opinion Archives - Page 9 of 10 - Manitoba Co-operator

Editorial: Agri-resilience is farmers’ best defence for managing risk

By Laura Rance-Unger July 6, 2015

No one understands risk preparedness and management better than an insurance company. The iconic insurance giant Lloyd’s laid out a stark scenario recently in a report about the potential for weather-related disasters to undermine the entire global food system. The 327-year-old insurance firm says it wouldn’t take much — just three catastrophic weather events hitting

Opinion

Editorial: Canada’s GHG stance tarnishes our brand

By John Morriss June 29, 2015

Things aren’t going too well in the international trade agreement department. At the World Trade Organization (WTO) round, which has been dragging along since 1991, it’s come to the point where the director general is actually being honest about its prospects. “Taking an overview of all of these consultations it is hard to see a

Beef cattle, Opinion

Editorial: Beef production and the view from Alberta

By Laura Rance-Unger June 22, 2015

The view is different out here — and it’s not just the scenery. Granted, Co-operator staff had the rare opportunity last week to visit with ranchers in and around Calgary that were specifically selected by their colleagues at Alberta Farmer Express specifically because they do things a little differently. Nevertheless, it was an eye-opener listening

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: The buzz around bees, neonics and the ‘big picture’

By Laura Rance-Unger June 15, 2015

In our business, getting the facts right and keeping them in context is a constant challenge. Such is the case with the materials circulated as part of the Buzzing Gardens campaign rolled out last week by Bees Matter, an industry group formed to present information on bee health. It offers free flower seeds to gardeners

Opinion, Poultry

Editorial: It’s time to rethink poultry production

The bird flu epidemic has wiped out 12 per cent of U.S. egg-laying capacity in a matter of weeks

By Laura Rance-Unger June 8, 2015

The numbers surrounding the bird flu epidemic change each day. But they are staggering. Early this week, the USDA was reporting 197 confirmed outbreaks among poultry flocks with losses of 44.6 million fowl, many of them egg-laying hens. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) predicts the number of birds affected will climb to 50

Livestock, Opinion

Editorial: COOL fight not over yet

U.S. legislators will soon vote to repeal, but how it will all play out remains to be clear

By Laura Rance-Unger June 1, 2015

The WTO has made its final-final decision in Canada’s favour on U.S. labelling laws. It now appears that U.S. legislators in the House of Representatives will vote next month on a bill to repeal it. But Canada’s COOL fight isn’t over. Support for repealing the legislation is less secure from the U.S. Senate where the

Cereals, Opinion

Editorial: Captive grain, and captive farmers?

COFCO likley to create waves for the future of grain pricing

By John Morriss May 25, 2015

Those who follow livestock markets will know the term “captive cattle” — feedlot cattle owned by the large packers, and which they can use to maintain supply and/or take the pressure off rising open-market prices. In the past that’s led to some U.S. government intervention, such as mandatory reporting of purchases and prices. Recent developments

Opinion

Editorial: More to TPP than milk and eggs

The Trans-Pacific Partnership and what a deal could mean for Canadian producers

By John Morriss May 18, 2015

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement now under negotiation involves 12 of the world’s largest economies, and has been described as “NAFTA on steroids.” What’s holding it up? Canadian dairy farmers. Or so you’d think about reading some of the national and international media coverage. Some of it made us think of the coverage of

Crops, Livestock, Opinion

Editorial: Risk management on the farm

What does the future hold for farm stabilization payments in Canada?

By Laura Rance-Unger May 11, 2015

Changes to AgriStability three years ago that were designed to limit the exposure of federal and provincial coffers appear to have been more successful than politicians and bureaucrats ever imagined. The changes implemented for 2013 reduce the potential for a payment as well as the potential size of payment. It now appears the number of

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: What’s it going to take to stop soil erosion?

Soil erosion still alive and (not) well in Manitoba

By Laura Rance-Unger May 4, 2015

You could have mistaken Co-operator reporter Lorraine Stevenson for a coal miner, coated as she was with black dirt, after she ventured out across southern Manitoba during those 70- to 90-kilometre-per-hour winds April 15. But for the modern farm equipment and steel granaries in the background, her photographs of airborne and drifting soil could have

Daily Network News

Iran says Strait of Hormuz open as Trump sees deal ‘soon’ to end war

Agriculture groups welcome seed, fertilizer approval bill

AAFC projects tighter canola stocks for 2026-27

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