Futures industry shaken as another broker goes bankrupt

Reuters / Russell Wasendorf Sr., arrested last Friday, confessed to a 20-year fraud at Peregrine Financial Group (PFG), his now-bankrupt Iowa brokerage, saying business troubles and his “big” ego left him no choice: “So I cheated.” In the dramatic conclusion to a week-long saga that has shaken trader confidence in the trillion-dollar U.S. futures markets,

Canada’s role in meeting humanity’s biggest challenge

In 40 years’ time the world will need to have increased global food production and supply by 100 per cent to provide adequate nutrition for its nine billion or more inhabitants. This implies an annual growth in agricultural productivity of 2.5 per cent, from the same or less land. Over the past three decades, despite


How much flood protection is enough?

How much protection against flooding is enough? This question is often asked in the Red River basin. The Red River Basin Commission’s recent study, Long Term Flood Solutions for the Red River Basin (LTFS), found little consensus on the answer to this question. As a result, flood protection practices in the basin’s communities and municipalities

Canada’s grain freight regulations inhibit productivity

The cost of railway infrastructure projects, such as the Rogers Pass tunnel or network acquisition, is staggering. In contrast, rail’s air, trucking and marine competitors have an advantage from the outset in not having to build or maintain infrastructure. And while rail can withstand underinvestment for years, eventually a lack of capital catches up and



Food security not a supply issue

There has been a lot of debate in the news lately about the Canadian food system. UN Right to Food Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter recently visited Canada and indicated there are currently 800,000 Canadian households that are food insecure. He concluded that Canada has a lot of work to do in making sure more people


Is it really true that CN and CP need more money?

Recently the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced that Prairie grain farmers will pay 9.5 per cent more to ship their grain. Based on the 2011 total freight bill under the revenue cap of $952 million, a 9.5 per cent increase means another $90 million straight out of the pockets of Prairie farmers. Based on 31

The Brand X elevator and corporate control of the food supply

The potential for contracted acres to be linked to herbicide and fertilizer purchases as well as point of delivery was already there

When Manitoba Pool Elevators and the Alberta Wheat Pool amalgamated in 1998 to become Agricore, I joked at the local watering hole that we really needed to invent an elevator sign that was Velcro backed. Even then, it was apparent that there was a lot of work involved in rebranding trade names on very tall


OUR HISTORY: 1800s — 1940s

Getting around in the early days The Manitoba Agricultural Museum is opening a new transportation display on Manitoba Day May 12. The display tells the story of transportation in rural Manitoba from the Red River cart of the 1800s right through to the vehicles of the 1940s. It uses real artifacts from the various eras

Innovation report raises potential of traditional industries

Traditional industries are a major economic driver yet they are largely ignored in public policy making

The agri-food sector should consider joining forces with the fisheries, mining, forestry and energy industries to remind Canadians how important the country’s original economic building blocks remain. The forestry, mining and energy sectors generate about 11 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product, says a new report from the Public Policy Forum. Add in