The Grain Trade Must Step Up

Throughout its history, this newspaper s editorial position has been that Prairie farmers are better off economically by selling wheat and barley through the Canadian Wheat Board. That has not changed, but since the board s end seems inevitable, we have recently focused not on saying don t do it but rather on emphasizing just


Inglis Grain Elevator Row nationally recognized

The Inglis Grain Elevator Row is Canada s best surviving collection of early 20th century grain storage and shipping facilities competitively aligned side by side at a rural railway loading point. This site is especially valued for the largely unaltered layout of its various components and for the intact architectural and mechanical features of its

Lake Manitoba Flood Puts Life On Hold

co-operator contributor It s October, surely the water is gone by now, isn t it? Unfortunately, no. For people who live near and around Lake Manitoba, the flood continues. In all likelihood it will become the Flood of 2011-12. No one wants to talk about it. Some people are tired of hearing about it. But


Letters – for Oct. 20, 2011

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 ManitobaCo-operator, 1666DublinAve.,Winnipeg,

Farmers Will Finally Get Their Wish

DearEditor, Birthday parties are usually more fun. Instead, western Canadian wheat and barley farmers are capping off 68 years of being treated like second-class citizens. On October 12, 1943, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) monopoly was born and imposed on western Canadian farmers when Canada was committed to supplying cheap wheat to Europe during the


Our History:

Wheat sparks verbal battle in Parliament Agriculture Minister James Gardiner fended off accusations that the Canada-U. K. wheat agreement cost Prairie farmers $330 million over the five-year pool that ended July 31, 1950. Gardiner said the postwar deal delivered higher returns than farmers would have received under the open market. In fact, there was no

Lower Grain Price And Fuel Prices Needed

Sharp declines in prices for grains and gasoline will be the most effective stimulus for renewed growth, by easing the squeeze on household finances across North America and Western Europe, but only if price cuts can be sustained. Relative declines in prices for food, clothing and fuel have been one of the big drivers of


Letters – for Oct. 13, 2011

More information needed The CWB single-desk collective selling western Canadian wheat and malt barley for farmers represents, by the most conservative and neutral studies, a minimum of $500 million in their pockets annually. But what is $500 million anyway? Is it really that much? And what about the annual tenfold spinoff value as it cycles

What Do We Expect?

While many in rural areas expressed dismay at Manitoba s most recent election results, no one should be surprised. The results underscore the deepening urban-rural split in this province, a polarization that is both political and geographical. It s a polarity that is gradually disenfranchising rural Manitoba, as it reinforces the reality that any party