Resolving the barley dispute is a starting point. It will also demonstrate that a rules-based
global trading system can influence China’s behaviour.

Comment: Australia-China barley solution shows diplomacy does work

Australia’s WTO case has been suspended with the promise of a Chinese tariff review

The agreement between Australia and China to resolve their barley dispute without World Trade Organization adjudication is evidence that relations have improved. It raises confidence Australia can maintain a constructive relationship with China, even as U.S.-China relations continue to deteriorate. China imposed an 80.5 per cent import tariff on Australian barley in May 2020, on

Editor’s Take: Slipping one in

Many years ago, I saw a cartoon that caused my cynical inner journalist to chuckle. A man in a suit sat behind a massive desk, handing a paper to a lackey, saying “Take this, Henderson, and hide it from the public.” I laughed because even a wet-behind-the-ears cub reporter in the early 1990s could recognize


Leaseholders double down with Crown land survey results

Leaseholders double down with Crown land survey results

Elimination of unit transfers remains massively unpopular

A provincial survey on agricultural Crown lands put numbers to the issues, but to the Manitoba Crown Lands Leaseholders Association, there was little in the results that hadn’t been said already. “Every point they have in there is exactly what we told them four years ago,” said association president Brent Benson. Why it matters: Agricultural

Heather Stefanson, Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew and Manitoba Liberal leader Dougald Lamont at the AMM provincial leaders forum April 4.

Unofficial provincial election campaign kicks off

Association of Manitoba Municipalities hosts provincial leaders forum

The first blows leading up to Manitoba’s fall election landed as the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) hosted an April 4 forum featuring major party leaders. Candidates for Manitoba’s three main political parties sparred over which one best represents the interests of AMM members. Why it matters: Campaigns have not officially launched for the provincial


Letters: Crown land changes botched

Letters: Crown land changes botched

For the past seven years, ranchers and producers have seen their way of life undermined by the PC government. The changes brought in under Brian Pallister and his minister of agriculture, Blaine Pedersen, to the Crown Land Lease system were done without consultation or regard for the impact it would have on Manitoba producers. Ranchers

U.S. senators seek to expand ethanol with support from Big Oil

Reuters – U.S. senators have reintroduced a bipartisan bill that would allow sales of gasoline with a higher blend of ethanol year-round, with the support of a leading oil trade group. Republican Senator Deb Fischer from Nebraska and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota argue that the expanded sales of E15, or fuel containing 15


Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew at a press event in 2020.

NDP set sights on rural Manitoba

Battle lines are being drawn for upcoming election

The provincial NDP has rural Manitoba, including traditional Progressive Conservative (PC) strongholds, in their crosshairs as parties start showing their hands ahead of this year’s election. In a March 1 release, Manitoba NDP leader Wab Kinew took specific aim at rural health care. “It’s clear that things are getting worse in rural Manitoba, not better,

AMM president Kam Blight speaks to media at the Legislature after the province released its 2023 budget March 7.

Provincial budget good for municipalities, unremarkable for agriculture

Budget 2023: Increased education property tax rebates, funding for vets, lab testing among ag highlights

Rural municipalities were winners amidst a somewhat mundane provincial budget for the agriculture sector. Why it matters: Agricultural issues were not front and center in the 2023 budget, although a few line items are worth noting. In this year’s budget, tabled March 7, the province thawed a seven-year freeze on municipal operating funding, increasing it to $217


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands following his address to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture general meeting in early March.

Federal leaders vie for farmer support at CFA

Ottawa seems to be sitting up and taking notice of agriculture

The meeting hall was buzzing the afternoon of March 6 as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s annual meeting awaited the arrival of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A last-minute addition to the agenda, the prime minister’s participation had been quietly rumoured for several days, but only confirmed on the opening morning of the event. A long-time member of the Parliamentary

If Canadians want improved environmental outcomes at the farm level, farmers need to be compensated accordingly.

Editor’s Take: The window opens

It’s been a long-held dream of many in the agriculture sector to see farmers paid for the environmental goods and services they provide to society. The argument goes that farmers can do great things for the environment. But as Bill Campbell, past president of the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), has often noted, farmers can’t be