Reading Time: 3 minutes “As long as we are being supported by ALP we should support our industry.” Ronald den Broeder never gave a lot of thought to where his checkoff dollars went until he was given the option to reclaim them in September 2010. At $1.50 a head and with 950 ewes, his checkoff contributions are significant. But […] Read more
Recognizing The Value Of Checkoffs For Lamb Producers
Letters To The Editor – for Jan. 4, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Should organization donations go to only one party? I also “wonder about the politics surrounding the recent donations to the PC Party by the milk and turkey producers” as noted in your editorial (AF December 7), but for different reasons. The first question that comes to mind is how was the decision to make these […] Read more
Ag Politics In Alberta Are Interesting As Usual
Reading Time: 3 minutes The principle should be that if non-refundable checkoffs are good enough for some commodities they should be good for all commodities under provincial marketing legislation. One cannot help but wonder about the politics surrounding the recent donations to the Progressive Conservative (PC) party annual meeting by the Alberta Milk Producers and Alberta Turkey Producers marketing […] Read more
Ground-Breaking Moments In Global Agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes Organized cultivation of food crops like wheat and barley began about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent, what is now the Middle East. Great strides in agriculture have been made since through innovation, technology and genetics to help feed the world’s growing population. Despite this, however, more than one billion people went […] Read more
A Message From The Past For Pork Producers? – for Dec. 7, 2009
Reading Time: < 1 minute FROM THE NOR-WEST FARMER AND MANITOBA MILLER, SEPTEMBER 1886 In a paper published in the June issue of the Nor-West Farmer, I pointed out the superiority of our northern small grains, such as barley and oats, over Indian corn as feed for pigs. Mr. Sumner, the manager of extensive pork-curing works at Cork, Ireland, has […] Read more
Just What Is An “Actual” Farmer?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Private member’s bills are mostly an excuse for MPs, especially in opposition, to issue a press release and get their name associated with some popular cause. The odds of private member’s bill being passed in Parliament may be somewhat better than winning the 6-49, but not much. There’s a lottery system, and even if selected […] Read more
Letters To The Editor – for Dec. 7, 2009
Reading Time: 2 minutes WTO not the place to determine CWB fate Prime Minister Harper’s Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz now claims he is standing up for the Canadian Wheat Board at World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. The way Harper and Ritz have tried to destroy the CWB in the past, I don’t believe it. Basic democracy demands that the […] Read more
ALMA Helping Move From Status Quo To New Market Reality
Reading Time: 3 minutes “What we are is something new, something different and something relevant.” Alberta’s livestock and meat industry continues to face complex issues, extending beyond provincial and even national borders. They are issues that demand a move from traditional thinking and traditional strategies. That is why the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) was incorporated almost one […] Read more
Letters To The Editor – for Nov. 23, 2009
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) has had its head in the sand for some time now. The refundable checkoff mandated by the provincial government is the result. It failed to come up with new ideas. Instead producers were told to wait for the U. S. border to reopen. Now the ABP says depend on trade […] Read more
Not The Time To Neglect Agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes The 34th North American European Union Agricultural Conference, a major forum for discussion on solutions to the world economic crisis affecting farmers, was hosted by the Canadian Federation of Agriculture at Niagara Falls, Ontario this fall. The primary focus of the conference was to expand discussions on collaborative and co-operative approaches to the world’s food […] Read more