canola

Op/Ed