Reading Time: 2 minutes If ascendant Republicans act on what they say was the clear message sent by voters Nov. 2, the 112th Congress ain’t gonna’ be a tea party. Oh, something will boil, alright. It may be the fat most politicians claim is stored in all those pork barrels on Capitol Hill. After that, maybe some of the […] Read more
U.S. Election Fallout — Boiling Water, But Not For Tea
Farmers’ Biodiversity Efiorts Merit Increased Recognition
Reading Time: 2 minutes World leaders meeting in Nagoya, Japan last month discussed plans to reduce the rate of global biodiversity loss. Biodiversity is integral to protecting habitat and species at risk, as farmers well know. Perception in the media usually focuses on the habitat-conservation side of this multi-faceted issue. But farmers recognize that crop variety is also a […] Read more
Traceability Needs To Be Afiordable And Make Business Sense
Reading Time: 3 minutes Traceability took a belated step forward with Agriculture Minister Hayden and industry representatives signing an agreement on the guiding principles for livestock traceability. Some may see this event as a feel-good opportunity without a lot of substance on a contentious subject. But getting so many diverse cattle industry stakeholders and the government in the same […] Read more
Cow-Calf Producers Need Economies Of Scale
Reading Time: 2 minutes With the fall calf run underway, cow-calf producers are rejoicing over this year’s dramatic improvement in prices. They have been many years with heavy losses and lots of producers have said “to heck with it all” and have sold off their herds. Unfortunately, the big improvement in prices doesn’t necessarily mean that profitability has arrived. […] Read more
Finally Emerging From The Reality Of BSE
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been seven long years since Canada’s beef industry was brought to its knees by the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in Alberta. A lot of cattle have passed through the ring since, with most fetching prices that make it hard to be excited about this industry’s future. With their equity decimated by the lost […] Read more
Buy Local — But Ignore The “Locavores” Nonsense – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes You can’t open the food section of your newspaper these days without another sermon on the virtues of eating local. The eulogy takes as self-evident the moral superiority of the gospel of locavorism: relocalizing the food supply promotes sustainability because it reduces the fossil fuel needed to deliver the food. Buying local makes a good […] Read more
Bio-Power Needs A Great Leap Of Faith From Governments – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes Arecent visit to the Fraser Valley brought a sensory highlight clearly to mind. Valley farmers were in the midst of spreading manure onto recently harvested fields. To those of us in agriculture this would just be part of the annual production process and of no particular consequence. However to non-agriculture folk living nearby this practice […] Read more
Global Grain Reserve Idea Gaining Momentum – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes During the decade from 1996 to 2006, the world became accustomed to stable crop production. In such a world it was easy to argue that reserves were unnecessary, because there would always be someone with a supply they were willing to export. This year, hot weather in Eastern Europe and wet weather in the U. […] Read more
High Fertilizer Prices — Good. High Grain Prices — Bad – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes editor, manitoba co-operator Farmers could be forgiven for tuning out the twists and turns in the ongoing battle over the future of Canada’s PotashCorp to focus on more top-of-mind issues such as finishing off this year’s fieldwork. But whether you’re tuned in or not, how this deal shakes down could have an impact on your […] Read more
Editor – for Oct. 11, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Phone: 403-697-4703 Email: [email protected] PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Shawna Gibson Email: [email protected] ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER Farrah Wilson Email: [email protected] DIRECTOR OF SALES &CIRCULATION Lynda Tityk Email: [email protected] CIRCULATION MANAGER Heather Anderson Email: [email protected] NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES James Shaw Phone: 416-231-1812 Fax: 416-233-4858 Email: [email protected] CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SALES Maureen Heon Phone: 1-888-413-3325 Fax: 403-341-0615 Email: [email protected] ADVERTISING CO-ORDINATOR […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
