Cycle repeats A different marketing system is needed, says a longtime industry recipient
Reading Time: 4 minutes “What’s going on with the lamb prices?” This is a common question of late. In my May article for Saskatchewan’s provincial lamb newsletter I encouraged producers to recognize that last year’s prices were record setting, and that there would be some moderation this year. Slaughter lamb prices were very high last year, which translates into […] Read moreWhat happened to lamb prices, and what can be done?
Be careful what you wish for
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sometimes unintended consequences are hard to see in a controversial, emotional issue, and that sure goes for the future of supply management (SM). Much has been said about the possible demise of SM as a trade-off for increased access to offshore markets. That appears to be the unmentionable mantra of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, […] Read more
A really good year for agriculture in Alberta?
Two sides Crop production and prices firing on all cylinders, but buyers are not so lucky
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s a lot of quiet anxiety in the Alberta countryside at this time of the year — more than in most years. Anticipating the upcoming harvest tends to be top of mind with the usual angst about weather uncertainty. But this year is a little different being most of the province is looking at above-average […] Read moreCFIA advises caution on antimicrobial drug use
Resistance Canada’s chief vet says antimicrobial resistance is rising in the food-animal sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since their introduction some 60 years ago, antimicrobials have revolutionized both veterinary practice and human medicine. When used appropriately, antimicrobials — including antibacterials, antifungals and antivirals — continue to play an important role in animal and human health. They reduce suffering and help farmers raise healthy animals, which in turn provide safe meat, milk and […] Read moreStop lying to Canadians on supply management
Reading Time: 3 minutes Supply management has been part of Canadian agricultural policies since the 1970s. It is a system that has quite evolved over the years, and improvement is still needed. I more than welcome discussions on supply management — I have myself been quite critical of this system over the years. It is therefore with great interest […] Read more
ABP takes pre-emptive strike on directional checkoff
Reading Time: 2 minutes At the recent Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) semi-annual meeting, chairman Doug Sawyer took a bold pre-emptive strike against a topic that has been whispered about in cattle industry circles for years. He bluntly stated that his organization was opposed to the directed or directional checkoff. That took other cattle producer organizations like the Alberta Cattle […] Read more
Would supply management’s demise be good for Alberta?
Tough competition Mega-operations could take over, but they might be in another province — or country
Reading Time: 3 minutes Urban media pundits and self-styled experts are once again expounding on the evils of supply management and why it needs to be terminated. They have been emboldened by the Canadian government’s alleged decision to put supply management on the table as the price of joining the Trans Pacific Partnership trade group. As expected, export-oriented commodity […] Read moreThe goal should be more of consumption of beef, period
Competition It’s from pork, poultry, lamb and fish, not from other Canadian beef producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes At its recent semi-annual meeting in Edmonton, Alberta Beef Producers unveiled its latest promotion slogan: “Alberta Beef — Famous Taste.” It’s another version of a long-running beef consumption campaign that started some 40 years ago. Some of those campaigns, which are revamped every few years, are more successful than others. Perhaps the most successful in […] Read moreMore production is not the only solution to hunger
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every year we hear the stories — the farmer who lost a bin full of canola to spoilage, or the one who lost his sunflowers — and the bin — after the crop overheated and caught fire. Or the farmer who opened his grain bag to find an infested, rotting mess after birds or rodents […] Read more
Gun registry is gone, gun owners registry isn’t
Reading Time: 2 minutes A recent letter to the editor of the Manitoba Co-operator from Inky Mark of Dauphin, Manitoba. Mark is a former Conservative member of Parliament for Dauphin-Swan River. Most gun owners in Canada believe that once the long-gun registry is revoked by C-19, everything will return to normal to pre-C-68 days. How wrong it is to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
