Watching the federal Conservative leadership candidates battle it out over supply management is interesting, not just for the obvious ramifications, but because Conservatives are usually driven by free-market economics. Supply management is the antithesis of the free market. It exists in Canada to protect dairy, poultry and egg markets. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney — […] Read more
Brian MacLeod
Stories by Brian MacLeod
And the WP winners are …
Every once in a while, we let readers know about award competitions that The Western Producer participates in. We do so to let readers know where the Producer’s efforts sit relative to other agricultural publications. As it turns out, the Producer, along with our parent company, Glacier FarmMedia, had a good year in the 2016 […] Read more
Shows, meetings, events abound
One of the goals of The Western Producer is of course to talk to farmers, but also to talk to people that farmers would like to talk to if they had the opportunity. (It is one of Managing Editor Michael Raine’s many mantras.) To that end, this time of the year is when our journalists […] Read more
WP’s most read stories
Each year, we offer a look at the most popular stories at producer.com. It’s interesting to see the eclectic mix of stories that pique readers’ interest. From 2016, here is The Western Producer’s Top 10 list. 10. “Diagnosing lumps and bumps.” A column about cattle infections published in June by columnist John Campbell. 9. “Prairie […] Read more
The debate over GM foods
Is it best that people should know how laws and sausages are made? With media coverage of politics these days, most people know more about the former. And with sausages, we’re talking about food — in this case, specifically crops that are genetically modified. So much of what is said or written about GM foods […] Read more
Bio-sciences company works behind the scenes at leading edge nutritional research
If you’re one to look at food labels, chances are you’ve seen the results of the high-tech research taking place at POS Bio-Sciences. You won’t see the name, but it’s there — in proteins, fibres, starches and oils. The Saskatoon-based company is a global player in developing new processes that use crops such as peas […] Read more
Plenty to read in coming weeks
The folly of a meat tax
Many farmers understandably shake their heads at the seemingly endless challenges to their production methods. A carbon tax is likely to make farming more expensive, the chemicals farmers use are constantly being reviewed, so-called large “industrial” farms are deemed by some to be too corporate and genetically modified foods are suspect in the minds of […] Read more
The sour side of democracy
It has been tempting, even fashionable, to cringe at the American experience in democracy these last few weeks. Between the election of a president with no political experience and controversial views, and late vote counts leaving Donald Trump with about 2.4 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton, many Canadians are aghast at what they’re seeing. […] Read more
Divisive politics coming north?
About six months ago, I chatted with a fellow in Wisconsin who works in agriculture. I asked him about Donald Trump. He replied that folks there weren’t really in favour of his campaign at the time, but they were so sick of what was happening in Washington they saw him as a chance to drive […] Read more
