It seems many Canadians’ outlook on genetically modified organisms match their thoughts on the environment. That is, they hold the environment dear to their hearts, but won’t compromise much on policies that hit their pocketbooks. In a study released by Health Canada earlier this year, 61 percent of participants said the words “genetic modification” leave […] Read more
Brian MacLeod
Stories by Brian MacLeod
Are you ready for the future?
The world of agriculture is changing so fast — from top to bottom — that over the next few years, we may be wondering, “what have we done?” Two years ago, Agri-Trend’s Rob Saik wrote a book called The Agriculture Manifesto, which predicted massive change in the industry, driven by 10 factors such as “non-science” […] Read more
Pipelines full of politics
It is unfortunate that pipelines moving oil and gas don’t always do their job. Inevitably, a leak or explosion occurs at a most inconvenient time. With federal government decisions pending on pipelines heading east and west from Alberta, Husky Oil’s 230,000 litre spill into the North Saskatchewan River July 20 is high on people’s minds. […] Read more
WP awards; breaking news
The Western Producer newsroom usually manages to make its mark at the American Agricultural Editors’ Communications Awards each year and this year is no exception. Art Director Michelle Houlden, who has a perennial presence on the AAEA awards podium, made three more appearances this year. Houlden placed third in the Overall Magazine Design — Special […] Read more
Weather focus of coffee row
The headline on our story was ominous: “It’s going to keep raining; harvest when you can.” That story was on producer.com early on Aug. 8, and readers poured onto it like the blistering rain some of us have seen over the past 24 hours (as I write on Monday afternoon). Three more days of potential […] Read more
Introducing our top 10 online stories
Now that we’re a little more than six months into the year, it’s worth a look at some of the more popular stories our readers have been perusing at producer.com. Here are the top 10 online stories this year to the end of June. 10. PMRA finds neonics do not threaten bee health: Health Canada […] Read more
Debate is good, but listen, too
You have to admire Robert Saik’s gumption. Or not, depending on your point of view. The chief executive officer of Agri-Trend showed up at an anti-Monsanto demonstration in Kelowna , B.C., May 21 sporting an “I (heart) GMOs” T-shirt and set up a few portable stands with signs, one of which read, “facts not fear. […] Read more
Series looks at possibilities
What if? We may hear these simple words a fair bit in everyday conversation, but why not put them to good use. We’re doing that at The Western Producer as a way to offer information to farmers in a different fashion. Today we are launching the first story in an occasional series we’re calling, unsurprisingly, […] Read more
About-face handled well
Six days. That’s what it took for Earls restaurant chain to backtrack on its decision to source its “Certified Humane” beef in Kansas once the public relations backlash detonated on April 28. The chain announced in a Youtube video posted April 22 that it was going to use beef sourced in Kansas, but the issue […] Read more
Calculating what went wrong
Farm math is a wonderful thing. It may not be correct to the sixth decimal, but it does paint a picture. Alas, as readers are now aware, some journalists are known to have chosen their profession because math isn’t the vocation for them. Last week, we published a Page 7 graphic on the case for […] Read more
